DJI SDR Transmission Combo review

The past decade has seen a huge evolution in our cameras as they’ve transformed from primarily shooting stills to shooting both stills and video. With that evolution, we’ve seen a new range of users, often known as hybrid shooters, going out to shoot both stills and video in equal amounts, and with that comes a new range of accessories. One of the most popular accessories for those who shoot video is an external monitor, which boosts the size and visibility of the image on a screen larger than the one integrated into the camera itself. Whilst the small built-in LCDs were handy for reviewing images, with video they become an essential composition tool, so a larger external monitor is an obvious move.

Now that technology has once again advanced, people are looking at wireless solutions that allow the monitor to be taken away from the camera while still displaying exactly what’s happening. For videographers who connect up to a gimbal, this makes even more sense, and that’s exactly where the DJI SDR comes into play.

The DJI SDR is available in several different configurations, from the simplest— a transmitter that attaches to your camera through the HDMI port and transmits a wireless signal to your mobile phone or tablet via the DJI Ronin app. To the combed DJI SDR transmitter with a receiver that I’m looking at in this review. Again, this will transmit the signal directly to a receiver plugged into an external monitor with an HDMI or SDI port.

This elevates the professionalism of the transmission and is more akin to what you’d find in a standard broadcast setup. Once again, you can still plug this into a smartphone or tablet through the DJI Ronin app and access a whole range of additional features, such as applying LUTs or controlling a gimbal.

But this isn’t where the DJI SDR stops. You can then add another receiver and connect that to another monitor, so you have the camera and two different monitors in separate locations, allowing various crew members to keep an eye on what’s happening. While this is useful, you can go even further and add multiple receivers to multiple monitors, meaning essentially every person on set could be viewing the same camera feed.

Whilst there are many other wireless video transmission systems out there, and several around this price point, it looks like the DJI SDR is by far one of the most advanced options available.

The build of the DJI SDR is decidedly DJI, but DJI has made some interesting design decisions that position these units well above other transmission units available at a similar price. First of all, the size of the unit is relatively small, and whilst the design of both is very similar, they are easily differentiated— the transmitter has a blue badge on the front and is black in colour, whilst the receiver is grey with a red RX badge on the front. Otherwise, the main layout of the two units is identical.

When it comes to size and weight, both measure 86.5 × 64 × 32 mm and weigh in at 145 g each, making them extremely light and portable. However, when it comes to power, both have two options: either a standard Sony-fit NP-F battery— in this review, that’s the SmallRig NP-F970— or PD power. So if you’re connecting the transmitter to a gimbal, you have that flexibility. In the box alongside the units are the mounting adapters, which are easy enough to bolt into place, and with a 1/4-inch thread on the base of each, you can quickly attach these to friction arms or other supports as required.

Once the units are switched on, they should pair out of the box. If not, there’s the usual pairing button on the side. During testing, this pairing was reliable, and while the units themselves take almost a minute to fully boot up and connect, there was never any issue with the connection. Simply plug into the camera and the monitor with the receiver, and off you go. In this review, I’m looking at one transmitter and one receiver.

While the direct connection between the two— from camera to monitor— is the most obvious and usual route, you can also increase the complexity by connecting to a Wi-Fi signal directly from the transmitter. This means that if you want to travel light but still have the benefit of an external monitor for your camera, then through the DJI Ronin App, you can connect directly.

Likewise, you can also connect through the receiver to the tablet, benefiting from a stronger signal and reduced latency.

When it comes to the build, while the units are plastic, they are also extremely robust. As we’ve seen with DJI’s range of drones, these units should withstand a good knock or two without issue. One thing to note, however, is that the aerials that fold out from the unit are integrated. So, if they do break, it doesn’t seem like there’s an easy way to replace them.

When it comes to features, the DJI SDR Transmission enables video transmission up to 3 km. It also features Wi-Fi for short-range video transmission. As the units feature thesedifferent forms of wireless video transmission, they can connect in different ways. The first is Control Mode, which gives you the most powerful signal and is best for high quality, as well as taking control of other devices. Then there is Broadcast Mode, which will appeal to many users as it enables you to transmit from one camera to multiple receivers. Finally, there is Wi-Fi Mode, which allows you to transmit from the transmitter directly to a mobile device or tablet.

This flexibility means that each unit has multiple connection options, and as there is USB Type-C included on the receiver, you can connect to an external monitor or tablet via HDMI or through USB Type-C. This means you no longer need to buy a dedicated external monitor and can instead just use your mobile phone or tablet.

The SDR wireless communication is extremely powerful and robust, based on technology DJI has perfected through its drone series and powerful video transmission systems. This means that whilst this is an entry-level and budget-friendly wireless video transmission system, you do get a full 1080p Full HD video feed at 20 Mb/s. If you have it connected to an external monitor with recording capability, or to your mobile phone or tablet, then it is possible to capture this footage at that resolution. However, it is worth noting that if you’re filming in 4K, the transmission resolution will still only be 1080p.

When it comes to video transmission, the DJI SDR system utilises auto frequency hopping between 2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and DFS. However, it’s worth pointing out that 5.8 GHz and DFS aren’t available in all territories due to localised restrictions.

At the highest transmission quality, the latency is around 35 ms, so whilst not the fastest, it will be more than adequate for the vast majority of users and will allow for some focus pulling. If you require extremely precise video control, a wired video connection is still going to be better than this wireless video option.

If you are using a camcorder such as a Sony FX6, then you also have SDI connections. In this review, I haven’t tested that functionality, as it’s a bit beyond what we do here at Camera Jabber. However, if you do, then that SDI connection will carry the media feed from the camera through the wireless transmission to the monitor.

For most other transmission types, you can connect to a smartphone or tablet running the DJI Ronin app. This has recently been updated and includes a host of new features specifically designed for the SDR system. First, it displays the video feed in 1080p, and if you want to record that footage directly to the internal storage of the tablet or phone, that is possible. More interestingly, the display offers many advanced features typically found on standard external monitors used in video production.

You have access to LUTs, peaking, waveform, false colour, and of course, there’s the option for firmware upgrades as well as the ability to load your own LUTs, which is extremely useful for any videographer.

One of the other major features of the SDR system is that, as part of the DJI ecosystem, you can use the Ronin app to take full control of any RS gimbal that it’s attached to. This means that if you want to fully control your camera through PTP, the gimbal, and monitor wireless video transmission, then this system enables you to do so. Considering the price of the SDR, this is an extremely valuable addition that will appeal to many solo videographers as well as small to medium-sized production companies.

When it comes to power, DJI has really focused on this, especially given the different ways these transmission units will be used. As standard, they take an NP-F battery on the back of each unit— a common type used with many other external monitors and wireless transmission systems and readily available. Here at Camera Jabber, I’ve used SmallRig NP-F970s, which are well-priced and supply plenty of power.

However, if you’re going to install this on a DJI Ronin gimbal, then there is an adapter plate included in the box that allows you to easily attach it to the underside of your gimbal. Obviously, you want to keep the gimbal as light as possible, and a larger NP-F970 battery adds quite a bit of weight. The alternative power option is to connect via USB PD power, using a single cable to the gimbal. This will drain the gimbal slightly faster but makes the entire rig lighter and provides greater flexibility when it comes to powering the devices.

Finally, the units have a small screen, which displays all the connection information along with battery power status. What’s nice here is that you can access all the settings directly through this screen. Although it appears to be just a display screen, it is actually fully touch-sensitive, so by swiping left, right, or down, you get a variety of different options to access settings and change functions.

As with almost every DJI device, before you get started with using the SDR transmission system, you need to activate it through the relevant software. This requires you to connect it to your laptop, download and install the DJI Ronin Assistant software, follow the activation process, and once complete, the units will be ready to use.

It’s also worth pointing out that I installed a SmallRig NP-F970 battery into the back of each unit to supply power, and this is also the neatest way of setting up the units.

Used in its simplest form— just a receiver and transmitter as a standard wireless video transmission system— all you need to do is plug an HDMI cable from the transmitter directly into the HDMI port of your camera (an Sony A7 IV, in this review. Once the transmitter is in place and switched on using the push switch on the side of the unit, there’s actually nothing else you need to do. You can then focus your attention on the receiver, which also features an HDMI port and should be plugged directly into a monitor— in this case, an Atomos Ninja V. This is where I realised that having a cage around the Ninja V would be a really good idea, as a friction arm would attach neatly to the cage rather than directly to the receiver.

Once everything is connected and both units are switched on, they should automatically pair, and you will see the direct video feed from the camera through to the monitor. While both the monitor and the camera are recording in 4K, the actual video transmission from the camera to the monitor will only be 1080p. So, while these units are good, they do not enable full high-resolution video transmission.

Checking out the speed of that transmission feed, and it’s impressive. While there is a very slight delay, it is hardly visible, and you’d only notice it if you were actively watching for it. However, when given to someone who is an expert focus puller, that 35 ms delay will be noticeable. So while you can do some focus pulling at a moderate to slow rate, anything faster may be beyond the capabilities of the system.

That is the first and easiest way to connect the two devices to create your wireless video system, but there are two other options that I’ll briefly look at in this review.

The first is if you want to save on cost by buying only the transmitter. You set this up in exactly the same way as if you were using both the transmitter and receiver. Once it’s plugged in, you then go to your mobile device— smartphone or tablet— and open the DJI Ronin App. After selecting the Connect to Transmission System icon, scannin the QR you can connect to the SDR Transmission, much like connecting to the RavenEye system.

From here, you get the full video stream appearing on the iPad, with the ability to apply on-screen overlays such as LUTs, focus peaking, and false colour, which is extremely handy. The fact that this all works through your wireless network makes it extremely easy to use almost anywhere. While this method works well, latency does increase, and you can visually see a slight delay. You may also notice some image breakup on occassion, and while the video transmission is still good, it doesn’t quite match the speed or quality of connecting directly through the SDR receiver.

The third option combines the two. Instead of plugging the receiver into an external monitor via HDMI, you can plug it into a tablet or smartphone via USB Type-C. This enables you to utilise the DJI Ronin App. Here, the unit really comes into its own, and with the larger high-resolution screen of an iPad Mini, the video feed is exceptionally clear. Not only is the transmission fast, matching the direct connection between the receiver and an external monitor, but by replacing the external monitor with a tablet, you also get access to all the overlays directly from within the DJI app. Since most of us already own a smartphone or tablet.

At the end of the test, I have to say I am extremely impressed with the simplicity of use of the SDR transmission system. At its base level, it is extremely easy to set up and use, and the power of the video transmission when using both the receiver and transmitter is extremely stable and reliable.

However, what I really like about the system is that you can buy just the transmitter and pair it with an iPad Mini, which can be purchased at a relatively low cost. Once you use the system in this way, you can really see the power of wireless video transmission in your video production workflow.

A wireless video transmission system is one of those accessories where you can instantly see the advantage. However, in the past, one of the main reasons for not choosing a system like this was complexity and cost. Now that complexity has been reduced to almost plug-and-play, and the price has dropped— with an even cheaper option if you just buy the transmitter— there really is little to no reason not to opt for the DJI SDR wireless video transmission system.

In fact, if you think about it, you probably already own a smartphone or tablet, meaning that the transmitter alone will only set you back around £250. If you’re looking to buy a dedicated monitor for your camera, you’d be spending at least £400 to £500 for a decent option. With the transmitter, you can quickly turn your standard iPad into a powerful wireless video transmission monitor at no additional cost. This means your actual outlay is only £250 for the transmitter, and you likely already own everything else you need.

The difference this makes when filming is huge. First and foremost, you get wireless transmission to a monitor that can be positioned separately from the camera. This means that if one person is monitoring the footage, the camera operator can focus solely on their work, giving the whole production a far more professional approach. If you need to expand further— for example, if the director and client also need a monitor— you can wire up additional receivers, allowing both to view what’s happening without having to look over the videographer’s shoulder. For most videographers, this alone would be well worth the investment.

Then there are all the additional features, such as video overlays and the ability to load in LUTs, which make a huge difference as you progress in videography.

For anyone who wants to shoot video, an external monitor makes sense, and making that monitor wireless makes even more so. The fact that the DJI system allows multiple receivers at an additional cost just highlights the flexibility and advanced nature of the system. At its base level, you can plug in via HDMI, providing a direct feed from the camera to the monitor. However, you also have other options— beginners can transmit via Wi-Fi to a smartphone or tablet, while professionals have the SDI connection option and the ability to expand to an unlimited number of receivers.

While the DJI SDR video transmission system should be considered entry-level, the sheer number of functions and features it offers makes it an extremely valuable option for both individual videographers and small to medium-sized productions. In my opinion, it is one of the best video transmission systems currently available. My only reservations are the slight fan noise and the fact that it only broadcasts at 1080p, not 4K.