DJIs Latest Drone Is a Smaller Foldable Mavic That Shoots 4K Video
Drone company DJI unveiled Tuesday a new foldable, portable drone called the Mavic Air. The Mavic Air, which sits in the company's lineup between the entry-level DJI Spark and prosumer Mavic Pro series, will begin shipping on Jan. 28 for 799. The Mavic Air packs a 1/2.3 CMOS sensor and an f/2.8 aperture lens capable of capturing 12-megapixel still photos. Whereas the Spark's video abilities are more limited, the DJI Mavic Air can capture 4K video at 30 frames per second, making it a more viable choice for people who want to record top-quality footage. At just 430 grams, the Mavic Air is also significantly lighter than the Mavic Pro, which weighs 734 grams fully-loaded. Meanwhile, it's the company's first drone to include a microSD card slot as well as 8GB of onboard storage, meaning users can save photos and videos directly to the aircraft if they don't have a memory card. Though 8GB won't be enough for a great deal of 4K footage., The DJI Mavic Air also has some new photography features, like the Sphere mode, which automatically shoots and stitches together 25 photos to create a 32-megapixel panoramic image. Users can alsocontrol the drone via hand gestures thanks to its SmartCapture capability, which makes it possible to tell the Mavic Air to take a photograph, follow a subject, and launch or land among other tasks with hand motions. The drone also includes an improved version of DJI's ActiveTrack feature that can detect multiple subjects simultaneously. The basic 799 Mavic Air pric includes the drone, a battery, a remote controller, a carrying case, two pairs of propeller guards and four pairs of propellers. A 999 package includes the basics plus three batteries instead of one, a travel bag, six propellers instead of four, a battery-to-power-bank adapter, and a battery charging hub.