As drones come to the fore, businesses set to capitalise: DJI

• New drones have wider applications than media, content creation
• Take advantage of accessibility, price to add value to business via drones

DÀ-JIĀNG Innovations (DJI) Co Ltd has launched what it claims to be its most accessible drones for the consumer market and expects other commercial entities to adopt them for use in their respective industry.

Speaking at the launch of its Mavic Drone series, DJI’s global director for communications Kevin On noted that although the two drones are designed for those in the content creation and media industry, other industries can adopt their usage in cases where they find uses for them.

“When we launched the Mavic Pro two years ago, we became more targeted in our products than before, and they were really for the people in the creative industries,” he said, responding to a question from Digital News Asia (DNA).

“But there are many opportunities for Southeast Asia, in particular Malaysia, where people are using our drones and figuring out how they can use them best in the industries they’re in.”

On noted that in Malaysia, there are a lot of industries that could benefit from drone technology such as those in the agricultural and plantation business. Other industries he mentioned which  could use drone technology are construction, infrastructure, inspection and monitoring, and emergency services.

“Each industry should work out how best to use our technology according to the best use cases for them,” he explained.

Besides this, On stressed that drones today are very much easier to use and operate and that buyers do not need to customise them and they can be used off-the-shelf.

“It just makes it more adaptable and flexible for different use cases and this is one of our goals - to make drones more widely accessible and easy to use.”

Malaysian DJI distributor ECS ICT Bhd echoed the same. Its chief executive Soong Jan Hsung said early adopters of DJI drones were mainly enthusiasts but the market has shifted towards those who are big into amateur and/ or semi-professional videography and photography.

“And there are people starting to buy them and using them as tools to solve everyday problems,” Soong claimed.

Camera specs

The Mavic 2 series comes with some common features while having something different for specific use cases. The Mavic 2 Pro emphasises image quality and is co-engineered in partnership with the world-renowned Hasselblad AB.

The Mavic 2 Pro is equipped with the Sweden-based firm’s camera gear that houses a 1-inch CMOS sensor with a 10-bit Dlog-M colour profile, which the company claims can capture four times as many levels of colour per channel compared to its predecessor the Mavic Pro.

Additionally, the Mavic 2 Pro can capture at 20-megapixels and has an adjustable aperture from f/2.8 to f/11, which provides more control across a wide variety of lighting conditions. With 4K 10-bit HDR support, the Mavic 2 Pro can be plugged into a 4K TV and will play back footage with the right colour tones.

Meanwhile, the Mavic 2 Zoom is DJI’s first foldable consumer drone and its selling point is its zoom capabilities. It sports a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor and users can get closer to the subject by combining two-times optical zoom (24mm to 48mm) with two-times digital zoom to simulate a 96mm telephoto lens and that captures lossless video in full HD resolution.

Another selling point is its Dolly Zoom capabilities, which gives a ‘warped’ perspective by automatically zooming in as it flies away from its subject thereby keeping the subject the same size while the full background of the scene is revealed.

Both cameras on the devices capture vivid 4K ultra-high definition video and claims to record at a maximum bitrate of 100-megabits per second using the H.265 compression codec.

For photographers, ITS’ new Enhanced High Dynamic Range boasts of being able to blend a sequence of photos for ghost-free high dynamic range, giving the Mavic 2 Pro 14 stops of dynamic range and Mavic 2 Zoom up to 13 stops.

Flight specs

The Mavic 2 series delivers autonomous flight capabilities that include the FlightAutonomy system that transmits data to a more powerful central processor for more accurate obstacle sensing and safer flight.

It’s also equipped with an improved Advanced Pilot Assistance System (APAS) which allows the aircraft to analyse its surrounding environment and automatically fly around obstacles without stopping.

Finally, it’s newly-designed OcuSync 2.0 video transmission system enables a more stable connection between the drone and its remote controller and features interference resistance and auto-switching capabilities that support both 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz frequency bands.

It can also use different frequencies for uplink and downlink data streams. It delivers 1080p video transmission feeds at a distance of up to 8km, allowing you to instantly edit and upload Full HD footage directly from the video cache in the DJI app in a wider variety of situations.

The Mavic 2 claims to reduce body drag by up to 19% compared to the Mavic Pro, allowing the Mavic 2 to fly at speeds of up to 44 mph (72 km/h) in Sport mode. The Mavic 2 has a maximum flight time of up to 31 minutes. 

The retail price of a Mavic 2 Pro, including the drone, battery, remote controller, charger, and four pairs of propellers, is RM6,599 (including SST). The retail price of a Mavic 2 Zoom, including the drone, battery, charger, remote controller and four pairs of propellers, is RM5,699 (including SST).

A Fly More Kit, including two additional batteries, a multi-battery charging hub, a car charger, a battery to power bank adapter, two pairs of propellers and a carrying bag, retails at RM1,399 (including SST). A gimbal replacement service exclusively for Mavic 2, will be available at a later date.

The Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom will be available in Malaysia from late September 2018 through DJI's authorised sales channels including all ECS Astar Sdn Bhd authorised dealers as well as on Lazada.

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