DJI just announced its big news with its fresh Phantom 3 Professional and Phantom 3 Advanced offerings, both of which feature a gimbal-mounted camera with 4K and 1080HD resolutions, respectively.
Quadcopter maker 3D Robotics has a teaser of its own for the opening day of NAB 2015. The teaser, which you can see below, features a black quadcopter with a camera mounted on a gimbal, which is rumored to be called the SOLO.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMhfQayEiXI&w=700]The tone of the teaser suggests that the drone will be marketed as very simple to operate since it shows monkeys opening the case and playing with the transmitter.
3D Robotics makes the IRIS+ quadcopter, which is in the same range as the DJI Phantom models; however, 3DR has thus far relied on third-party camera attachments like the GoPro.
An interesting tidbit in the corporate structure of the company is that former DJI CEO Colin Guinn is now the Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing at 3D Robotics. Additionally, the former Wired Editor in Chief, Chris Anderson, is current CEO of 3D Robotics.
This new drone clearly has a built-in camera that appears to have the ability to remotely monitor camera footage using a mobile device – akin to the capabilities of the DJI Phantom 3. Additionally, the LED lights suggest the use of smart batteries, which are helpful but make it expensive to carry spares.
Stay tuned to Photography Bay for more coverage on the new 3D Robotics quadcopter next week following the announcement and, hopefully, some hands-on coverage as well at NAB 2015.
