ok so ive been trying to nail down a motor choice for a 3inch cinewhoop im putting together and i keep getting completely different answers depending on where i ask. some people say go 1404 around 3800kv, others are telling me 1507 is better for the extra torque especially if im going to be running a gopro style cam on it. the frame is a BetaFPV Pavo30 ducted setup if that matters.

weight is kind of a concern because i want to eventually throw an Insta360 SMO 4k on there and i know that adds like 50ish grams which is not nothing on a 3inch. im thinking 4s but honestly i havent locked that in either. budget isnt super tight but i dont want to just throw money at T-Motor if there are equally good options that cost less

anyone actually flown both those motor sizes on something similar? or even just one of them, id take any real world input over spec sheets at this point

ran 1404 3800kv on a similar ducted 3inch for a while and it was fine for cruising around but once i put any real payload on it it felt sluggish, like the motors were working too hard just to maintain altitude at half throttle. switched to 1507 and it felt like a completely differnet quad. more punch, handles the extra weight without complaining. the efficiency difference people talk about with the smaller motors is real but i think its overstated when youre actually flying with a camera on it

honestly the frame choice is kind of limiting you a bit here, the Pavo30 has some airflow quirks with the ducts that make motor selection a bit more finicky than on an open prop build. i'd look at what BetaFPV themselves recommend for that frame specifically because ive seen people fight tunning issues for weeks only to find out their motor kv was just poorly matched to the duct geometry. also 4s is probably the right call if you're carrying that camera, 3s will technically work but your flight times are going to disappoint you