DJI has fired back in the battle of the drones a week after GoPro revealed Karma with the new Mavic Pro which can be folded down to the size of a bottle of water.
The DJI Mavic Pro has four folding arms and propellers that tuck neatly into the side of the drone’s body so it’s compact enough to carry anywhere in a backpack or small bag.
When it’s folded up the Mavic Pro is just 19.8cm long, 8.3cm wide and 8.3cm high.
But despite its relatively small size it still offers a range of powerful features including a camera that can capture 4K video at 30 frames per second.
It also has an amazing range of 7km thanks to the new OcuSync transmission system and the ability to view the live video at the distance in 1080p quality.
The drone has four vision sensors for more accurate flying and maneuvering and the onboard 4K camera is stabilized with a three-axis mechanical gimbal.
The drone can reach speeds of up to 64km/h with a flying time of up to 27 minutes.
Also under the hood is DJI’s obstacle avoidance system that can see obstacles from up to 15m away while flying at up to 32km/h.
FlightAutonomy technology allows for more precise flying and hovering as well as landing almost exactly where it took off from and also controlling the drone with gestures.
Using gestures you can easily take a selfie with the Mavic Pro so it centres you in the frame and uses its flashing light to count down before taking the photo.
Shooting video and pictures are even easier with the Mavic Pro drone with ActiveTrack so you can select what you want to track like cyclists, cars, boats and animals from in front or behind, circling above or tracking alongside.
Tripod Mode is for indoor flying and makes the drone’s movements slow and precise.
On the photography side, the Mavic Pro can shoot 4K videos at 30fps and 1080p HD at up to 96fps.
It can also shoot 12-megapixel stills with support for Adobe PNG RAW and, thanks to the high precision gimbal, you can also easily shoot two second exposures.
The Mavic Pro’s controller is also pocket sized and has clips to fit your smartphone.
Users are also able to just use their smartphone to take control of the Mavic Pro for a quick flight.
Also available is the DJI Goggle – a VR headset that gives you a first person view of what the drone is shooting and the ability to fly the Mavic Pro simply by turning your head.
DJI’s Mavic Pro will go on sale in mid-October and will be priced at $1,699.
There’s also a Mavic Pro Fly More Combo for an additional $500 to take the price up to $2,199 and includes the Mavic Pro drone and controller plus a carry bag and additional batteries and propellers.
