I’ve examined many cinewhoops up to now few years, and the GEPRC CineBot25 is maybe my present favourite 2.5″ cinewhoop. A lot thought has gone into its design, and the eye to element is just wonderful. Whereas it’s not excellent and has just a few annoying points, as you’ll uncover on this evaluation, these quirks don’t detract from its spectacular efficiency.
Find out about Cinewhoops: https://oscarliang.com/cinewhoop/
The place to Purchase?
You will get the GEPRC CineBot25 from these distributors:
There are two variations: Normal (non-S) and Sport (S). The S model options bigger 1505 4300KV motors, that are an improve from the 1404 motors in the usual model, delivering extra energy and stability.
Batteries should not included, my suggestions are the Lava 4S 850mAh:
Get some spare propellers in the event you plan to crash 🙂
Specs
- Body: GEP-CT25 Gray
- Wheelbase: 115mm
- Flight Controller (FC): TAKER G4 45A AIO
- MCU: STM32G473CEU6
- Gyro: ICM 42688-P
- Firmware: TAKERG4AIO
- Motor: SPEEDX2 1505 4300KV
- ESC: BLHeli 32-bit 45A
- Propellers: HQProp DT63mm x4
- Connector: XT30
- Official Weight:
- Normal PNP Model: 138g ±1g
- Sport PNP Model: 145g ±1g
- Beneficial Battery: 4S 650mAh – 850mAh LiPo
Nearer Have a look at the Construct High quality
The GEPRC CineBot25 S stands out with a strong, smooth design. The digital camera, motor, and flight controller are mounted on the highest plate, which is created from smooth-layered carbon fiber, providing a light-weight but sturdy really feel.
Beneath the highest plate is a detachable plastic housing for the VTX and receiver. The digital parts are effectively protected, however the enclosed design may compromise cooling in sizzling environments.
The FPV digital camera is mounted inside a devoted soft-mounted cover that limits excessive digital camera angles however presents enough safety.
An exterior HD digital camera may be hard-mounted utilizing the offered adapter, however it’s finest to keep away from including further weight like a unadorned GoPro. Whereas it could work for sluggish and regular indoor photographs, it compromises out of doors agility and pace. The DJI O3 system already offers wonderful picture high quality anyway.
Two battery straps of various lengths are included: an extended one for 4S 750mAh and 850mAh batteries, and a shorter one for smaller 4S 650mAh batteries. The drone weighs round 153 grams with out the battery, digital camera, and VTX, which is nearly 10 grams heavier than the BetaFPV Pavo25 V2. Nevertheless, this added weight is comprehensible given the additional plastic used for defense.
With the DJI O3 system put in and a 4S 850mAh LiPo, the entire weight is round 290 grams.
Listed here are some aspect by aspect comparisons to the BetaFPV Pavo25 V2:
DJI O3 Setup
Though the CineBot25 helps numerous FPV programs, together with analog and Runcam Hyperlink/Wasp, the soft-mounted digital camera platform is a transparent indication that it’s particularly designed for the DJI O3 system. Different FPV cameras aren’t as vulnerable to jello and vibration because the O3, making extra smooth mounting obligatory. I actually like GEPRC’s implementation utilizing silicone balls as it really works exceptionally effectively.
Nevertheless, the digital camera cover can simply pop off throughout crashes, and it’s difficult to reattach resulting from how tiny and smooth these silicone balls are. They’re additionally fairly fragile, metallic instruments can simply pierce by way of them. Whereas GEPRC offers some instruments to assist with this, it’s a trouble remembering to convey them alongside. Zip ties can safe them however will scale back the effectiveness of the smooth mounting.
Consumer Pleasant Design
The most effective design facets of the CineBot25 is how straightforward it’s to entry the flight controller and DJI O3 USB port. There’s a USB-C port on the rear of the drone, related to the flight controller by way of an extension board.
You may entry the DJI O3’s SD card slot and USB-C port by way of a cutout within the plastic housing, and when not in use, you may put the rubber cowl again on to guard it from grime and water.
There’s no have to disassemble the drone or use an adapter to entry these USB ports, making it extremely handy. You may inform how a lot thought has gone into the design.
Nevertheless, one small situation is that I couldn’t join or flash the ESC by way of the USB port on the FC extension board. I had to make use of the precise USB port on the FC, which requires disassembling the drone. They may have used a USB-C extension cable like Speedybee did within the Bee35 to take care of compatibility. Nevertheless it’s not an enormous deal because you don’t sometimes have to flash your ESC.
Dissembling the drone for restore is straightforward too.
Right here’s an in depth up shot of the flight controller.
Flight Efficiency
The CineBot25 S is just top-of-the-line flying 2.5-inch cinewhoops I’ve examined—very steady, well-tuned, and with loads of energy for freestyle.
It’s additionally very environment friendly. I examined mine with LAVA 4S 850mAh LiHV batteries from BetaFPV and acquired round 5 to six minutes of flight time (a mixture of aggressive flying and cruising), which could be very spectacular.
The DJI O3 VTX system, paired with a soft-mounted digital camera, offers crisp FPV footage with none jello.
Setup
Though initially I used to be impressed by the CineBot25’s design, the setup course of took a bit extra time and effort than anticipated.
O3 Set up
Very first thing is to put in the DJI O3 system contained in the plastic housing. Sadly, there’s no instruction offered, so that you’ll want to make use of your creativeness. I have to admit it wasn’t straightforward in any respect as I spent over virtually an hour looking for the easiest way to mount the O3. Finally I made a decision to not use the offered heatsink and simply mounted the O3 straight contained in the plastic housing.
Additionally, not like BetaFPV’s cinewhoops, GEPRC doesn’t present any cable for the O3, however you should use the unique cable, so it’s not an enormous situation in the event you nonetheless have it. Additionally there’s no screws offered for mounting the digital camera within the cover – you’ll need M2 3mm.
Lastly, make certain to tape the UFL extension to keep away from electrical shorts! It they touches the uncovered battery solder pads might fry your O3!
Binding Receiver
Right here I encountered one other situation – the receiver doesn’t get energy from the USB port, it’s essential to plug in a battery.
I used to be going to flash the most recent ExpressLRS firmware to the receiver together with my binding phrase, so I wanted to search out out what goal it makes use of. That was completed by going into WiFi mode (by plugging in battery and wait 60 seconds) and checking on the Net UI .
Receiver goal is: Generic ESP8285 PA 2.4Ghz RX, it comes with 3.3.1 firmware.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t discover this goal within the newest ExpressLRS Configurator, so I didn’t replace the firmware however set the binding phrase within the Net UI.
Betaflight Configuration
Organising Betaflight for maiden flight was simple.
The CineBot25 comes with Betaflight 4.5.0. The flight controller goal is TAKERG4AIO. You’ll find the unique CLI diff right here (hyperlink to be added).
- In Preset tab, apply ExpressLRS Preset primarily based on the packet charge of your selection.
- In PID Tuning tab, set your personal charges.
- In Modes tab, assign swap for arming.
- In OSD tab, configure OSD components. Though HD was chosen, the canvas was caught in analog dimension. I needed to de-select and choose HD once more to get the bigger HD OSD canvas.
Conclusion
I’m blown away by the GEPRC CineBot25 S—it has top-of-the-line design available on the market, and the flight efficiency is great! Whereas there are just a few hurdles to beat throughout setup, these should not deal breakers. For those who’re searching for a 2.5-inch cinewhoop for the DJI O3 system, that is the one I’d advocate proper now.
Get the GepRC Cinebot25 from these distributors:
Get some Lava 4S 850mAh batteries:
Get some spare propellers:
Nevertheless, this drone isn’t designed for sub-250 grams in thoughts. You possibly can most likely push it beneath 250 grams by going analog or utilizing a smaller battery, however you’d be higher off with a 2-inch quad as an alternative (take a look at the Pavo20). I additionally don’t advocate utilizing a GoPro on the CineBot25; it kills its flight efficiency and flight time. If you wish to use a GoPro, go for a 3-inch or 3.5-inch quad.
For cinematic FPV flying and dynamic photographs utilizing the O3, the CineBot25 S presents improbable design and efficiency at a good worth level. With its highly effective motors and DJI O3 compatibility, it stands out as a powerful contender within the cinewhoop market.
