Tag Archives: DJI

From Foldable Pilates to Shoe Robots: InnoX GCS 2026’s Best Startups

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The consumer tech market has a crowding problem, mostly driven by products that try to do too much for too many people. The most interesting hardware lately has been doing the opposite, building around one specific inconvenience that hasn’t been properly addressed yet. Shenzhen has always had a knack for this, and InnoX Academy has been quietly developing the next generation of builders who make those products happen.

Founded in 2021 by Professor Li Zexiang of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen InnoX Academy is a structured ecosystem that develops engineers and entrepreneurs into product builders. At the Global Connect Show 2026, it gave the world a look at its latest batch of startups, from home fitness and pet care to ambient design objects, each taking a more considered approach to a specific problem.

Pilates reformers have always been the kind of equipment you’d only find in a dedicated studio, too large and bulky for most apartments to accommodate. Pavo Fitness, started by a team of architects, industrial designers, and professional Pilates instructors, saw that as a solvable problem. The Pavo Reformer is their answer: a compact, foldable machine designed to bring studio-quality resistance training into a regular home.

Designer: PAVO

Once a session is done, it packs away without being disassembled or moved to a corner, so it doesn’t have to become a permanent fixture in your living space. The onboard smart system keeps tabs on workouts, which matters more in a home setting where there’s no instructor watching your form. It adds a layer of accountability that a conventional reformer simply can’t offer.

Multi-pet households have a feeding dynamic that most smart feeders don’t actually address. A timed dispenser works for one pet, but when multiple cats have different dietary needs, scheduling meals is only part of the problem; the harder challenge is making sure each cat only gets its own food. That’s what PETPA was built to solve, by a team that previously worked on hardware at DJI, Narwal, and RoboMaster.

Designer: PETPA

The PETPA Multi-pet Feeder uses individual pet recognition to identify each cat and control access to their food, particularly useful in homes where one cat needs to lose weight or follow a prescription diet while the others don’t. It launched at CES 2025 and earned a CES Innovation Award in the Pet Tech and Animal Welfare category, recognizing a product solving a problem most smart feeders still overlook.

Sneaker care has evolved into its own dedicated ritual for collectors and sports enthusiasts who’d rather not take chances with a stiff brush and soapy water. The typical cleaning routine still carries the risk of fading colors, weakening materials, or warping the structure of more delicate footwear. Brolan’s ClearX is a compact home machine that moves through cleaning, low-temperature drying, and sterilization all in one automated cycle.

Designer: Brolan

Founded in 2025 by a team drawing from Nanyang Technological University, Harbin Institute of Technology, and Tsinghua University, Brolan designed ClearX specifically to clean without the harshness of manual scrubbing. The idea is to get footwear thoroughly clean without putting materials at risk, which matters most for anyone who owns suede, knit, or premium leather shoes that even a careful hand-wash can easily ruin.

Not everything in the InnoX lineup is about automation or performance tracking. REAZENABLE takes a different direction with the REAZE Sandstone Series, a collection that sits somewhere between smart lighting and decorative object, aimed at people who’d rather their home feel calmer than more connected. The brand’s philosophy, technology empowering nature and light reshaping emotion, gives a clear sense of where its priorities are.

Designer: REANZENABLE

The collection includes the Halo light and three aroma vessels, all made from sand-based materials and shaped with ribbed surfaces that recall an uneven lunar landscape. The technical structure is deliberately concealed within those soft architectural forms, so nothing on the shelf reads as a gadget. Atmospheric light, mineral textures, and scent work together into something that feels more like a ritual object than a piece of hardware.

Several other InnoX startups addressed more personal routines. Rootique brought the DUO, a scalp atomizing applicator using patented DuoTrace and IntelliMist technology for precise serum delivery in about 15 seconds, already validated through an Indiegogo campaign that found backers across 52 countries. OCJOY presented the OCJOY Air, a home micro-air oral cleaning system that brings a water-air-powder cleaning method from dental offices to your own countertop.

Direct Drive Tech D1

The lineup stretched into less expected territory, too. Blucalm’s StrikeDeck delivers AI-assisted game audio through a desktop controller, while ORULINK’s Watcher-Robot is an open-source desktop AI companion built for everyday interaction. CHEERLUCK brought a sausage vending robot for campuses and public spaces, and both Y-H2O and ANAVI presented electric watercraft, a hydrofoiling vessel, and a smart personal watercraft, each designed to cut the noise and emissions of traditional marine engines.

EcoFlow

Narwal

What gives the InnoX lineup credibility beyond the show floor is the academy’s broader history. Brands like Narwal, SwitchBot, DJI, EcoFlow, AgileX, and LiberLive are all part of InnoX’s wider ecosystem, a track record that makes it worth paying attention when the academy’s latest batch of incubated products steps out in front of an international audience for the first time.

LiberLive

DJI

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DJI FPV Goggles Concept Uses Foldable Antenna Panels to Fix Signal Reception

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FPV flying is phenomenally fun and almost completely non-transferable. You’re seeing through the aircraft’s perspective, feeling every input through the video lag, reading the environment in ways that only make sense when you’re in the feed. But to everyone around you, you’ve just put on a box that makes you unavailable for the next however-long. They can’t see what you’re seeing unless you’ve brought extra gear specifically for that purpose. Flying becomes this weirdly solitary activity even when you’re surrounded by people, which is partly why FPV remains niche despite being objectively amazing.

This concept headset tackles radio frequency challenges first and foremost. Those fold-out panels house high-gain antennas that deploy for better signal reception and fold flush for transport, following DJI’s industrial design language closely enough to suggest these could be internal explorations for future Goggles iterations. But one variant shown in the forest shots takes things further: outward-facing displays embedded in those same antenna panels, broadcasting the pilot’s FPV feed to anyone standing nearby. It’s the kind of feature that transforms the headset wearer from someone who’s checked out into the center of a shared experience, addressing one of FPV’s biggest adoption barriers while solving legitimate antenna placement problems.

Designer: Baozi Brother

Radio frequency propagation operates on physics that industrial designers can’t negotiate with. The 5.8GHz band used for FPV video transmission behaves predictably but unforgivingly. Obstacles attenuate signal. Distance degrades quality. Antenna polarization and orientation determine whether you get clean video or digital snow. DJI’s early FPV Goggles buried antennas inside the housing for clean aesthetics and struggled with reception compared to competitors running external stick antennas that looked awkward but performed better. The Goggles V2 improved things. The Goggles 2 and Integra finally achieved competitive range by respecting rather than fighting antenna requirements, but they still used conventional mounting approaches that pilots have relied on for years.

Baozi Brother’s concept makes antenna placement the core organizing principle rather than a constraint to work around. Those wing-like panels extending from either side create physical separation between antenna elements, which matters tremendously for diversity reception. When one antenna’s signal weakens due to aircraft orientation or obstacles, the receiver switches to whichever antenna currently has the stronger feed. Spacing them wide apart on opposite sides of the headset maximizes the likelihood that at least one maintains clean line of sight to the aircraft, even during aggressive maneuvers or when flying behind structures.

The mechanical deployment system uses what appears to be a friction hinge with detents, letting pilots snap the panels into position without tools or fumbling with locks. When folded, the headset’s profile stays compact enough for standard gear bags. When deployed, the panels extend at roughly 45 degrees, positioning antennas away from the head and creating better unobstructed reception angles than current goggles achieve. DJI’s design vocabulary runs throughout: gunmetal gray housing, matte black elastomer padding, sculpted ventilation channels. A BOA-style micro-adjustment dial handles head strap tension at the rear. Port placement on the right side shows USB-C, likely HDMI, and what might be an audio jack.

Now about those screens. The variant shown in the forest environment embeds displays on the outward-facing surfaces of the antenna panels. When deployed, they broadcast the pilot’s FPV feed to spectators, instructors, or anyone nearby. Your instructor watches your training flight without needing separate gear. Your friends see why you’re excited about that gap you just threaded. Content creators capture genuine reactions without additional equipment. Whether PUXIANG moves this beyond rendering remains unclear, but as far as rethinking FPV headset architecture around actual RF performance while making the experience more accessible, this gets closer than most attempts at reinventing goggles.

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DJI RS 5 First Look: The New Sweet‑Spot Gimbal For Solo Creators And Mirrorless Rigs

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DJI’s gimbal lineup has always operated on a clear hierarchy. At the bottom, the Osmo Mobile series keeps smartphone creators happy with pocket-friendly stabilization. At the top, the RS 4 Pro hauls cinema camera rigs with carbon fiber arms and 4.5kg payload capacity. The middle ground, though, has been trickier to nail down. Too light and you’re pushing mirrorless setups to their limits. Too heavy and solo operators end up fatigued halfway through a wedding shoot. The RS 5 arrives as DJI’s latest attempt to find that sweet spot, and judging by the spec sheet, they might have actually figured it out this time.

Weighing 1.46kg with a 3kg payload capacity, the RS 5 matches the physical footprint of the standard RS 4 while claiming a 50% boost in peak motor torque and 14 hours of runtime on the standard battery. More interesting is what DJI has prioritized here: the RS Enhanced Intelligent Tracking Module (borrowed from the RS 4 Mini’s debut), an Electronic Briefcase Handle for high and low angles, and significantly faster charging that gets you back to work in an hour instead of waiting around for half a day. This isn’t about raw specs anymore. It’s about keeping solo commercial videographers moving efficiently through shoots without needing a full crew or endless battery swaps.

Designer: DJI

It’s one thing to hold a 3kg payload steady during a slow pan, but chasing a subject through a crowded event is a different beast entirely. That 50% peak motor torque improvement is where the RS 5 starts to justify its existence, especially when paired with their fifth-generation stabilization algorithm. This is the kind of power that prevents micro-jitters when you’re running or making sudden direction changes. It also means the native vertical switch, which lets you flip to a 9:16 aspect ratio in seconds, doesn’t come with a performance penalty. That’s a huge deal for anyone delivering social content alongside traditional horizontal video, as you’re not compromising stability just to get the shot framed for TikTok.

All that stabilization doesn’t mean much if your subject keeps drifting out of frame while you’re focused on your own footwork. The RS Enhanced Intelligent Tracking Module, pulled from the RS 4 Mini and beefed up, handles the tracking with aplomb. It tracks more than just people; you can lock onto vehicles, pets, or any object you tap on the screen from up to 10 meters away. Even better, it can re-acquire a subject if they’re temporarily obscured, saving you from a ruined take. The fact that it attaches magnetically without needing extra adapters is a smart touch, acknowledging that setup time is a real currency for solo operators. It’s a clever bit of product strategy, bringing a killer entry-level feature up to the commercial tier where it’s arguably needed most.

The dirty secret of every solo videographer’s kit is a bag overflowing with batteries and a constant, low-grade anxiety about runtime. DJI seems to have finally gotten the message. The RS 5 hits a full charge in just one hour with a 65W PD charger, which is a massive quality-of-life improvement. The standard battery gives you 14 hours of juice, but the optional BG70 High-Capacity grip pushes that to a claimed 30 hours. Even if real-world use cuts that down significantly, it’s enough to get you through the longest wedding day without a panic. They’ve also expanded the Bluetooth shutter control to include Panasonic and Fujifilm cameras, a long-overdue nod to the fact that the camera world doesn’t just revolve around Sony, Canon, and Nikon.

You’re probably a good candidate for the RS 5 if you’re shooting paid work with mirrorless cameras and your current gimbal makes you want to throw it into a lake by hour three. Event videographers, wedding shooters, small production houses, anyone who’s working solo but needs results that look like a full crew showed up. If you’re hauling around a RED Komodo or a cinema rig that pushes past 3kg, skip this and go straight to the RS 4 Pro with its 4.5kg capacity and carbon fiber construction. On the flip side, if you’re still shooting with your phone or occasionally pulling out a compact camera for vlogs, the Osmo Mobile or Osmo Pocket lines will serve you better. Those devices are far more portable, cost a fraction of what the RS 5 demands, and honestly, DJI will probably refresh them in the coming months with similar intelligent tracking features trickling down from this generation. But if you’re already committed to proper camera gear and tired of fighting your equipment, this sits right where it needs to.

So this all sounds great, but it always comes down to the hole it leaves in your wallet. The standalone gimbal runs $671 (£485), which plants it firmly in that prosumer middle ground. The real conversation, though, is about the Combo kit at $856 (£619), which adds the tracking module and the electronic briefcase handle. For a working videographer, that’s the package that makes sense. You’re not just buying a stabilizer; you’re buying back time and reducing on-set frustration. It’s a tool built for the specific pressures of the one-person crew, and that focus is what makes it a compelling piece of hardware.

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DJI Meets Polestar in This Sleek White FPV Drone Concept That Rejects the Racing Aesthetic

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Polestar’s cool Nordic minimalism is not the first thing you expect to see in an FPV rig, yet this concept leans into that contrast and makes it feel inevitable. The drone lifts DJI’s “stacked” architecture of camera, flight controller, cooling, and battery, then wraps it in a crisp, automotive shell that would look just as natural parked beside an electric coupe as it would screaming through a canyon. Instead of the usual exposed carbon and repair-bench aesthetic, the body reads like a single sculpted volume, with the arms flowing out of a central spine and a long, glassy tech strip revealing the hardware beneath. Subtle light signatures, a clean white finish, and a battery module that wears the Polestar wordmark turn what is usually a niche racing tool into something that feels like a premium consumer product, without sanding off its performance edge.

The design’s intelligence lies in how it translates DJI’s engineering logic into a clean visual language. The concept of “structural stacking” is central here, treating each primary component as a self-contained module arranged in a neat, vertical order. The camera and gimbal sit in a dedicated nose pod, followed by the flight control unit and heat dissipation systems under the long, dark canopy, with the battery locking in as a solid block at the rear. This layered approach brings an architectural order to the drone’s anatomy, making the technology feel organized and accessible. It moves away from the traditional FPV layout, where components are often fastened to an open frame, and instead presents a unified, product-like object that feels intentional from every angle.

Designer: Ocean

The drone’s body is finished in a matte, almost ceramic white, with surfaces that are both soft and incredibly precise, a hallmark of the EV brand’s surfacing strategy. The long, dark insert on top is more than just a cover; it’s a “tech window” that frames the internal hardware as a point of interest, much like Polestar does with its glass roofs and integrated sensor bars. Even the lighting is handled with automotive discipline. The thin purple accents feel like signature light blades, providing a controlled glow that suggests advanced technology rather than the often chaotic RGB strips found on custom FPV builds. The result is a machine that feels both high-tech and incredibly calm.

Still, this polished exterior does not compromise the drone’s aggressive spirit. The wide, planted stance and large, efficient-looking propellers signal that it is built for serious performance. A look at the underside reveals a dense cluster of sensors, cooling vents, and structural ribbing, confirming that this is a tool for demanding pilots, not a toy. The designer skillfully balances these hard-core elements with a consumer-friendly sensibility. The battery, for instance, is a perfect example. Branded with the Polestar logo and featuring clear, intuitive LED charge indicators, it feels like a piece of premium electronics, making a critical component feel safe and simple to handle for users who may not be seasoned hobbyists.

Ultimately, this concept imagines an FPV experience for the tech enthusiast who appreciates sophisticated design as much as raw performance. It is a drone for the person who owns a Polestar, not just because it is electric, but because of its commitment to a clean, forward-looking aesthetic. By merging the robust, modular architecture of a DJI product with the refined, human-centric design of a modern EV, this concept suggests that the future of high-performance drones might be less about exposed wires and carbon fiber, and more about the seamless integration of power and polish.

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DJI’s Latest Drone Was Designed To 3D-Scan Landscapes (And Maybe Find Hidden Treasure)

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DJI just made professional-grade aerial LiDAR look affordable – for companies, governments, and organizations, at least. The Zenmuse L3, launched November 4, packs technology that would typically cost $150,000 to $250,000 into a $14,600 package that weighs just 1.6 kilograms. Its dual 100-megapixel cameras and laser system can map 100 square kilometers per day with centimeter-level precision – capabilities that open doors far beyond traditional surveying into realms like archaeological discovery and terrain analysis that were previously the domain of well-funded research institutions.

While the L3 targets professional surveyors, utility companies, and mining operations, the technology has captured imaginations far beyond its intended audience. DJI’s launch video has racked up over half a million views, suggesting that even those who can’t justify the five-figure price tag (like me, for example) are fascinated by what the system can do: strip away forest canopies with laser precision, reveal hidden terrain features, and create detailed 3D models of landscapes that might conceal everything from ancient ruins to forgotten infrastructure – or perhaps even treasure waiting to be discovered.

Designer: DJI Enterprise

So here’s the thing about LiDAR that makes it fundamentally different from just strapping a really good camera to a drone. Cameras see surfaces, whatever light bounces back to the lens. LiDAR shoots invisible laser pulses at the ground, measures how long they take to bounce back, and uses that timing to calculate exact distances. Fire enough of these pulses fast enough, in enough directions, and you’re essentially building a 3D point cloud of everything below you. The L3 fires up to 2 million laser pulses per second, which is an absurd number when you think about it. Each pulse that hits something creates a data point in three-dimensional space, and when you’ve got millions of them, you can reconstruct terrain with the kind of detail that makes traditional surveying look quaint.

What gets interesting is how far these lasers can actually reach. DJI claims 950 meters at lower pulse frequencies, which means you can fly this thing higher than most photography drones and still get usable data. Fly at 300 meters and you’re covering massive ground while maintaining accuracy within a few centimeters. That’s the kind of precision that lets utility companies inspect power lines without getting dangerously close, or lets mining operations map their entire site in a single day instead of sending survey crews out for weeks. The laser spot it creates is tiny, about 41mm across at 120 meters up, which is roughly the size of a golf ball. Smaller spots mean more precise measurements, and the L3’s spot is apparently one-fifth the size of what the previous model could do.

But the real party trick is how this thing handles obstacles like trees. When a laser pulse hits a forest canopy, it doesn’t just bounce off the first leaf it encounters and call it a day. Modern LiDAR systems can capture multiple returns from a single pulse. Think of it like the laser passing through gaps in the leaves, hitting a branch, continuing down, hitting more foliage, then finally hitting the ground. The L3 captures up to 16 of these returns, which is double what high-end professional systems typically manage. Every return gives you another layer of information about what exists in that vertical column of space. For someone trying to map terrain under dense vegetation, this is the difference between seeing a green blob and actually understanding the ground elevation beneath it. Archaeologists have used this exact technique to discover ancient Mayan cities hidden under jungle canopy, and while DJI isn’t marketing this as a treasure-hunting tool, the capability is absolutely there.

The dual 100-megapixel cameras add context that pure laser data can’t provide. Point clouds are incredibly accurate but they’re also just clouds of points, no color, no texture, nothing that helps a human brain quickly understand what they’re looking at. High-resolution cameras flying alongside the LiDAR capture regular photos that get mapped onto the 3D point cloud, giving you models that actually look like the real world. At 300 meters up, each pixel in those photos represents 3 centimeters on the ground, which is detailed enough to see road markings, individual shrubs, basically anything larger than a soccer ball. The system takes both types of data simultaneously, so you’re not making multiple passes or trying to align datasets captured at different times under different lighting conditions.

Traditionally, capturing LiDAR data was the easy part and processing it was where everything ground to a halt. You’d come back with terabytes of raw laser measurements that needed heavy computation to turn into usable maps or models, often requiring expensive software and workstations that could actually handle the processing load. DJI bundles their Terra software for free, no additional licenses, and they’ve optimized it so you can open massive datasets on fairly modest hardware. They’re also doing something clever with real-time preview, letting you see the point cloud data and take measurements while you’re still flying. You’re not waiting until you get back to the office to discover your flight parameters were wrong or you missed a critical area. That kind of immediate feedback changes how you approach the actual data collection because you can adjust on the fly instead of scheduling another expensive flight mission.

The whole package weighs 1.6 kilograms and mounts exclusively to DJI’s Matrice 400 drone platform, which is their heavy-lift enterprise model. You’re looking at around $34,000 for the complete system, drone included, which puts it firmly in the realm of business investment rather than hobbyist experimentation. But that price point is what makes this notable. Five years ago, getting this level of LiDAR capability meant spending six figures on specialized equipment. DJI’s approach has been to take technology that existed only in high-end professional contexts and compress it into something that mid-sized organizations can actually justify purchasing. A regional utility company, a municipal government, a decent-sized construction firm, these are entities that can suddenly afford aerial LiDAR when they couldn’t before. And apparently, based on those YouTube view counts, a whole lot of people who will never touch one of these systems are still captivated by what it represents. There’s something fundamentally cool about technology that lets you see through forests and map the world in three dimensions, even if the only treasure most users will find is more efficient powerline inspections.

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DJI Glide Hybrid Drone Concept adds Glider-Wings for Better Range and Energy-Efficient Flying

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You’ve seen quadcopters, and you’ve seen drones used for crop dusting or aerial surveillance – the DJI Glide is a fusion of both those drones. Designed by Baptiste Grenon, the DJI Glide proposes a battery-efficient design courtesy the presence of wings that help the drone stay stable and achieve flight at high altitudes without being an energy-guzzler. The drone still has the familiar quadcopter format, but also includes wings, giving it a hybrid design that might just translate to a longer battery and better range.

Designer: Baptiste Grenon

The DJI Glide’s unique design includes two standard propellers, and two propellers built right into the drone’s wings, which double as propeller guards during flight. It doesn’t look like the wings themselves move, although Grenon has included what looks like rudders at the wing-tips for better maneuverability. The drone still has vertical take-off and landing, but the airfoil cross-section of the wings gives it much more aerodynamics while the drone hurtles forward at top speed.

The implication therefore is that the DJI Glide is more suited for FPV flying as opposed to cinematic flight. A gimbal-mounted Hasselblad camera on the front records your PoV, while cameras on the front, back, and bottom give the drone spatial awareness, allowing it to maneuver on its own without colliding into objects – perfect for having the drone return back to base after its battery runs out.

The battery sits on top, plugging right into the drone’s back to power it in flight. Given the conceptual nature of the drone, battery specs are purely conjecture, but I suppose having wings helps conserve the drone’s battery by giving the aerial vehicle the lift it needs while flying. The wings also present a trade-off in terms of maneuverability, hindering complex movements like moving in reverse or tight turns.

The propellers at the rear justifiably come without any bumper guards, given that they’re effectively shielded by the wings ahead of them. There is, however, a small technical challenge, and it has to do with the drone’s overall size. Having a drone with a wingspan means the DJI Glide isn’t a very compact little device. It therefore comes with detachable wings, which may prove to be a challenge during fast flight. Losing a wing to a loose clamp effectively cripples your drone, since it means losing a propeller too. Collisions may protect the propeller from damage, but the part where the wing and drone join together will take all the impact – something that highly affects your drone’s overall lifespan.

That said, the foldable format does make the DJI Glide fairly portable, allowing it to be flat-packed for shipping. The durability trade-off for efficient flight feels fairly valid – if the obstacle-avoidance algorithms are strong, there really shouldn’t be a problem. Plus, the drone doesn’t need a runway to take off or land, which definitely helps it in the long run for people flying recreationally.

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5 Reasons Why the DJI Air 3S is the Ultimate Prosumer Drone for High-End Photography

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DJI has unveiled its latest aerial photography innovation, the Air 3S drone. Featuring a dual-camera setup with a 1-inch-CMOS primary camera and a 70mm medium tele camera, the Air 3S promises to enhance travel photography and videography to new heights. This new model offers improved 10-bit image quality, allowing for more vibrant colors in photos and videos. The enhanced ISO capabilities also ensure superior performance in low-light conditions, capturing breathtaking details that surpass those of the current DJI Mavic 3 Pro.

Image: DJI Air 3S: 70mm

Designer: DJI

Advanced Dual-Camera System

The DJI Air 3S boasts an advanced dual-camera system that sets a new aerial photography and videography standard. According to Ferdinand Wolf, DJI’s Product Experience Director, “The DJI Air 3S takes our Air Series to new heights by offering professional features like dual primary cameras and omnidirectional obstacle sensing while retaining its lightweight of just 724g for boundless freedom and flexibility.” The Air 3S is the perfect all-rounder for travel photography, capturing special moments during vacations while ensuring safety and security during nighttime operations.

Image: DJI Air 3S

Complementing the primary camera is a 70mm medium tele camera featuring a 48MP 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor. This secondary camera offers a 3x optical zoom, making it ideal for portrait and vehicle shots with a compressed depth of field that adds a cinematic quality to footage. Both cameras support 4K/60fps HDR video recording and 10-bit D-Log M color profiles, ensuring consistent visual quality across both focal lengths and providing ample flexibility in post-processing. One of the standout features of the Air 3S’s camera system is its ability to capture images with up to 14 stops of dynamic range. This wide dynamic range allows for more detail retention in highlights and shadows, resulting in more balanced and professional-looking images even in high-contrast scenes. The improved ISO performance, with a maximum ISO of 12,800 in normal mode and 3,200 in D-Log M and HLG color modes, further enhances the drone’s capabilities in low-light situations.

Image: DJI

The Air 3S introduces a new Free panorama feature for both cameras, allowing users to create seamless panoramic shots by stitching together multiple images with manually selected subjects or areas. This feature, combined with the wide-angle and medium tele cameras, offers photographers greater flexibility in capturing expansive landscapes with rich details and minimal distortion. DJI has also implemented a more advanced video encoding compression algorithm in the Air 3S, which reduces video file sizes by over 30% without compromising image quality. This significant improvement in file compression saves valuable storage space and streamlines the post-production workflow for content creators.

Image: DJI Air 3S camera: 24mm

The dual-camera system is further enhanced by intelligent features like Subject Focusing, which keeps the subject in sharp focus even during manual flight or when the subject moves off-center. This allows pilots to concentrate on creative aspects of shot composition and camera movement without worrying about losing focus on their subject. Additionally, the Air 3S features ActiveTrack 360°, which automatically plans flight paths based on the surrounding environment to ensure dynamic shots that keep the subject in the frame, even when partially obscured by obstacles like bushes or bridges.

Overall, the DJI Air 3S’s advanced dual-camera system represents a significant leap forward in aerial imaging technology. It offers professional-grade image quality, versatile focal lengths, and intelligent features catering to amateur enthusiasts and professional photographers.

Enhanced Safety Features

The DJI Air 3S introduces innovative safety features that set a new standard for drone operation, especially in challenging low-light conditions. At the forefront of these advancements is the integration of forward-facing LiDAR technology, making the Air 3S the first DJI drone to incorporate this sophisticated sensing capability. This LiDAR system works with downward infrared time-of-flight (ToF) sensors and six vision sensors positioned at the drone’s front, rear, and bottom to achieve comprehensive nightscape omnidirectional obstacle sensing.

Image: DJI

This advanced sensor array enables the Air 3S to automatically detect and navigate around obstacles during both flight and return paths, significantly enhancing safety during nighttime photography sessions. The LiDAR technology, in particular, excels in low-light environments where traditional vision-based sensors might struggle, providing pilots with greater confidence when operating in dim conditions or urban areas with complex structures.

The Air 3S also features an improved Smart Return-to-Home (RTH) function. This next-generation RTH system utilizes the drone’s enhanced sensing capabilities to plot safer and more efficient return paths. When adequate lighting is available, the drone employs real-time vision positioning and map construction technologies to memorize its flight path. This feature ensures a safe return even when taking off from locations without a strong satellite signal, such as indoor environments or areas with heavy tree cover.

Image: DJI

Another notable safety enhancement is the Air 3S’s ability to maintain stable flight in winds up to 12 m/s (approximately 26.8 mph). This wind resistance, combined with the drone’s advanced obstacle avoidance systems, allows for safer operation in various weather conditions, expanding the range of environments and scenarios in which pilots can confidently fly. The Charging Hub with Power Accumulation also allows users to effectively consolidate power across batteries, which is helpful for longer sessions.

The drone’s safety features are further complemented by its extended flight time of up to 45 minutes. This longer operational window reduces the pressure on pilots to rush shots or compromise safety to capture footage before the battery depletes. It also provides ample time for careful navigation and thorough environment assessment, especially in unfamiliar or complex shooting locations.

DJI has also implemented a Data Protection feature in the Air 3S. The Local Data Mode acts like an “airplane mode,” completely disconnecting the drone from the internet and ensuring that all data remains solely within the device. This feature addresses privacy concerns and provides an additional layer of security for sensitive operations or when flying in restricted areas. Additionally, the 42-GB built-in storage and Off-State QuickTransfer provide seamless file transfers without needing external storage or keeping the drone powered on.

These comprehensive safety enhancements make the DJI Air 3S a powerful tool for capturing stunning aerial imagery and a more reliable and secure platform for amateur and professional drone pilots. By prioritizing obstacle avoidance, stable flight, and data protection, DJI has created a drone that allows users to focus on their creative vision while minimizing operational risks.

Comparison with Mavic 3 Pro

The DJI Air 3S and Mavic 3 Pro are high-end consumer drones but differ in key aspects, such as their camera systems, design, and capabilities.

Image: DJI Air 3S

Image: DJI Mavic 3

  • Camera System: The Air 3S features a dual-camera setup with a 1/1.3-inch CMOS primary camera (50MP) and a 70mm medium tele camera (48MP). In contrast, the Mavic 3 Pro boasts a triple-camera system with a 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad main camera (20MP), a 1/1.3-inch CMOS medium tele camera (48MP), and a 1/2-inch CMOS telephoto camera (12MP). While the Air 3S lacks the long-range telephoto of the Mavic 3 Pro, its primary camera offers higher resolution and potentially better low-light performance due to its larger sensor size.
  • Image Quality and Video Capabilities: Both drones support 10-bit video recording. However, the Air 3S has improved its ISO performance, with a maximum ISO of 12,800 in Night Mode and 3,200 in D-Log M and HLG color modes. The Mavic 3 Pro’s main camera can shoot at a higher resolution of 5.1K/50fps, while the Air 3S tops out at 4K/60fps. However, the Air 3S’s new video encoding compression algorithm reduces file sizes by over 30% without compromising quality, a significant advantage for storage management.
  • Flight Performance: The Air 3S offers a maximum flight time of 46 minutes, slightly longer than the Mavic 3 Pro’s 43 minutes. Both drones feature omnidirectional obstacle sensing, but the Air 3S introduces forward-facing LiDAR for improved nighttime obstacle avoidance. The Air 3S also has a reduced weight of 724g compared to the Mavic 3 Pro’s 958g, making it more portable for travel photography.
  • Smart Features: Both drones offer advanced tracking features, but the Air 3S introduces a new Subject Focusing feature that keeps the subject in sharp focus even during manual flight or when the subject moves off-center. The Mavic 3 Pro, however, has a more versatile camera system for different shooting scenarios due to its third telephoto lens.

Pricing and Availability

The DJI Air 3S has several configurations to suit user needs and budgets. The base model, DJI Air 3S (DJI RC-N3), retails for $1,099 and allows pilots to use their smartphones to check the live feed and flight status1. This entry-level option provides an accessible price point for enthusiasts looking to experience the advanced features of the Air 3S without additional accessories.

Image: DJI

DJI offers two Fly More Combo options for those seeking a more comprehensive package. The DJI Air 3S Fly More Combo (DJI RC-N3) is priced at $1,399 and includes several valuable accessories1. This bundle comes with the DJI RC-N3 remote controller, an ND filter set for managing exposure in bright conditions, two additional batteries to extend flight sessions, a battery charging hub for convenient power management, and a shoulder bag for easy transport.

Image: DJI

The premium option, the DJI Air 3S Fly More Combo (DJI RC 2), is available for $1,5991. This package includes the DJI RC 2 remote controller, which features a built-in 5.5-inch 1080p screen with 700-nit brightness, eliminating the need for a separate smartphone. Like the other Fly More Combo, it includes an ND filter set, two additional batteries, a battery charging hub, and a shoulder bag.

The Air 3S’s pricing strategy positions it as a more affordable alternative to the higher-end Mavic 3 Pro, which starts at $2,1992. This pricing makes the Air 3S an attractive option for enthusiasts and professionals who want advanced features without the higher cost of the Mavic series.

Image: DJI

Compared to its predecessor, the Air 3, the Air 3S offers significant upgrades in camera technology and safety features while maintaining a similar price point. This value proposition will likely appeal to users looking to upgrade their existing DJI drones or those entering the prosumer drone market for the first time3.

The post 5 Reasons Why the DJI Air 3S is the Ultimate Prosumer Drone for High-End Photography first appeared on Yanko Design.