Review: BetaFPV Pavo25 Cinewhoop

by Oscar
Betafpv Pavo25 Cinewhoop Fpv Drone Quadcopter Front Naked Gopro

The new BetaFPV Pavo25 FPV drone is an upgrade version of the 95X V3. The main changes are the frame, gyro in the FC and camera. The Pavo25 frame took inspirations from the Pavo30, reduces complexity and optimizes in both performance and durability at the same time.

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Where to Buy?

The Pavo25 cinewhoop is available in analog and DJI FPV systems. Optional receivers are PNP, ExpressLRS 2.4GHz and TBS Crossfire. I will be reviewing the DJI FPV version with ELRS 2.4GHz receiver.

Betafpv Pavo25 Cinewhoop Fpv Drone Quadcopter Unbox Accessories It comes with the following accessories:

  • 1 * Pavo25 Whoop Quadcopter (HD Digital VTX áor Analog VTX)
  • 4 * Gemfan D63 (2CW+2CCW) 3-Blades Props
  • 1 * Spare 180mm Battery Strap
  • 2 * Spare EVA Foam Tape (Black)
  • 2 * Spare EVA Foam Tape (Red)
  • 4 * 3M Double-Sided Tapes
  • 1 * SMO4K Camera Mount
  • 1 * SMO4K Power Cable
  • 1 * M5*18 Screws
  • 1 * M5 Anti-slip Nut
  • 10 * M2*7 Screws

LiPo Battery is not included, grab them here:

Betafpv 4s 750mah Lipo Battery

You might also want to get some spare propellers (Gemfan D63 3-blade):

Pavo25 Specifications

  • Wheelbase: 108mm
  • Motor: 1404 4500KV
  • Props: Gemfan D63-3B
  • FC/ESC: BetaFPV F405 AIO 20A Toothpick V4 (BMI270 Gyro)
  • FPV Camera and VTX
    • DJI FPV: Caddx Nebula Pro Nano + Vista
    • Analog:  Caddx Baby Ratel2 + A03 400mW VTX
  • Camera Adjustable Angle: 0°-50°
  • Receiver Options: PNP/ELRS 2.4G/TBS Crossfire
  • Battery Connector: XT30
  • Recommend Battery Size: 4S 750mAh/4S 850mAh (Not included)
  • Flight Time (Reference Only): 7.5 mins (HD)/8.5 mins (Analog), using 4S 750mAh battery without an action camera
  • Weight (DJI FPV, my measurements)
    • Without Battery and Camera: 155g
    • With 4S 750mAh: 236g
    • With 4S 750mAh and Naked GoPro 6: 272g
Betafpv Pavo25 Cinewhoop Fpv Drone Quadcopter Size Compare Holybro

size comparison to the Holybro 2.5″ cinewhoop

Since the Pavo25 is an upgrade to the Beta95X, here is a table of comparison. Here’s my review of the Beta95X V3.

Pavo25 Beta95X V3
Wheelbase 108mm 95mm
Weight (W/O Battery) 155g 116g
Recommended LiPo 4S 750mAh/850mAh 4S 450mAh
Receiver Options PNP/ELRS/Crossfire Frsky/Crossfire/PNP
DJI FPV System Caddx Nebula Pro Nano + Vista Caddx Nebula Nano + Vista
Analog FPV System Caddx Baby Ratel2+A03 400mW Caddx Ant Camera+M02 25-350mW
FPV Camera Tilt Angle 0°-50° 25°- 45°
Gyro BMI270 MPU6000
Recommended Battery 4S 750mAh 4S 450mAh

Closer Look at the BetaFPV Pavo25

The new Pavo25 frame is sturdier than the 95X V3, but also heavier. Therefore a larger battery is recommended (from 4S 450-650mah to 750-850mAh), which brings the AUW even higher.

Betafpv Pavo25 Cinewhoop Fpv Drone Quadcopter

Although they are still using the same 1404 4500KV motors and 2.5″ tri-blade props, I don’t feel any lack of power even when carrying the heavy GoPro 10 Bones camera (60g).

Betafpv Pavo25 Cinewhoop Fpv Drone Quadcopter Duct Motor Prop Guard

The specs of the electronics are mostly similar to the 95X V3 with a couple of changes.

They switched out the gyro in the flight controller. The previous one was reported causing jello and tuning issues (I didn’t have such issue), the new gyro might be able to address that.

The Pavo25 frame is using a new type of plastic (PA12) along with a new duct design, it’s so much more rigid and stronger, there’s almost no flex at all.

The top plate is 2.5mm thick carbon fibre.

The TPU battery holder has a 30mm width, which means it only supports batteries of this size, so be aware.

Betafpv Pavo25 Cinewhoop Fpv Drone Quadcopter Top Plate Battery Mount The Pavo 25 also offers a better antenna mount design, great for range.

Betafpv Pavo25 Cinewhoop Fpv Drone Quadcopter Vtx Rx Antenna Mount

The clearance between the duct and prop is a bit wider on the new frame than the 95X V3, and because of the stronger duct design, the dimensions of the quad have become slightly wider and longer.

Betafpv Pavo25 Cinewhoop Fpv Drone Quadcopter Frame Bottom

Although it’s heavier, I really enjoy the new frame design. It’s well though-out, compared to the 95X v3, it’s much easier to pop open and do repair as there are only 6 screws. There’s also a lot more room for receiver and the wires.

The FC USB port is located on the top plate, no need to use an angle USB adapter anymore which is handy.

All the components (FC/ESC, VTX, RX, camera) are attached to the top plate.

Betafpv Pavo25 Cinewhoop Fpv Drone Quadcopter Take Apart Electronics

I am super excited to see they switched out the Nebula Nano to the Nebula Nano Pro, it has much better image quality as well as lower latency mode (120FPS).

They no longer use rubber dampers to isolate the cameras from the frame, it’s now hard mounted to the top plate using a TPU mount. In my testing I didn’t notice any jello. Perhaps those rubber dampers would help if the quad has some small oscillations or when the props are slightly bent, but I think as long as the quad is in good condition and is tuned properly it’s not really an issue. Not to mention Reelsteady is pretty good at removing any wobbles.

Betafpv Pavo25 Cinewhoop Fpv Drone Quadcopter Camera Mount

The provided TPU camera mount is for the SMO 4K camera, it doesn’t really fit well for any of the Naked GoPro’s unfortunately.

Betafpv Pavo25 Cinewhoop Fpv Drone Quadcopter Front Naked Gopro

When you plug in the battery, the RGB LED at the rear lights up. It’s useful for drone chasing, and finding your drone in the dark.

Betafpv Pavo25 Cinewhoop Fpv Drone Quadcopter Lipo Connect Rear Led

How to Setup for First Flight

It came with Betaflight 4.3.0 (Apr 15 release). FC target is BETAFPVF405. Stock CLI dump can be found here. Note that USB cable does not power the RX, you need to plug in your battery.

Setup is easy:

  • setup switches for arm/angle mode/beeper/flip over after crash
  • rearrange OSD, most of the elements can’t be displayed and can go because it’s DJI system
  • bind Vista to DJI goggles (Vista needs activation first, but no need to update as it’s already on latest firmware)
  • bind ELRS receiver (connect power 3 times to enter bind mode)

Flight Performance

Flight time w/o GoPro on 4S 750mAh (flies like a maniac) is around 4 minutes 30 seconds. That’s slightly shorter flight time than the 95X V3, most likely due to the 40g extra weight.

Flight time with Hero10 Bones on 4S 750mAh (cruising) is about 3 minutes 40 seconds.

Some flight footage here:

The Pavo25 cinewhoop can carry the GoPro Hero10 Bones with ease, power feels similar to the Flywoo Venom I recently reviewed. It flies very stable and locked when cruising, there’s no jerks or wobbles like the Venom in slow flights, it’s a perfect indoor filming platform.

However it’s not my top choice for acro flying. For some strange reasons it twitches when doing split-S or try to recover from a high dive. Also when it’s windy, it tends to “glide” and doesn’t want to come down even when you drop throttle all the way down. That doesn’t happen when it’s calm though, so it’s not a deal breaker if your main focus is flying indoor. If you want something for acro outdoor, the Venom is probably better.

Noise level is similar to the 95X V3, and it’s noticeably louder than the Venom.

I have to say the Pavo25 has very precise control, I really enjoy flying it in close proximity, even more than the Venom, probably because the motors are bigger and have more torque, hence more responsive.

Also the camera in this quad is much better than the ones in the Venom and 95X V3. Not only image quality is better, it can do 120FPS which has noticeably lower latency (yes I can feel it when flying them back to back).

However, the TPU camera mount on the Pavo25 didn’t survive long, after a few crashes it just broke. Currently I “fixed it” by strapping it down with a zip-tie, still going strong :)

Update (18 Aug 2022): BetaFPV told me they’ve found the issue with the relatively  weak TPU camera mount, and they’ll provide a stronger mount from now on.

Betafpv Pavo25 Cinewhoop Broken Camera Mount

Not sure if the crash was too hard, or the GoPro Bones is simply too heavy for it to handle (60g), after all it’s twice as heavy as a typical naked GoPro (around 25-30g). Apart from that it works great, no jello/vibration whatsoever. I hope they make a more sturdy camera mount in the future and it would be a great whoop for indoor filming.

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11 comments

Yoann CUAZ 18th November 2023 - 6:31 pm

And, with BF 4.4.2, i was unable to revert motor direction in the motor section, i don’t know why… but the motor direction dont change.

I solved it by reverse motors direction directly in the ESC configuration tool BLHELI32 Suite.

Reply
Yoann 1st November 2023 - 3:56 pm

Hi everyone, from what I’ve read the current PAVO 25 (2023) being equipped with an F405 chip and a BMI270 gyroscope, it is wise to switch the motor protocol to DSHOT300. The basic configuration offered by BetaFPV seems to be not well suited and requires a bit of tuning.

Reply
Marvin Montero 24th November 2022 - 7:16 pm

What what would be the orientation of the blade if you do props out?

Apart from motor direction, any other changes to config need to do?

Reply
Oscar 24th November 2022 - 8:02 pm

The orientation in the review is props out.
To reverse it, you need to disable “reverse motor direction” in the motors tab in Betaflight configurator and also reverse all the motor directions (you can do this in the motor tab as well). Finally swap the props with opposite direction.

Reply
John 12th August 2022 - 9:40 am

Oscar, I’ve had issues with the ‘gliding’ you’re referring to on two ducted quads. Going from props out back to props in fixed it. Couldn’t figure out any other way to solve it (spent like weeks on this).

Reply
Alex 5th September 2022 - 2:40 am

I’ve confirm, that ‘props in’ on the pavo25 solve ‘gliding’ problem.

Reply
Jason 30th October 2022 - 5:58 am

Hi there Alex & John, is there an easy way to flip to ‘props in’ just within BF or will i need to get into the ESC tuner to fix it there as well — also since this is a pusher is there anything else special that’s needed to do?

Reply
Oscar 30th October 2022 - 11:54 am

You can do it in Betaflight.
Go to the motors tab, and disable “motor direction is reversed”, click “Save”.
Then go back to the same tab, click the button “motor direction” to reverse your motor direction (basically to reverse all of them).
That’s it.

Reply
Chi Fai Li 19th July 2022 - 7:59 am

Hi , New Pavo25 frame compare 95 V3 difference , easy to break , I use RunCam Thumb Action Camera to TPU mount same tattered , Not worth buying and upgrading .

Reply
DukeyFPV 8th July 2022 - 5:18 pm

I really don’t like the Pavo25 in comparison to 95x V3. Sure the Quality of Life Features are great, but adding basically the weight of a whole naked Gopro without significant improvements to the Motors etc seems like a tough pill to swallow. Especially since the Motor+Props Combo is on the louder side anyways, the Pavo will be even louder because of the higher hover thrust needed. I’m glad to see this in your review, since most reviewers dont even mention it. But on a 2.5 inch addin more than 20% of weight for Better disassembly? Yikes

Reply
Jonathan 5th March 2023 - 9:04 am

Could still buy the frame and roll your own. I’m thinking 5-blade and 1506 3000KV.

Reply