We are patiently waiting for DJI to announce its next-generation flagship camera drone. It has hit the FCC database, leaks have begun sharing all the latest tech, but there’s been no word on even a rumored release date. Whenever it might happen, here are five things we’re hoping are true about the Mavic 4 Pro.
95 watt hour battery size
What’s a new drone generation without a bump in the battery specs? Very early on in the Mavic 4 Pro’s leaks, we’ve seen that the new drone might have a massive battery increase, from 77 Wh to 95.3 Wh. This is just slightly below the 99.5 Wh limit that the Matrice 4 saw. It is also below the FAA unrestricted limit to bring on an aircraft, which is 100 Wh.
This, paired with a newly designed body like the Mini 4 Pro, which increases both flight time and obstacle avoidance performance, could shatter the current max flight time of 43 minutes.
Increased internal storage
The Air 3S increased the internal storage from the standard 8 GB to a much more usable 43 GB. While that’s not what you might have in a dedicated microSD card, it is much better when you just need a little extra space.
Leaks have stated that an increase in internal storage is coming with the new Mavic 4 Pro. On the Cine lineup, a potential doubling of up to 2 TB of internal storage for all that ProRes goodness. On the Pro side, I would expect at least a match with the Air 3S, but personally, I’d like to see 64 GB. An increase like that might make the need for microSD cards a thing of the past for small jobs.
More practical zoom lenses
What used to be separate drones like the Mavic 2 and Mavic 2 Pro, have now become one. The Mavic 3 pioneered the multi-camera drone system, a feature that only DJI still has in consumer drones. What you’ll find on the Mavic 3 Pro is a 3x and 7x zoom camera alongside the M4/3 Hasselblad main camera. On paper, that made for an impressive upgrade; in the real world, that 7x, 177mm equivalent camera was hard to find use cases for. And while the 3x, 70mm equivalent, was much better, it still was a bit too much.
If the leaks are true, we’ll potentially see two new focal lengths for the Mavic 4 Pro: 2.5x, 50mm equivalent, and 6x, 145mm equivalent. If you’re even a part-time photographer or videographer, that 50mm focal length should have gotten you excited. A standard for most films and portraits, coming to the sky will make for some phenomenal shots to be shared, while also keeping consistency with potential ground cameras.
Internal ND filters
Have you ever gotten your drone up in the air and then thought, “I need a higher ND filter on?” Well, this is one of the crazier leaks that we’ll have to see if it’s true or not. Can a drone have room for internal ND filters? Well, if you’ve seen any of the leaked images of the Mavic 4 Pro, you can see there’s a lot of added space in that payload.
I wouldn’t expect to have all the ND options in the world, but I would expect this to replace the add-on NDs that you can order separately from DJI. Sorry, Neewer; your third-party filters may no longer be necessary. Although a circular polarizer might still be useful.
Better low light capability
What’s two words that will make all drone photographers scream in excitement? Variable aperture.
It’s rumored that all of the Mavic 4 Pro’s cameras will feature an f2.0 aperture, allowing for better performance in those twilight hours. What is one more step that would make that feature even better? All three of those cameras also have a variable aperture like the Mavic 3’s main camera.
Even if the change is rather limited in scope, having the ability to incorporate added consistency across all three cameras would be nice.
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