Drones Are Changing Fast

I Didn’t Have An Interest…… Till Yesterday

It all changed recently.  It’s just fun.  Maneuvering and learning to judge the distances so you do not run into something is time well spent.  Flying the drone. Also, making pictures and videos.  But the main thing that happens is the talk about how it could be better.  If only it had 4K.  What resolution is the still photo?  It is smaller than I thought.  It looks like a toy. Poof!! Mavic Air

WELL, today DJI introduced the Mavic Air.  Features include foldable props and 4K.  A special mode that does 120 fps. (If your new: That’s how you get slow motion by slowing down 120 fps) My friend Mike got this magic machine around Christmas and has been flying just occasionally but learning the controls.  My commercial photo business has put me in the right seat of a helicopter on occasion and I jokingly told Mike about the most common thing spoken by photographers in the helicopters.  “Can we get lower”.

Fast Forward to 11:45. It is “beginning shortly” for 11 minutes 45 seconds. hehe

It’s the case of always wanting to do just a little bit better.  You can relate.  The law keeps a helicopter at a minimum of 1000 feet over any populated area.  Pretty much anywhere I would do aerial photographs is heavily populated and many times tightly restricted because of airport controlled airspace.  I’d been keeping up with the drone craze over the last few years and how it would fit in as an extension to my aerial work in the past.

The drone can legally get to a maximum of 400 feet. An ideal altitude for most of the aerials of my career.  Go DJI. Normally my phone would ring when someone was trying to sell a property, or preparing some legal action for re-zoning or occasionally traffic studies.  My phone doesn’t ring as much for obvious reasons.  This drone flying could have some commercial money-making possibilities but primarily it’s FUN.  I had a blast.  Mike flew.  I flew.  I remember the first small drone I saw was named Parrot and I saw the potential.  Then DJI appeared and they were developing things, releasing new products and then listening to the users to correct or tweak and develop something better.

So DJI had the Phantom, then the Magic of the Mavic and finally the Spark.  Many companies would just sit back and rake in the dollars but not these folks.  They made it better, added some good features and the Mavic Air appeared.

If memory serves the Nikon D750 body weighs 750 grams.  This latest DJI Mavic Air weighs less than 450 grams.  That’s small!  Because it folds up, it is a smaller footprint than the Spark.  Check out the info.  I see it as something I’ll add to my gear collection and this Mavic Air is definitely a player in the field of aerial photography.

More Mavic Air Info