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DJI’s new Inspire 2 and Phantom 4 Pro literally take drone footage to greater heights.

By Marcus Wong - on 16 Nov 2016, 5:24pm

DJI’s new Inspire 2 and Phantom 4 Pro literally take drone footage to greater heights.

The new Inspire 2 now uses a magnesium-aluminum alloy body for greater stiffness with lower weight. It has a top speed of 67mph (108 kmph), and can accelerate from 0 to 80kmph in just four seconds. A new dual battery system takes flight time to 27 minutes, and allows the Inspire 2 to fly in more extreme conditions, including 2000-5000m above sea level (using optional high-altitude propellers).

The Inspire 2 is also smarter than ever before, with added sensors for better obstacle avoidance. Upward facing infrared sensors scan obstacles 5m above, and the forward and downward systems detect obstacles up to 30m ahead. This gives the drone a new Smart Return to Home capability, where the Inspire 2 is able to navigate its way back to you if the video transmission system signal is lost.

The new dual battery system lets the Inspire 2 fly further and longer than before.

There’s also a new forward-facing camera to let you better see where the drone is headed towards. The pilot can operate from the master controller, while the camera operator gets a separate feed from the Zenmuse camera mounted on the main gimbal.

You will be able to switch between 2.4Ghz and 5.8Ghz control frequencies, and the Inspire 2 also has a dedicated 1080i50 and 720p60 transmission capabilities, allowing you to live-stream direct. Just connect the Inspire 2 remote controller to the satellite truck, and you’re good to go.

The new forward-facing camera lets you see exactly what the drone sees.

An entirely new image processing system called CineCore 2.0 is embedded into the airframe, allowing for faster processing of large files.  The 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 smoother 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 birate is up to 100Mbps.

The controller has also been improved to let you easily switch frequencies.

A redesigned propulsion system lets you do incredible vertical camera moves, climbing at almost 20 feet/second and descending at almost 30 feet/second. Meanwhile, a new redundancy system for the IMU, barometer, electronic speed controller communication and satellite navigation modules means there is always a backup for your most critical systems so you can find a way to safely land the drone.

The Inspire 2 is available for pre-order now on the DJI website for US$2,999. The Inspire 2 Combo, which consists of one Inspire 2 aircraft, one Zenmuse X5S, CinemaDNG and Apple ProRes License Key, is available for US$6,198. Customers who order the Inspire 2 Combo before January 1, 2017 can enjoy a special price of US$5,999.

Phantom 4 Pro

The Phantom series gets an upgrade too, with the new Phantom 4 Pro getting a new camera and a new obstacle avoidance system.  The new camera has a larger 20MP 1” sensor with 12 stops of dynamic range and a mechanical shutter that’s said to eliminate rolling shutter in fast moving scenes. It’s capable of doing 4K video capture up to 60fps at a maximum bitrate of 100mbps, and has a burst mode for stills of 14fps.

Thanks to the larger sensor, the Phantom 4 Pro can go up to ISO 12,800, allowing it better performance in lowlight. The larger pixels also allows for better dynamic range, noise performance and contrast. On the video front, the Phantom 4 Pro can now capture slow-motion 4K video at up to 60fps at a maximum bit rate of 100mbps thanks to its support for the H.265 codec.

FlightAutonomy builds a 3D map to refer back to for safer flying.

The obstacle avoidance system has also been improved. FlightAutonomy now uses three sets of visual systems to build a 3D map of what’s in front, below and behind the drone. Infrared sensing systems take care of both sides, so your Phantom 4 Pro can truly pick out what it’s flying through and plan the safest path.

The Phantom 4 Pro gets up to 30 minutes of flight time and can reach up to 72kmph in Sport mode. Switch it over to Atti mode, and the drone will maintain its altitude, ideal for experienced pilots who want more stable footage. Tripod mode on the other hand, drops the max speed down to 7kmph, allowing for precision control.

A new professional controller is also available for the Phantom 4 Pro which gives you the option of adding a high luminance display for easier viewing in bright sunlight. This gives you a live HD view from the main camera while also displaying essential telemetry data to help you plan your flight.

An optional high luminance display can be added for easy viewing under bright sunlight.

The drone automatically switches between 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz channels when powering on to find the channel with the least interference, and now incorporates multiple intelligent features to make flying easier. For example, there’s a new Draw Mode that lets you literally draw the route you want the drone to fly on the controller display.

Also, ActiveTrack mode recognizes subjects such as people and bikes, then follows them from any angle while maintaining focus, and includes three new modes – Trace, Profile and Spotlight.

  • Trace makes the drone either follow in front or behind the subject, automatically avoiding obstacles along the way.
  • Profile makes the drone fly alongside the subject at a variety of angles.
  • Spotlight keeps the camera trained on your subject no matter where the drone flies.

AutoTrack makes it easier to keep the camera on your subject.

The Phantom 4 Pro also gets better obstacle avoidance capabilities, allowing it fly through more complex environments like narrow doorways. TapFly now works backwards too, and there’s also a new Free mode that lets you set the direction of flight, then turn the Phantom 4 Pro or tilt the gimbal without changing direction while in flight.

One important addition is a safety feature that makes the aircraft return to the last connected position and hover there within a minute of losing GPS signal. The new Return to Home function also means that the aircraft will also record the scene below at takeoff and compare that to what it sees upon return, so that it finds a suitable landing spot.

Phantom 4 Pro’s U.S. retail price is US$1,499 with a standard controller. The Phantom 4 Pro+ set includes a Phantom 4 Pro aircraft and a high luminance display remote controller, and will be available for US$1,799.

New Zenmuse Cameras

DJI is enhancing the imaging potential of the Inspire 2 by expanding its line of Zenmuse cameras, with the new Zenmuse X4S and Zenmuse X5S cameras.

The Zenmuse X4S has a 20MP 1”sensor with 11.6 stops of dynamic range and a lens with a 24 mm equivalent focal length. It offers aperture control (f/2.8-11) and uses a mechanical shutter that cancels rolling shutter distortion.

The new Zenmuse X5S on the other hand, uses a larger 20.8MP Micro Four Thirds sensor with 12.8 stops of dynamic range. The Zenmuse X5S camera now supports 8 lenses from wide angles to zooms. It shoots 20fps continuous burst DNG RAW (20.8 MP).

Pricing and availability information for both cameras has not been announced.

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