Haye Kesteloo is the Editor in Chief and Main Writer at DroneDJ, where he covers all drone-related news and writes product reviews. He also contributes to the other sites in the 9to5Mac group such as; 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, and Electrek.
Haye can be reached at haye@dronedj.com or @hayekesteloo
Earlier this week DJI released a firmware update for their Ronin-S gimbal. The new firmware, for instance, brings the option to set the zoom speed for Sony cameras, adds 3D Roll 360 and Auto Roll 360 features for some very creative video shots. Furthermore, it brings new features for cameras such as the Panasonic GH3, GH$, GH5, GH5S, Nikon Z7, Canon 1DX Mark II, and the 5D Mark IV. For all the details see below.
Good morning, today’s drone video shows of the beauty of Bali. LukSky’s DJI Phantom 4 Pro captures Bali in a beautiful way with some really nice aerial shots. The drone footage was taken during a 19-day trip around the island of Bali, Nusa Penida, and the Gili islands. Not all the footage was taken with the DJI Phantom 4, some of it was taken with a Panasonic GH5 and Lumix 12-35mm f/2.8 lens. If you need a little break from the cold weather, watch this video and you’ll be on a short vacation.
The Christmas Spectacular show with the Rockettes at the Radio City Music Hall in New York is one of those must-see shows during the Holiday season. The show has become an annual tradition for a lot of people and over the many decades of the show’s existence little has changed. For instance, the oldest and perhaps most famous aspect of the show, ‘The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers‘ has been a staple since 1933. For this year, however, the organization behind the Christmas Spectacular show has decided to change things up a little by adding Intel Shooting Star Mini drones to the mix and creating an entire new finale, called ‘Christmas Lights’. See the video below.
A drone and a dirt biker crash midair during a massive jump. The motorcyclist suffered an injury to his shoulder after colliding with the drone. Brinnick Presley, 22, was performing a ‘routine’ jump on his dirt bike while his friend was recording the event with a GoPro Karma drone.
Good morning, a little different video today that shows the beauty of Taiwan. The footage was shot by Eric Lin in Jiufen, New Taipei City. There are some very scenic shots in this short drone video. Enjoy! As far as the news goes, here are some of the headlines you may have missed. We covered 15 drone teams being deployed in Paradise, CA, a man shooting at his neighbor’s drone, an illegal Yellowstone National Park drone photo. And a number of drone Black Friday drone deals. Check out the links below.
Update: our latest article about the Firmware update for the Inspire 2 apparently also resolves the battery issue.
DJI resolves battery issue for the Inspire 2 with their latest firmware update (v01.02.0300) for the drone as well as the controller. The firmware update promises to address the battery issue for the Inspire 2, we reported on earlier. It also contains a number of other bug fixes, such as “the X7’s inability to hold a straight horizon”. See below for more details.
For this year’s Skydio R1 Black Friday promotion, the company offers you a free second battery ($149) and a custom Skydio backpack ($129) when you purchase the R1 drone. No discount on the $1,999 drone itself, unfortunately. Still, a very nice promotion, because the fully autonomous drone doesn’t easily fit into most regular backpacks as we learned ourselves. Also, the extra battery comes in nicely as the flight time is a mere 16 minutes, due to all the processing taking place onboard this aircraft. The Skydio R1 Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotion for the R1 drone will run from Friday through Monday.
CNN reports the Camp Fire isn’t even halfway done burning. Meanwhile, drone teams are already deployed after the Camp Fire in Paradise, CA, in what is called the largest UAV disaster response effort in the history of California. As we have seen with earlier wildfires, flooding, and hurricanes, drones can help to quickly map and visualize disaster-struck areas and provide assistance during the recovery.
Late Friday afternoon a caller reported a disturbance in the neighborhood in around 4:40 p.m. Deputies were called out to the Spicewood neighborhood to investigate. The shooter was arrested by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office after repeatedly shooting his gun at a neighbor’s drone.
A photographer from New York is under federal investigation after sharing a drone photo of Yellowstone National Park’s Grand Prismatic Spring with his 717,000 Instagram followers. The photographer’s name is Timothy McGurr, but on Instagram he’s better known as 13thwitness. After some followers commented that it was illegal to fly drones in national parks, McGurr removed the photo from his account.
As usual, DJI launches a special promotion campaign around Black Friday and this year is no exception. DJI advertises with up to 30% discounts on products such as the Spark Fly More Combo, Spark Controller Combo, Tello Boost Combo, Goggles RE, Osmo Mobile 2, Mavic Air and the Mavic Air Combo.
What is different for this year’s Black Friday, is that DJI has provided DroneDJ with six exclusive 5% off coupons for the Mavic Air Combo, knocking another $45 off the price of our favorite travel drone AFTER the DJI $100 discount! Keep reading for all the details.
Even though China is trying to make headways into military drone market and touting lower prices to convince potential buyers, Australia just announced that it will buy American drones, namely the Reaper. The 12 to 16 unmanned warships are to be stationed in Papua New Guinea in response to regional security threats, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Today, Lume Cube announced an all-new re-designed light for content creators of all kinds. The Lume Cube AIR is the smallest, lightest, and most portable lighting device on the market. Combining a portable and waterproof design, versatile mounting options, the freedom of wireless control, and a range of diffusers inside the box, the latest solution is an affordable, all-in-one light that allows anyone to create better photo and video. Compatible with everything from a smartphone to a DSLR, the Lume Cube AIR provides professional quality lighting in any environment.
In case you’re wondering what Lume Cubes are good for, check out these amazing drone photos of glaciers, night sky and rock formations!
Yuneec announced that it has been named a CES® 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree for the Yuneec Mantis Q drone in the robotics and drones product category. The announcement was made during CES Unveiled New York, an invite-only tech event bringing together top media, exhibitors and industry leaders for a sneak peek of the products and trends expected at CES 2019, which will run January 8-11, 2019 in Las Vegas, NV. The Yuneec Mantis Q is the first drone with voice control.
After a crazy summer with the postponed launch of the DJI Mavic 2, all eyes are now fixed on the long-awaited DJI Phantom 5. Will it be released by the end of this month, during DJI’s “Because Life is Big” event? We will have to wait and see. However, in the meantime, let’s take a look and ‘zoom’ in on the expected specs for the new DJI Phantom 5.
Good morning, today’s video is titled: “Colorado by drone’ and has been captured and edited by David. David slept in a tent for two months and drove almost 10,000 miles to capture all the amazing drone footage. It makes you wonder how much time he has spent going through all the footage and editing it into this six-minute video. Either way, the result is an amazing drone video. Check it out below.
As far as news goes, we found out yesterday that the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 is now out of stock on DJI’s website, which might well be another indication that the arrival of the Phantom 5 is around the corner. We also have news about a drone incident that took place a few days ago in New Zealand. Grab a coffee and enjoy!
The DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 is out of stock! Yesterday, we received the invite for DJI’s ‘Because Life is Big‘ event in NYC on November 28th. Today we learn that the (soon to be replaced?) DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 is out of stock. The DJI website does not provide any information on when it may be in stock again. Likely because it never will. It seems that the world’s largest drone maker is getting to introduce the long-awaited DJI Phantom 5 drone.
A drone that was flying at around 600-feet and within two miles of the runway, caused the Wellington Airport in New Zealand to temporarily shut down, causing flights to be delayed. The drone incident took place on October 11th, 2018 when a pilot spotted the drone as he was getting ready to take off with an airplane carrying 300 passengers. The shutdown lasted 40 minutes.
Good morning, here we are with another amazing drone video. This time it is all about Iceland. The video was captured with the DJI Mavic 2 Pro which is a great place to start but obviously, a lot of time went into the editing of this video as well. Be sure to check it out. It is one of those that you kinda have to see.
For the headlines from yesterday. Well, the big one is DJI’s invite for the ‘Because Life is Big’event in NYC on November 28th. What will it be? An OSMO party edition or the Phantom 5? I have my money on the P5 but we’ll have to wait and see. Only two more weeks… Furthermore, we have news from Malaysia, Japan, China as well as a review of the Fatshark 101 and the Amazon Gift Guide. So, grab your morning coffee and jump right in!
Ok – here we go again! DJI just sent out an invite to press and media members for an event in New York. It is titled: “Because life is big!” DJI tells us that they are delighted to invite us to an exclusive DJI event on November 28th, from 2 pm to 4 pm EST at Good Morning America Studios in Midtown Manhattan to showcase their latest technology. What might this be all about? Could it be the long-awaited DJI Phantom 5?
The Malaysian Health Ministry plans to extend their use of drone technology at state health departments throughout the nation in an effort to combat Aedes mosquitoes and control Dengue outbreaks. Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said The drones can be very effective to detect the mosquitoes, especially in hard-to-reach areas. He continued to say that based on preliminary information, the allocation to purchase the drones could be sought through the ministry through provisions in Budget 2019.
Last Wednesday the Japan Post Co. started transporting documents by drone in Fukushima, Japan. it was a first in the history of the country, following an easing of regulations to deal with labor shortages in the transportation industry. The drone document delivery service will run six days a month and will complete two round trips on those selected days. The intention is to expand the service to rural areas and islands in the future.
China weaponizes drones and has developed both large stealth drones as well as smaller unmanned aircraft that can be armed with AK-47s or any other weapon of choice. Earlier this week during the China air show in the city of Zhuhai, China unveiled the drones to challenge the US dominance of the UAV market. One of the unmanned aircraft that got a lot of attention during the air show is the new CH-7 or Caihong-7 stealth combat drone. It has a wingspan of 72 feet and is larger than most combat jets. It is said to be capable of traveling at speeds of over 500 miles an hour and after altitudes of over 46,000 feet. The first test flights are scheduled for next year.
Good morning, check out this video of a marriage proposal high above a fjord in Norway. An awesome view but one misstep… Anyway, it seemed that it all worked out since they uploaded the video to Instagram later. Congrats to Andy and Clare!
As far as the headlines go, we have a winner for the Yuneec Breeze 4K drone giveaway. Karie C. from Anchorage is the lucky winner. Stay tuned for our next giveaway which we will launch soon! Furthermore, we have an update on DJI battery problem that affects some of the Inspire 2 and Matrice 200 drones, a skier versus an FPV racing drone, a security flaw in DJI’s software (fixed now), a joystick to control your DJI drone and more. So grab your second or third coffee of the morning and jump right in.