DJI Drone Review and General Overview.
If it’s not 3D Printing, 360 Video, AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality) or MR (Mixed Reality) stealing headlines these days- its none-other than the latest and greatest in the Drone Market.
With DJI’s launch of their new microscale - ‘mini-drone’ or ‘selfie drone’ as I’ve heard the term tossed around recently; Drones have certainly become a place of interest for many photo/video enthusiasts and professional, appearing to becoming yet another ‘must have’ tool thrown into ones already oversized kit of equipment.
After attending CES (Consumer Electronics Show) this past January and immersing myself in the overly crowded DJI booth, it certainly re-sparked my interest in aerial photography and the art of flight itself, bringing out that inner child once again.
Whoever thought you would be able to capture groundbreaking 4K shots by flipping out a quad, the size of an iPhone and shooting a matter of seconds?
Following a Drone-less adventure through the Amazon of Ecuador this past October and missing aerial shots that will never exist again, I decided it was time to seriously look into purchasing a Drone myself. Sceptical at first by the price-point of the hobby, I spent a few months really drilling into the market and seeing what Drones catered my needs and budgetary wants before taking the plunge.
Drilling down the price that fit my wallet and watching countless YouTube video reviews and tutorials (by favourites: Casey Neistat, Ijustine, WhoisMatt Johnson, Petter McKinnon, Jon Olsson, Marques Brownlee, John Hicks to name a few) it came down to a toss-up between the GoPro Karma and DJI Mavic Pro. Essentially I was looking for a Drone that was quick and easy to deploy, Mid-leveled price point, captured stunning video (1080 but 4K would be nice) and was small and stable enough to travel with- not having a huge issue getting through security.
I decided to move forward with purchasing the Mavic Pro; Basing my decision mainly on the size, the bundled package and frankly a long informative conversation with a local RC hobby shop (consisted of 4 guys that seemed to live and breathe RC everything and were literally sitting around a soldering bench fixing their own equipment). They had one Mavic model in stock…and the rest is history.
Looking back only a month later, the decision to even consider the Karma, was quite foolish. As a huge fan of GoPro and avid champion of their products, their disappointing initial launch and three-month- recall of the Karma (that was seemingly squashed by the Mavic) it was certainly a tough decision to move away from this great brand and line of products.
This being said the Mavic has over delivered in an exceptional product experience. Although becoming another pilot frozen by many of the newly pasted UAV and ministry of transportation laws the drone experience thus far has been a thrill. Capturing footage from many favourite spots around the GTA it has been a safe and enjoyable hobby thus far. Using the app “UVA Forcast” it has allowed for quick and easy review of no-fly-zones and take measures a safe an enjoyable time in the air.
We've recently taken the liberty to test out a number of excellent Mavic Pro accessories that we feel are the perfect fit for any piolet:
The Mavic Pro Gimble Protector - We found provided optimal protection of our quite flimsy gimble for both in-flight and transport use.
UV, and CPL Lens Filters For Mavic Pro - Optimal for shooting on bright days, in addition to allowing for lower shutter speeds to capture that truly cinimatic look.
