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Parrot, a French drone company known for its Bebop drones, has unveiled its latest consumer drone, the Anafi. Both on paper and in photos, this consumer-centric drone appears to be a direct competitor to DJI’s Mavic Air.
Its fold-out design is almost identical to the Mavic Air. It weighs just 0.7 pounds (320 grams) and folds up nice for slim packing in your bag. At the core of the drone is a 21-megapixel camera on a 180-degree tilt gimbal that shoots 4K HDR video at 30 fps or 1080p HDR video at 60 fps. For image stabilization, the Anafi features two-axis optical stabilization, while software compensates for the third axis.
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The battery life of the Anafi is rated for 25 minutes, which seems par for course in the compact drone market. For comparison, the Mavic Air is also rated for a 25-minute fly time. Additional batteries, which are charged via USB-C, can be purchased for $ 99. The compact drone features a 2.5 mile range and has a top speed of 32 mph.
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The Anafi comes with a physical controller alongside an all-new smartphone application to control the drone—FreeFlight 6. The updated app includes a slew of new shooting modes, including AI-based tracking, selfie capture, slow-mo capture, hyperlapse video and automated video modes for capturing landscapes. One downfall is your smartphone will need to be tethered via USB-A cable to the controller—apparently it’s needed to stream the full-quality video to your device.
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The Anafi will retail for $ 699 and will be available starting on July 1st, although you can pre-order one now to secure your spot.. $ 700 is still a lot for a consumer drone, but compared to the $ 800 Mavic Air, it’s a slightly better value, if you don’t mind a few inconveniences.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)