It seems DJI is still dissatisfied with the overwhelmingly positive response to their portable Mavic Pro drone. The Chinese drone manufacturer has now announced a Pro version of it’s Phantom 4 drone; as well as a long-awaited successor to the professional Inspire Pro.
Phantom 4 Pro
The Phantom 4 Pro is likely DJI’s effort in drawing the line between the Phantom 4 and the company’s own Mavic Pro drone; as multiple reviews have touted the former’s image quality to be almost indistinguishable to the smaller and more affordable latter.
The basic Phantom 4 was already an incredibly capable drone for both new and experienced flyers alike; having multiple flight modes, above-average battery life and even obstacle-avoidance capabilities. The new Phantom 4 Pro ups the ante and improves on all of the aforementioned features.
Starting with the camera, the Phantom 4 Pro sports a 1-inch, 20-megapixel CMOS sensor with an aperture value of f/2.8 that boasts 12 stops of dynamic range. A significant improvement from the 1/2.3-inch, 12-megapixel sensor found on the Phantom 4. The new drone is also capable of 4K video recording at 60fps.
The new Phantom 4 Pro sports a new mechanical shutter that helps to reduce rolling shutter. A feature much welcomed when filming quick panning shots or subjects moving at a high speed. There’s also a higher bitrate recording of 100mbps in H.264 and even the ability to record in the newer H.265 codec.
The helpful obstacle-avoidance feature found on the Phantom 4 is vastly improved on the Pro model. The Phantom 4 Pro now has stereovision sensors on both the front and rear of the drone, along with infrared sensors on the sides. This effectively gives the Phantom 4 Pro a five-direction obstacle avoidance system. The best part is, even with all these new features, the Phantom 4 Pro has an extended 30 minutes of flight time opposed to the Phantom 4’s 28 minutes.
New features aside, DJI also introduced a new controller with a built-in 5.5-inch 1080p screen. With this new controller, DJI does away the need for you to use your mobile device as a monitor, which of course saves precious battery life.
Inspire 2
The DJI Inspire 2 is a totally different beast as compared to the Phantom 4 Pro. It is aimed solely at professional filmmakers and photographers and it shows in both its features and price.
Th Inspire 2 comes with not one, but two cameras: the X4S and the X5S. The new cameras are capable of recording up to 5.2K video at 30fps and 4K up to 60fps. With the X5S camera, users can shoot in either H.264 or H.265, Cinema DNG and Apple ProRes formats.
The Inspire 2 also sports obstacle avoidance technology with front, top and bottom facing sensors for flying in less-spacious locations. Compared to its predecessor, the Inspire 2 has an increased top speed of up to 67 mph. Battery life has also improved from 18 minutes to 25 minutes of flight time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBHuftMcmis
Pricing
The Phantom 4 Pro is now available for pre-order at DJI’s online store for $1,499 (about RM6,500), or $1,799 (about RM7,800) if you opt for the controller with the built-in screen. The Inspire 2 on the other hand, starts at $2,999 (about RM13,000) for the drone alone and up to $5000 (about RM22,000) with the X5S and one controller. Local availability for both drones have yet to be announced.
[Source: PetaPixel]
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