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NAB 2017: Top 5 Drone Products
The world of film and photography turned its eyes to NAB in Las Vegas last week to see what new tech was being unveiled by some of the industry giants. Here's our top 5 new drone related products that caught our eye. 
The solution they came up with is the Katana. A simple yet affective handle unit that holds your Mavic in a way that allows you to easily and conformably get smooth, cinematic ground shots. What's more is that it comes with a top mounted phone holder so that you can constantly monitor your shot as it's happening. 
It uses a high-gain antenna array mounted on a 2 axis gimbal that uses GPS data from the drone to keep the antenna system pointed directly toward the aircraft at all times. 
At the time of writing this post, it is only compatible with the Matrice 200 and Inspire 2 via the Condense controller. 
Set to start shipping at the end of May this year and at a price point of $499, we are exited to get stock of them and we'll be sure to put out a blog post covering the unboxing and testing. 
At a price point of just under $30,000 it's very much targeted at the high end, professional market but it gives us a glimpse of what's possible and what direction prosumer drones may be moving toward. 
This was designed with the Inspire 2 in mind, allowing you to use the aircrafts full potential with just one controller. 
My initial thoughts on it are 'why would you want to have all of these controls on one controller?', especially as 90% of these settings are just a couple of taps away in the DJI Go app. But then again, there are times where I wish there was a shortcut button for something. 
1. PolarPro Katana
While it's easy to drool over the the latest and greatest camera gear, sometimes it can be the simple ideas that make the big differences. PolarPro recognised how good the camera and gimbal unit is on the DJI Mavic and thought why not create a product to allow existing owners to use their Mavic for ground filming as well. The solution they came up with is the Katana. A simple yet affective handle unit that holds your Mavic in a way that allows you to easily and conformably get smooth, cinematic ground shots. What's more is that it comes with a top mounted phone holder so that you can constantly monitor your shot as it's happening.
2. DJI Tracktenna
DJI have released a new product catering for the needs of people wanting to provide a industry standard, reliable and robust live video feed. The DJI Tracktenna is a powerful, directional antenna receiver system that autonomously tracks the UAV throughout it's flight to extend the range and significantly improve the transmission stability and quality. It uses a high-gain antenna array mounted on a 2 axis gimbal that uses GPS data from the drone to keep the antenna system pointed directly toward the aircraft at all times. At the time of writing this post, it is only compatible with the Matrice 200 and Inspire 2 via the Condense controller.
3. DJI Goggles
The tease is over! You can find out all the details on our DJI Goggles blog post that we wrote back in September last year when DJI first 'mentioned' it at the release of the DJI Mavic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRco1y9w9Hw In short, the DJI goggles are an HD video goggle headset to enable immersive FPV flying with DJI drones. However these aren't just another pair of standard video goggles with a DJI badge stuck on, you can actually interact and be in control of the drone using these goggles using the integrated touchpad, allowing you access to the intelligent flight modes and more! Set to start shipping at the end of May this year and at a price point of $499, we are exited to get stock of them and we'll be sure to put out a blog post covering the unboxing and testing.
4. Freefly Carbon
Although we don't stock their products, I've always kept a keen eye on Freefly Systems as they've pioneered the highest end of the drone industry for years. Now, at the NAB 2017 event, they announced their latest leap in drone technology, the Freefly Carbon. https://vimeo.com/214450700 The worlds first 5 axis brushless gimbal that can be used on the ground or in the air and is capable of capturing smooth shots at a focal length of up to 240mm. At a price point of just under $30,000 it's very much targeted at the high end, professional market but it gives us a glimpse of what's possible and what direction prosumer drones may be moving toward.
5. DJI Cendence
Aside from the Tracktenna and Goggles, DJI also released the king of controllers. The DJI Cendence. An all in one unit, made up of 10 customisable buttons and 5 analogue controls that give you control of the drone, gimbal and almost every camera setting you could ask for. Oh, and it's compatible with the CrystalSky monitor series! This was designed with the Inspire 2 in mind, allowing you to use the aircrafts full potential with just one controller. My initial thoughts on it are 'why would you want to have all of these controls on one controller?', especially as 90% of these settings are just a couple of taps away in the DJI Go app. But then again, there are times where I wish there was a shortcut button for something.
Round Up Of NAB 2017
Unsurprisingly, DJI stole the show with everything drone related this year at NAB but it's nice to see smaller companies like PolarPro pushing their way into the market and working with DJI's successes. It was sad to see no new drones were released but I'm sure it will only be a matter of months until we do see something new. Let us know what your favourite product was from NAB or if there were any that we missed that you think should have made our top 5.Written by
Phil Harris
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