LOS ANGELES — DJI (www.dji.com), a developer of unmanned aerial technology, has introduced two new drones that the company feels will raise the bar for professional imaging. The Inspire 2 is a ready-to-fly platform for high-end film and video creators, while the Phantom 4 Pro is a smart and creative solution for pros and hobbyists.
“Professional filmmakers and photographers always push to create images that have never been seen before, and DJI never stops trying to give them the tools to achieve their vision,” says DJI CEO and founder Frank Wang. “Our newest flight platforms and stabilized aerial cameras are smarter, faster and more powerful than ever before. We can’t wait to see how creators use Inspire 2 and Phantom 4 Pro to capture dazzling images.”
Inspire 2 offers powerful capabilities and is easy to operate. The nimble new magnesium-aluminum alloy body increases stiffness while lowering weight. It has a top speed of 67mph and takes only four seconds to accelerate to 50mph. With the new dual battery system, flight time is up to 27 minutes. A new, forward-facing camera offers the pilot the best flight view for operating the master controller, while the camera operator receives a separate feed from the professional Zenmuse camera mounted on the main gimbal. The Inspire 2 supports the brand-new Zenmuse X4S and X5S cameras and will support additional cameras in the future.
Inspire 2 captures 5.2K video at 4.2 Gbps for Adobe CinemaDNG RAW videos and leverages a newly-designed, fast CINESSD storage for a smooth work experience. A variety of video compression formats are supported by CineCore 2.0, including Adobe CinemaDNG, Apple ProRes 422 HQ (5.2K, 4K) and ProRes 4444 XQ (4K), H.264, and H.265. When recording 4K video in H.264 and H.265, the bitrate is up to 100Mbps.
Phantom 4 Pro offers a powerful imaging system for professional photo and video creators as well as non-professionals who demand excellence from the camera and platform. The camera now packs a 1-inch, 20-megapixel sensor, and almost 12 stops of dynamic range bring out high levels of detail. Its mechanical shutter helps prevent motion blur to the largest extent possible in fast-moving scenes. Phantom 4 Pro can capture slow-motion 4K video up to 60fps at a maximum bitrate of 100 mbps. In addition, the Phantom 4 Pro offers H.265 video compression, which substantially improves video quality at the same bitrate.
Phantom 4 Pro builds on DJI’s original obstacle avoidance system with FlightAutonomy – three sets of visual systems that build a 3D map of obstacles in front of, behind and below the aircraft, as well as infrared sensing systems on both sides. The Phantom 4 Pro flies at 31mph in P mode with obstacle avoidance in effect, and has a 45mph top speed in sport mode.
Phantom 4 Pro’s US retail price is $1,499 with a standard controller. The Phantom 4 Pro+, which includes a Phantom 4 Pro aircraft, and a high luminance display remote controller, will be available at $1,799. The US retail price of the Inspire 2 aircraft is $2,999.