The Drones are Coming!

I don't think anyone thought drones were just a fad back when they first graced the skies in mass, but just in case you haven't had enough flying fun here comes some more! DJI recently announced the launch of their newest product Mavic, a beast of a drone but in a tiny package. Loaded to the gills with features like a full 4K camera mounted on a proper 3-axis mechanical gimbal (non of this digital image stabilizer non-sense) and so much automation the thing practically flies itself. Actually it can literally fly itself. It has a built in tracking system that will automatically follow you anywhere you go and also has obstacle detection sensors. Basically it is dummy proofed. This is really only the surface of what this thing can do just watch the video below!

So the real question is who is this for? It seems that DJI is pushing this product more towards the adventure crowd. Not to say you have to be an athlete to enjoy this product. It is interesting though that this announcement came shortly after GoPro's announcement of the Hero 5 in combo with their Karma drone, which is of course marketed toward the same demographic. I believe we are about to see a true head to head here. Now it was no secret that GoPro was getting dumped by DJI all those years ago when DJI started making their own cameras for their drones. Instead of bowing out quitely though, the Karma is GoPro saying loud and clear that they will not be pushed out of the drone market completely. It will be fun to see who comes out on top once the dust settles this Christmas, as both of these drones are set to release sometime in October.

DJI definitely has a leg up on GoPro in the drone market but we certainly shouldn't underestimate the brand loyalty that GoPro has generated throughout the years. I have no idea which one I would get, but I certainly plan on investigating both to potentially add them to my filmmaking arsenal.