DJI wants everyone to be able to fly a drone. At least, that's the message it seems to be sending with the DJI Spark ($499), the company's smallest aircraft yet. It's a selfie drone you can interact with just by waving your hand. It's also a short-range quadcopter that can be controlled with your smartphone, complete with forward obstacle avoidance and subject tracking capabilities. Add an accessory remote and you've got a very capable bird, with a 31mph top speed and a robust operating range. Can it be all things to all people? Probably not. But it's certainly aimed at the mass market. We're in the process of testing the Spark now but have some initial impressions.
The Spark is tiny. It measures 2.2 by 5.6 by 5.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 10.6 ounces—DJI points out it weighs less than a can of soda. It's not foldable, though the propellers do fold in for easy transport—you don't have to remove them for storage, so the Spark is always ready to fly. And there are colors. You can get it in Alpine White, Lava Red, Meadow Green, Sky Blue, and Sunrise Yellow.
It uses microSD memory to store images and video. A removable battery promises 16 minutes of flight time per charge—not what you get with DJI's bigger drones, but much better than the six minutes you get with tiny selfie drones like the Dobby. There's a micro USB port, so you can plug the Spark into a portable battery pack or your laptop to recharge its battery.
The camera sports a 1/2.3-inch CMOS image sensor, the same type you find in a typical pocket superzoom and slightly larger than the sensor in an iPhone. The lens is a fixed 25mm f/2.6 equivalent, capable of capturing 12MP still images and 1080p video. There's no support for Raw image capture or 4K video—look at the Mavic Pro instead if you want those features. A two-axis mechanical gimbal keeps footage stable during flight.
The normal array of safety features are baked into the design. You get GPS/GLONASS satellite positioning to keep it steady when flying outdoors and to bring it home automatically if communication is interrupted, or on demand. Forward-facing sensors detect obstacles at distances of up to 16 feet, and the Spark is smart enough to change its flight path and fly around them. And you've got the Vision Positioning System (VPS), a downward-facing sensor array that keeps the aircraft hovering in place when flying indoors without the aid of GPS.
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