In the case of 5-inch BNF drones with the DJI O4 system, I in contrast all of the obtainable choices and concluded that the GEPRC Vapor D5 was the most effective decide for me. So, I made a decision to purchased one and see the way it truly performs. On this evaluate, I’ll stroll you thru my expertise—overlaying its design, construct high quality, flight efficiency, and setup course of. In the event you’re contemplating this drone, this deep dive ought to show you how to resolve if it’s value it.
If you wish to see my thought course of on selecting this drone and in contrast it with different choices, see this publish: https://oscarliang.com/5inch-bnf-dji-o4-pro-comparison-feb-2025/
The place to Purchase
You should buy the GEPRC Vapor D5 from these distributors:
The GEPRC Vapor D5 comes these equipment:
- GEPRC Vapor D5 drone
- Two units of Gemfan Vanny Type 5136 props
- 2x battery straps
- 2x sticky battery pads
- 2x spare aspect panels (black)
- GoPro mount
- Hex keys (2x)
- Prop wrench
- Additional screws
- Pointed instrument for urgent the bind button on the O4
- Manuals
- Stickers & keyring
Specs
- Wheelbase: 238mm
- Carbon Plate Thickness: 2.0mm (prime/center), 2.5mm (backside), 5.0mm (arms)
- Flight Controller: GEP-F722-HD v2
- MCU: STM32F722
- Gyro: ICM42688-P (SPI)
- Barometer: Sure
- OSD: Betaflight OSD with AT7456E
- ESC: TAKER H60_BLS 60A 4IN1 ESC
- VTX and Digital camera: DJI O4 Air Unit Professional
- Battery Connector: XT60
- Motors: GEPRC SPEEDX2 2207E 1960KV
- Props: GEMFAN 5136
- Non-obligatory GPS: GEP-M10 GPS
- Receiver Choices PNP / GEPRC ELRS24 / TBS Nano RX
- Really helpful Battery 6S LiPo 1300mAh – 1800mAh
- Flight Time 14–19 minutes
- Weight:
- With out Battery: 488.4g
- With 6S 1100mAh LiPo: 698g
- With GoPro Hero 13 and 6S 1100mAh: 865g
Design and Construct High quality
Body
The Vapor D5 incorporates a lifeless cat body, which means the entrance props keep out of the digital camera’s view, making it good for cinematic flying. The chunky prime plate and vibrant orange aspect panels give it an aggressive, futuristic look.
- Carbon fiber arms: 5mm thick, sturdy, and inflexible.
- Prime & backside plates: 2mm and a couple of.5mm thick for stable affect resistance.
- Entrance CNC aluminum digital camera mount with mushy mounts: Safe and protects the delicate DJI O4 Professional digital camera.
- TPU antenna mounts: Versatile and designed to accommodate varied antenna varieties.
Design Particulars
The SD card slot and USB-C port of the O4 Professional Air Unit are conveniently positioned, making system entry fast and hassle-free.
The battery strap placement forces the LiPo to take a seat barely towards the rear when utilizing a typical 6S 1100mAh battery. At first look, this would possibly make the quad seem back-heavy, however surprisingly, the burden distribution remains to be completely balanced as a result of forward-mounted digital camera.
That mentioned, there’s loads of house on the highest plate, and in the event you’re not utilizing a GoPro, you possibly can simply match a bigger battery for prolonged flight time. A 6S 3000-4000mAh Li-ion pack could be good for long-range flights.
One Design Flaw: Receiver Antenna Placement
If there’s one factor I don’t like about this quad, it’s the receiver antenna placement—it seems like a lazy design alternative.
Certain, it can most likely work tremendous for shut vary flying like 1 to 2 kilometers, however this drone has a lot long-range potential (particularly with a big Li-ion battery), and an optimized antenna placement might considerably enhance vary and sign reliability.
Suggestion: Mounting the receiver antenna vertically to at least one aspect would assist stop sign blockage from different elements and maximize vary.
Internals and Electronics
Accessing the electronics is easy—merely take away the highest plate, which is secured by 10 bolts.
Lastly a BNF quad with out pointless RGB LEDs—a refreshing change within the FPV world. And the aspect plates are detachable – probably saving you over 15 grams!
All elements are linked through connectors, aside from the GPS, which is soldered to the board beneath. Logical and sensible wire/capacitor placement—nice consideration to element within the design.
Soldering and construct high quality are top-notch—GEPRC clearly put thought into the design. FC boot button is well accessible—it faces outward to the aspect, so there’s no have to take away the highest plate to press it. And it features a buzzer—an often-overlooked however extremely helpful function.
Points & Annoyances
FC USB Port Cutout is Too Small
The aspect plate cutout for the FC USB port is just 11x6mm, making it too tight for many cables. I needed to attempt like 4 or 5 completely different cables earlier than discovering one that hardly match. In the event you don’t have a USB cable with slim connector, you’ll have to take away the aspect plate simply to connect with Betaflight Configurator—not a deal breaker however annoying nonetheless.
USB Energy Doesn’t Provide Receiver or GPS
The USB connection doesn’t energy the receiver or GPS—you will need to plug in a LiPo for these to operate. Not a serious challenge, however it makes bench testing and setup barely extra inconvenient.
Flight Efficiency
First Flight Impression
My first flight expertise with the GEPRC Vapor D5 was nothing in need of exhilarating. Powered by a 6S 1100mAh battery, the quad felt extremely responsive and highly effective. No jello or noticeable vibrations, even when pushed to the restrict. Surprisingly quiet in comparison with different 6S 5-inch FPV drones—probably as a consequence of body design and aerodynamics.
- Hover throttle: ~19%
- Prime velocity: ~165 km/h
It’s quick, however not absolutely the quickest 5-inch quad I’ve examined. Given the excessive KV motors, I anticipated a bit extra velocity, however the bigger/heavier body most likely stability issues out.
Tuning
Out of the field, the GEPRC Vapor D5 is well-tuned, flying easily and responsively. I’d say it’s an ideal possibility for each cinematic flying and freestyle. Motors keep cool—even after 3 minutes of aggressive freestyle, they barely get heat. Inventory tune is stable—most pilots most likely received’t have to tweak a lot until they need most efficiency.
That mentioned, there’s nonetheless room for enchancment. There’s minor instability when recovering from lengthy dives and sharp turns—not a deal-breaker, however noticeable. Tuning changes might assist, however with correct piloting, you possibly can masks these imperfections. For cinematic flying, this received’t matter a lot—these strikes aren’t usually utilized in easy, cinematic flight types.
Effectivity and Flight Time
If there’s one main draw back, it’s flight time—the Vapor D5 just isn’t probably the most environment friendly quad. GEPRC claims as much as 14 minutes of flight time, however that’s probably in low-throttle cruising circumstances with an enormous battery. With a typical 6S 1100mAh battery, I received solely about 3 minutes of flight time when flying aggressively, and about 4 minutes if I ease off throttle. With a 6S 4000mAh Li-ion battery, flight time improves to 12-13 minutes—it’s okay for some mid to long-range flights.
Why is it inefficient? Three most important causes:
- Massive body—extra air resistance.
- Comparatively heavy weight—motors have to work more durable to take care of velocity.
- Excessive KV motors—extra energy, however much less effectivity particularly at mid to excessive throttle.
Additionally, the present sensor appeared to overestimate amp draw—I needed to improve the present sensor scale to 195 to handle this challenge.
GPS
Though the FC USB port doesn’t energy the GPS, I used to be pleasantly shocked by its glorious efficiency at how fast it will get a repair:
- 3D repair (8 satellites) inside a minute of plugging within the LiPo—even with the VTX powered on on the identical time.
- After 5 minutes, it locked onto 23 satellites—distinctive efficiency for a BNF drone.
This implies that GEPRC is utilizing a high-quality M10 GPS module, which is right for Betaflight Rescue Mode. For long-range pilots, this sturdy GPS efficiency is a serious benefit, making certain a dependable return-to-home failsafe.
The GPS mount additionally has adjustable tilt angle which ensures it stay stage throughout flight.
Setup
Out of the Field Setup
Earlier than the primary flight, I did the next:
- Eliminated all labels on the drone.
- Eliminated the motor route playing cards—these point out the motor spin route (which is utilizing Betaflight default – props in).
- Eliminated the protecting movie from the digital camera lens.
- Put in the 2 O4 antennas within the 3D-printed TPU mount (keep away from sharp bends within the wires).
- Positioned the battery pad on the highest plate.
- Put in the 2 battery straps—in the event you’re having bother becoming them by means of the holes, simply take away the highest plate first.
Firmware
- The flight controller (FC) board goal is GEPRCF722, and it comes preloaded with Betaflight firmware model 4.5.1. For inventory CLI Diff, see right here.
- ESC Firmware: ESC 1: B-X-30 – Bluejay, 0.21.0, 48kHz
- ELRS Receiver Firmware Goal: GEPRC Nano 2.4GHz PA100 RX, firmware 3.4.2
Betaflight Setup
Enhancements & Modifications
Out of the field, the GEPRC Vapor D5 is already a superb FPV drone—for many pilots, you possibly can set it up, fly it, and have enjoyable instantly.
Nonetheless, like each BNF drone, there’s all the time room for enhancements. I’ve just a few concepts how you can make it higher, particularly for effectivity and lengthy vary functionality. For example to make it lighter, then re-tune PID and filters to maximise efficiency. Scale back motor output since this drone comes with actually excessive KV motors. And so forth…
Would you be desirous about a separate publish on these modifications? Let me know!
Last Ideas
Earlier than buying the GEPRC Vapor D5, I completely analyzed its specs, design, and general worth—and after flying it, my expectations had been confirmed. That mentioned, some minor design flaws solely turn into obvious after hands-on testing, as talked about within the evaluate.
Amongst all of the 5-inch DJI O4 BNF drones I in contrast, the Vapor D5 presents the most effective stability of worth and efficiency. It’s obtainable for $450, whereas comparable choices from iFlight can go for over $600. It’s only a no brainer.
You should buy the GEPRC Vapor D5 from these distributors:
Is It Price It? Completely. The mixture of a sturdy construct, modern design, and very good flight efficiency makes it a superb alternative for each freestyle pilots and people seeking to seize cinematic footage with the DJI O4 Professional digital camera. The principle draw back for me could be flight time and effectivity. However in the event you put a large enough battery on this factor it will probably nonetheless fly for 12 minutes or extra, with its dependable GPS module, it may be a reasonably good mid to lengthy vary FPV drone.