The Beta65X HD is probably the first ever 65mm tiny whoop that’s capable of recording 1080p 60FPS HD videos. Is it as good as it sounds? Let’s find out in this review.
Where to Buy the Beta65X HD?
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/36IjHEt
- GetFPV: https://bit.ly/36KCS0p
- RDQ: https://bit.ly/3cobFlC
- BetaFPV: https://bit.ly/2Xj4O8N
They offer a wide range of receiver options: Frsky FCC and LBT, Futaba, DSMX, Flysky and TBS Crossfire.
It comes with a spare canopy, screwdriver, a set of spare propellers and two 1S 300mAh BT2.0 batteries (forgot to show in picture below).
Hardware Overview
- FC: F4 AIO 2S board (integrated 5A ESC)
- Motors: 0802 14000KV Motor with 1mm shaft
- Props: Gemfan 31mm 3-blade
- Camera: BetaFPV Nano HD Camera
- VTX: BetaFPV 25mW VTX
The dry weight of the Beta65X HD is 30.5g. Including two 1S batteries, it weighs 46.8g.
Closer Look at the Beta65X HD
The frame appears to be identical to the Meteor 65 frame but in black color. However the canopy plastic is much harder and stiffer, it is heavier, but I think it’s worth the extra weight.
Meteor65, Beta65X HD, NBD BeeBrain V2
The camera tilt angle is around 30 degrees, and sadly you cannot change it.
You can access the SD card slot on the side, SD card not included, see my SD card recommendations.
Motors are 0802 14000KV, which is unusually high for 2S power, normally we see 10000KV or 12000K used on 2S.
Removing the canopy reveals the electronics.
The HD camera is called “BetaFPV Nano HD camera“, but I am pretty sure it’s just a rebranded Caddx Baby Turtle with a smaller camera module.
It can record 1080p 60FPS videos while being used as an FPV camera. It comes in 6.8g only, possibly the lightest HD camera in the world! Even lighter than the Runcam Split Nano we reviewed last year.
The camera module has no screw holes, so it can only be mounted in a holder, and there is no way to adjust camera angle.
The camera board is mounted on top of the FC with silicon grommets, and is connected to the FC via a 6-pin header connector.
The FC has a built-in SPI receiver, and like any built-in SPI receiver, the range is just not ideal, only about 100 – 150 meters line of sight.
The quad is powered by two 1S LiPo batteries with BT2.0 connectors, in series. You will have to get extra batteries from BetaFPV, because only they sell BT2.0 batteries at the moment. Purchase batteries here.
You can’t fly the quad with just one battery, it takes 2S to turn on the camera.
The two batteries are mounted in a stack using a TPU 3D-printed holder, and doesn’t block propeller airflow. I really like this design.
Basic Setup
This is how I setup the Beta65X HD for my first flight.
First of all, connect the quad to Betaflight Configurator.
The quad comes with Betaflight 4.1.0, and I didn’t update the firmware. Board name is MATEKF411RX. Remember this quad runs “props out” (reverse motor rotation), if you update the firmware you should re-enable this option manually in the Configuration page.
Mine is the Frsky version, it can bind in both D16 or D8 (default is D16). Here is how to bind it to the radio:
- Go to CLI, and enter
bind_rx, this will put the quad in bind mode - On your radio, go to model setup and select the bind option
You can change camera settings using your radio sticks: mid throttle, yaw right to enter menu. Leave throttle at middle, and use roll and pitch to navigate.
Don’t forget to enable Air mode.
Setup rates and angle mode settings according to this post.
Setup Modes and arm switch.
VTX table is not setup properly out of the box, so you can’t change VTX channel in the OSD. All you have to do is disabling “Enter frequency directly”, and choose a start-up channel. That’s it!
I didn’t change PID and filters but it flies pretty well out of the box. Feel free to let me know in the comment if you come up with a better tune.
Conclusion
The weight of the Beta65X HD including batteries is 47g, vs the 32g of Meteor65, that’s a pretty big difference. I thought it’d fly like a tank.
But to my surprise, the Beta65X HD is pretty powerful! Some people complain it doesn’t have power, I don’t know what they are talking about. This thing is like a rocket, I even had to reduce top power in order to have better control when flying indoor. Of course I am comparing it to normal 65mm tiny whoops on 1S. If the Meteor65 is 5 out of 10 in terms of power, the Beta65X is definitely a solid 7.
Despite the 14000KV motors and 2S, BetaFPV reminded me that this quad isn’t for outdoor, but for indoor flights mainly, because it doesn’t handle the wind that well, at all. This is mostly due to the small propellers, and the extra weight from the HD camera as well as the extra 1S battery. Range is not great anyway due to the built-in SPI receiver, so I wouldn’t fly this in big open area.
Flight time is around 3 minutes, and you definitely should get more batteries as charging takes much longer than that. And sorry, if you already own some 1S batteries, you won’t be able to use them because they use BT2.0 connectors on the Beta65X HD. You will have to buy extra batteries with those connectors.
And you might find this 1S LiPo charger interesting, makes charging BT2.0 batteries easier.
The 30 degree camera angle is a bit too much for indoor flights to be honest, and you can’t change it which is annoying.
There is a little latency with the camera, it doesn’t really bother me when flying in open space, but when I fly indoor in tighter places, the latency becomes more noticeable and makes it slightly harder to fly (still flyable).
The HD footage quality is quite decent, search on Youtube for “Baby Turtle” you will find lots of example footage. Audio is okay if you only record yourself speaking, but the motors sound like a screaming pig and I don’t see anyone would use it in their videos.
Beta65X HD and Beta85 Pro 2
Overall, It’s a really impressive little drone! It’s amazing how they managed to put 1080p HD recording in this tiny form factor. Its strength is also its weakness, because of the small propeller size, its outdoor flight performance is hugely impacted. If you want a quad that flies reliably outdoor, maybe you should look for a bigger drone, maybe the Beta85X 4K or even a cinewhoops. But if you only fly indoor, or you just want the smallest possible drone with HD capability, then the Beta65X HD is currently the only option.
Get the Beta65X HD here:
- GetFPV: https://bit.ly/36KCS0p
- RDQ: https://bit.ly/3cobFlC
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/36IjHEt
- BetaFPV: https://bit.ly/2Xj4O8N
3 comments
How do you start recording HD with this drone?
there’s a button on the side, just press it to start recording
Hi!
It’s a great review, thank you.
I got one of this beta65xHD 3 weeks ago. But 2 weeks ago i found 1 of the ESC is dead.
Then I replaced the FC with the same type, but I couldn’t set the bidirectional motor settings.
It still can fly, but there’s always core temperature warning when I fly for 1 minutes. 1 week ago, 1 of the motor is dead in the normal use. I don’t know, man. I am just disapointed, becaus beta85x also has weak ESC & easily die.