I\u2019m hoping DJI\u2019s affordable new FPV goggles will be the missing puzzle piece<\/a> \u2014 a way to cheaply buy the \u201cIt feels like I\u2019m flying!\u201d experience I had with the DJI Avata<\/a> for maybe $400 or $500 tops, rather than the current $800 to $1,000 you might have to pay. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n See, the company announced its budget $199 Neo drone<\/a> in September that works with goggles, and today it\u2019s announcing the $229 DJI Goggles N3<\/a>. Add a $99 RC Motion 3 controller and you get airplane-like flight, with first-person video that puts you in the virtual cockpit. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n But I can\u2019t quite confirm that it\u2019s worth your money yet \u2014 because DJI says my unit likely shipped with a defect, and I\u2019ll need a little more testing time. More on that below. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n At $229, the Goggles N3 are definitely less expensive than previous pairs, saving you $120 over the company\u2019s $349 Goggles Integra, its previous budget set, and they\u2019re less than half the price of the premium $499 DJI Goggles 3. Yet they\u2019ve got the same one-tap defogging (using an internal fan) and DJI O4 video transmission as the Goggles 3. I flew the Neo just as far with the DJI\u2019s cheapest and most expensive goggles before the signal cut out and the drone found its way home. You still get headtracking so you can look up and down while you\u2019re flying forward, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On paper, the N3 even seem better than the more premium models in a couple ways: a wider 54-degree field of view (compare to 44 degrees), an eyebox so big you can put your prescription glasses inside, with no need to twist knobs to make the lenses match your vision, the company claims. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n But instead of the crisp, colorful, perfect micro-OLED screens included in all of DJI\u2019s other modern FPV goggles, the N3 has a single, comparatively washed-out LCD screen inside. To aim that panel at your face, there\u2019s a big diagonal optic inside (not unlike a periscope) to bounce the light at a right angle. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the case of my review unit, the center of my screen seems to be aimed at the center of my nosepiece. With no way to adjust the lenses, I\u2019m stuck with an out-of-focus image all the time. Not being able to properly see anything has got to be a fluke, right? DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong tells me over the phone that I might have a defective unit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If it is just a fluke, I\u2019d be fine with most of the other corners DJI has cut. I could live with a slightly washed out image. I don\u2019t miss the loss of the Goggles 3\u2019s barely useful passthrough vision or silicone padding \u2014 fabric\u2019s good enough for me. I don\u2019t terribly mind that the Goggles N3 has a visible cable sticking out the side instead of weaving it into the headband like previous models. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n While it\u2019s heavier, it\u2019s only 2.3 ounces (65g) heavier than the Goggles 3 according to my kitchen scale, and it\u2019s still reasonably balanced out by the integrated battery at the back of the headset. Frankly, even the Goggles N3 has more wireless range and more fancy features than I typically need. But the core of the experience needs to be a crisp, clear look through the eye of the drone. I\u2019ll let you know if that materializes in the next couple of weeks. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n I should also note that the DJI Neo isn\u2019t anywhere near as good as the Avata or Avata 2 at being an FPV drone, simply because of its weight and power ratios \u2014 it\u2019s not as nimble as those more dedicated models, and the wind can more easily push it around.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Like them or not, DJI doesn\u2019t have a lot of other affordable FPV options on the table. The company recently discontinued its $829 Avata Explorer Combo (though you can find some refurbished deals<\/a>), and Kong says there are \u201cno current plans\u201d to let you use the $350 Goggles Integra with the DJI Neo, even though DJI now lets you use the Avata 2 and DJI Mini 4 Pro with the Integra. So if you don\u2019t like the Goggles N3, the $500 Goggles 3 is the only other set that currently works with the Neo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n