My new toy, the DJI Spark.

For the past couple of years I have been taking endless photos of pretty much anything. As a professional product photographer I have always found myself looking for new ideas and ways to keep my photography fresh.

A couple of years ago I have started a hobby in flying. Flying remote controlled helicopters that is. I have actually found a way to use both the hobby of flying and photography at the same time. The same time I have mastered flying RC helicopters, I purchased my very first multirotor or drone. Drone really is a term unliked by RC hobbyisists because it tends to be a negative term for a multirotor. So I will be using the term multirotor for these things.

Last christmas I was able to purchase my very first DJI multirotor. I have always wanted one since I have tried to fly a DJI phantom 3. I have seen footages from a DJI phantom 3 and was blown away with the quality of the images and video it produced, considering the one I tried was the basic package and not the pro version.

The DJI spark is small...I mean really small for a multirotor that is packed with features. One reason I didn't do aerial photography as much before was it was difficult to lug around a multirotor that is big in size. Even more difficult when you bring the case along with. Also, it is such a hassle to mount my GoPro to my large multirotor every time I wanna do some shots with it. The DJI spark pretty much solves all that.

The DJI spark is a multirotor wonder. It has a front sensor for obstacle avoidance, it also acts as a sensor if you want to control it with your hands. It has sensors for detecting the ground. It also has a 15 minute flight time per battery...which is great for taking quick footages. Foldable props that are easily removed. It links up with your smartphone so you can use your smartphone as a remote and a monitor at the same time, Or you can attach the smartphone to its dedicated remote for even better control and range. It has a built in camera on a gimbal that does 1080p videos or 12 mp stills. The gimbal is excellent for stabilizing the camera on fast maneuvers.

Flying in snow or sand? No problem, the spark can easily take off in the palm of your hands using gesture controls or simply by using the remote. Landing in the palm of your hand is very simple too. This is something that is almost impossible with bigger multirotors.

I once wanted to take some videos outdoors in the snow but didn't want to bring the case with. I basically put the spark on the inside of my jacket and off I went. This thing awesome!

Here are some first sample shots from my spark:

The only downside to the DJI spark is that it can only shoot at 1080p. Again, if I am looking for something with a better camera I would have gotten a DJI mavic or a mavic air. But for now the spark is good enough for me. Somewhere down the line I might get something better. For now I am going to use my spark as much as I can.