DJI CrystalSky Monitor: Everything You Need To Know

Ever struggled to see what is on your screen when flying your DJI drone?

Yeah, me too. I am always looking for somewhere shady to stand while flying just to be able to see what is going on on my phone screen! It sucks.

That is one of the big reasons why DJI has come out with the CrystalSky monitor.

It was first and foremost designed ​to solve this exact problem by being “extremely bright” and able to be used outside.

How bright?

Up to 4 times as bright as your average phone or tablet!​

Now, that is something to get excited about, right?

But that is not all they have packed into this baby.

It is designed to help solve all your drone screen issues in one swoop!

Want to learn more? Let’s dive right in…​

What’s Inside The DJI Crystal Sky?

DJI Crystal Sky Display

The Screen – Built To Be Bright

Let’s start with the most important part, the display.

It comes in two sizes, and in the bigger model, two super bright versions.​

Here are the important specs

• Resolution: 7.85″ – 2048×1536 OR 5.5″ – 1920×1080
• High brightness：1000 cd/m²
• Ultra Brightness：2000 cd/m² (only available on the 7.85″)
• Two Screen sizes: 7.85″ and 5.5″
• Encoding: H.264 4k 30fps / H.265 4k 60fps
• Multi-touch display with IPS technology

It also has low latency as it is a dedicated monitor with no other purpose than to show your drone footage :> 

So, instead of the typical 220ms on a phone, you get 180ms latency on the Crystal Sky. That means your viewing is more “real time” with less lag or issues when you are flying.

The Battery Technology – No More Dead Phone!

​The battery life reminds me of my DJI Mavic’s controller – it runs forever, and I only have to charge it once in a while.

The external two-cell batteries on the DJI CrystalSky last:​

• 7.85″ screen:  4-5 hours
• 5.5″ screen: 5-6 hours

DJI Crystal Sky Battery

DJI has realized that we all have issued with the life of our phone batteries, which means less flight time. So the above battery life is a breath of fresh air, right?

But if you have ever tried to fly in cold temperatures, which for some of us is half the year, it is an absolute pain!​ Your phone battery will be dead in minutes! (I was in the Yukon last year and sometimes it lasted literally 2 minutes!)

To combat this issue with the monitor DJI have focused on battery life in cold temperatures with -4°F (-20°C) being something it is designed to cope with.

What about those that live in the heat?

They have not forgotten about you either. The Crystal Sky is cooled and runs normally in temperatures as high as 104°F (40°C). Now that is pretty cool, right?

In terms of batteries, there is a built-in battery 980 mAh, 3.7V and an external battery 4920 mAh,7.6V which is detachable (as shown above). So, you can keep an extra on hand if you need more power.

DJI CrystalSky Ports and Connectors

The Ports & Connectivity

DJI have built in a lot of options when it comes to ports and connectors. This means you can connect almost any of their remotes, as well as HDMI displays, the DJI Goggles, headphones and more.

Here’s what you get:

• WiFi Connectivity: 2.4G, 5.2G&5.8G 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n(HT20), 802.11a 4G dongle support
• Ports: HDMI, 2x MicroSD card slots, Micro-USB and USB-C, as well as a headphone hole.

It also has less latency as it is a dedicated monitor with no other purpose :>

The Rest Of The Tech

One other thing you might want to know about the Crystal Sky is that it is a customized Android system that is running a DJI Go app. So, you know what you are getting when you use this.

It also connects to almost all DJI products one way or another, with most of them having ways to mount the screen already. The only one still waiting on a screen mount is the Mavic Pro, but the DJI support says that is not far away.​

Compatibility

The DJI CrystalSky is compatible with any of the following DJI drones:

• Mavic Pro
• Phantom Series
• Matrice Series
• Inspire Series
• Osmo Series (but not Mobile)
• Cadence 

Who Is the Crystal Sky For?

Anyone ​series about getting the most out of their DJI drone experience and finally being able to see the screen outside (without those damn sunshades or standing under a tree!).

It is also for the pro who wants to be able to hook it all up with inputs, outputs and have two sd slots for exchanging cards, editing and more.

This is a serious piece of tech for anyone serious about their drone experience. ​

And for under $500, it is well worth the investment!​
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