GQ_South_Africa_2017

28 GQ.CO.ZA OCTOBER 2017

essentials

TECHNOLOGY

Eye

in the

sky

The DJI Mavic Pro democratises

the view from the clouds

Words by Paul Sephton

PHOTOGRAPH BY KARL ROGERS

f it’s not a drone selfie,

does it even count

anymore? That’s the

message we’re getting

in 2017, and as woke as your

Instagram game might be, life just

looks better from above.

No one knows this better than

DJI. Once the preserve of serious

filmmakers, drones are now

firmly entrenched in consumer

playgrounds, and everyone is

drinking the Kool-Aid of aerial

photography. And while

something like the Phantom 4

is still considered an industry

mainstay, what you see on

this page is the Mavic Pro, the

Phantom’s little sibling and what is

widely considered to be the best

drone on the market, period.

The Mavic Pro’s major weight

and size sheddings are a key part

of its mass market appeal: you’re

getting a 743g foldable drone

that comfortably fits into your

backpack but boasts the quality of

a professional rig. When you

consider that you can control it

with your iPhone (or the pocket-

sized remote), shoot stable 4K video

12-megapixel

camera with

Adobe DNG

RAW support

3-axis gimbal

for stabilised

shooting at

high speeds

Vision

sensors and

ultrasonic

range finders