DJI Announces Mavic Pro Platinum, Phantom 4 Pro Obsidian and Firmware for Spark
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Mavic Pro Platinum!
Minor updates but significant for some
- Eleven percent longer flight time (up to 30 minutes)
- Sixty percent reduction in propeller noise (4db decrease)
- Platinum paint job
I am in the middle of testing the Spark and comparing it to the Mavic Pro, overall I have been fairly impressed with the noise level, or lack of, from both - but a 60% reduction in noise!! That's amazing and I can't wait to get my hands on one and test. The noise reduction comes from new propellors and updated motors. Yes, you can use the new propellors on the original Mavic, though you won't get the full 60% noise decrease.
No word on the increased flight time being a result of updated batteries or updated electronics in the Platinum Pro.Preorder the new Mavic Pro Platinum from DJI
Phantom 4 Obsidian
Mostly cosmetic differences with "a sleek matte-gray Obsidian color shell featuring a magnesium, electroplated and anti-fingerprint coated gimbal which requires a higher standard manufacturing technique."
Spark - Updated Firmware
Not to be left out of the update - via an upcoming firmware DJI will add a new mode -"Sphere" shooting, located under Panorama options, which will add a fisheye effect and an option to post directly to social media.As mentioned above I am working on a Spark vs Mavic review video and overall I am very impressed with the Spark. It's fun to fly, incredibly maneuverable and capable of creating some excellent footage. Yes, the Mavic offers some advantages, double the flight time, raw photo capture and much greater speed and customizability but not everyone needs that and not everyone wants to pay double the cost. Subscribe to my Youtube channel to be notified when the full review/comparison is released.Buy the DJI Spark
The lightweight (2.8 lb) and tiny (10.29” x 10.29” x 3.22”) drone is the perfect size to throw in a bag without needing a lot of extra equipment. Waterproof up to a meter it can handle the weather just fine including taking off on water and salt water exposure. The Lily gets 20 minutes of flight time on one charge and only requires two hours to charge. Due to waterproofing the battery is internal and unfortunately cannot be switched out for more flight time. Lily has a 100’ maximum range but can keep up with the action up to 25mph and handle 15mph winds. Due to the size constraints and waterproofing unfortunately the Lily does not support mounting for a camera gimbal.
Sporting a 12MP wide angle camera comparable to a GoPro Hero 3 you can get decent photos for a low price. In terms of focal length a 94 degree field of view is not to the fisheye levels of the GoPro with the trade off of a reduction in the lens distortion. It includes 1080p video as well at 60fps for smooth action without any motion blur. Being your selfie wingman Lily can leverage its feature detection to automatically switch between shooting videos and still shots. For sports and action it can switch to 120fps slow motion (at 720p) with built in feature detection automatically when you're hitting a snowboard jump for example. While the drone itself has a built in microphone they've thought ahead and included one also in the tracker capturing your audio which can be combined back with the video in post.
In terms of use the drone is fully autonomous although you can change settings such as flight behavior, framing, and camera controls through its smartphone app (IOS and Android). Through the app you can also view a low resolution live stream from the Lily’s onboard camera. While it doesn't have the functionality of the smartphone app the tracking device also doubles as a basic remote for taking photos and video as well as a emergency stop.
