I’ve received my HDZero Goggle beta unit, and wanted to share my first impressions. I haven’t yet done thorough testing, and will be reviewing the goggle in detail once I’ve had more time with it. But I felt that I had enough opinions already to give my initial impressions of the build quality, comfort, displays, and functionality.
I’ll also give a few comparisons against other goggles you might have used, including the Skyzone 04X and DJI V2 goggles.
I know I have a reputation for product photos, but I haven’t taken the time to thoroughly photograph the goggles yet. So this first impressions article is a bit light on the pictures, but stay tuned for more to come 🙂
Disclaimer: I purchased the HDZero goggle at a beta discount, at the same price as all other beta testers (this is a fairly large group of people). No conditions have been placed on what I’m allowed to say about the product, good or bad, and no money or other compensation has changed hands.
Packaging
I was extremely impressed with the presentation and build quality of the HDZero goggle. The packaging gave me immediate confidence in the product. It ships in a retail-quality box containing a padded foam section to secure the goggles and a small Accessories box for the power cable, extra faceplate, and cleaning cloth. It sounds silly, but this matters–it’s apparent that Divimath takes this seriously as a product and wants to give customers a pleasant unboxing experience.
The package also contains a card with quick-start information, such as how the menu controls work and what each goggle OSD element means, which is a nice touch.
Build Quality
If I had to sum up the build quality of the HDZero goggle, I’d do it by stealing something one of the other beta testers said: You would not know that this was the first FPV goggle HDZero has made.
I wasn’t sure what to expect here, but the build quality of the HDZero Goggle is fantastic, and absolutely on par with other FPV goggles I’ve used. The plastic shell feels substantial, with no creaking and minimal flex to it, and the finish feels high-quality. Both the white body and black bottom have more of a matte finish, which I appreciate–it looks more premium to me than a glossy surface finish. The headstrap loops are made of metal, which is a welcome feature I wasn’t expecting. Overall, the HDZero Goggle feels very robust and well-built.
Speaking of the black, it’s not really black. On the beta units, it’s more of a very dark green, although different users have reported seeing different colors, either due to lighting or personal perception (maybe this is the 2022 version of “that dress”). I’ve heard that the color is intentionally “not black” because it’s easier to produce reliably and consistently this way, but I don’t know if the color will change for the production units. I like it regardless, and it’s dark enough that I don’t notice it’s green unless I inspect it very closely.
Similar to other FPV goggles, the HDZero Goggle includes two faceplate options, which snap on to the body of the goggle. These faceplates have Velcro glued to them, allowing you to attach the face foam to your faceplate of choice. In my testing, the glue used for the Velcro seemed like it might start peeling up with repeated removal of the foam. I don’t think this is a big issue, but it’s good to be aware that you won’t want to install and remove the face foam too often.
Comfort
One of the biggest reasons I’ve been looking forward to the HDZero Goggle is for the reduced weight and bulk on my head as compared to the Skyzone 04X + HDZero VRX setup I’ve been using. Since you wear FPV goggles for the entire duration of your flying, it’s important for the goggles to be comfortable, and this is something that has always been a downside to HDZero.
In short, I’m pleased with the comfort of the HDZero Goggle, and find them to be on par or better than other FPV goggles I’ve used. The weight, while heavier than analog FPV goggles, is lighter than my 04X + HDZero VRX setup, and the goggle stays on my head securely and molds nicely to the shape of my face. I really didn’t have a single complaint about the feeling on my head, and everything felt natural and correct.
The headstrap included with the HDZero Goggle is significantly nicer than what I’m used to seeing on FPV goggles. It’s the thicker style similar to the FatStrap straps, and is a nice elastic material with the HDZero logo printed on. The strap secures to the goggle with a metal snap on each end, which you thread through the metal strap lugs. I have a FatStrap-brand strap on my Skyzone 04X, and honestly, this HDZero one is better. It’s a nice bonus that this was included for free.
Controls/Menus
After plugging in a 4S 1300mAh LiPo battery with the included XT60 cable, I powered on the HDZero Goggle to try out the controls and menus. The power button for the goggle isn’t a power button, it’s a power switch, which I find to be a great improvement here. With a switch, you can either leave the battery plugged in and turn the goggle off and on with the switch, or you can leave the switch in the “on” position and simply unplug the battery after flying.
It’s great to have these options, but I especially like that with a switch, I can flip it on and immediately know the goggles will turn on. This is greatly preferable over a momentary button like what you see on the Skyzone 04X, where you have to hold the button down for an indeterminate amount of time to power on the goggle.
Once the HDZero goggle powers up (a process that is slower than most goggles at around 10 seconds), you navigate through the menus using a rotary dial on the top left side of the goggle. The dial turns easily, but has soft detents to allow you to easily scroll precisely through the lists of options. To select a menu option, you press a button in the center of the dial controller. The only other button on the goggle is a “Function” button located on the top right portion of the goggle.
This simple control scheme works very well, making it easy and intuitive to navigate through the menus. In comparison to other goggles I find this to be a similar level of usability as the clickable scroll wheels on the Skyzone 04X, with the slight refinement of only having one wheel instead of two (there is less chance of forgetting which wheel controls which function). Compared to the DJI V2 goggles, this control scheme is simpler and more usable than the directional joystick and button scheme on those goggles.
The menu system works well and has a more modern appearance than most FPV goggles, although DJI still has the edge here. I can see a few areas for improvement; for example, in some of the sub-menus it’s not always clear which item is selected. In some cases, I thought an indicator was telling me that there was a sub-menu for a certain option, when it was actually just telling me that option was selected. I have no doubt that this will improve with future firmware updates, especially since the software for the HDZero Goggle is open source, but I also think I’ll get used to it.
In most cases, the menus felt snappy, although I did note that when I first boot up the goggle, it scans through the channels before allowing me to move to other menu settings. I’m hoping to see this change so I can navigate through the menus without waiting for that initial scan.
Displays
We know the displays are one of the most important aspects of any FPV goggle, and I couldn’t wait to see how the HDZero Goggle stood up to the competition. The goggle features 1920×1080 90fps OLED displays, but with HDZero currently limited to 720p, do you get any tangible improvements with these new displays?
The answer is yes, you certainly do. I noticed that the displays were more crisp and had better color reproduction than the displays in my Skyzone 04X, even in a side-by-side test with the same HDZero camera and VTX in use. I was also able to see the entire display in focus–not a guarantee, given that some other goggles with large displays have been plagued with focus issues on the edge of the frame.
To adjust focus and IPD, you use controls on the bottom of the goggle. IPD is similar to other goggles I’ve used, where you move a slider under each display to the left or right to adjust the position of the display. However, focus is now controlled via a knob for each display. The knob is labeled with numbers, and moves firmly between positions. I greatly prefer this over some of the other systems I’ve used; it seems more likely to stay in place, and is easy to adjust for the correct focus. The diopter range seemed similar to other goggles I’ve used, but the faceplate also includes cutouts for aftermarket lens inserts if you have need for those.
But the thing about displays that everyone really wants to talk about is the field of view (FOV). To cover that, I’m going to compare it against the 04X and DJI V2 goggles.
Compared to the Skyzone Sky04X
The HDZero Goggle and 04X have a fairly major difference in their displays: The HDZero Goggle has a 16:9 native display, but the 04X has a 4:3 native display. What that means is that the HDZero Goggle can display its largest possible image in 16:9, whereas the 04X displays its largest possible image in 4:3.
In 4:3 mode, the 04X has a 46 degree FOV, compared to the 38.25 degree FOV of the HDZero goggles since they have to take a 4:3 crop of the center of the display. This is a tangible difference, and something you will notice if you fly with both goggles side-by-side. After a few batteries, I found myself getting used to the smaller display on the HDZero Goggle, and ultimately didn’t find it to a major issue for me, but the display certainly is smaller than the 04X in 4:3.
In 16:9 mode, the opposite is true. The HDZero Goggle gives you a large 16:9 view at 46 degree FOV, whereas the 04X is a slightly smaller 42.5 degrees. It definitely feels to me like 16:9 is the way to go on these goggles if you can deal with the lesser vertical FOV from your camera–the display seems to fill your vision and makes for an immersive flying experience. This makes me wonder if we might see wider-angle lenses on future HDZero cameras to allow for a wider field of view in 16:9 mode.
In terms of the display quality, the HDZero Goggle clearly has a better display than the 04X. Colors are more saturated and everything is sharper, even with a 720p image that the 04X should be able to display with no downscaling. This makes me really look forward to the upcoming 1080p 30fps mode for HDZero.
Compared to the DJI FPV Goggles V2
The DJI V2 goggles use 16:9 native displays, but use LCD displays rather than OLED. In comparison with the HDZero Goggle, the DJI V2 displays appear washed out and have less contrast. Their only strength over the HDZero Goggle is in FOV – in 16:9, the 54 degree FOV is notably larger than the 46 degree FOV of the HDZero Goggle, and in 4:3, it’s a similarly-wide gap of 45 degrees for the DJI V2 and 38.25 degrees for the HDZero.
The DJI goggles are one of the few modern FPV goggles that are large enough to wear glasses with. As someone who wears glasses, I do like that I can easily put on and remove those goggles without taking my glasses off, but in use I don’t find it to be any better than the focus adjustments give me on the HDZero Goggle. The downside to the DJI design is size, with the DJI V2 being physically larger than the HDZero Goggle.
I have never had an issue with the image quality from the DJI V2 goggles, but speaking only about display quality, the HDZero Goggle is clearly better. The OLED displays are simply much better in color and contrast than the LCDs in the DJI V2. However, if FOV is the only thing you care about, the DJI V2 is still ahead.
Flight Tests, and What’s Next
I’ve only just started testing the HDZero Goggle, and there’s still a lot of testing I want to do before I give deep opinions on the functionality. What I’ll say for now is this: this goggle has me excited to fly again in a way I haven’t felt in quite some time. Between the integrated video receiver, the improved displays, intuitive menus, and general comfort, I’ve been having a lot of fun trying these out and already know this is going to be a big improvement to my HDZero experience.
I’m impressed with the overall quality of the hardware and software in this beta unit. Even though testers have identified several small bugs, nothing has been a showstopper and I haven’t hit any issues that prevent me from having a fun time using the goggle. This is a really impressive first FPV goggle from the HDZero brand, and I’m expecting it to live up to our hopes of it being a new top-end goggle choice.
Stay tuned to this site for more of my thoughts as I continue to test the HDZero Goggle. If you’re considering buying a pair or are waiting on yours to ship, make sure to look at my page of recommended accessories to grab the other things you need to get started. And if you have any questions or thoughts on these first impressions, or if there’s something specific you’d like to see me test, you can find me on the HDZero Discord server.