Scientific Systems Company, Inc. successfully flew multiple flight tests of its Collaborative Mission Autonomy (CMA) software running on a live General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) MQ-20 Avenger Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle. In these November 2023 flight tests, CMA software commanded a mixed team of Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) MQ-20 platforms to execute a […]
Agricultural drone use allows for more sustainable farming By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill Over the past several years, drones have played an increasingly important role in ensuring that farmers can maintain high crop yields in an environmentally sustainable manner, the CEO of agricultural drone company Hylio said in an interview. Beginning with the first […]
Unveiling the KHRONOS-Mission Master Combo: A New Era of Unmanned Reconnaissance and Convoy Escort by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian J. McNabb French tethered UAV developer Elistair recently announced a strategic partnership with Rheinmetall Canada to develop a new ISR solution for military customers, combining the autonomous KHRONOS tethered drone with the Mission Master family of […]
Wing Introduces Larger Drone for Bigger Orders: 5 Pound Payload Alphabet’s Wing, one of the pioneers in commercial residential drone deliveries, has announced the introduction of a larger aircraft to its fleet. The announcement was made in a company blog post by Wing CEO Adam Woodworth. The new drone is designed to simplify and streamline […]
Most drones keep getting smaller. But today, Wing announced a new drone that’s actually bigger.
Just as an SUV can carry more people and stuff than a little golf cart, bigger drones can carry more stuff, which is critical in Wing’s mission to be a leader in drone deliveries. Until now, Wing’s existing fleet of commercially operational aircrafts have been able to carry about 2.5 pounds worth of payload. This newest addition is basically twice as powerful, capable of carrying a standard cardboard delivery box with a payload up to five pounds.
That’s all without having to sacrifice distance traveled or flight speeds. Like the existing aircraft in Wing’s fleet, this new aircraft has the same round-trip range of 12 miles and can fly at approximately 65 miles per hour.
“We’re introducing an additional aircraft into our fleet that will simplify and streamline larger orders,” wrote Wing CEO Adam Woodworth in a blog post about the news.
If you live in one of the areas where Wing operates (which for the U.S. primarily means Texas’s Dallas-Forth worth area), expect to see the new aircraft flying within the next 12 months.
What is Wing?
Wing is the drone delivery subsidiary of Alphabet, which also owns Google. Wing is largely considered the world’s second-largest drone delivery company behind Zipline. Both are based in California’s Silicon Valley, but the two have take largely difference approaches.
Whereas Zipline largely focuses on deliveries of medical products to rural parts of developing countries mostly in Africa. Wing focuses mostly on delivery of consumer products. It’s drones tote Walgreens drugstore items, gifts and sweet treats from Sugar Magnolia, to-go food from DoorDash, among others to people’s homes, in a few select areas around the U.S., Australia and soon, Ireland.
The two companies have seen their paths converge as of late though thanks to retail giant Walmart. In 2021, Walmart tapped Zipline to help it make drone deliveries. But then in August 2023, Walmart partnered with Wing too (while keeping Zipline onboard still). In early January 2024, Walmart made it clear it was expanding its drone presence further. Zipline and Wing together have thus far enabled Walmart to reach more than 60,000 homes in the Dallas – Fort Worth area by drone delivery. But with big expansion plans in the works (and fueled by Wing’s new large drone), it is set to expand service to millions of customers in 2024. In fact, at CES 2024 Walmart announced its lofty goal of using both Wing and Zipline with a goal to serve 75% of the region’s population.
https://amzn.to/41Ztv9SIt’s no secret that DJI has been diversifying its product offerings beyond just drones, but into all sorts of tools for content creators and professional photographers. DJI has been steadily leaning into its handheld gimbals and microphones. And today, DJI launched the DJI Mic 2, indicating the company’s ongoing interest in tapping the ever-growing market of content creators.
Photo courtesy of DJI
Compared to the original DJI Mic (and most other mics you can expect to find on the market), it’s an up-level in audio recording on nearly every level. And with a price starting at $219 for the standard kit, it’s incredibly affordable too.
A Safety Track feature that allows users to record a second track at -6dB alongside the primary audio track
Intelligent noise-canceling technology to reduce noise in loud environments (that’s on top of the included windscreen to lower wind noise).
8GB of internal storage per transmitter (offering up to 14 hours of uncompressed 48kHz 24-bit audio recording)
Maximum audio transmission range of up to 250 meters (820 ft)
6-hour operating time (can be extended to a generous 18 hours with the charging case)
What does that all mean? In short, expect clearer vocals with less chance for unexpected audio level spikes. That makes for less risk of unwanted noise like wind, summing up to being the best microphone for people shooting in otherwise loud environments, like cities. And don’t overlook the internal storage, a decently long range and a long battery life. This device also offers plenty of backup to ensure you can capture audio on as close to a full charge as possible, and with as close to full storage space as possible.
How the DJI Mic 2 works
This external microphone is designed to be incredible easy to use. It mostly targets on-the-go content creators like travel bloggers, lean businesses or just people looking to do film shoots with minimal setup. There’s no need to install additional software, and you can record audio in one click.
Photo courtesy of DJI
It works with almost any type of camera, whether that’s another from DJI’s lineup of cameras (like the Osmo Action 4 camera or the Osmo Pocket 3), most smartphones or even a more professional camera.
To use it, simply open the charging case (upon which the DJI Mic 2 automatically powers on). You then choose the camera you intend to connect it with via Bluetooth. If using a camera without Bluetooth, you can also connect it through USB-C and Lightning Adapters. There’s also an 3.5mm TRS analog output.
Photo courtesy of DJI
The Mic itself has plenty of controls so you can adjust settings for your style. That includes ability to adjust volume, gain and brightness. All that can be edited through a 1.1-inch OLED touchscreen (there’s also a precision dial that you might rather use).
Is the DJI Mic 2 quality any good?
Photo courtesy of DJI
While ease of use is certainly important, an easy-to-use mic is no good if the quality is bad. That’s not the case here.
The standout feature of the quality here is the DJI Mic 2’s 32-bit float internal recording capability. In practice that means more nuanced sound. You can distinguish a quiet whisper vs booms, and it really makes vocals pop. It also gives you more leeway in the post-production to adjust audio levels.
And while you can dial in on your own settings, there are also presets which might be more ideal for beginners.
The DJI Mic 2 also has a powerful lifespan per charge. In one charge, it can run for 6-hours per transmitter and receiver. Throw in the on-the-go charging case to make it 18 hours without needing a formal power source. That’s ideal for settings like camping or travel, where charging is inconvenient.
It has a range of 250 meters (820 feet) should you need to walk far away from the receiver. That’s about one-and-a-half times as long as the Seventeenth hole of Pebble Beach, the famous California golf course. Of course, that assumes you’re filming in an open, unobstructed environments without interference like, yes, a golf course. Range decreases in more chaotic environments, like a concert venue.
There’s also that handy internal storage (8GB per transmitter), offering up to 14 hours of uncompressed 48kHz 24-bit audio recording.
A new aesthetic for the DJI Mic 2
With the new DJI Mic 2 comes a new aesthetic that almost looks inspired by Apple AirPods.
Photo courtesy of DJI
As far as the Mic itself, the minimalist design comes in two transmitter colors, either ‘shadow black’ or ‘peal white.’ While the black one looks more discreet in most use cases, the white one is actually quite elegant (and looks pretty Mac inspired).
Photo courtesy of DJI
You’ll likely connect it on clothing, where you can attach it via a magnetic attachment. The transmitters also have a clip-on design.
If you purchase the upgraded kit, you’ll receive a compact, metal charging case. The carrying case also has a new locking latch feature, which is particularly helpful for folks prone to dropping it.
Photo courtesy of DJI
The original DJI Mic vs the DJI Mic 2: is it worth the upgrade?
Besides some seriously upgraded specs, there are entirely new features. Among the standouts:
Better battery life: With the Mic 2, you’re looking at 18 hours of life with the charging case vs 15 on the old model. When considering the transmitter alone, the old 5.5 hours has been improved to 6.
Pro-level audio quality: Among the reasons to love the improved audio include AI noise cancelling technology and clearer vocals
Direct Bluetooth connection: This handy new feature makes for a much easier, more convenient use system, allowing you to connect it to your smartphone or other JDI cameras.
Thumbwheel: Another new feature, this lets you make more precise and quick parameter adjustments than what fat thumbs might do on the clunky touchscreen. And speaking of the touchscreen, that’s also been upgraded to a 1.1 inch screen
Photo courtesy of DJI
Really the only feature the DJI Mic has going for it is price. Despite initially launching at $329, the DJI Mic is now down to just $159 for the base model. That’s $60 less than the new DJI Mic 2. If you’re super tight on budget, then the DJI Mic is certainly not a bad deal.
But if your budget has some wiggle room, then the improved features (largely driven by far superior audio quality) are worth the extra $60.
How to get your hands on the DJI Mic 2
Photo courtesy of DJI
It’s here, and it’s available today from DJI’s own store. You can also buy it from authorized retail partners such as Amazon and B&H Photo.
There’s also an upgraded version with that fancy charging case, plus two (rather than just one) transmitters. The pricier kit also includes two sets of windscreens and clip magnets. That upgraded version costs $349. Here are those two kits side-by-side:
Alongside the main kit, DJI is also offering other accessories, such as the DJI Lavalier Mic ($39) and DJI Mic 2 Charging Case ($69). The DJI Mic 2 Transmitter (Shadow Black) and DJI Mic 2 Transmitter (Pearl White) can also be purchased separately at $99 each.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. demonstrated its hardware-agnostic, open standards-based autonomy ecosystem for Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) on a GA-ASI MQ-20 Avenger as part of a live flight test on Nov. 13, 2023. The flight included three software-defined radios (SDRs) from L3Harris Technologies to support Line-of-Sight (LOS), command and control, and data movement capabilities […]
Last week the Ukrainian Shadow drone group hunted down, and blew up, a very new and very rare RB-109A Bylina electronic-warfare command-and-control system. Bylina is a set of sophisticated receivers, packed into five trucks, that detects and pinpoints enemy radars and radios and, thanks to a built-in artificial intelligence, automatically cues linked electronic jammers to […]
Scientific Systems Company, Inc. successfully flew multiple flight tests of its Collaborative Mission Autonomy (CMA) software running on a live General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) MQ-20 Avenger Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle. In these November 2023 flight tests, CMA software commanded a mixed team of Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) MQ-20 platforms to execute a […]
