Foldable drones offer the best balance
of portability and features, with models
of this type weighing less than 1kg.Depending on the model, a battery takes
around two hours to charge and will give
you up to 31 minutes of flight time.DJI Mavic2 Pro
http://www.djij.com
SPECIFICATION
GuidePrice:£1,349
Sensor:1in 20 -megapixelCMOSsensor
Flighttime:Upto 31 mins
Imagge filesJPEG&DNG
Video:4KMP4&MOV, 1 0 -bitD-LoggM, 10 -bitHDR
Gimbal:3-axis
Foldeddimensions: 214 × 91 × 8 4mm
Weighgt: 907 ggAs the marketleaderindrones,DJIneeds nointroduction,
andtheMavic2 ProistheChinesebrand'ssmallestdrone
availablewitha HasselbladL1D- 20 c camerafeaturinga
20-megapixels1insensor,aswellasa widerangeof
intelligentflightmodesandautomatedfeaturessuchas
collision avoidance. TheMavic2 Profoldsdowntoasmall
andmanageablesizeweighingjust 907 g, soit’sessentially
thesameweightasa smallfull-framecamera.The
controller,additionalbatteriesandaccessorieswill,of
course,increasethisweight,butthisis thesmallestand
lightestdroneavailablewitha 1insensor.Othernotable
featuresincludeanadjustableapertureoff/2.8tof/ 11 and
a lens with a 35mm equivalent focallengthof 28 mm.
YuneecYuneec Typhoon H PlusTyphoonHPlus
http://www.yyuneec.com
SPECIFICATION
GuidePrice:£1,549
Sensor:1in 20 -megapixelCMOSsensor
Flighttime:Upto 28 mins
Imagge files:JPEG,DNG
Video4K MP4
Gimbal: 3 -axis
Foldeddimensions:Not available
Weight 1 900gg
Withsix motors,theYuneecTyphoonHPlusisdesignedto
be abletocontinuetoflyevenif oneofthemotorsfails
duringa flight.The1in 20 -megapixelsensormeansthat
imageswillbeofa higherqualitythanthosefroma drone
witha smaller sensor,andthe retractablelegs andthe
hanginggimbal/cameraallowfor360°rotation.The
design ofthedroneallowsforit tobefoldedtoa degree,
buttransportationwouldneedtobemadein itsownbag
orcase,soit’snotaseasytotravelwithastheMavic 2 Pro
whencarriedalongsidea stillscamera– theother
consumer-leveldronewitha 1insensorwe’vecovered
here.Sizeandweightaside,theadditionalrotorsdomean
that the typhoonwillbe steadierin the sky.DDJIJIIInspiire 22
http://www.djij.com
SPECIFICATION
GuidePrice:£3,499
Sensor(ZenmuseX7):APS-C 2 4-megapixelsensor
Flighttime:Upto23min(withZenmuseX7)
Imagge files:JPEG&DNG
Video:CinemaDNG,ProRes,AppppleProResRaw,MOV, MP4
Gimbal 3 -axis
Foldeddimensions:Notavailable
Weighgt:Apppprox 4027 gg(drone,camera& lensetc)
Ifyouneeda professionaldronewitha 2 4-megapixel
APS-Csensorandinterchangeablelenses,thentheDJI
Inspire 2 maybejustwhatyou’relookingfor.Thisis a
dronethat’scapableofproducingcinema-qualityvideoin
anumberofRawformats,aswellasbeingabletoshoot
stillsin DNG.Thisis a modularoptionthatreallyis aimedat
professionaluse,andisfarfrombeingcompactandeasily
transportable.Witha pricetagof£3,499fortheInspire2, a
ZenmuseX7cameracostsaround£2, 600 withlenses
costingin theregionof£1,300each,whichbringsthe
totalcostoftheInspire 2 withtheX7cameraandonelens
to £7,399. It’s an amazingpieceofkit,butcertainlynot
suited to the majorityof photographers.October 2 019 DigitalSLR Photography 89
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BATTERRY:DronesuseLiPobatteries,and
fortunatelyforyou,consumermodelsand
evensomeprofessionalmodelsusesmartbatteries
thatcandischarge themselvessafelywhenthey
haven’tbeenusedfora while.Someofthehigher-end
professionalmodelsusemorebasichigh-capacity
LiPo batteries which require a significant levelof care.
6
PROPELLERS:Whenyoufityourpropellersto
thedrone,youmustmakesurethatthe
correctpropsarefittedtothecorrespondingmotors;
on aquadcopter– onewithfourpropellers,two
rotateclockwisewhiletheother tworotate
counter-clockwise,soit’s imperativethatyouget this
right. All are labelled so you should have no trouble.7
LIGHTS:Manydronesfeaturedifferent
colouredlightsonthefrontandbacktohelp
distinguishwhichwaythedroneis facingwhenit’sin
theair.Theselightscanalsosignifywhetherornotthe
droneandcontroller areconnected.Somedrones
alsofeaturewhitelandinglightsthatcomeon
automatically during take-offffandlanding in low light.DRONE FACT
The earliest DJI drones were
designed to allow a GoPro
camera to be attached to them,
but as time went on more
advanced cameras became
an integral part of the
overall package.