The DJI Spark is here as the next-generation of personal flying drones and it’s one of the smallest and smartest yet.
The DJI Spark is small enough to fit on the palm of your hand but is still smarter than most other drones on the market. This little beauty can not only spot objects as it flies, dodging them, but can also recognise hand gestures.
All that means you can fly the drone, take a selfie and more using hand gestures alone. Yup, lob this in the air and get flying without even reaching for a phone or controller. That said it will work with your phone as a controller for more complex manoeuvers too.
Those more intense moves include automatic movements, dubbed QuickShots, to make videos and pics looks cool. Dronie flies up and away from the subject, Circle rotates around them and Helix spirals up and away.
For photos there is Pano mode where the Spark stitches together snaps for a wide shot and ShallowFocus for that blurry background effect.
You can also use TapFly where you tap an area on your phone’s map and the Spark will fly there, dodging obstacles as it flies at up to 31 mph. It’ll even fly routes you set so you can move alongside as it films.
The DJI Spark has a maximum range of 1.2 miles where the smartphone controls work with 720p live video. It also tops out at 16 minutes of continuous flight before the battery need a charge. The drone can record at up to 1080p and shoots 12-megapixel stills with its 1/2.3” CMOS sensor and works with the DJI Googles for first-person perspective flight. This is all done using stabilisation with a mechanical gimbal for smooth footage.
The DJI Spark starts at £519 for the drone, a battery, USB charger and three pairs of propellers. You can shell out £699 and get the drone, two batteries, a charging hub, four pairs of propellers, propeller guards, a remote controller, shoulder bag and all necessary cables.
The DJI Spark is available for pre-order and will start shipping in mid-June.
