The drone industry has been shrinking. No! Not in Sales! But in the size of machine themselves in an effort to make them more portable and useful.
Today DJI debuted its latest drone, the Spark. The new model is mini drone that just weighs 0.6 pounds. Just they now have a machine smaller than the Mavic Pro.
The Spark has intelligent fight controls like ActiveTrack and TapFly just like the Phantom 4. Plus you can gestures to fly the the drone. You can also use a smartphone to control fly. It also supports the DJI Goggles for FPV (First-person view) flying.
DJI claims a Battery life of 16 minutes of flight time on a single charge Want is nice abou this model is you can charge via a micro USB cable. DJI will be selling an accessories package that includes a charging hub, propeller guards, an extra battery Spark, a remote controller, and more for an additional $200.
When flying with the remote controller accessory, Spark allows for 720p real-time video transmission from up to 1.2 miles (2 km) away.
“Controlling a camera drone with hand movements alone is a major step towards making aerial technology an intuitive part of everyone’s daily life, from work and adventure to moments with friends and family,” said Paul Pan, Senior Product Manager at DJI. “Spark’s revolutionary new interface lets you effortlessly extend your point of view to the air, making it easier than ever to capture and share the world from new perspectives.”
Camera and Video
The drone packs a 1/2.3” CMOS sensor that captures 12 megapixel photos and shoots stabilized HD 1080p videos. Spark’s 2-axis mechanical gimbal and UltraSmooth technology dramatically reduce shake and rolling shutter. A new feature called QuickShot lets the drone shoot one minute of footage and edit it down to 10 seconds for you to share.
ShallowFocus allows you to put part of a picture into sharp focus while the rest of the image is softened, creating photographs with a shallow depth of field. An array of filters and automatic editing templates available in the DJI GO 4 app enables creators to quickly edit videos and share them directly to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms.
The FaceAware feature activities the drone by recognizing your face.
The Spark has onboard sensors that allow it to dodge obstacles, with the drone’s top speed maxing out at 31 miles per hour (50 kph).
DJI Care for Spark
DJI Care Refresh for Spark, a new one-year coverage plan, will enable Spark customers to obtain up to two full replacements that are new or equivalent to new, for a small additional charge. DJI Care Refresh for Spark is currently available in select countries, including China, Hong Kong, the United States, Canada, 28 European Union countries, and Australia.
Price and Availability
The US retail price of a DJI Spark, including an aircraft, a battery, a USB charger and three pairs of propellers, is $499 USD. The Spark Fly More Combo includes an aircraft, two batteries, four pairs of propellers, a remote controller, propeller guards, a charging hub, a shoulder bag and all necessary cables, with a US retail price of $699 USD.
Spark will be available for pre-order at store.dji.com, four DJI Flagship Stores, and authorized dealers. Spark pre-orders will start shipping in mid-June. Color options and Fly More Combo availability may vary at different sales channels.
