Package to Ship in the Third Quarter; Price to Be Announced
Fans of aerial photography perked up last year when DJI announced that it had picked up a minority stake in Swedish medium-format camera and lens manufacturer Hasselblad, and they took notice of reports earlier this year that DJI had become Hasselblad’s majority owner. What better way to push the envelope in aerial imaging than to merge a high-quality camera maker with one of the world’s most prolific drone vendors?
DJI M600/Ronin-MX/Hasselblad H6D-100c drone platform
The first concrete example of how DJI is integrating Hasselblad technology came at NAB, where DJI demonstrated a new drone platform capable of capturing 100-megapixel still photographs. It combines DJI’s beefy M600 Pro six-rotor drone, its Ronin-MX gimbal, and Hasselblad’s H6D-100c camera. DJI said the platform could be used for “landscape and fine-art photography, robust data for surveying and mpamaking, and endless possibilities for future professional endeavors.”
Whenever you’re talking about 100 megapixels, you’re probably talking about high-end still photography. (At 4096×2160, 4K video is only 8.8 megapixels; quadrupling resolution to 8K only gets you to 35 megapixels.) But the Hasselblad H6d-100c is also a video camera, recording 8-bit 4:2:0 H.264 HD and raw UHD video clips at 25fps. It’s also very expensive — the MSRP of $32,995 represents a lot of cash to lay out if you’re only interested in recording video. But if you’re looking for the capability to take massive still photographs as well as video, this kind of set-up may appeal.
DJI is targeting a third-quarter release for a package combining the M600, the Ronin-MX, and the H6D-100c — presumably at some kind of discount for the bundle. The M600 Pro sells for $4,999 by itself, while the Ronin-MX fetches $1,599, suggesting a package price in the mid-to-high $30,000s once the H6D is added to the mix.
DJI: www.dji.com
