By technical editor Matt Allard:
Prodrone is a new Japanese drone company that is the result of a collaboration between System 5 and KNS. KNS claim they have been involved with DJI in helping them design their quadcopters.
Prodrone is offering a very high end multi-rotor range that is fully customisable with weight capacities ranging from 5-30kg. With such a high payload it can carry many different camera packages and the company will customise it as required by the customer. For broadcasters the Prodrome can be customised to offer full HD live transmission capability.
Because Prodrone are manufacturing high end components themselves they claim to offer the end user a highly reliable and well made multi-rotor copter. This isn’t just a multi-rotor for filmmaking purposes though, many Japanese businesses and law enforcement agencies have already pre ordered Prodromes for different applications.
With a flying time of 30-40minutes and an max altitude of an astonishing 7000m Prodrome is certainly not aiming at the hobbyist. They are also putting safety first and will not sell to just anyone. Customers will also have to complete an instructional course before taking delivery of their drone.
At Interbee they were showing footage taken from a variety of smaller cameras such as the GoPro and Sony A6000. I was very impressed with the stability and performance of the drone itself from the vision I saw. The prices are not for the faint of heart, ranging from close to $20,000 US and rising depending on the level of customisation.
