Mavic Pro drone carrying $167K worth of drugs crashes into prison
Police are investigating a DJI Mavic Pro drone that was found attempting to fly drugs worth $167,000 (AUD 250,000) into a prison in Australia.
Expand Expanding ClosePolice are investigating a DJI Mavic Pro drone that was found attempting to fly drugs worth $167,000 (AUD 250,000) into a prison in Australia.
Expand Expanding CloseChris Cameron from DIY Photography has modified his DJI Mavic controller allowing him to fly his Mavic 2 drone with a joystick. To get the joystick working, Cameron was forced to teardown his controller and create custom hardware.
Expand Expanding CloseBattery semi-charged? Check. Propellers attached? Check. Then let’s power up and fly! Well, not so fast. Today we’ll make the case — and from personal experience — that it pays to give your gear a routine but deliberate inspection before each and every flight.
Expand Expanding CloseOver 30,000 submissions from aerial photographers and videographers from 141 different countries for the Skypixel 2018 Aerial Storytelling Contest that was co-organized with DJI. In the Video Category the grand prize winner is Ain Raadik shared a collection of adventures from his travels across New Zealand, Japan & around his home in Australia. and in the Photo Category, Deryk Baumgartner takes home the grand prize. He shot that awesome image of Mont Saint Michel with his DJI Mavic Pro.
At first glance, the Mavic 2 Pro (1,499) seems like the obvious successor to the Phantom 4 (also $1,499). The Mavic 2 has equivalent specifications in almost all areas, but it folds into a fraction of the size of the Phantom 4 Pro. The Mavic 2 Pro also sports 10-bit color on a Hasselblad-branded camera and several new automated flight modes among other improvements. With these upgrades it seems like the Phantom 4 is finished, right? Despite the apparent advantages of the Mavic 2 Pro, the Phantom 4 Pro still has some key features that give it an edge for some pilots. In this comparison, I dive into the specs, discuss the hidden pros and cons of each drone, and tell you which is best for specific applications.
DJI has now released seven different Mavic models. Understanding the difference among them is important in choosing which one is best for you. We will take a closer look at their specifications as well as the pros and cons of each model. We created the ultimate mavic comparison guide to help you decide which model best suits your needs.
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With the addition of the Mavic 2 Enterprise, understanding the different specifications among the different versions of the Mavic can be confusing. The Mavic 2 Enterprise is the most versatile of the Mavic series of drones, while the original Mavic Pro is the least expensive. Take a look at the Mavic 2 Enterprise specs below to see what makes it unique among the other Mavic options from DJI.
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DJI upgrades their official Amazon store. Not only does it look better now, but it also creates a distinction between other parties selling DJI products and the official DJI store. Making it clear who you are buying your drone or drone accessories from. They even included a ‘Deal‘ page where you can find discounted, often refurbished, products from the world largest drone maker.
DJI just released new firmware for the Mavic Pro. This is version v01.04.0500. The previous firmware update was early in July. On the DJI Forums, people have reported that this firmware does not change anything to the drone or the controller, but is merely for the DJI Goggles. Since the Goggles are updated through the Mavic Pro, you will have to do this in order to make the DJI Goggles compatible with the Mavic 2 Zoom and Pro drones.
DJI announces the End of Life for the Phantom 4 Pro/Pro+, Phantom 3 SE, Osmo, Osmo+, Osmo Mobile, Mavic Pro and Mavic Pro Platinum in a memo to retailers. The announcement comes right after the introduction of the Mavic 2 Zoom and Pro drones last week. Especially the inclusion of the Phantom 4 Pro/Pro+ is interesting as it may indicate that its successor, the Phantom 5 may not be far away.
The Mavic Pro is according to insiders, DJI’s best selling drone ever. It is small, light, foldable, very capable and, at least in our experience, very reliable. It wasn’t the world’s first foldable drone, but it was the first one that got (almost) everything right. DJI has sold thousands of them around the world and in the eyes of many, it has become the gold standard for foldable drones. The two-year-old Mavic Pro still holds its own against its much newer little brother the DJI Mavic Air. Now, as the sun is setting on this all-time favorite, we thought it made sense to do a final DroneDJ Review. As a goodbye and thank you if you will, but also for those of you who are considering picking one up, new or used, as prices are likely to drop even more after DJI’s ‘See the Bigger Picture‘ event tomorrow.
The August edition of Yachting World features an article called “Eye in the Sky” that promises to bring you five of the best drones in 2018. The drones included are the: DJI Mavic Pro, Parrot Bebop 2 Power FPV, DJI Spark, Parrot Mambo, and the GoPro Karma. Interestingly enough the DJI Mavic Air is missing from their selection even though that is still the most recent addition to DJI’s product line-up. Parrot’s latest drone the Anafi was also left out. They did include the Karma, however, even though GoPro itself has discontinued their troublesome drone earlier this year. Let’s take a quick look at the article.
Avid drone flyers often times buy their aircraft depending on the transmission system it operates on. Depending on your needs, this could be the first thing you worry about or the last. Being one of the largest drone companies, DJI uses a range of proprietary transmission systems and it’s incredibly important to know the differences between them. Let’s go over a quick summary.
Last week, we had two posts involving the brothers Andrzej and Bartek Bargiel. First Bartek was able to play a key role with his DJI Mavic Pro in the rescue of Rick Allen from Broad Peak. You can read the interview with him here. Then we had that amazing drone photo taken at 27,600 feet of the K2 mountain. Well, today the brothers are back! This time Bartek uses his DJI Mavic Pro to capture these amazing shots of his brother skiing down the K2 mountain. For those of you who don’t know, K2 is the second highest mountain in the world at 28,251 feet high and one of the, if not the, most deadly mountains, also known as the Savage Mountain. Flying a drone to capture your brother skiing down that mountain is simply unreal. You have to watch this one!
In a continuation of our previous post about the drone rescue of Rick Allen, we wanted to share with you this photo of the K2 mountain that according to various people on social media has been taken with a DJI Mavic Pro at 8,400m or 27,600 feet high. We are working on getting a final confirmation but wanted to share the photo with you already. If true this ranks as one of the most impressive photos ever taken with the Mavic Pro as far as I am concerned. Update: Bartek Bargiel confirms in a comment on Facebook that it is indeed the Mavic. Wow!
Lower prices on DJI’s drones will help enthusiasts into the air according to the Chinese drone maker. The world’s largest drone manufacturer will offer discounts up to $300 for drones like the Spark and Mavic Pro as part of the Amazon Prime day promotion, that will start on July 16 at 12 pm EDT and will run for 36 hours. People looking to pick up one of these discounted drones will be able to do so at the official DJI store on Amazon and the regular DJI online store for Canadian and US customers.
While many of you were celebrating the fourth of July, DJI quietly released a new firmware update (v01.04.0400) for the DJI Mavic Pro. So far the first feedback from users seems to be pretty positive with reports of improved video transmission and hardly any problems after installing this latest version. Please note that this version cannot be rolled back to an earlier firmware version.
Six months after I first got my hands on the Autel Evo at CES 2018, I finally got the opportunity to fly it. It’s not because I was busy flying other drones… but it’s because Autel took that long to bring their foldable drone and Mavic Pro competitor to the market. The official launch of the Evo was last Monday, June 25th and I am going to try and look past its rocky launch because the drone itself is really impressive. Here are some of my first impressions upon getting the drone out and spending some time flying it.
On July 18th, DJI will introduce a new product that is widely expected (see poll here) to be the successor of the current Mavic Pro, the Mavic Pro II. As we get closer to the release date, the rumors are becoming more frequent and more detailed as well. We saw the same thing happen in the weeks before the Mavic Air was released back in January. Today, we have seen these latest rumors on Twitter that we believe are worth sharing with you. One of them being that the new Mavic Pro II (2) is likely to have all-around obstacle avoidance. Another one, speculating that there might be two versions.
Like with any highly anticipated product introduction, things tend to heat up as we get closer to the actual release date. The stories and rumors get wilder and crazier and now the same thing is happening with DJI’s most recent announcement. According to some people, the image that accompanied DJI’s announcement may contain a hidden hint to the Mavic Pro II (2). Have a look yourself and let us know if you think this is purely coincidence or that it confirms the arrival of the long-awaited foldable Mavic Pro successor from the Chinese drone-maker.
Chinese drone-maker DJI just sent out an invitation to the press to come and “See The Bigger Picture” on July 18th at 10 am in New York. The invitation was sent by email and contained a top-down aerial photo that seems to show a mountainous area with trees, a river and possibly a lake in the center. Toward the outer edges of the circular image you see clouds and then it fades into black. There is no indication if this photo is from an actual location and/or how much of it may be photoshopped. The image also has a resemblance of an eye (iris and pupil), which nicely ties back into their slogan: “See The Bigger Picture”, which is superimposed over the photo. Like with previous announcements from DJI, it is hard to get much information out it, but I think it is safe to say that DJI will almost certainly be announcing a new consumer drone this summer with an emphasis on image quality. Possibly the new Mavic Pro 2 drone.
Last Wednesday, French drone maker Parrot, introduced their latest drone the Anafi. It is a very lightweight, portable, foldable drone that shoots 4K HDR videos and 21MP photos with its Sony CMOS sensor. It is also priced very aggressively at $699.99, competing head-on with the likes of the Mavic Air and Mavic Pro from Chinese drone manufacturer, DJI. So how do these drones compare? We’ve put the most important specifications next to each other to provide you with an overview.
Chinese drone maker, DJI just started a series of promotions around the world to celebrate things like Father’s Day, Mid-Year and Summer. Or, instead of celebrating, what they are really are trying to do is to get rid off their old inventory ahead of any upcoming new drones. Mavic Pro 2 and Phantom 5, anyone?
If you have ever wondered how to bring a DJI Mavic Pro drone along on a motorcycle, well, in that case, you may want to check this out. Recently Yamaha approached Kevin Murray, founder of Velomacchi in Hood River, Oregon to customize an XSR700. Murray and his team set to work and together with brands like DJI, Yoshimura, Champion and Race Tech they created the ultimate “Goldrush Bike” including a custom solution to carry your DJI Mavic Pro. Velomacchi specializes in creating backpacks, duffel bags and other accessories for adventurous motorcyclists.