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The Insta360 Sphere is an invisible 360° camera for drones that lets you create FPV-style footage in post

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Mounting 360° cameras to drones has been a thing for a while now, but the one big issue with it is that there’s really nowhere you can mount a traditional 360° camera without getting the drone itself in shot somewhere. Well, Insta360 aims to solve that with the new Insta360 Sphere, a split lens system and mount that lets you make your drone completely invisible.

The lightweight frame mounts the two lenses of Insta360 Sphere on top of the drone above its propellers and underneath the drone below its feet. When the two halves are stitched together, you get a completely seamless 360° view with no drone in sight. Initially, it’s been released for the DJI Mavic Air 2 and DJI Air 2S, but it’s expected to come to other drones in the future.

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DJI leak shows the DJI Avata CineWhoop style drone for shooting FPV cinema

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Well, it looks like the DJI Mini 3 Pro isn’t the only small drone that DJI’s been working on lately. According to leaks from both OsitaLV and DealsDrone, DJI’s also been working on a small-ish (~500g) FPV drone in the CineWhoop style. CineWhoop is a relatively new style of drone designed for shooting high-quality video footage while flying FPV.

FPV has become popular for not only showcasing the abilities of drone pilots but it’s even become a thing in Hollywood now with a lot of movies seemingly jumping on the tech. I even spotted some FPV shots while watching Ambulance the other day (some of them are in the trailer). So, it makes sense that DJI is looking to exploit this market.

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The UK’s Royal Mail is planning to start delivering mail by drones

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Well, if Royal Mail’s service wasn’t bad enough already, they’re about to add drones into the mix. They’ve announced plans to open up 50 postal routes for delivery drones over the next three years as part of an operation to ultimately deploy over 500 UAVs to remote areas of the country. The whole thing is subject to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval, of course, but this is Royal Mail, so they’ll probably figure out a way.

It’s happening in partnership with Windracers, a drone logistics company and the goal is to reduce the emissions of current mail delivery systems including ferries, aircraft and land-based delivery methods. The first routes chosen to receive the new service will include the Isles of Scilly, Shetland Isles, Orkney Islands and the Hebrides.

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DJI has now officially announced the DJI Mini 3 <250g drone with 3-way obstacle avoidance

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DJI has now officially announced the successor to their <250g DJI Mini 2. And in what will come as a surprise to absolutely nobody, it’s called the DJI Mini 3… Pro. I’m not sure what makes this “Pro” or if there’ll be a non-pro version coming at some point (perhaps as a successor to the Mini SE?), but DJI’s announcement today doesn’t actually reveal much that hadn’t already been leaked over the last couple of weeks – including a complete unboxing and first flight.

It’s another <250g drone with a larger battery option for those with the appropriate permits to fly larger drones, it comes in three different packages and the Fly More Combo deal is an extra addon to each of those three packages. And despite any other advancements DJI may have made with this drone, the big news, obviously, is that their Mini line finally has obstacle avoidance.

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YouTuber posts complete DJI Mini 3 Pro unboxing and first flight videos days before official announcement

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I think somebody’s probably going to get into trouble over this for breaking an embargo, but a YouTuber by the name of DM Productions has posted a complete unboxing video of the DJI Mini 3 Pro as well as a first flight and first impressions of the drone in use. The DJI Mini 3 Pro has been rumoured for quite a while with DJI finally posting a cryptic teaser on their website on Thursday.

The official announcement is expected on Tuesday, May 10th but it looks like somebody jumped the gun a little early so that they could get all of the YouTube traffic before all of the other websites and YouTubers who are sticking to the embargoes and NDAs they agreed to. I expect they’re all going to be a little pissed off right now.

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Complete DJI Mini 3 Pro specs leak confirms 48-megapixel sensor and 4K HDR video

There’s supposed to be a teaser announced later today and the official announcement is expected on May 10th, but the complete specs for DJI’s upcoming Mini 3 Pro drone have leaked, confirming that it has a 48-megapixel 1/1.3″ CMOS sensor capable of shooting 4K HDR video. It has a top speed of 34 minutes (on the standard battery) with level five wind resistance.

It has a top flight speed of 16 metres per second (~35.8mph) and a maximum flying height of 4,000 metres (~13,100 feet) and a maximum flight distance of 18km. Of course, that maximum height and distance are still governed by your local regulations. The leak, not surprisingly, comes via Jasper Ellens (otherwise known as 27 Leaks) who’s leaked much of the Mini 3 Pro information so far.

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Product photos and prices leak for complete DJI Mini 3 Pro package options

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So, it looks like there will be three different DJI Mini 3 Pro packages when DJI makes the official announcement, which now seems to be rumoured for May 10th – it was previously rumoured to come yesterday. And after seeing one DJI Mini 3 Pro package leaked by a Dutch retailer, more images have been leaked showing that there will be three different packages available along with their European prices.

The new images come via Jasper Ellens, who’s been one of the major sources of DJI Mini 3 Pro leaks and show off the drone in great detail along with exactly what’s included in each of the three package options. You’ll be able to buy the drone alone – presumably, for just smartphone control – or with the RC-N1 Smart controller or using the full DJI RC Remote Controller with a built-in display.

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Dutch retailer leaks DJI Mini 3 Pro details – 4K60p, 3-way obstacle avoidance and up to 47 min flight time

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DJI hasn’t officially said a thing about the DJI Mini 3 Pro yet, but Dutch retailer TopRC seems to have jumped the gun a little early, sending a listing live and possibly confirming the rumoured announcement date. If not the specific date, a screw-up like this usually does indicate that an official announcement is imminent. So, it’s going to be soon. But in the listing, they put the complete specs and even listed a price.

The listing, as spotted by DroneDJ, has since been redacted, although it still pops up in search results. Clicking it in the search results just takes you to the page showing all DJI products that they stock although Google still has the page cached. Regardless, we have the complete description of the drone now and its capabilities – and it appears it does have rear collision avoidance, after all.

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Stolen Drone Info helps you track down your lost or stolen drone (or report one you’ve found)

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Drones disappear all the time. Sometimes it’s simply that they’ve crashed or software’s malfunctioned and it’s flown off to some unknown location. Other times, it might be a little more nefarious and it’s actually been stolen. Regardless of how you might have lost possession of your drone, it is at the very least a frustrating experience. Trying to find or recover it can be even more frustrating.

But a new service called Stolen Drone Info (SDI) by drone security company DroneSec is here to help. This is a website, which you can use for free, to report that your drone has gone missing or that you’ve randomly found a drone while out and about exploring. If you do choose to step up from the free to a paid account, it will even search online marketplaces, posted flight logs and other sources.

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High resolution DJI Mini 3 photos leak ahead of rumoured April 28th announcement

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We’re only 10 days away from the rumoured launch date of the DJI Mini 3 and more new images of the <250g drone appear to have popped up online. And as well as the usual assortment of small, low-res social media shots courtesy of Jasper Ellens, it looks like DealsDrone managed to get their hands on some larger shots that show off the DJI Mini 3 in quite some detail.

Despite looking generally a bit beefier than its Mini 2 predecessor, the markings on the drone battery do specify that the drone still weighs 249g. It features a number of obstacle avoidance sensors (although not as many as some of us would like), we can see the microSD card and USB slots as well as the 24mm equivalent f/1.7 lens.

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