In this review of the Caddx Polar FPV camera, we will be comparing its image quality to other existing DJI FPV system compatible cameras such as the Nebula Nano, Nebula Pro and Runcam MIPI. Thanks to Caddx for sending the Polar in for testing.
Table of Contents
Where to Buy?
Caddx Polar Camera Only:
- AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com
- GetFPV: https://oscarliang.com/product-f5tq
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/3IOSkL9
- Caddx: https://oscarliang.com/product-agow
Polar + Vista Combo:
Specs and Features
The Caddx Polar is known for its excellent low light performance. And it actually offers great image in day light too.
It’s fully compatible with both DJI full size Air Unit, and Caddx Vista VTX. See this post for instructions how to swap cameras.
However, just like the Nebula Pro and Runcam MIPI, it only supports 60FPS in 16:9, it does NOT support low latency mode (120FPS) and 4:3 aspect ratio.
- Image Sensor: 1/1.8″ Inch 2.3Mega starlight sensor
- Dimensions: 24mm*19mm*19mm
- Min.Latency: 720p/60fps<32ms
- FOV: 162°(D); 138°(H); 75°(V)
- Min. Illumination: 0.00003Lux
- LENS: F/1.6 & 8M
- Color: Brown /Silver
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Weight: 9g
Left: Nebula Nano, Middle: Polar, Right: Nebula Pro
Latency Bad?
To be honest I don’t really feel any extra latency from the Polar, it feels just like other DJI compatible cameras I have tried. Not having the 120FPS support might have an impact on latency but it’s really not an issue to my flying, it only takes a couple of flights to get used to.
Image Quality
I will be comparing the Caddx Polar to the Nebula Nano, Nebula Pro and Runcam MIPI side by side.
The Nebula Pro probably has the most neutral white balance and saturation. All other cameras are quite heavy on contrast as well, so you don’t get as much detail in the shadow. Also, because the Nebula Pro uses the full 4:3 image sensor, you get a much wider vertical field of view (FOV) which can be helpful when flying through small gaps and spaces.
When it comes to WDR (wide dynamic range), the Polar, MIPI and Nebula Nano seem to perform slightly better in this scenario.
When it comes to image detail and sharpness, I like the Polar the most.
And this is where the Polar shines – in low light… :D I tested them just after the sun set with less than a minute apart between testing each camera.
While the Nebula Nano struggled to see, the Nebula Pro simply couldn’t see anything at all. Interestingly both the Caddx Polar and Runcam MIPI still get a flyable image, but the Polar has a slight edge over the MIPI, as you can see there’s much less noise.
Conclusion
The Caddx Polar is a well balanced camera and has much better image quality than the Nebula Nano. It’s an alternative to the Caddx Nebula Pro as it has been out of stock for quite some time now due to “chip shortage”, and it will probably stay that way for the next few months at least.
To sum it up:
- Day flying – Nebula Pro
- Night flying & Day flying Alternative – Polar / MIPI
- Micro builds – Nebula Nano
6 comments
Hi Oscar,
What would be your opinions in 2024 though ?
Thanks.
My opinion remains the same, there hasn’t been any new cameras released for the DJI Vista system really, and I don’t think there will ever be with the release of o3 two years ago and now we are expecting o4 on the horizon. This system is 2 gens behind.
Hi Oscar my casddx vista with the polar camera settings are shaded out..
Great review as always, have a chance to get a nebula Pro and I was wanting to compare it against the polar.. I’ve also wondered why you still can’t get another dji camera or a nebula camera because of the chip semiconductor shortage but yet there the new polar, and mipi.
The chip shortage is an odd one. I design pcbs and it’s all over the place. When they say chip shortage, it doesn’t mean the sensor chip itself… They mean basically everything. Caps, filters, even some inductors are hard to get these days. DJI prob just got tired trying to find parts through 3rd party distributors. When they designed the Polar, they prob planned for a good year and bought out all the parts needed for a good run for a year while they were doing the schematics, etc. That’s what we do now just so we can release products. Sucks hard these days. I’m constantly updating my boms to get around parts that are short.
Great post. Please keep the cameras in the same order on the screenshot grid. It makes it easier to compare looking from one to another.