That’s how the Mavic Pro was born

This year’s trend is smaller drones. Following Dobby, Breeze, and GoPro’s Karma, DJI has finally launched its own mini drone, Mavic Pro.

Let’s have a look and see how the Mavic Pro compares to the competition!

Transforming design

Its appearance might be the most defining part of the Mavic Pro.

Its four propellers and frame arms are foldable, reducing the size to just one third of a piece of A4 paper. There are three things you can re-design to reduce size: battery, camera system and frame arms. If you use a smaller battery you will usually get shorter flight time, while a smaller camera system may reduce image quality. Therefore, the best option is to find a way to fold up the frame arms and propellers to reduce size at the same time as reducing the arms’ weight.

The Mavic Pro strikes a wonderful balance between two sides of this equation.

(3-axis gimbal + longer flight time + 7km video transmission range + new Intelligent Flight modes = small size = portable)

It is possible to achieve all things on the left side, at the same time as reducing size to improve portability? Or is it too good to be true? Let’s find out.

 3-Axis Gimbal

The composition of an aerial photo or video depends on the altitude of your drone. But motors spinning at a high speed create vibrations and impact air flow, and may therefore make your photos and videos so blurry as to be unusable.

The best way to reduce vibrations is to use a mechanical gimbal. It not only reduces vibrations and movement to give you smooth shots, but also helps you to control the camera.

The Mavic Pro is equipped with the smallest high-precision 3-axis gimbal and camera, while still keeping the same size 1/2.3 image sensor. With 12.35 million effective pixels, and an ultralow distortion lens, the camera also supports 90° vertical shooting and always captures high-quality footage.

Flight Time

The Mavic Pro’s theoretical flight time is 27 minutes.

How does it fare in practice? Let’s try it out.

We tested Mavic’s flight time using the Point of Interest mode, and set it to fly at a height and radius of 10 meter. After flying for 24 minutes, there was an 8% battery charge remaining. We drained the rest of battery to 0% and the Mavic finally landed itself after 26 minutes of flight.

We trialed its flight time several times that afternoon and despite windy weather, the Mavic managed to fly for 25 to 26 minutes in each test. We also flew the Mavic in Sport Mode, and when we landed the drone after 10 minutes it still had a 52% charge left.

The official rating of 27 minutes is achieved in ideal conditions without winds, just like the ratings of other products like the 0–100 km/h acceleration for cars, or smartphone benchmarks. Since there isn’t a universal test standard in the drone industry, flight time is a better and more direct measure over battery capacity.

The Mavic remote controller has a battery life of 2.5 hours and more importantly, it also has a built-in screen, offering flight information including flight data, battery level and so on.

So even if your phone is out of battery, you can still use the remote controller alone to control your Mavic Pro.

7km Video Transmission Range

DJI uses a new transmission system in the Mavic Pro which allows you to change between different radio frequency bands to extend the transmission range or avoid interference. DJI claims that the max transmission range is 7km, which beats the range provided by commonly used 2.4G Wi-Fi video transmission.

We tested this, too.

When Mavic reaches a 6km range, the system warns that the signal is weak, but video transmission is stable and smooth as always. When it’s 7km away, we still have transmission signal.

New Intelligent Flight Modes

Mavic comes with many different Intelligent Flight Modes, including Circle, which is the mode I use the most. When a target has been selected, the Mavic will start to circle around it.

Other than that, Mavic Pro also supports the new Spotlight and Profile Modes, where the drone flies in parallel to the subject. You can adjust the distance between the drone and the subject by using the control sticks. You are suggested to use these modes in places with one side open and wide, such as canyons or roads along the sea.

Gesture Mode

A new important feature called Gesture Mode has been added to the Mavic. In this mode, the camera will recognize moving objects in the frame, and the front LEDs start to flash slowly after finishing calibrate its recognition system. When you make a specific gesture, for example, a frame gesture, the Mavic confirms your gesture and the front LEDs flash quickly and the camera takes a photo. All you need to do is pose before the flashing stops.

Phone control and goggles

Finally, the Mavic Pro can now be controlled with just a phone. However, in this mode its maximum flight range, altitude and speed are all restricted. There are also specially design FPV goggles coming soon, so that users can experience Mavic’s flight in an immersive way.

Summary

Let’s sum up all the highlighted features of the Mavic Pro. Transforming frame arms and remote controller, high-precision 3-axis gimbal, new Intelligent Flight Modes, intelligent Obstacle Avoidance, TapFly, Profile Mode, Terrain Follow, controllable with a smart phone, Gesture Mode and vertical camera angle.

The concept of a selfie drone is not new. Rather, it’s an extension of consumer drone category, just more consumer-oriented and optimized in terms of their size, weight, intelligent features, flight time and so on. That’s how the Mavic Pro was born.

Despite its small size, Mavic has everything needed inside. If you have higher expectations than just a “selfie drone”, you will be amazed by what the Mavic can do.

That’s all for today’s review. Thank you for watching. See you next time!

 

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Lily Drone Cancelled: Why We Weren’t Surprised

Back in early 2015, the Lily Drone kickstarter quickly raised almost $50 million. News was abuzz with excitement for all the features the creators claimed it would have. However, after almost 2 years in production, the Lily team sent a sad email to all of their supporters. “Over the past few months, we have tried to secure financing in order to unlock our manufacturing line and ship our first units – but have been unable to do this. As a result, we are deeply saddened to say that we are planning to wind down the company and offer refunds to customers”. Many are saddened by this announcement, but for those following the drone market, it came as no surprise.

Here is a breakdown of why this wasn’t a shocking announcement:

Technological advancement: When the Lily drone was first announced, it boasted the ability to have a mid-air takeoff, waterproofing, a wearable tracking unit for follow me functions with autonomous flight and more. It was so amazing that many of us were skeptical that they would be able to pull it off. It was going to take more than a startup with some capital to pull that off, which is why only DJI was able to accomplish come close with their Mavic Pro drone, a collapsible quadcopter that can fly for longer, has a better camera, and sports all the flight modes and more. Technology quickly caught up to Lily’s claims and even if it hit the market, it would not have done well.

Price point: $500 was never believably attainable. Comparable drones by industry leaders were more than double that. It’s certainly an attractive number to investors but was it ever really achievable? Right now the DJI Mavic Pro is priced at $1000, and although it is a more powerful craft, even that price seems way too low compared to everything else on the market and what it can offer.

Tech specs: Even after 2 years of development, the pre-released specs don’t hold up to the DJI Mavic. It seems designed entirely around the idea that people only wanted a selfie drone. With a flight time of less than 20 minutes, a maximum range of 100 feet, altitude of 50ft, and 1080p camera, it even fails when compared to the older DJI Phantom 3 Standard, a drone currently available for $499. Drone manufacturers these days know that people want a tool that could accomplish more that just one task. In the cooking industry these are known as “unitaskers.” Often they only do their job moderately better than a multipurpose tool, taking up space in your drawer as well as your wallet.

It seems that although back in 2015 the Lily announcement was exciting and its specs were amazing to the average consumer, it was clear that they were capitalizing on a crowd that didn’t know enough about the drone industry and how quickly it was progressing. Now we can count on companies like DJI to do the intense development we want to see without relying on crowdsourcing.

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Photographers Guide to the Phantom 4 Pro-Video

Colin Smith, author of The Photographers Guide to Drones is a photographer and drone hobbyist who has a breadth of experience with DJI aircraft and has recently reviewed the Phantom 4 Pro for his audience.

Smith was particularly impressed by the new 1-inch, 20-megapixel sensor which he comments produces much sharper pictures than the previous Phantom 4. The aperture, shutter speed and ISO are all adjustable to ensure the best exposure. The 1-inch sensor, which is almost four times the size of the original Phantom 4 sensor, has nearly 12 stops of dynamic range.

Smith found the Phantom 4 Pro to work well in difficult environments, “the low light performance is amazing,” he said. The mechanical shutter also gives less distortion in photos and video as the “rolling shutter effect” does not come in to play.

He also is enamored with the remote control, particularly on the Phantom 4 Pro+. The Phantom 4 Pro has a remote control that has a standardized holder for mounting your own mobile device. However, its sister aircraft the Phantom 4 Pro+ is supplied with a 5.5 inch screen attached to the remote control. The screen is exceptionally bright at 1000 nits which is almost twice as bright as an Apple device. It employs DJI’s own proprietary CrystalSky technology and folds down securely for storage and transportation. Smith really appreciates not having to charge up a separate mobile device. As soon as you turn on the remote control, the screen boots up and the GO app is launched. He really likes that convenience, “what I really like about it …is that I just take 2 units out. A controller and a ‘copter. I turn my controller on…I turn my ‘copter on… and I’m ready to fly. I don’t have to be connecting wires…its very, very easy. I like that!”

Another feature of the Phantom 4 Pro family is the ability to switch between 2.4 and 5.8 GHz, so if there is interference on one frequency it can be switched to the other.

Like the DJI Mavic Pro, the Phantom 4 Pro aircraft has a range of 4.3 miles (7km).

The Phantom 4 is also future-proofed in that it can shoot at the newer H.265 compression format as well as the existing popular H.264.

A high-capacity battery has been launched for the Phantom 4 Pro. This battery is also compatible with the older Phantom 4. To conclude, the aircraft boasts impressive obstacle avoidance capabilities.

The Phantom 4 Pro is proving to be a great addition to the DJI range of products.

 

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Yuneec Breeze VS Hover Camera Passport

Today the small drone trend is getting hotter. Yunnec initiated it back in September 2016 with the Breeze, a tiny drone. More recently, we got introduced to the Hover Camera Passport; another little book-sized drone which folds like one, Thus let’s compare the two drones in a Yuneec Breeze vs Hover Camera Passport showdown!

Camera

The camera department is probably the same. While they both shoot 4k 30fps, the Hover Camera Passport and Breeze sport a servo-controlled automated tilting camera, a slightly bigger field of view of 117° vs the 78.4° on the Hover Camera Passport.

Hovering system

Another important feature for those who get into drones for the first time, is the presence of some sort of hovering assistance, as it may come hard to keep the drone in a determined position when there’s wind and you still aren’t fully trained. Because of that, the Yuneec Breeze packs a GPS as well as GLONASS dual satellite navigation system to guarantee accurate hovering both indoor and outdoor.

On the other side, the Hover Camera Passport doesn’t seem to feature GPS-supported hover modes.

Flight time

Hover Camera Passport announced a 10 minutes flight time in perfect environment, Breeze has longer flight time of nearly 12 minutes. But if you want to shoot good video, better to carry more batteries.

Image transmission system

Both of them use WiFi to transmit image and controlling signal, but the controlling distance of Breeze (100m) is longer than Hover Camera Passport (20m)

Price

The most important feature that users can feel is the price, so we compare Hover Camera Passport’s price with Breeze. The Hover Camera Passport’s price is higher than Breeze which is $599 but $373 of Breeze

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$599 for a Hover Camera Passport selfie drone? Think twice

Last year, a new type of drone hit the (preorder) market. It was the self-flying camera drone – a device that promised to combine camera and AI technology to create a drone that you could essentially throw in the air to follow you around and take photos and videos. Some of these drones include Dobby, Lily, Breeze and Hover Camera Passport.

Let’s talk about the Hover Camera Passport which make the Internet abuzz in the drone space, whose features include auto-follow and hover maneuverability. Weighing just 242 grams, Hover Camera Passport is a self-flying drone – throw it into the air and it will follow you around taking photos and videos.

As talking about the selfie the most important is the camera, Hover camera passport comes with stabilization (both electronic and through a one-directional physical gimbal) – which helps steady the footage. The camera can shoot in 1080p and 4K.

Yes, you may say that’s great, it has high quality camera and stabilization which can make good photo or video. But I say that’s too naïve, it’s just one determinant, you also should take other factors into consideration. The first issue Hover Camera Passport has is with camera stabilization. It’s obvious that the electronic stabilization the Passport uses is working overtime, and without it videos would be un-watchable. It’s definitely doing its job. The problem I had was that even with the electronic stabilization working overtime, the videos often came out choppy. This detracted from the actual video quality, making the output look more like 720p than 4K video. And also no GPS design make stabilization even worse outdoor.

The Hover Camera Passport drone is actually the most expensive selfie stick you will ever buy. But conventional selfie sticks don’t fly. So is it really worth paying $599 for a flying selfie stick? Let’s admit it – selfies taken with normal selfie sticks lack the ‘cool’ factor which aerial shots give. This is why buying the self-flying selfie stick actually makes sense. With seamless technology that focuses on ‘ease of use’ rather than hi-tech features, you won’t have to worry about usual time-taking processes such as installing, updating, or upgrading. You can simply live in the moment and enjoy your surroundings while letting the drone do its job and capture the beauty all around. That’s the power of a self-flying drone!

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Q500 Yuneec quadcopter: lagging behind in design and performance

Yuneec China first hit the headlines with its efforts to challenge consumer UAV market leader DJI when it launched its Q500 4k Yuneec quadcopter model.

That was in 2015, well before the launch of a Yuneec drone with an Intel RealSense module. Even if you discount the absence of a serious obstacle avoidance feature, just the mere product design of the Yuneec quadcopter left a lot of unanswered questions.

There were a number of things to question about the quality of the build.

First was the inconvenient size and layout of the flight controller. And through the layout of the control unit, you can draw a conclusion that the Yunec quadcopter was essentially using the same control unit that Yuneec China, a former OEM manufacturer, had used in manufacturing the Horizon Hobby.

Second, the Yuneec quadcopter build design and placement of the joints and shoulders looked odd.  These, along with the random wiring and sensor placement, for those who truly know, made it clear that Yuneec was trying to seize market share without paying great attention to quality.

And you can’t forget the fact that the Q500 Yuneec quadcopter went through two large-scale recalls in North America and Europe. The root cause, according to reviews on sites like DroneCompares, was that the Yuneec quadcopter was experiencing an unacceptable level of vibration of the gimbal. Luckily, the Yuneec quadcopter development team found a way to fix this product failure, but it shouldn’t have occurred in the first place. The firm has ceased production of the Q500 Yuneec quadcopter, with total sales reaching around 100,000 units.

According to people familiar with this Yuneec quadcopter launch events in the US, retailers received a handsome shares of the revenue from each unit sold to carry and push the Yuneec drone.

Taking a close and systematic look at what’s inside this particular Yuneec quadcopter, such a strategy surely brought initial success in opening up a distribution network for Yuneec, but it’s fair to say the Q500 was a premature product. What sounded like an early challenge in the DJI vs Yuneec contest, turned out to be a failed attempt thanks to the poor design and inept performance of this Yuneec quadcopter.

The fact that Yuneec claims to have a large R&D team and regularly tries to poach engineers from other UAV drone manufacturers, doesn’t resonate with the unacceptably low build quality of the Q500 Yuneec quadcopter. The poor performance of this Yuneec quadcopter was simply a warning sign that it could never match the DJI Phantom 3, either from the standpoint of exterior design or internal layout. And, of course, after DJI launched the latest version of the Phantom series, virtually every DJI Phantom 4 Pro review made it clear that it was simply a much better product, burying with it any hopes for Yuneec to offer a formidable challenge.

The key to success in the UAV drone industry lies in the details. That’s where the Yuneec quadcopter Q500 – or its successor hexacopter the Typhoon H – lags behind, as it is clear in any DJI vs Yuneec comparison.

 

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Bulky Yuneec Typhoon G problem list grows

Yuneec Typhoon G effort to accommodate a GoPro camera falls short.

Getting a Yuneec Typhoon G to use for a GoPro camera raises a host of operational issues that on a comparison with the DJI Phantom vs Yuneec makes a purchase a risky bet even if a bit less expensive.

The main complaints by reviewers of the Yuneec Typhoon G, a Yuneec Q500 4K derivative, are the short video transmission range, its bulky shape and the fact that the Yuneec Typhoon G comes with just one battery pack that gets hot and dies quickly.

But the main reason for buying the Yuneec Typhoon G, mounting a GoPro on the three-axis gimbal, is also worrying as the gimbal is slow to adjust in flight and can be affected by other connectivity issues related to the internal WiFi card and GPS.

The Yuneec Typhoon G runs 8.3 inches by 16.5 inches by 16.5 inches – not measuring the rotors – and comes in at two-and-a-half pounds, making the Yuneec Typhoon G a close cousin to the Yuneec Q500. The camera attachment of the Yuneec Typhoon G usually requires removing the struts to attach the unit onto the gimbal just below the undercarriage by using the Yuneec SteadyGrip.

While not the most complicated setup in the world, the Yuneec Typhoon G takes some tweaking and it is important not to interfere with the transmitter to the ST10+ remote control, which has weak resolution for its 5.5-inch size.

The controller of the Yuneec Typhoon G is also a bit misleading because the photo and movie buttons do not work with the GoPro camera, meaning that before takeoff users need to press record on the camera. Adding another layer of complexity, the gimbal AA NiMH battery system on the Yuneec Typhoon G does not charge the camera via USB and blocks the memory card slot.

The battery issue compared to DJI’s proprietary LiPo battery rechargeable unit that eases worries over power supply and monitoring and takes one more item of a checklist that in the case of the Yuneec Typhoon G seems to grow longer as users get familiar with the Yuneec drone.

Here it is important to note that GoPro has attempted to block use of its unit on the UAV drone manufacturer’s craft via a software update–users of the Yuneec Typhoon G are advised to avoid the update.

If you make it through that checklist and get into the air, ensure the GPS has a lock the Yuneec Typhoon G or you may find the GoPro video feed cutting out and the drone even losing connectivity as soon as it is out of range of the controller or if the user does not have a line of sight. Even if you re-acquire GPS in mid-air and get into range, restoring the video feed is not guaranteed.

All of these quirks to use a drone for your GoPro however raise a bigger question. Why?

According to PC Mag the answer is you probably don’t have to.

“If you want the best, spend a bit more on our Editors’ Choice DJI Phantom 3 Professional, which has an excellent integrated 4K camera, although one that isn’t quite as wide as a GoPro in angle of view,” the Editor’s review said.

“I prefer the tighter view offered by the Phantom.”

 

 

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What Xiaomi Mi drone impressed me most?

Xiaomi Mi drone from Xiaomi company comes with a 27 minutes flight time on a singe charge like the Mavic Pro.It’s impressing, however, some features such as automated take off and landing will consume more battery power similar to the way a cellphone’s battery charge goes down fast when certain software’s are opened like Bluetooth and camera.

The battery on this Xiaomi Mi drone takes about three and a half hours to charge to full capacity – anyone looking for uninterrupted fun with this model, we suggest purchasing at least two or three backup batteries.

This model positions itself using GPS and GLONASS. It offer stable flights over terrain at low attitudes as it has a visual positioning system located on the bottom.

Xiaomi Mi Drone has some similarities to the Phantom 4 because it allows for autonomous flying. Autonomous flying means that you can control the flight with just a tap of your finger and tell it what to film from your phone as well.

The model is equipped with a built-in 4K camera that is capable of recording 38 x 2160p/30fps and snapping 1080P still pictures. It delivers crystal clear images every single time.

Xiaomi Mi Drone has another awesome feature of surrounded flight – here, you can command your aircraft to make a circular flight around a selected object from your phone and it will continuously follow a 360 degree rotation path focusing its camera on a specific object.

With the Xiaomi Mi drone, you can preset your flight line. This maneuvering will allow for some pretty fantastic photographs. Another incredible feature is its ability to automatically takeoff and land – if your Mi gets out of its 3m range, it will fly back on its own. You can also opt to recall it anytime with a single press of a button.

The quadcopter connects to a 2.4 GHz transmitter that comes with a built-in phone clamp and a left-handed throttle feature. When you configure the craft in Mode 2, your drone will easily reach heights of 800 m plus and can travel about 3000m from you.

Sure the drone is priced at $460 USD for the 4K version and $380 for the 1080P version. This may be a result of most drone manufacturers already making thin margins on most products to date.

When comparing the Xiaomi Mi drone against offerings by DJI. The lowest end Xiaomi Mi drone that will sell for $380 is comparable in many ways to the DJI Phantom 3 Standard that currently retails for $499.

Pros
– Very modular design. Easily foldable & stowable.
– 3 Axis easy snap-in gimbal with tilt control
– Camera 1080p 60fps or 4K
– Long range (1K/2K) 2.4 Ghz control and FPV achieved via printed circuit board (PCB) antennas.
– Extra precise GPS + GLONASS + Visual Positioning
– Automatic return to home/landing on loss of signal or low battery, or manual return to landing at push of a switch.
– Automatic takeoff and landing
– Orientation Lighting
– Large Battery 17.4V 5100mah. Gives up to 27 minutes flight time

“Mi UAV” App Features
– Compass and controller calibration
– Satellite and quadcopter status monitoring
– 720p FPV
– Three automatic flight modes: Fly to Point, Waypoint Route, Circle Point
– Real time position tracking

Cons
– Excessive flight restrictions. Can not fly further than 50m altitude or 100m horizontal range until the quadcopter has achieved 5 hours (300 minutes) of cumulative flight time. Additionally, the quadcopter will not proceed beyond hover if flown in restricted areas.
– Official Xiaomi “Mi UAV” app is in Chinese. It’s somewhat impossible to use unless you know Chinese. There is a non official translated version in English, however it is an older version of the app.
– The English translated…

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Mavic Pro tips

Now many people have received the DJI Mavic Pro.Here are a few tips and tricks we’ve learned with our first week flying the Mavic Pro for you.

Crossed propellers

The folding design of the propellers on the Mavic Pro take a lot of the guess work out of setup, but, they present a new damage risk, themselves. We chat with DJI about this during our flight training, the premise is simple, you do not need to completely open the propellers, but do not leave them crossed before starting up. The blades will scratch against each other eventually causing structural damage, or creating a groove in which the blades will stick, then you’re in trouble.

Good thing the basic kit comes with extra blades, but you can avoid that need with a simple action, open the propellers before powering on.

Good lighting

Flying outdoors is the recommended use for the Mavic Pro, but if you do wish to fly indoors, the proximity and collision sensors are capable of keeping your drone stable and safe. For these sensors to work properly, they require a fair amount of light, if your room is too dark, you may be in for a surprise.

The ability of the Mavic Pro to remain at a solid hover indoors (without GPS) depends on the good lighting and ability to see obstacles. In poor lighting or small rooms, expect the drone to not handle as intended. In short, if you don’t have a large room and good light, wait until you can get outside to fly.

Charge you phone

It is great that you have multiple drone batteries for extended flight time, but, did you know that the remote will charge your connected mobile device? That’s right, in addition to the flight controls, the remote sends power to your phone or tablet. Now, if you’ve got a phone like mine, the Nexus 6P, which sucks in the power as fast as it can, you’ll find the remote empty in no time.

For my first major flight, my phone had about 86% at the start, and the remote was fully charged. After draining an entire drone battery in about 22 minutes, (I was flying it hard in some wind,) my phone was fully charged and the remote was down to just 64%. Handy feature, but non-sustainable situation.

Start in Tripod mode

For your first flights, consider activating tripod mode, this drastically reduces the speeds and sensitivity of the Mavic Pro. This feature was designed for extremely stable camera work, but doubles nicely as a training mode.

Use a solid color landing location

When the Mavic Pro first takes off, it registers it’s location and takes images of its surroundings to mark that precise point as Home, as needed for each flight. In our testing, despite launching with no issues, the drone didn’t want to land in the same spot on my hardwood floor that it took off from. The image sensors registered the knots and multi-colors of the floor as an uneven surface.

Related reading:

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The Most Complete Aerial Cameras Development History (I)

The rise of consumer drone industry makes aerial photography no longer exclusive to professional filmmakers. Instead, more ordinary consumers can re-discover the world from God’s perspective. In fact, aerial photography mainly involves two core points, namely, flying platform and imaging solution. Both of them are indispensable: on one hand, a drone’s safety, stability, operability and intelligent level are the basis for aerial photography; on the other hand, the aerial Cameras’s image quality can directly influence the final works.

Previous drones usually carry a mirrorless digital camera or digital single lens reflex (DSLR) such as GoPro, Panasonic GH4 or Sony A7 for aerial photography where the drone manufacturer and camera manufacturer work separately. In 2014, the drone maker DJI’s Phantom 2 Vision changed the situation, making the integration of camera and drone a trend. The all-in-one design can benefit the flight experience. Besides, the combination of camera with video transmission and app makes the operation and parameter settings more convenient.

This article will focus on one of the core points—camera, to discuss what attempts the drone manufacturers and camera manufacturers have made regarding the aerial camera solutions over the past 3 years.

Stage 1: The lighter one will be taken into the sky

The picture shows that DJI’s Phantom 2 with a platform camera has taken the headline

As four-axis drones can only bear limited weight, the small-size, lightweight and wide angle motion camera GoPro with complete functions becomes the first choice for drone makers. The first generation consumer drone — DJI Phantom 1 was equipped with the motion camera GoPro, so was 3DR SOLO.

Since the release of the first generation Phantom, DJI has released the gimbal compatible for GoPro camera, including Zenmuse H3-2D/Zenmuse H3-3D for GoPro Hero 3, and Zenmuse H4-3D released later for GoPro Hero 4. However, a third-party camera makes it inconvenient for video transmission and parameter control.

From Phantom 2 Vision, DJI starts to equip its consumer drones with aerial cameras. DJI’s cooperation with GoPro also changes. It is an inevitable result to develop drones with aerial cameras regarding the product’s oneness and long-term development demand.

Stage 2: Watch the TV Series “Where Are We Going, Dad?” more clearly with a professional camera drone

In Where Are We Going, Dad, many aerial scenes were captured by DJI drones

Professional filmmakers usually need professional camera drones for aerial photography. The ZERO-Steadi470 is customized according to the camera model. The ZERO-Steadi470 gimbal is compatible with different series of cameras including SONY 5N and Panasonic GH2.

DJI’s Zenmuse Z15 series gimbals can be used with popular DLSR/mirrorless cameras. These gimbals are compatible with DJI M600, S1000+ and other big flying platforms.

For business commercials or upscale weddings production teams, the combination of drones with DLSR/mirrorless cameras will undoubtedly contribute to their commercial aerial photography. In this way, they can capture higher quality shots at lower cost.

Stage 3: Flying film camera and medium format camera

On the 2016 NAB Show, DJI released its latest Ronin-MX 3-axis gimbal compatible with various professional cameras, such as RED DRAGON/RAVEN and ARRI ALEXA MINI. This gimbal can be fully combined with DJI Matrice 600 (M600) to apply professional film cameras in aerial photography.

In this July, DJI released its high-end aerial camera bundle, the first hybrid DJI/Hasselblad product introduced since DJI announced acquiring part of Hasselblad’s stock equity at the end of last year. The aerial camera-platform bundle consists of Hasselblad’s medium format camera A5D and DJI’s professional drone the M600 and 3-axis gimbal the Ronin-MX, available for drawing and commercial photography. The M600 comes fully equipped with 6 intelligent batteries, A3 flight controller, Lightbridge 2 Professional HD transmission system, a dust-proof propulsion system and powerful DJI GO app capable of checking real-time videos and various flight data. In addition, the M600 can send back low-latency video streaming at 1080p@60fps from 5 kilometers away and can mount the Hasselblad camera easily with its 6kg weight-carrying capacity. Hasselblad’s A5D camera lens comes in 50mm and its built-in sensors are almost twice the size of those used in today’s best 35mm DSLR cameras. Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution (HNCS) comes standard and can help optimize difficult colour gradations straight out of the box. This bundle can be seen as a “Perfect Match” in current drone field.

The A5D-M600 bundle is not sold on the market yet. But considering that the combination of DJI’s M600 and Ronin-MX costs more than 40,000 RMB, the A5D-M600 bundle must be very expensive.

The author reckons that more development of the two company’ cooperation can be expected on the following Phantom series and other new products.

M600+Ronin MX+Hasselblad A5D

Over the past three years, from carrying a GoPro to professional cameras, then to Red, ARRI and Hasselblad, DJI and other drone manufacturers have been working hard to provide new products and solutions with better image quality for their users. There are advantages for separate production of drones and professional cameras, but it also comes with disadvantages: for example, the video transmission and monitoring system need to be added and consumers only have limited access to these products, etc., which have been restraining the evolution of this seemingly “powerful combination” yet separate development approach.

Later we will publish “The Most Complete Aerial Cameras Development History (II) —Irresistible All-in-one Trend”. Taking DJI, the benchmark in drone industry as an example, the article will specifically analyze DJI’s development history of gimbal cameras. The all-in-one design trend can significantly make aerial photography down to the consumer marketplace and meet different levels of consumer demands, making aerial photography more and more popular.

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How do you use Hover Camera Passport drone?

Don’t need too much operation. Hover Camera Passport drone provides a more simple way to take aerial photos and videos. You don’t have to take your phone out of your pocket to take a pictures and videos. After all, who needs another person to capture your favorite moments when you can do it on your own with Hover Camera? Let’s keep checking.

What can it do?

The Hover Camera Passport drone sports a 13MP snapper that can shoot videos in 4K resolution. Of course, it comes with pretty cool features as well. It can lock onto an object and orbit around it or follow it around. The Hover Camera uses its front camera to lock onto a person (using face detection technology), and has a feature called ‘Orbit’ to film yourself autonomously as the drone circles around you, while a “360 Spin” feature allows you to shoot panoramic 360-degree videos,  and can hover steadily at any position in the mid-air to a maximum altitude of a whopping 164 feet from the ground.

The Software

The Hover Camera Passport drone is powered by a ton of sophisticated Artificial Intelligence Software Technologies containing various flight control algorithms embedded to the hardware of the hover camera. It is equipped with a software technology called Electronic Image Stabilization. This technology is basically used to capture rock steady images.

The Dimensions

The Hover Camera Passport drone is an easy-to-control and pretty fun camera drone that measures 182 x 132 x 32.5mm (folded) and weighs 238g. The drone shows off a simple and sleek appearance, and its foldable design and lightweight profile allow you to easily take the drone anywhere you go.

Cameras for Indoor Video-shooting

The Hover Camera Passport drone is equipped with an LED flash for low light and indoor imaging, and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Quad core processor. This processor is very often used in flagship grade smartphones. It also includes a lithium powered battery that is interchangeable.

Wait! Did you think it has got only one camera? It also includes a secondary camera and a mic that are paired together and integrated with the software to work as a sonar. This is the secret behind the unmatched airborne stability of the hover camera.

The hover camera does not contain a GPS tracker within it. All the tracking is accomplished by using Phase detection and complex Artificial Intelligence Algorithms Embedded on to the drone. This device opens a whole new dimension when it comes to taking Selfies, and videos. You don’t need to bother about holding a device, thus going completely hands-free.

Drawbacks

The worst problem is the battery life which is fairly shot. Expect about 10 minutes of air time from Hover Camera Passport drone. Though with a charge time of about 40 minutes, it won’t be long until you’re back in the air again.

How do you Use it?

Using this piece of beauty is even easier then flying a paper plane. All you have to do is hold up the powered-on unit with its wings open, tap the power button to rev up the propellers for about one second, and then release the unit to let it hover.Similarly, you can retrieve the hovering Passport with your hand without ever having to worry about the blades: Grab it and tap the power button to kill the propellers, or you can first tilt the unit downward to slow the propellers down before tapping the power button. When the battery level is critically low, the drone can slowly land itself using the sonar sensor under its belly; you can also use the One-Touch Landing button to toggle automatic landing at any time.

 

 

 

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