Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
There have been a number of claims about battery issues with the DJI Mini 2. Specifically, that the DJI Mini 2 has a battery discharge problem, potentially causing long-term harm to the health of batteries when stored in the drone or charging hub.
It’s not so much a safety issue, but one of cost. With shortened lifespan, you’d be buying them more often. DJI has officially responded to the claims now, acknowledging the issue and that they’re working on a firmware update to solve the problem.
The DJI Air 2S hasn’t technically replaced the Mavic Air 2 in DJI’s lineup. Both models are still being sold concurrently – for now – but is it really worth upgrading to the Air 2S if you already own the Mavic Air 2? And if you don’t already own a drone, is the Air 2S worth the extra cost over the Mavic Air 2?
These are the questions Billy Kyle attempts to answer in this comparison video of the two drones, walking us through the differences between them and where that extra money is going. And, in a surprising plot twist, he says that the DJI Air 2S is actually better than the much more expensive Mavic 2 Pro in some areas.
Normally I don’t pay much attention from leaks from OsitaLV because he seems to be wrong at least as much as he’s right. But this one is too interesting to ignore. In a recent tweet, OsitaLV showed off what he claims to be “The future of OSMO”, with a series of images that appear to be a more professional looking DJI video camera.
It’s a very interesting and definitely unique design that has a built-in gimbal. Which is a smart move, when you think about it. Why stabilise the whole system if you only really need to stabilise the lens and sensor? There are no specs or details about the system yet, and I suspect it might have issues with longer lenses, but it’s a very intriguing concept.
DJI has today officially announced the new DJI Air 2S drone, rumoured only last week. And it does indeed look as that leaked teaser suggested, with an extra pair of sensors on top and a large 1-inch camera sensor. But not only does the DJI Air 2S get a sizable sensor size upgrade over the Mavic Air 2, but it also gets a resolution bump, offering video at up to 5.4K resolution.
The DJI Air 2S offers up to 31 minutes of flight time with four-way directional obstacle sensors, APAS 4.0 advanced autopilot system, and a new MasterShots feature which uses automatic flight path planning to set the drone’s course while recording video and then automatically merges it all together in a neatly edited video.
While OsitaLV seems to have a habit of posting reliable information to Twitter about upcoming DJI projects, they also post just as many “leaks” that turn out to be nothing. And while I’m freely willing to admit that I may be wrong, I kinda feel like this one might be the latter.
A video was posted to OsitaLV’s account on Twitter which appears as though it’s a leaked promo video for an upcoming DJI Mavic Air 2S drone, with a 1″ 20-megapixel sensor – a significant size upgrade from the 1/2″ sensor in the Mavic Air 2 – as well as AirSense. But while the promo is quite convincing at first, there’s clues that suggest to me that it’s fake.
It goes without saying that this is more than likely going to be illegal to do in much of the world, but it seems that DJI’s recently released FPV Drone & goggles have been hacked to trick the GPS into thinking it’s flying in the USA. Why might this be desirable? Well, the DJI FPV Drone offers over 1,400mW of transmission power. But for most of the world outside of the USA, it’s limited to 25mW (the legal limit in many other countries).
The new web tool, called “B3YOND” classes itself as a free DJI FPV Drone “unlocker”. And there are legitimate (and potentially legal – if you have all the necessary permits) needs and ways to fly with the drone’s full power unlocked, although the author of B3YOND, D3VL says those platforms “charge an exorbitant amount” of money. So, they decided to release their own tool for free.
One of the key aspects of FPV drones is their repairability. After all, most FPV drones (particularly racing ones) are self-built by the person flying them. They’re not off-the-shelf purchases, so the person who made it and is flying it knows exactly how to tear it back down, replace parts and rebuild it. But does DJI’s new FPV drone stand up to the same self-repair scrutiny?
This teardown video from Livyu FPV shows that, while it’s not exactly an FPV racing drone, it does seem to be designed in a modular fashion that makes it fairly easy for users to repair at home when needed. And, make no mistake, with an FPV drone, you’ll almost certainly have a crash and need to do so at some point.
DJI has announced finally announced the new DJI FPV Drone. It features an on-board 4K 60fps gimbal stabilised camera with a 150° super-wide field of view with a low-latency signal that can be sent to your goggles. It has a top speed of up to 87 miles per hour and can combine gimbal stabilisation with electronic image stabilisation to ensure steady footage at any speed.
DJI’s hotly-anticipated FPV drone has been leaked (again). And we’re not just talking about a photo or two this time, but an entire unboxing video, courtesy of SpiderMonkey FPV who mirrored the original video after it was taken down. The packaging in the video is the full FPV combo kit which includes the drone itself, controller and the new DJI V2 goggles.
Obviously, the drone still hasn’t been released yet and the “NOT FOR SALE” and “DISPLAY DEMO” stickers indicate that this is a pre-production or display model in preparation for the expected official launch next month. The unboxing, though, shows everything so far. SpiderMonkey FPV also posted a separate video containing some FPV drone footage recorded by the goggles.
The new year brings us new drone regulations across Europe. From 31 December 2020, they are going to be effective across all EU countries, plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and the UK. DJI has issued a statement regarding the new rules and invited all users to “embrace them.”
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube.
His videos have over a hundred million views, have been extensively published by news outlets, and has even received recognition from a few film festivals, such as International Ocean Festival
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