DJI launches the most accessible flying camera (‘drone’) “Phantom 3 Standard”.
It is designed specifically for first-time pilots. The DJI Phantom 3 Standard brings DJI’s signature attention to stability, flight, and imaging to make capturing aerial images easier and more accessible than ever before.
“Based on the remarkable success of the DJI Phantom 3 Professional and Phantom 3 Advanced, we wanted to create a new drone that addresses people who are curious about aerial imaging, but not quite ready to commit to a more professional system,” said Frank Wang, DJI’s CEO and Founder. “The Phantom 3 Standard makes it easy to get into the air to take great photos and videos.”
The DJI Phantom 3 Standard records up to 2.7k HD video at 30 frames per second using a high-quality 94 degree distortion-free lens. The camera also shoots still images at 12 megapixels in both DNG Raw and JPG formats.
Using a standard WiFi connection, the DJI Phantom 3 Standard allows pilots to see what their camera sees in near real time in HD, capture photos, start / stop record for video and adjust camera settings all from the updated DJI Go app.
The remote controller is an updated version of DJI’s previous Phantom 2 Vision+ controller, with an integrated WiFi range extender and wheel to angle the camera.
The DJI Phantom 3 Standard includes GPS-based stabilization and flight times up to 25 minutes using DJI’s interchangeable Intelligent Flight Batteries for the Phantom 3 series.
The DJI Phantom 3 Standard will be compatible with intelligent flight features including Follow Me, Waypoint Navigation and Point of Interest flight planning.
Follow Me – The drone intelligently follows the user based on their orientation.
Waypoint Navigation – Allows users to set a multi-point route that the Phantom 3 flies automatically while leaving camera control (pan and tilt) to the user. Users simply have to pull back on their controller and the Phantom will retrace its path to the beginning.
Point of Interest – Lets users define an object that the Phantom will fly around in a circle with the object framed perfectly in the center – capturing a cinematic shot that is otherwise difficult to fly manually.
These intelligent features, originally released for DJI’s professional products, will be available through a firmware upgrade for the rest of the DJI Phantom 3 series and the DJI Inspire 1 in coming weeks. They are also available through SDK apps already developed by third party DJI developers.
Similarly, few months back, a photography drone “SOLO” is designed by an American company “3D Robotics” (3DR). It has the maximum flight time of about 20 minutes with a camera and 25 minutes without them. But it can get video from any modern GoPro camera and streams it directly to your phone or tablet with the help of 3DR’s new 3-axis Solo gimbal.
