Category Archives: Drones

DJI Mavic Air 2 has a 240fps 1080p mode that you won’t use!

DJI Mavic Air 2

DJI has unveiled the Mavic Air 2 consumer drone with incredible specs and a fit and finish that rivals their more expensive lineup. We have been waiting for a successor to the original Mavic Air to see where the platform was taking high frame rates but while we now have a 240fps 1080p mode, it hardly what we would call usable for production.  There is a softness and compression that while they look ok for amateur and some Youtube videos it fails for professionals that need that quality output.

There is a lot to like here like the 48MP sensor with 8k hyperlapse and stills mode with RAW along with a better than most other drones 4k UHD mode at 60fps with 120Mbps codec.  It is really a steal if you were waiting for a drone that can do it all and not break your budget.  You get many high-end features on a minute package that while a little big compared to mini drones, it is really small compared to the full-sized Mavic line. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Insta360 ONE R action cam can do 200fps in 1080p!

Insta360 ONE R 4k

2020 is already becoming a very busy year for camera releases. The CES Show this past week had a bunch of announcements in the professional, amateur and aerial drone markets that shoot high frame rates.  We will try to cover the most useful cameras in the coming weeks.  We want to start with the Insta360 ONE R Modular camera from Chinese company Shenzhen Arashi Vision Co., Ltd. which is a very interesting product that de-couples the sensor module from the body so you can interchange the actual imaging hardware on the fly for specific shots/jobs.

The real gem for slow motion fans is the 4K version instead of the 360 and or the 1″ version which both max out at 120fps 1080p instead of 200p.   Many people will cry foul at the 200fps spec when GoPro and DJI do 240fps as do most slow motion capable smartphones but 200fps, if done well with the 100Mbps codec, could be a real diamond in the rough for your arsenal in action cameras. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

DJI Mavic Air Ultra Portable 4k Drone!

DJI Mavic Air

The new Mavic Air may actually be the drone you have been waiting for.  It has most of the technologies that have evolved on pricier drones like the Inspire series and Phantom high-end consumer offerings like obstacle avoidance, awareness sensors, and now at this tiny size, a 4k 30p 3-axis gimbal stabilized camera.  The 4k recording ups the ante at 100mbps compared to the Mavic Pro’s 60mbps which was a big issue for motion artifacts and clearly separated the quality lines on phantom and Mavic series.

The new drone also has the ability to shoot 120fps Full HD 1080p video in what looks like improved quality “but still a little noisy” which is also a plus.  The sensor is the same as on the Mavic Pro with a 1/2.3″ size at 12MP with HDR still shooting mode and an 85°-degree FOV. The main feature of course is the size which is slightly bigger than last year’s spark but with finally 4k image quality. Portability is probably the most important drone feature today. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

ZENMUSE X7 By DJI has 3.9k 60p!

Zenmuse X7

DJI has announced the Zenmuse X7 camera for the Inspire 2 Professional Drone.  The camera shoots in Cinema DNG RAW which allows for the utmost quality for the demanding videographer with up to 60fps at 3.9k resolution. Interestingly it does not support 4k at that frame rate as probably there is a hardware limitation for that last few rows of pixels to be saved at that quality.

Of note is the 4k DCI spec up to 30p and ability to shoot and save in Apple ProRes in 4k and 2k with more option in H.264 and the newer H.265 codecs.  The biggest deal, however, is the ability to shoot 6k in DNG format at 6K: 6016×3200, 23.976/24/25/29.97/30p, 12-bit, full FOV.  This is a first for a drone camera of this size and should be the ideal format for ultra resolution seekers. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony RX0 Slow Motion Aims at Pro Action Market!

Sony RX0 Slow Motion

As expected by recent rumors, Sony unveiled the RX0 a compact action camera that is more high-end oriented than any action camera before it. A Crash cam for video production that has a large 1″ sensor with high sensitivity and S-Log 2 flat profile.  It also has features like focus assist, full 4k 4:2:2 HDMI output to an external recorder and a 1/32000 shutter like other RX series cameras that gets rid of most of the rolling shutter distortion apparent in other action cameras.

While the GoPro Hero 4 and 5 have access to a Pro Tune Log style video profile; the camera is not really geared for high-end production. The RX0, however, is limited to 1080p 60fps internally with 4k output from HDMI to an external recorder as the only 4k output option. This gives GoPro, Yi 4k+, and Sony’s Action Cam series an edge of internal 4k recording. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

DJI Spark Mini Drone Lacks High Frame Rates!

DJI Spark

The newly announced DJI Spark Selfie Micro-drone is a thing of beauty when it comes to capability vs size.  At just $499 it is also half the price of a DJI Mavic Pro and while it lacks a 3 axis gimbal and extended flight time; this is geared to the people that want a no nonsense experience that is truly portable for their flight camera needs. It has a camera capable of 1080p video of pretty good quality at 30fps.

The downside is that it lacks 4k for one thing and any other frame rates besides 30fps full HD.  It does do  12MP still images with good dynamic range and color accuracy which could become the best use of the drone for markets such as real estate, surveying and aerial imaging that is ready at any moment without the bulk. → Continue Reading Full Post ←