DJI have unveiled two new additions to their Mavic and Phantom series, the Mavic Pro Platinum and the Phantom 4 Obsidian. It’s best to think of these new models as a minor upgrade over what is already currently available. Yes there are improvements (at least with the Mavic), but they are reasonably minor. In reality it’s like going from an iPhone 6 to a 6S.
Mavic Pro Platinum
The Mavic Pro has proved to be a very popular choice among filmmakers who want to capture the the odd aerial shot and don’t want to carry around a much larger and more conspicuous drone. The Mavic Pro Platinum is the exact same drone as the Mavic Pro when it comes to the gimbal, camera, and body design. The only differences are when it comes to flight time and the noise the drone creates.
Quiet on set please
The Mavic Pro was already pretty quiet to begin with but DJI now claim that the noise from the aircraft been reduced by up to 4dB (60%). Flight time has been extended by three minutes (from 27 to 30 minutes) because of the use of new FOC sinusoidal driver ESCs and 8331 propellers. Hey, three minutes may not sound like much, but three minutes can let you get another couple of shots you couldn’t previously get before having to change out the battery.
This reduction in noise is a welcome addition, as the less noise you create, the less attention you draw to what you are doing. There was already a big difference in just how much quieter the Mavic Pro was compared to the Phantom series. If this claimed noise reduction holds true, the Mavic Pro Platinum is going to be the perfect drone for stealth shoots where you don’t want to draw any attention to yourself.
The Mavic Pro Platinum will retail for $1,099 US, which is $100 US more than the Mavic Pro.
Phantom 4 Obsidian
This new drone is the Phantom 4 Pro with a different paint job. It shares the same one inch 20-megapixel CMOS sensor, flight time and recording options of the Phantom 4 Pro, but it comes in matte black.
What do you think about these new models? If you are a Mavic Pro owner is this new model worth upgrading to? Let us know in the comments section below.
