DJI has launched the Pro edition of its popular Phantom 4 drone which was actually released earlier this year in March and we got a close up view of it at Inter Bee 2016 in Japan. As the name suggests, this is just an incremental update that adds several new features to the drone. The company has also unveiled a new Inspire 2 drone which has two cameras onboard. The Chinese company wants to make sure that its lead in the drone market remains unchallenged and new products are a good way to make that happen.
Phantom 4 Pro’s new camera has a 1 inch CMOS sensor that’s capable of shooting 20 megapixel stills. It can capture up to 11.6 stops of dynamic range. This means that the camera’s sensor is better at balancing the difference between dark and light.
It also comes with a new mechanical shutter to eliminate the rolling shutter effect you often see on footage captured using drone cameras. The lens aperture can be adjusted so that users can have more control over the depth of field. It’s capable of shooting 14 photos per second in burst mode and can even capture slow motion video at 60 frames per second.
Advanced obstacle avoidance is made possible by sensors on all four sides of the drone. It can avoid obstacles in any direction. Top speed in this particular mode has been increased from 22 miles per hour to 31. The Phantom 4 Pro is compatible with a new remote sold separately that features a built-in display.
DJI says that the battery life has been improved from 25 minutes to 30 and that the drone is now capable of flying through much tighter spaces and more complex environments. The DJI Phantom 4 Pro costs $1,499 without the controller and $1,799 with it. It’s available for pre-order right away from the company’s website.