FPV

GepRC Cinelog 30 cinewhoop weighs under 250 grams with naked GoPro but there’s a catch

Cinelog 30 released
Cinelog 30 released

GepRC has released the new Cinelog 30, a 3-inch cinewhoop with a very compact wheelbase of 126mm.  At just under 250 grams even with a naked GoPro Hero 8 and a 660mah 4S battery, it might be the lightest 3-inch BNF cinewhoop ever.  But there’s a catch…

The Cinelog30 is a new cinewhoop from GepRC, makers of the highly-regarded Cinelog 25, which is my favorite cinewhoop at the moment.  The Cinelog 30 has a pusher design like the Cinelog 25, but has 3-inch props instead of 2.5 inch props.  As with the Cinelog 25, the Cinelog 30 has a camera mount with dampeners, and a built-in power cable for a naked GoPro.  It is available as analog (starting at $219.99 for PNP with no receiver to $249.99 with Crossfire) or digital with Caddx Vista and the new lowlight Polar camera (starting at $359.99 for DJI receiver to $389.99 with Crossfire).

Cinelog 30 weighs under 250 grams with naked GoPro and battery
Cinelog 30 weighs under 250 grams with naked GoPro and battery

Remarkably, GepRC found a way to make the Cinelog 30 weigh under 250 grams even with the GepRC Naked Hero 8 and a 660 mah 4S battery.  The digital version with naked Hero 8 and 660mah 4S battery weighs 249.3 grams (it probably goes over 250 grams with Crossfire), while the analog version weighs 240.0 grams (with naked GoPro and battery).  By comparison, BetaFPV’s Pavo30 uses a similar design, has a smaller wheelbase of 118mm and weighs 274.5 grams with a naked Hero 6, 660mah 4S battery, and Crossfire.

How did GepRC manage to make a quad that is a little larger than Pavo30 but weighs less?  I think one of the important ways GepRC reduced weight is through the motors.  The Cinelog 30 has 1404 3850kv motors, which are smaller than the Pavo30’s 1506 3000kv motors.  By comparison, the Cinelog 25 has the same size motors with a higher kv: 1404 4500kv motors.  On paper, the Cinelog 30’s motors seem weaker than those of the Cinelog 25.  But with the larger props, it should produce slightly more net thrust, and with a similar weight as the Cinelog 25 (242 grams with naked Hero 6, 660mah battery and Crossfire), it could have a similar, if not slightly better, power to weight ratio although it would probably have a shorter battery life.

Would you trade a 2.5-inch quad for a 3-inch quad with similar power to weight ratio, a larger frame and shorter battery life?  A 3-inch quad is attractive to me for its potential to carry a full GoPro but it seems that the Cinelog30 might not be much better than the Cinelog25 for that.  I’m not sure I see the advantage to such a trade.   It will be very interesting to see how the Cinelog 30 performs in real life.