Apparently, DJI now offers full-service aerial cinematography production with its custom drone for cinema cameras. And no one knows about it. Called, the DJI STORM (offered by DJI Studio), it seems that DJI have setup an entirely new division doing exactly what some of their high-end customers are doing – filming expensive things from above with really expensive cameras, lenses and drones…
Apparently the promo video for the new service is quite old now, it went live back in January but somehow slipped through the cracks, until leading drone website DroneDJ.com first reported on it. Major tech outlets like The Verge also pickup up on it recently – you can see their write up here.
As the leading comment below the DJI Storm promotional Youtube video suggest, this may not fly too well with some of their customers, but as most giant companies, DJI are so big, that they could literally do whatever they want.
I am not a business analyst in the drone space or any other space, but whatever their reasons for setting up this high-end aerial cinematography rental unit is, I am sure they are seeing big $$$ behind it. After all, flying big drones and big cameras is not a cheap endeavour, and DJI have all the know-how in the world to have a successful crack at it.
The DJI Storm is a massive custom drone platform designed to carry pro digital cinema cameras (total payload) up to 18.5kgs (around 40 lbs) like the ARRI Alexa LF, RED Monstro, and everything in between.
Integrating the powerful cradle with motors of the DJI Ronin 2, which can be seen in the video, the DJI Storm is equipped to provide cinema-grade smooth shots at a maximum speed of 50mph. The drone can operate in extreme temperatures from -10 degrees C, to 40+ C and has a flight time between 8 and 15 minutes, which is impressive for a drone of this size.
There is no official news on pricing, availability outside of China, and whether it will ever be available for sale. Apparently, DJI Studio has been serving the Chinese market for about 2 years now and it now offers a full cinema package for big productions.
Whatever they charge for this service, I am sure it will not come cheap as it is definitely targeting big budget commercials and feature films. And it even comes with a full production truck and crew.
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