Last summer season, Sony revealed a high-end drone for cinematographic productions, the Airpeak S1. According to Sony, it is the smallest drone efficient in lifting a full-frame Alpha cam such as the a7S and has advanced barrier detection. The first copies will be delivered from 24 December. For electronic camera stabilization, gimbal maker Gremsy begins the marketplace concurrently with the ‘T3 for Airpeak’.

high-end section

The variety of drones for the high-end movie section is reasonably small. In addition to the larger DJI systems such as the M600 Pro, there are still the Alta series of Freefly Systems, not to point out the drones of the Dutch company AceCore Technologies. It is quickly about systems with a payload capability of 5 kg or more, which require specialized knowledge and allows from the operator.

Putting together a high-end drone setup is a whole puzzle: after all, a minimum of a full-frame cam with reasonably heavy optics has to go into the air, including any additions such as a follow focus and video transmitter, and all of that need to be supported and supplied. become of energy. So not exactly ‘prepared to fly’.

Sony wishes to shake up this market with the Airpeak S1. In the development of the drone, the combination with the famous Alpha series of full-frame cameras was taken as a beginning point. The Airpeak can be equipped with the a7S series or FX3, which can still produce top quality images even in low light conditions. The drone can likewise be geared up with high-resolution video cameras such as the a7R series, which entails assessment applications. The drone can also be used with the a9 and a1. With that last camera, 8K movie resolution is possible.

Small but effective According to Sony, the Airpeak is the tiniest drone capable of getting an Alpha full-frame electronic camera including gimbal into the air. The powertrain– including motors and props– and the flight controller of the drone were established by Sony itself. For stabilization, Sony has partnered with Gremsy, who provides the T3 for Airpeak gimbal. To support the pilot, the Airpeak S1 is geared up with obstacle detection. According to Sony, the Airpeak is identified by really steady flying habits. The hovering accuracy– the extent to which the drone handles to keep its position– would be less than 9 cm, with vision placing enabled. For contrast, the DJI Mavic 3 has a 50 cm hovering precision. Additionally, the drone can be utilized at high wind speeds, as much as 20 m/s (approx. 8 Bft). The optimum flight time including the heaviest payload is around 12 minutes.

The system is operated by means of the Airpeak Flight app that becomes available for iOS devices. Via this app, all facets of the system can be managed, so in addition to the flight settings, also the camera settings and the gimbal. This sets Sony apart from the competitors, often requiring various controllers for the subsystems. In addition, there is the Airpeak Base web application for preparing flight plans and managing the system.

Market intro

The Airpeak would be on the market ‘this fall’. So, the official market launch has been held off slightly, to December 24 to be specific. The very first pre-orders will be delivered to clients in the United States. It is not yet clear when the main market launch in the EU will follow. The drone itself costs 9,000 dollars in the fundamental version, but that is still without gimbal and camera.