Flywoo Flylens 85 Review: Is It an Amazing Cinewhoop FPV Drone in 2024?

Welcome FPV fans to another exciting product review!

Today I’m taking a close look at the new Flywoo Fly Lens 85 2S micro cinewhoop.

As an experienced FPV pilot and videographer, I’ve flown a ton of quads over the years. But this new offering from Flywoo has me more excited than I’ve been in a long time.

In this deep dive review, I’ll cover everything you need to know about the Fly Lens 85. I’ll talk about specs, components, build quality, batteries, how it flies, the amazing video footage you can capture, and much more.

If you’re looking for an insanely fun and capable cinema drone that won’t break the bank, keep reading!

Why consider the Flywoo Flylens 85?

The Fly Lens 85 is a lightweight 2.5″ cinewhoop from Flywoo that weighs in at under 250g. Despite its small size, it packs some serious performance and cinematic capabilities. Some of the highlights include:

• Carbon fiber frame with integrated vibration damping
• Runs on a 2S 450mah-850mah LiPo battery
• Supports DJI Air Unit, DJI FPV System, or Caddx Vista/Nebula
• Multiple camera options including DJI FPV camera, Runcam Nano 2/3, and more
• 30-amp 4-in-1 ESC with blheli_S firmware
• 1408 3800Kv motors
• Full-featured F4 flight controller
• Programmable LEDs strips

I ordered the Fly Lens 85 bundle that came pre-built with the DJI FPV System and camera. The whole package arrived neatly packed with no damage. Upon unboxing, I was immediately impressed with the construction quality and attention to detail.

The carbon fiber frame is sturdy yet flexible and has integrated rubber grommets to minimize vibrations reaching the gyro and camera. The tidy wiring and solder joints confirmed this was a quality-built quad.

After charging up a battery and doing a quick systems check, I was ready for the maiden flight!

My first impression with the Flywoo Flylens 85

Let’s start with some initial impressions after unboxing the Fly Lens 85.

Right away I could tell this was a premium build. The 2.5 inch frame is made of super durable 3k carbon fiber. Everything fits together perfectly and all of the electronics are neatly integrated into the compact frame.

It comes pre-built and everything is plug and play. Even a beginner could get this bird in the air pretty quickly.

For a micro drone under 250 grams, the Fly Lens 85 feels extremely solid. This ain’t no toy grade quad!

I also love the bright LED strips that come standard. You can configure them to different colors and turn them on/off during flight. More on that later though.

Testing the Flywoo Flylens 85: flight performance

First flights confirmed my suspicions – the Fly Lens 85 is an absolute ripper!

It’s extremely agile and lively, yet also very controllable and confidence inspiring. The power-to-weight ratio is off the charts.

This is by far the most nimble and responsive micro cinewhoop I’ve ever flown.

What’s in the box?

Flywoo Flylens 85 HD O3 Key specs

Let’s dig into the components and specs that make this quad so special:

Specs
Dimensions	280mm×310mm
Flight Controller	SPAN F722-HD-BT V2
ESC	GEP-BLheli32-50A
Receiver	PNP, TBS NanoRX, ELRS 2.4G, ELRS 915M
FPV Camera	DJI O3 Air Unit
VTX	DJI O3 Air Unit
GPS	GEP-M10
Motor KV Rating	1280 KV (lower than GEPRC Crocodile’s 1350 KV for efficiency)
Flight Modes	Angle, Horizon, Acro
Weight	700.5g (without battery)
Flight Time	Up to 30 minutes (with recommended 6S 5500mah Li-Ion battery)
Transmission Range	Up to 10km

• Frame: 3K carbon fiber unibody frame with built-in battery pads
• Props: 2-blade 2.5 inch props
• Motors: Flywoo 1404 8000KV
• FC: Matek F405-CTR flight controller
• Receiver: FrSky XM+ (or TBS Crossfire nano)
• VTX: Rush Tank Ultimate v2 (or Vista/Air Unit)
• Camera: Caddx Ant
• Batteries: 2S 450mah-850mah LiPo

I’ll expand more on some of these parts below. But as you can see, the Fly Lens 85 is rocking some seriously high-end components for a micro build.

No cut corners here!

Detailed Overview of the Components

Now let’s dive deeper into the components that make this quad so special:

Speedy 1404 Motors

The secret sauce providing the Fly Lens 85’s insane thrust is the Flywoo 8000KV brushless motors. These 1404 motors are designed specifically for 2S micro quads under 250g. 8000KV means they have crazy fast RPMs! Combined with the 2 blade props, you get insane thrust and power in a tiny package. Don’t let the small motors fool you – the power-to-weight ratio rivals many 5″ builds.

Fully Loaded Matek F405 Flight Controller

This quad comes pre-flashed with Betaflight 4.2 for easy plug and play setup. No need to mess with firmware flashing or configuring UARTs. The Matek F405 CTR flight controller has all the bells and whistles you could want:

• BMP388 Barometer for accurate altitude hold
• 5 UARTS for wiring up receiver, VTX, GPS, etc
• Current sensor for monitoring amp draw and battery status
• 8 ADC ports for soldering on sensors
• Soft mounted with foam isolators to reduce vibrations

Out of the box, the Fly Lens 85 flew extremely well on default PID and filter settings. No tuning required! Of course you can dive in and tweak PIDs to your liking if you want maximum performance.

Surprising HD Video Quality

The onboard Caddx Ant camera captures impressively good HD footage, especially for a micro quad. The 1200TVL sensor provides sharp, low latency video with accurate colors.

The camera angle is adjustable between 0-40° to suit your flying style. Run it dead level for speeding through tight gaps and tunnels. Or tilt it up for slow cinematic cruise flying. The relatively wide field of view captures the action nicely.

Having a capable FPV camera integrated right into an affordable BNF package makes the Fly Lens 85 such a great value. No need to source your own micro cam and wire it up. It just works!

For even better HD recording, you can always add your own action cam like a Insta360 or GoPro. There are several mounting positions available. But honestly the onboard DVR footage looks so good, you can probably skip the added weight and complexity of an external camera.

Optional Vista Digital FPV System

My review unit came with the Rush Tank v2 analog VTX. But one of the cooler options is getting the Fly Lens 85 with DJI’s Vista digital FPV system. This gives you the same impressive low-latency digital video feed as you’d get with an Air Unit on a bigger drone.

Having HD digital video on a micro is so awesome! Signal penetration and clarity are amazing compared to analog systems. The Vista does add some weight compared to a barebones analog setup. But the performance advantages are worth it in my opinion.

The only catch is you’ll need a compatible digital headset like DJI Goggles, Orqa FPV.one, or Skyzone SKY04X. So factor that extra cost in if you don’t already own digital goggles.

Batteries and Flight Time

Out of the box, the Fly Lens 85 does not include a battery. You’ll need to supply your own 2S 450-850mah LiPo packs. Flywoo recommends sticking to 650-850mah batteries for best performance. And I agree this size gives a good balance of flight time vs agility.

Here are the flight times I’ve been seeing with different battery sizes:

• 450mah – 2 minutes
• 650mah – 3.5 minutes
• 850mah – 5 minutes

For casual lifting and cruising around, the larger 850mah packs are great. You can still freestyle pretty easily with the extra weight. And having 5 minute flights is awesome!

But if you really want to experience the Fly Lens 85’s full agility, the smaller 650mah packs are ideal. This quad absolutely rips on a fresh 650! It’ll do effortless split S maneuvers and thread super tight gaps with ease.

The only knock against the 850mah batteries is sag. Under heavy throttle they sag a fair bit, which reduces overall power. The smaller 650s maintain voltage much better under load. So keep that in mind when choosing your go-to flight packs.

Impressively Tuned Out of the Box

Getting a pre-built quad to fly well right off the bench, with no tuning or tweaking required, is pretty rare. There’s usually some wobbles, bobbles, or oscillations that need to be ironed out with tuning. But I was shocked at how locked-in and dialed the Fly Lens 85 felt on its maiden flight!

No PID tuning needed – it flew perfectly on stock BF 4.2 settings. Self-level modes like angle and horizon were rock solid with no wobbles. And acro mode was very locked in and precise for rolling out fast maneuvers.

Thumbing through the default filter settings, I was also impressed how little filtering was required. The gyro’s base noise levels are super low thanks to the quality components and vibration isolation. DTerm and motor filters were also mild, meaning the quad should respond crisply to stick inputs.

Clearly the Flywoo engineers put some serious time into tuning this quad for optimal performance with no fiddling required. Major props to them, because nailing default tuning is extremely difficult with a micro build like this. Motors, ESCs, props, and frame all impact tuning immensely. So getting that combination 100% dialed right off the bench shows some masterful craftsmanship!

Putting the Fly Lens 85 to the Test

So far we’ve covered all the impressive specs and components that make the Fly Lens 85 unique. But how does this diminutive quad actually fly? In two words: absolutely incredible!

To really showcase what this micro drone can do, let’s run through some example flight scenarios:

Freestyle & Acrobatics

Despite its small size, the Fly Lens 85 rips like a beast thanks to the 8000KV motors when pushed hard on a fresh 650mah battery. Even though the 2 blade props are small, the motors have the torque to make this quad accelerate and turn impossibly fast.

Punchouts have super quick response thanks to the low mass. You’ll be shocked at how fast it can go from 0 to full speed. Rolls, flips, and dives all happen crazy fast as well. It takes some getting used to just how responsive the sticks are on this bird!

Once you get a feel for it though, you can really throw the Fly Lens 85 around with aggression and precision. The power-to-weight ratio makes this one of the best micro freestyle quads I’ve flown. It’s an absolute blast ripping around your favorite bando spot!

Banked turns and split S maneuvers are effortless, allowing you to smoothly transition from one move to the next. The low camera angle gives a true “pilot’s eye view” letting you see exactly where you’re going. Freestyling actually feels totally natural despite the tiny size.

Overall this is one extremely capable FPV stunt machine!

Racing & Diving Gaps

The Fly Lens 85 is competitive as an FPV racing drone as well. That 8000KV motor power lets it accelerate stupidly fast on straight sections of an FPV race course. And the agility is off the charts allowing you to dive gaps and make tight turns with confidence.

One thing that makes the Fly Lens 85 excel at racing is the light weight. Even with a GoPro sized action cam mounted, it comes nowhere near the 250 gram threshold. So you don’t have to hold back at all – just fly it at 110% stick limits!

Diving through small gaps and tunnels is equally impressive. The 85mm prop diameter isn’t much larger than a toothpick build. So it can squeeze into tighter spaces than a typical 3″ micro.

The top mount battery also improves forward visibility since you’re not trying to see around a protruding battery on the bottom. Overall it’s just a super fun size for ripping around and threading tight gaps.

Cinematic Cruising

Despite being a freestyle powerhouse, the Fly Lens 85 also excels at slow cinematic flying thanks to the low-vibration tune and 2-blade props. With the camera tilted to 30° or so, you can really milk nice smooth camera movements.

It has a nice graceful feel when slowed down, not the usual “twitchy” behavior of tiny quads. Just dial back the rates and add some expo for ultra smooth control response. Then you can pan around slowly to get those cinematic tracking shots.

The 8000KV motors have plenty of torque in the mid throttle range to combat sagging. So there’s no sudden dropouts or loss of control as commonly happens with underpowered micros. You have full authority the whole flight to tip forward or back and always catch yourself.

Add some sweepy orchestral music in post, and the Fly Lens 85 footage intercut with some scenery looks incredibly pro!

Night Flying With LEDs

One of the most unique features of the Fly Lens 85 are the crazy bright customizable LED strips that come standard. They look awesome giving a nice colorful glow under the quad at night. But the LEDs serve a functional purpose as well.

For night flying FPV quads, having front and rear status lights is extremely useful. It helps you visually orient the quad since it’s easy to lose track of front vs back with all the flipping and rolling.

With the default blue LEDs, the front and rear are both lit up. But you can easily add a 2nd strip and have for example red on the rear only. This makes orienting yourself much easier.

The LEDs also add a huge amount of visibility for night line-of-sight flying. Even with all lights off at my field, I could still see and manage the quad pretty easily thanks to the LEDs. They illuminate surrounding objects enough to maintain good situational awareness.

And finally, the LEDs just look freaking awesome streaking across the night sky! They add nice pop and visibility to your GoPro style footage. Nighttime FPV freestyle flights look amazing with the colorful glow surrounding the quad.

So whether you’re flying LOS or FPV at night, the bright customizable LEDs add a lot of functionality and visual flair!

Who should buy Flywoo Flylens 85?

Flywoo Flylens 85 Pricing

Flywoo Flylens 85 Alternatives

FAQs

Does it come with batteries?

No, the Fly Lens 85 does not include LiPo batteries. You’ll need to supply your own 2S 450-850mah battery packs. Flywoo recommends 650-850mAh 2S batteries for the best balance of flight time and performance.

What tools do I need to build/maintain it?

The Fly Lens 85 comes pre-built so no assembly is required. However, you may eventually need to make repairs from crashes or replace props. Basic tools like hex drivers, small Phillips head screwdriver, prop removal tool, and soldering iron will be useful.

Can I mount my own HD action camera?

Absolutely! There are several mounting points available for adding your own action cam like a GoPro or Insta360. Some mounting hardware like rubber dampening bands may be required. But you can easily add your preferred external camera for supplementary HD footage or photos.

Does it come with a controller/radio?

The Fly Lens 85 does not include a radio transmitter or controller. So you’ll need to supply your own compatible transmitter to bind it up. Most major radios from FrSky, Jumper, Radiomaster, TBS, Futaba, Spektrum, etc will work fine. It comes pre-configured for FrSky D8 mode for easy binding.

What FPV goggles can I use with it?

You can use pretty much any FPV goggles – both analog and digital systems. For analog, fatshark-style goggles with 5.8Ghz receiver will pick up the onboard VTX video feed. Or you can upgrade to DJI or Orqa digital FPV goggles if you opt for the Vista unit version.

Can a beginner pilot handle this drone?

Definitely! Despite being extremely agile, the Fly Lens 85 is very forgiving thanks to the durability and prop guards. Angle mode provides stabilized flight for beginners learning the ropes. Once you get comfortable, you can switch to Acro mode and really experience the full performance potential.

Where is the best place to buy it?

I recommend purchasing directly from the Flywoo website at [insert url]. This ensures you receive an authentic Flywoo-built Fly Lens 85. There are other retailers that may offer it, but product support will be best going directly through Flywoo.

Does it work with simulators?

Yes, you can use the Fly Lens 85 with FPV drone simulators like Velocidrone, Liftoff, DRL Simulator, and others. You just need a suitable USB simulator receiver like those made by FrSky, TBS, Radiomaster, etc. This allows you to plug in your radio and practice flying the Fly Lens 85 in the virtual world before taking it out to the real skies!

What spare parts should I stock up on?

Good idea to have spares of easily breakable parts on hand for repairs. I recommend getting at least 4 full sets of replacement propellers. Additional LED light strips are handy for customizing colors or replacing damaged strips.

It’s also smart to have extras of the plastic motor guards, as these can crack or snap off in crashes. And pick up an extra battery strap or two, since the rubber ones tend to wear out and snap over time.

Electronics-wise, having 1 or 2 extra ESCs on hand is good insurance in case of dead or damaged ESCs. The FA1 ESCs used on the Fly Lens 85 are fairly inexpensive. And extra motors are good too just in case, although the Flywoo 1404 8000KVs are durable.

Finally, some spare hardware like m2 and m3 screws, standoffs, rubber grommets, heat shrink, and zipties will prove handy for repairs and securing things back in place. A basic assortment of replacement hardware means you likely won’t need to wait for replacements if something breaks.

The Fly Lens 85 is fairly durable overall, but crashes happen! Stocking some spare props, guards, straps, and hardware will minimize down time if you break components. And you’ll save money buying in bulk versus one-off replacement parts after each incident. Happy flying and crash responsibly!

Final verdict on the Flywoo Flylens 85

I’m incredibly impressed with what Flywoo was able to achieve with the Fly Lens 85 micro cinewhoop. The performance and capability rival that of many much larger quads. Yet it comes in a super durable and lightweight 2.5″ package!

Considering it costs a fraction of other more “premium” micros, the value is absolutely insane. You simply won’t find another drone with these specs and tune at this price point.

Clearly a ton of design thought and component testing went into making the Fly Lens 85 so capable. Huge props to the Flywoo engineering team for pulling off something special here.

So if you’re looking for an extremely nimble and tuneful micro drone under 250g, the Fly Lens 85 is an easy top choice. It will blow you away with how aggressively you can chuck it around. Yet it still excels at smooth cinematic shots thanks to the low-vibration characteristics.

Whether you’re an experienced FPV pilot or total beginner, the Fly Lens 85 won’t disappoint. It’s approachable and durable enough for beginners to learn on. But offers insane performance that even experts will appreciate.

I can’t recommend this baller little micro cinewhoop enough! It’s absolutely going into my regular rotation of go-to FPV drones. The Fly Lens 85 hits the sweet spot in pretty much every area. Don’t sleep on this one – it’s an absolute ripper!

To pick up the Flywoo Fly Lens 85, head over to [insert link]. And let me know your impressions if you end up taking the plunge on this impressive FPV quad!

Clear skies and happy flying!