Flying first class
JUST TEN MONTHS AFTER LAUNCHING THE PHANTOM 4, DJI HAS ADDED SOME NEW TRICKS TO ITS MARKET-LEADING DRONE. BUT DOES THE PRO MODEL JUSTIFY ITS $900 PRICE HIKE?
turbulence on-screen. Even in windier test conditions and accelerating to the drone’s top speed, our image remained poker straight.
Testing the drone’s cat-like agility at high speed is bags of fun, but the real purpose of the Pro is to shoot broadcast-worthy aerial footage and stills, and that’s where the new camera comes into play. The gimbal mounted shooter has been redesigned to house a one-inch, 20MP sensor with a mechanical shutter, which bids farewell to the rolling shutter distortion that blighted older models.
A tricked-out video processing system enables the camera to snap 4K video at 60fps, and at a whopping 100Mbps bitrate. The result is some of the finest high-res slow mo footage we’ve ever shot with an ‘off the shelf’ drone. And if your aerial footage has ever suffered from unwanted noise in low light, 12 stops of dynamic range means the camera produces better quality footage in darker conditions.
The camera spec is no marketing fluff. The results are crystal clear, colours are reproduced beautifully, the detail of features on the ground is perfectly duplicated and in darker settings, such as woodland, there’s no significant change in image quality. In fact, the camera practically justifies the extra cost on its own.
Elsewhere, the new 5870mAh High Capacity Intelligent Flight battery boasts 30 minutes of flight time, an improvement on most commercially available drones. At best we squeezed 28 minutes from ours, but emergency troubleshooting such as gimbal re-alignment and compass calibration can quickly eat into those precious minutes. Ideally you’d want at least a couple of spare batteries for those long shoots, but at $289 a pop they don’t come cheap.
ALL SEEING EYE
While it may look much the same as the Phantom 4, the Pro now has eyes in the back of its head thanks to dual rear vision cameras (in addition to the dual front and downward-facing cameras of the 4), plus right and left infrared sensors that 3D map the surrounding environment in real time. The result is five-direction obstacle sensing and four-direction obstacle avoidance at speeds of up to 50km/h. A new Narrow Sensing mode also means flying through tight spaces is more precise and confidence inspiring.
Testing the obstacle sensing system on a $2,600 gadget was
DJI had a bumper year in 2016. It launched the Mavic Pro, a portable and lightweight quadcopter rocking precision flying technology, obstacle sensors and autonomous features for easy filming on the go. Then came the Inspire 2, an overhaul of DJI’s weapons-grade film-making UAV. In March they introduced the Phantom 4, strutting skyward with a new look and a glut of performance enhancing upgrades like single touch autonomous flight, subject tracking and obstacle avoidance sensors.
The Phantom 4 set a new benchmark for drone design and technology, which is why the November launch of the Phantom 4 Pro came as a shock to many. On paper the Pro reads like a Phantom 4 on steroids – there’s an upgraded camera, added obstacle sensors and new Intelligent Flight modes – but are these features enough to steer you away from the formidable Phantom 4, the cheaper Mavic Pro, or even sway your allegiance from another brand?
GET UP, GET ON UP
Getting airborne with the Phantom 4 Pro is noticeably easier than with previous DJI drones. A full controller and battery charge takes three to four hours and you’ll need a smartphone or tablet running the free DJI Go 4 app to control the in-flight features, adjust camera settings, view telemetry data (your battery life, altitude, etc) and observe the camera’s live feed. The app guides you through initial set-up and advises on any necessary firmware updates. Updating earlier Phantoms was the stuff of nightmares; with the Pro you update directly from the app and you’re ready to fly.
Propellers lock in place with a simple push and twist, and the controller, aircraft and app power up and connect within seconds. Once the app confirms you’re good to fly, take-off is engaged with a simple ABOVE Looks good and won’t end up smashing into a tree thanks to superior obstacle-sensing tech built in on-screen swipe. The Phantom whirs into life, hovering a short distance off the ground ready for your first move.
The controller feels robust in the hands and nudging the sticks elicits a precise, controlled response. Beginner mode imposes tight restrictions on speed, altitude and range, which is ideal for newbies, and controller sensitivity can be tweaked too.
In the past, manually achieving smooth, controlled aerial movements, the kind you’d see on Imax epics or Attenborough nature docs, has been tricky, but the Pro moves through the air like it’s fixed to rails, producing no