DJI Debuts Its Most Powerful Drone Yet and a Versatile New Gimbal

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A DJI Phantom is a great little drone, but when it comes to heavy-duty filmmaking or photography, it’s just not gonna be able to lift your equipment. Enter the DJI Matrice 600, a powerful hexacopter for serious drone pilots who need to fly serious photo and video payloads.

The Matrice 600, or M600 for short, was announced Sunday at NAB in Las Vegas, and DJI claims that it, “mark[s] a new era for professional aerial photography, filmmaking, and industrial applications.”

With 6 propellers to its name, the brand new A3 flight controller, and advanced (Lightbridge 2) video transmission technology that lets you stream HD video at high frame rates from 5km (3.1 miles) away, the M600 is being lauded as “the most powerful and easy-to-use professional platform DJI has ever produced” by Senior Product Manager Paul Pan.

It also features a dustproof propulsion system for easier maintenance, actively cooled motors for more reliable flying, retractable landing gear for unobstructed 360° views, and a max payload of 6kg, or about 13.2-pounds.

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But DJI didn’t stop with the M600. In addition to the heavy-duty drone, they also announced the Ronin-MX: a powerful, openly-compatible handheld and aerial 3-axis gimbal.

Made to integrate seamlessly with the new Matrice 600, the Ronin-MX can actually communicate with the A3 flight controller built into the M600.

When mounted to the M600, the MX communicates with the drone to remain “positionally aware and able to keep the horizon level.” It’s compatible with Arri, Black Magic, Canon, Panasonic, RED, Sony, and Nikon and can carry around 4.5kg, which comes out to around 9.9lbs.

The M600 with its integrated A3 flight controller will run you $4,600, while the Ronin-MX retails at $1,600. But if you want to get the full set bundled, you’ll spend just $6,000, saving yourself a couple hundred dollars. All of the above options are available now.

To learn more about the M600, A3, and Ronin-MX, click on the respective product in this sentence to head over to the DJI product page.

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