I just tested this new DJI drone that combines aerial and mirrorless camera prowess — and I can't get enough of it
The Chinese tech giant has put out one hit product after another with the likes of the DJI Air 3S, the DJI Neo, and the DJI Flip. As the in-house drones expert, I've covered these products extensively, often raving about how the Air 3S brings me unbridled joy, and that I can't stop thinking about flying the Neo.
And just when I thought it couldn't get better, the DJI Mavic 4 Pro took flight. On average, I review four or five products a week, and it isn't often that a product blows me away.
The DJI Mavic 4 Pro improves on its predecessor by introducing 6K/60fps video, 100MP stills powered by a Hasselblad camera, and a brand new RC Pro 2 controller that makes flying a breeze. With a long flight time and 5-star performance across the board, it's the ideal drone for commercial and personal use — as long as you don't mind the weight restrictions.
A 5-star rating isn't a common occurrence at Tom's Guide, but the Mavic 4 Pro earned the rare rating from me for a number of reasons, like its 100MP Hasselblad camera, 6K/60fps video capabilities, and ease of use, and we need to talk about that new RC Pro 2 controller, and we will in this feature.
The Mavic 4 Pro is nothing short of a flying Hasselblad — let me show you why.
Before I get into why I've fallen head over heels for the DJI Mavic 4 Pro, I want to talk about the new DJI RC Pro 2 controller. You can get the drone with the RC-2 controller (which you can see in my DJI Air 3S review) which is great in its own right, but you can always opt for the Creator Combo which adds 512GB of internal storage to the drone and comes with the RC Pro 2 — and I believe it's worth the extra spend.
The RC Pro 2 improves on its predecessor by introducing a flip-up screen which hides the joysticks. The 7-inch mini LED touchscreen is large and its ability to flip out makes for better viewing. It's also extremely bright at 2000 nits. For context, the first-gen RC Pro is rated at 1000 nits while the RC-2 is rated at 700.
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DJI has designed the RC Pro 2 to display colors and footage as accurately and true to life as possible, and if you're shooting in D-Log/D-Log M, the screen will show exactly what the RAW footage looks like.
Another design choice I really like that makes flying intuitive is that the drone's gimbal rotates if the screen is rotated at a 90° angle for vertical viewing.
The Mavic 4 Pro supports 4K vertical recording, and you don't need to manually change the shooting setting from horizontal to vertical — just flip the screen. That is cool. There's also an HDMI port for streaming and built-in mics, and there's enough to talk about that I could dedicate a whole article just to the controller (and I will).
We all know the name Hasselblad. My editor described the Hasselblad X2D 100C as "the Koenigsegg of cameras" — and he isn't wrong. The brand oozes luxury, and its cameras don't come cheap.
You may also know that DJI owns Hasselblad (and if you didn't, you do now). And I fully believe that the DJI Mavic 4 Pro is the cheapest way of getting a (flying) Hasselblad.
The drone has three cameras, and one of them is the main Hasselblad cam. The Mavic 4 Pro is fitted with a 4/3-inch Micro Four Thirds 100MP Hasselblad CMOS sensor.
This is the most advanced camera on a consumer drone (yet), and it takes stunning photos with lots and lots of detail and (very) faithful color reproduction.
A picture paints a thousand words, they say, so I'll let the gallery above do the talking. These are some of the best photos I've taken with a drone (or camera, even) so far.
The compilation of footage above was shot in 4K/60fps with the main Hasselblad camera, and I don't think I've seen smoother footage from a drone before.
You can also shoot in 6K/60fps and 4K/120fps slow motion. What's even better is that the Hasselblad camera captures 10-bit 4:2:2 video, which means it's capable of capturing 1.07 billion individual hues.
I should, however, point out that the Mavic 4 Pro isn't currently available to buy in the U.S. DJI confirmed that it has had to "adjust [its] market strategy as local conditions and the industry environment have evolved."
So while pilots in the rainy British isles, Europe, Australia and most other parts of the world can enjoy all the goodies the Mavic 4 Pro has to offer, Americans can't.
And that's a real shame. I sincerely hope that changes. The Mavic 4 Pro is the ultimate drone and it's a game-changer in the field of aerial photography. I would hate for anyone to miss out on this drone. No other piece of tech has given me such an adrenaline rush as the Mavic 4 Pro has — and I can't wait to take off again.
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