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Airspace rights still unclear after drone lawsuit dismissed
Where exactly you're entitled to fly your drone in the US without fear of it being blasted out of the sky continues to be a legal gray area, after a judge dismissed another case brought against self-proclaimed "drone slayer" William Merideth. The Kentucky resident was originally charged in 2015 for firing a gun within city limits, shooting down David Boggs' Phantom 3 quadcopter in the process. The charge was dropped after a judge ruled the drone invaded Merideth's privacy since it was over his land, but Boggs subsequently sued Merideth in federal court seeking damages of $1,500 to cover the cost of the Phantom 3. This case was recently dismissed on something of a technicality, though, leaving a key legal question around airspace rights unanswered.
DJI's drones will stream live video over Facebook
Now that Facebook can stream live video through virtually any device, you're going to find those live feeds coming from unusual places... including overhead. DJI is promising an update in late April that will let you stream its drones' video through Facebook Live, making it comparatively easy to share those dramatic skyline shots with your friends. The feature will work for any model that plays nicely with the DJI Go mobile app, which largely includes recent Phantom and Inspire drones. While you could stream to YouTube before, this definitely widens the playing field -- there's a better chance that more of your social circle will witness your aerial exploits.
DJI's adding autopilot features to Phantom 3 drones next week
DJI pleased Phantom owners recently when it announced that much-needed autopilot features would be coming to its most popular series of quadcopters, and the Inspire 1. Today, we learn when (September 7th) and how (via a good ole' firmware update). The new flight features include Waypoints (map out a path in advance, and the quad will follow it), Point of Interest (the quad flies around a set object with the camera remaining fixed on it) and Follow Me (you can guess what that does -- only coming to Phantom 3, not Inspire 1). There are also two features specific for the Phantom 3 Standard which make it easier to fly the quadcopter back to you should you lose your orientation -- these are already available on DJI's other craft. Finally, Phantom 3 Advance owners get a nice bonus, with the addition of a 2.7K (2704x1520) camera recording option -- a solid bump up from 1080p.
DJI's Phantom 3 has its biggest rival in Yuneec's 4K Typhoon drone
We'd understand if you're not familiar with Yuneec; we've only written about its products twice. However, it's fairly well-known in the quadcopter world, and best described as a direct rival to DJI. When I reviewed DJI's 4K Phantom 3 Professional drone ($1,259), a reader asked if we could compare it to Yuneec's rival Typhoon Q500 model (around $1,100, but with a lower-res 1080p camera). Days later, Yuneec announced an updated Typhoon with 4K shooting for $1,299, making the comparison much easier. It only seemed fair to grant our reader's wish, and check out what the new Typhoon had to offer.
DJI Phantom 3 review: an aerial photography drone for the masses
Almost a year ago to the day, I wrote about the impact DJI's Phantom 2 Vision+ might have on our skies. Up to that point, drones (or quadcoptors/multirotors, for the purists) had been slowly edging their way into mainstream consciousness. DJI's ready-to-fly Vision series, with their built-in cameras and easy operation turbocharged that creep into a march. The Phantom 3 Professional is what would have been the new Vision (it's dropped that branding), and is the first in this consumer lineage to shoot 4K video. What's changed in the last 12 months? In some regards, not much. Governments are still figuring out how to legislate quadcopters, while people keep buying them. As for DJI, it's got a lot more competition, and higher expectations for what a drone should do. I was eager to spend time with the Phantom 3, and get a feel for how the company has evolved, and more importantly, where it's going — and it looks like taking over our skies is only one part of its plan.
DJI's Phantom 3 brings 4K recording to its most popular drone
DJI's Phantom series of read-to-fly quadcopters have been instrumental in bringing drones into mainstream consciousness. Particularly the Phantom 2 Vision+, which made silky-smooth aerial video possible for have-a-go pilots right out of the box (most other methods involve a fair amount of assembly). Today, the Phantom family grows again with two new members: the Phantom 3 Professional and the Phantom 3 Advanced. So what's new? And, more importantly, which one do you want?
