Items tagged with dji
DJI is on a roll with a rapid-fire release of new consumer market drones. The company launched the Mavic Air 2 and Mini 2 last year, and followed that up with the FPV Drone earlier this year. Now, DJI is back again with a slight revamp of last year's Mavic Air 2, aptly called the Mavic Air 2S. As noted by its simple "S" designation, this isn't a total rethink of the Mavic Air 2, which has already proven itself to be a competent flyer for beginners and experienced pilots alike (read the HotHardware review here). However, it does bring a few crucial improvements that make an already great drone even better. The first upgrade comes with the camera, which moves from a 1/2 sensor to a larger 1-inch...
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DJI's FPV is probably one of the company's worst-kept secrets. The first leaks surrounding the drone hit the internet back in December, and last month, we were made privy to a full unboxing experience. Today, DJI officially launched the FPV, and it is just as impressive as the previous leaks made it out to be. As its name implies, FPV refers to the first-person view, which means that you can strap on a headset to "see" through the drone's eyes. While modern drones also allow you to see what's directly ahead with either a dedicated display on the controller or by using your smartphone, donning DJI's FPV Googles V2 is an entirely immersive experience. DJI says that its new drone...
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The upcoming first-person view (FPV) drone from DJI is not necessarily a secret after it leaked back in December, but DJI has been incredibly quiet since then. It seems the Shenzhen-based company has been plugging away at getting the drone ready, as another leaker, SpiderMonkey FPV on YouTube, got his hands on a display demo and unboxed it for the world to see. Interestingly, this could be the only glimpse of the drone that the U.S. gets to see before its launch. After the initial leak of the first-ever FPV drone from DJI, the United State Department of Commerce put DJI on a U.S. trade blacklist called the “Entity List.” The Dept. of Commerce claimed that DJI was engaged in “high-technology...
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It looks as though DJI could be in for some rough seas ahead as the U.S. Department of Commerce has just placed the drone maker on its dreaded Entity List. This is essentially an economic blacklist that prevent DJI from conducting business with U.S. companies due to potential threats to national security. If you recall, Huawei was also placed on the Entity List, and it practically torpedoed its smartphone business. This would represent a significant blow to DJI, as the China-based company is by far the largest producer of consumer (and commercial) drones in the world. In the United States alone, the company commands nearly 80 percent of the consumer drone market. DJI Enterprise even has...
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DJI drones, such as the Mini 2 we recently reviewed, have always been among the most popular consumer drones on the market. While they are something of a gold standard, DJI has primarily been only refreshing the lineup year-over-year. According to leaks online, however, DJI may be adding a new drone to the family, called FPV. When it comes to cinematography and drones, DJI is generally a good fit. However, when it comes to first-person view (FPV) racing drones, people would typically build their own drone with lightweight parts for speed. Drone racing can have a bit of a learning curve to it as well, but maybe DJI is looking to flatten the curve with a new drone made for speed and ease of use....
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Black Friday is fast approaching, but that hasn't stopped retailers and companies from offering their own early discounts ahead of next week. The latest company to jump on the bandwagon is DJI, which not only makes popular aerial drones, but also stabilized cameras that you can use to capture action shots. The first big discount comes on the Mavic Mini, which is DJI's entry-level drone that still packs quite a punch. You can get the standard Mavic Mini, which comes with the drone, a remote, and a battery for $359 (which represents a $40 discount). However, we think that your best course of action is to go with the Mavic Mini Fly More Combo, which adds in two extra batteries, a battery charging...
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A few months back, we took DJI's Mavic Air 2 for a test flight and came away impressed with its performance, overall photo/video capabilities, and its ability to stay aloft for a half hour or more. Today, DJI is back again with another new drone, and this one will go a lot easier on your wallet than the Mavic Air 2. We're talking of course about the Mini 2; the "Mavic" portion of its name has been dropped with this generation. The Mini 2 retains the compact, lightweight form-factor of the Mavic Mini, weighing in at just 249 grams. This allows the Mini 2 to continue to skirt Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations that require drones that are 250 grams or heavier to be registered....
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DJI is following up on the popular (and diminutive) Osmo Pocket with the aptly named Pocket 2. The company is proclaiming that this is the world's "most powerful and portable stabilized mini camera" and we have no reason to doubt its assertions. The Pocket 2 is aimed squarely at the vlogging market and features a number of key upgrades over its predecessor including a larger 1/1.7” image sensor coupled with a wide and fast 20mm f/1.8 lens. For comparison, the Osmo Pocket features a 1/2.3-inch sensor with a 26mm f/2.0 lens. When it comes to recording, the Pocket 2 can still capture 4K/60 video (100 Mbps), but DJI has added HDR support this time around. Also along for the ride with...
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DJI brought a lot to the table with its original Mavic Air that launched back in 2017. It was a step up from DJI's entry-level Spark, but not quite as feature-packed and robust as the Mavic Pro. In other words, Mavic Air struck a nice balance in between the aforementioned product bookends with respect to performance, features, and price. And unsurprisingly, it became one of DJI's most popular drones as a result. As you might expect, DJI needed to follow up on the original Mavic Air with a worthy successor, and we have that now with the aptly-named Mavic Air 2. The Mavic Air 2 bests its predecessor in nearly every respect. It’s bigger, faster, and has a longer range, while...
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DJI is a company that iterates quickly with their devices, as we’ve seen on many occasions with their drones. This rapid improvement from each generation to the next is also evident with the company’s smartphone gimbal systems. The Osmo Mobile 3 was released just last year (you can read the HotHardware review here), but the Osmo Mobile 4 appears to be right around the corner with a key upgrade over its predecessor. Whereas previous Osmo Mobile gimbals have used a physical clamping system or “claw” to secure your smartphone, the Osmo Mobile 4 a different route with a magnetized system. News of this change was first reported by WinFuture, which...
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If you find yourself reconnecting with nature and going on adventures during this time of social distancing, why not chronicle your activities on video? Now is the perfect time to consider such a thing—DJI's nifty and ultra-compact Osmo Action is on sale for $249.00 at Amazon and $249.99 at Best Buy right now, down from its $369.99 list price. Granted, this little camera has not been selling for MSRP for the past several months, but this is still the lowest it has been since a brief dip in May. And with this deal, the Osmo Action is also a cheaper alternative to the GoPro Hero8, which offers similar features and sells for $349. One of the standout bullet points is the inclusion of dual...
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The Apple iPad remains the most popular tablet on the market these days, and has been available in various iterations over the past decade. Today, there're are a few deals to be had on the latest entry-level iPad along with a killer smartphone accessory. Starting with the iPad deal, Best Buy is selling the current generation 10.2-inch iPad for just $249, which represents an $80 discount compared to its usual retail price. The tablet features an A10 Fusion SoC, a Touch ID sensor for biometric authentication, Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 wireless connectivity, and up to 10 hours of battery life. We should mention that this particular SKU comes with a rather stingy 32GB of internal storage along with...
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After numerous leaks, the DJI Mavic Air 2 went official today with the company saying that the drone was a reimagining of the experience of aerial creativity. DJI promises that the Mavic Air 2 is the safest and easiest-to-flying consumer drone it has produced so far. The camera sensor used is a one-half-inch unit supporting 48-megapixel still photos and 4K video recording at 60 fps and 128 Mbps. The video recording also supports HDR video and 4x slow motion in 1080p at 120 fps or 8x slow motion in 1080p at 240 fps. In addition to the 48-megapixel still images, users can also choose to record images in other resolutions. The camera is mounted on a mechanical three-axis gimbal that helps...
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Last week, we brought you some images and specifications for the forthcoming DJI Mavic Air 2 drone. As the follow-up to the popular Mavic Air, the Mavic Air 2 boasts a 50 percent larger battery (flight times of up to 34 minutes) and a maximum flight speed of 43 mph. Leading up to the official unveil of the drone, which is expected to take place on April 27th, some additional details and photos have leaked onto the internet. The drone wouldn't be mistaken for anything else but a Mavic, and is a clear evolution of its Mavic Air predecessor. DroneDJ, who originally uncovered the promo images that you see here, notes that the curved blades found on these new propellers should help...
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DJI is working on a new drone, which has been leaked by ANATEL, the Brazilian equivalent to the FCC. The leak included multiple images and some details from the quick start manual for the drone. According to the leaked specifications, the DJI Mavic Pro 2 will be able to fly up to 43 mph with a maximum flight time of 34 minutes. Both represent healthy increases of the original Mavic Air that we reviewed back in 2018. Power comes from a 3500 mAh Lipo battery, and the camera attached to the flying drone is a 48-megapixel unit able to capture 4K video and along with still images. The Mavic Air 2 drone also features an obstacle sensor and intelligent flight modes. Those intelligent flight modes include...
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A report has surfaced that claims the United States government plans to permanently stop its civilian drone program. The reason cited by the report is that the drones used are at least partly made in China, and the United States government fears potential Chinese spying. Currently, the US Department of the Interior has about 1,000 drones that it is reportedly considering ending the use of because the risk of spying is too high. The first rumblings of the government's plan surfaced in a report by the Financial Times that cited two people briefed about the plans. The sources claim that Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt hasn't yet signed an official policy, but is planning to pull the drone...
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There are few better ways to record memories than video. You have probably recorded clips of birthday parties, vacations, or family holidays here and there. Maybe you enjoy sharing a glimpse of your daily grind to Instagram. Videos help us to share our world with others and reminisce about days gone by. Impromptu filming has become ever more accessible as smartphones have overtaken camcorders with remarkable new capabilities. While smartphone camera quality has improved dramatically year after year with powerful image stabilization capability, shots can still be ruined by human hand shake shortcomings. Most of us need some assistance to get a stable shot - particularly while walking or running...
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Earlier this week, many details (including images) of DJI's new Mavic Mini drone leaked onto the internet. Today, however, DJI has officially introduced the newest member to its growing family. In most respects, the Mavic Mini is both a shrunken down version of the Mavic Air -- thanks to its folding legs that allow for a more compact shape when transporting -- and a replacement for the aging entry-level Spark. The tiny drone weighs in at a mere 249 grams, which is just 1 gram shy of the FAA-mandated 250-gram limit when registration is required. Giving that Mavic Mini serves as flying photography platform, we should mention that the camera uses a 1/2.3-inch sensor that is capable of...
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Drone maker DJI is getting ready to release a new Mavic Mini model that is so small in size it can fit in a person's hand, when folded up. It also checks in under the size and weight requirement by the Federal Aviation Administration for having to be registered, and according to an early product listing, it can fly for up to 30 minutes per charge. This very drone has been the subject of at least one previous leak, so it's not exactly flying into the scene completely out of the blue. However, a listing at Newegg Canada (via a marketplace seller) reveals some details about the Mavic Mini that we did not previously know. One is the weight—it's listed at 249 grams, whereas the previous leak...
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If you have any aspiration of owning a DJI Mavic drone, brace yourself for having to fork over several hundred dollars, or even over a grand—MSRPs range from $799 for the Mavic Air all the way up to $1,899 for the Mavic 2. Accessories and add-ons are extra. A cheaper variant may be in the wings, however, with rumors of a Mavic Mini drone debuting for $399. If there is in fact a Mavic Mini done and it debuts at that price, it would be the least expensive Mavic model available. Incidentally, $399 is what DJI's Spark drone now costs (it debuted at $499). The Mavic series is more fully featured, with one of the key upgrades being the ability to record videos at 4K—the Spark records at...
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Anyone who has ever tried to fly a drone or other remote-controlled aircraft knows how difficult it can be getting used to the controls when the vehicle is headed towards you. DJI has a new system that will change drone racing and piloting for the better for many people called the DJI Digital FPV System. The system uses goggles that look like a set of VR goggles with 720p resolution at 60 or 120 fps. The goggles capture a live view from the drone that the user is piloting with a latency within 28 ms and over a range of up to 4km. The transmission tech uses a two-way communication system that gives pilots more flexibility when flying in challenging areas. The goggles have a pair of 2-inch displays...
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There are a few things more annoying in the modern world than blurry photos and videos, especially when you are traveling. Thankfully, DJI might have a solution. The company just released its Ronin-SC stabilizer that allows photographers and videographers to capture images with greater ease. The Ronin-SC is a 3-axis stabilizer for mirrorless cameras featuring an unlimited pan axis, axis locks on each arm to help balance and store the stabilizer, easy-to-reach buttons and triggers, and a slip-resistant grip. The stabilizer is very light and weighs a little under 2.5 pounds (1.1 kilograms). It can support up to 4.4 pounds (2.0 kilograms) and is compatible with a wide variety of cameras. The stabilizer...
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