Now that Skydio has exited the patron drone enterprise and can by no means promote me the miniature self-flying drone of my desires, I’m seeking to DJI as an alternative. The flowery advertising for its just-announced $759 DJI Mini 4 Professional suggests we’re at the least on the way in which — as a result of it’s the primary Mini with omnidirectional impediment sensing.
2022’s Mini 3 Professional may already see forwards, backwards, and down, however… we crashed it right into a tree fairly quick. The binocular imaginative and prescient in each course is a probably big improve if it really works properly, and the smaller wingspan in comparison with an Air may additionally assist it match between bushes and/or branches.
I can’t vouch for its tree-dodging but, however Vjeran now has one to check:
In some ways, the Mini 4 Professional largely brings the Mini 3 Professional as much as parity with the bigger, pricier $1,099 DJI Air 3. It already had an identical fundamental digicam (1/1.3-inch, 48-megapixel, f/1.7 with 82-degree FOV) and related battery lifetime of over 40 minutes, however now provides the omnidirectional impediment avoidance, 100fps 4K taking pictures (and 200fps 1080p taking pictures), and Ocusync 4 video transmission for 20 kilometers of vary (up from 12 km) that the Air already had.
As with the Mini 3 Professional, you possibly can count on a strong half-hour battery life from the included battery or almost 40 minutes with the larger “Clever Flight Battery Plus,” although the latter’s not offered in Europe this time because it bumps the load above the allowed 249 grams. And whereas DJI’s additionally promoting “True Vertical Taking pictures” as an enormous promoting level of the Mini 4 Professional, the Mini 3 Professional (and the $469 Mini 3, for that matter) have already got it.
The Mini 3 can be DJI’s inexpensive battery champ with 4 to 6 extra minutes on a battery cost, relying on which battery you insert.
You’re nonetheless an Air or higher when you want extra pace, because it ascends and descends twice as quick because the Mini’s pokey 5 meters per second. (The Air’s solely 25 % sooner on the straights.) And naturally, the Air has the second f/2.8 70mm-equivalent telephoto digicam for extra flexibility.
When you do have a Mini 3 Professional or are stocking up on equipment, you’ll be completely satisfied to listen to the Mini 4 Professional makes use of the identical batteries — however it wants a brand new controller due to the upgraded Ocusync 4 video transmission.