Spark 2 Spark Pro?

[SaltyPilot]

Hi everyone! New to this forum and looks like a great place with a lot of good people! Just wondering if anyone has heard anything in regards to the Spark 2 or Spark Pro? We all know DJI will be revamping the Spark at some time. Just wondering if there are any updates anyone has heard of with any of the details. We also know how quiet DJI stays with new products. Anyway, Happy Holidays!

-SaltyPilot

 

[Spark 317]

Hello from the Hoosier heartland, SaltyPilot.

I think the Mavic Air is the Spark 2 we want.
4k, 3 axis gimbal, compact and a little bit of extra flight time plus distance.

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[Sparksupersonic]

I don’t know if I’ll buy another spark after mine disconnected and flew away last month, but I did like it’s size and simplicity a lot. Size as is and in flight.
It’s good they’re making bigger drones foldable and more compact, but to me they’re still bigger drones.
I liked that you didn’t have to unfold the Spark, and how sturdy it felt, and how quickly you could put it in flight. So to me there isn’t any reason they couldn’t improve such an awesome drone, without making it a different drone, like the Mavic Air. The Air might be what dji considers an upgraded small drone, but it isn’t and never will be a spark.
Seems to me they could improve it some without making it a different drone. Seems they could put the quiet motor and props technology on it, how awesome would a really quiet spark be.
Perhaps they could upgrade the gimble, and who knows maybe technology could extend battery battery quality in the same size battery, all without changing the size.
Idk if they could extend range and connection in any way, but it seems to have enough range for it’s size and for what most people want the spark for. If they did upgrade the spark as we know it and have a spark 2 that would be a drone I’d probably buy if I could.

 

[Andre Levite]

Hello from the Hoosier heartland, SaltyPilot.

I think the Mavic Air is the Spark 2 we want.
4k, 3 axis gimbal, compact and a little bit of extra flight time plus distance.

Welcome to the Forum.

I'm also a fan of the Mavic Air. But it's so noisy it attracts much unwanted attention. In public (and in airports) it is often dismissed as a toy.

The Spark 2 the OP describes has all the features of the Mavic Air in the form factor of the current Spark (plus foldable arms). It could be DJI's popular product ever.

I believe we will get it one day as the trend towards miniaturization marches on. But right now DJI has a drone lineup that covers every consumer niche and every price point. With such little serious competition in the market the Spark 2 we want would only file sales of the Mavic Air.

I believe it will happen - I'm just not holding my breath.

 

[tmarez]

I'm also a fan of the Mavic Air. But it's so noisy it attracts much unwanted attention. In public (and in airports) it is often dismissed as a toy.

The Spark 2 the OP describes has all the features of the Mavic Air in the form factor of the current Spark (plus foldable arms). It could be DJI's popular product ever.

I believe we will get it one day as the trend towards miniaturization marches on. But right now DJI has a drone lineup that covers every consumer niche and every price point. With such little serious competition in the market the Spark 2 we want would only file sales of the Mavic Air.

I believe it will happen - I'm just not holding my breath.

I believe DJI has already developed the Spark 2 even with the Mavic air . Only waiting for the right time to fly it out the door. DJI is well aware of its competition and as of now there isn't much that can compete. The Spark is awsome.

 

[SaltyPilot]

Hello from the Hoosier heartland, SaltyPilot.

I think the Mavic Air is the Spark 2 we want.
4k, 3 axis gimbal, compact and a little bit of extra flight time plus distance.

Welcome to the Forum.

Thank you for the kind welcome! I have just about flown every DJI product and just recently spent some time flying a Spark. I am really impressed with the small form factor. I know the battery flying time is a bit shorter than that of the Mavics but for the cost, it really does fly and provide really nice photos/video. The Mavic Air is a bit high pitched for my liking but they sure do fly well!

Happy Holidays!

 

[SaltyPilot]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Happy Holidays!

 

[MarkBarnes]

I only just recently purchased a Spark and enjoy watching all the videos created with it. I look forward to making and posting heaps of my videos.

I think I have the drone bug and watch videos created with other DJI drones.

Seems like their is the bigginner Spark And the Mavic 2 Pro in the race to me.
The others are all good but think the Pro 2 will be the next step.

I cant think of anythinv else they could add.

Cheers

 

[chascoadmin]

Same here. The Spark is almost perfect except for the fact that DJI forced it to be a toy by crippling the accuracy of the geotags in the photos. I wish I could use it as a mapper like my others. I guess that's why it's not a "Pro".

 

[seasonalflier]

I don’t know if I’ll buy another spark after mine disconnected and flew away last month, but I did like it’s size and simplicity a lot. Size as is and in flight.
It’s good they’re making bigger drones foldable and more compact, but to me they’re still bigger drones.
I liked that you didn’t have to unfold the Spark, and how sturdy it felt, and how quickly you could put it in flight. So to me there isn’t any reason they couldn’t improve such an awesome drone, without making it a different drone, like the Mavic Air. The Air might be what dji considers an upgraded small drone, but it isn’t and never will be a spark.
Seems to me they could improve it some without making it a different drone. Seems they could put the quiet motor and props technology on it, how awesome would a really quiet spark be.
Perhaps they could upgrade the gimble, and who knows maybe technology could extend battery battery quality in the same size battery, all without changing the size.
Idk if they could extend range and connection in any way, but it seems to have enough range for it’s size and for what most people want the spark for. If they did upgrade the spark as we know it and have a spark 2 that would be a drone I’d probably buy if I could.

hey are you sure you have recorded home point? because even me one time i put the spark on the air forgetting to press home point and then it disconnected using it only with mobile, but luckily it hovered and reconnected....i am sure if I press Return Home it would fly to a different country as there was the last time I updated home point before this flight..;-))) I think this might be majority of cases. other would be metal interference into the compass....i am sure anything can happen, but it mainly looks like pilot errors forgetting about what i said.

 

[seasonalflier]

Same here. The Spark is almost perfect except for the fact that DJI forced it to be a toy by crippling the accuracy of the geotags in the photos. I wish I could use it as a mapper like my others. I guess that's why it's not a "Pro".

can you elaborate on this? are you sure it's not possible to correct it as some are using older version of assistant 2 to do some firmware adjustments...?

 

[netfolks2000]

I really like the Spark a lot, too. And I have two other drones. I really don't like folding as much anymore. The Spark is so solid. Give a sequel the same size and more features and flight time with a controller that has a monitor built in and that would be my perfect drone.

 

[Sparksupersonic]

hey are you sure you have recorded home point? because even me one time i put the spark on the air forgetting to press home point and then it disconnected using it only with mobile, but luckily it hovered and reconnected....i am sure if I press Return Home it would fly to a different country as there was the last time I updated home point before this flight..;-))) I think this might be majority of cases. other would be metal interference into the compass....i am sure anything can happen, but it mainly looks like pilot errors forgetting about what i said.

I’m certain I did. That was something I did before I’d put it in flight. Even if it said “the homepoint has updated, check it on the map”, on its own, when it first connected, I’d do it myself again. I was carefule to be cautious and as prepared as I could before a flight, and even before I used the spark. I had it almost 2 weeks before I ever charged the battery and activated it, and spent that time flying my tello, learning how to fly. I used rth a few times to test it and see how close it landed to rth point, but other than that I flew it back, and didn’t knowingly take risks with it.
Long Island, where it flew away, has almost 8 million people on it, so needless to say a lot of signals in the air, even in the smaller communities where this was. This was the first time flying on Long Island aside from on the beach there. Considering that, if I had to guess, signals interfered with the connection and it couldn’t reconnect.

 

[chascoadmin]

can you elaborate on this? are you sure it's not possible to correct it as some are using older version of assistant 2 to do some firmware adjustments...?

Here is one of several discussions going on regarding DJI's choice the round off the coordinates which makes it impossible to create a georeferenced orthomosaic and 3D model. You can still create an orthomosaic, but it will be just a picture and not geographically or geometrically accurate.

GPS precision

 

[Sparkster Marc]

Ok, just for fun. Let's upgrade Spark to a Rolls Royce. How about, occusync, 4k video, aperture settings, 3 axis gimble and sensors on all 6 sides. Oh, and let's upgrade the battery to make it fly 25 minutes. You may think I'm being sarcastic here, but honestly I'm only trying to be a little silly, but,,,,,hey, what if they could really do that. You'd darn near have a miniature Mavic Pro 2. Seriously, I"m not sure if all those things could be done in this small of a form factor, especially the extended flying time. But, again, if it could, wouldn't it be awesome. I think what is so appealing to me about the Spark is the smaller size, it's robust build, ease of use, and just how inconspicuous it is, say compared even to a Mavic Pro which I also have. Don't get me wrong. I love the Pro, but for the reasons above plus the lower price, it's a lot of fun for the buck. Marc.

 

[chascoadmin]

@Sparkster Marc, that's what i'm talking about, lol! I wish that DJI had a better user advocacy group or some type of workflow to get real data and practical use from us. My Spark lasts approximately 20 minutes in mapping mode so I think DJI short-sided themselves a bit by making such a good piece of hardware with such a limited SDK.

 

[Sparksupersonic]

Considering faa regulations, and laws for drone use that are likely going to get stricter, dji would be foolish to not keep the spark platform around with its size and weight. Low profile will be a big want and a big seller in coming years, maybe even a must have.
They’d be foolish not to upgrade it too.
Hopefully they’d never make it foldable though, I like it and it’s sturdiness as is.

 

[Andre Levite]

Considering faa regulations, and laws for drone use that are likely going to get stricter, dji would be foolish to not keep the spark platform around with its size and weight. Low profile will be a big want and a big seller in coming years, maybe even a must have.
They’d be foolish not to upgrade it too.
Hopefully they’d never make it foldable though, I like it and it’s sturdiness as is.

Unfortunately the FAA regulations lump together all drones between 250 grams and 25 kilograms. So the Spark's current weight of 300gm puts it in the same category as the massive DJI Inspire and Matrice. As you stated the regulations will only get stricter - this would likely lower the minimum weight even further.

Despite the trend towards miniaturization the addition of new features will add more weight to the aircraft. And those new features are power hogs that require larger capacity batteries - the heaviest single component of all.

In summary, the Spark can't get much smaller without shrinking the battery so much that flight time is pitiful. The current 13 minutes is already a handicap.

It's not a matter of "foolishness" - it's physics.

 

[Sparksupersonic]

Good points. I feel even with regulations though sometimes how strict the rules are applied is a matter of perception, and people are more likely to look at the Spark with its size differently than bigger drones. Increased regulation aside, the faa won’t be around the corner ready to seize everyone’s drones, it will still be the common person or park personelle types of people drone flyers will be confronted by and that’s the reason a low profile drone like the spark might get the benefit of the doubt.
As for dji and foolishness though, not intending that to be a slight, I’m certain they’ll do what they can, just another way of saying “It would be in their best interest”.
Agree about more technology making a drone heavier, but the hypothetical spark mentioned above is just someone’s dream drone, obviously not realistic.
Personally my thoughts on how they might be able to upgrade the spark while maintaining its size would be using the quiet motor technology and quiet propellers, maybe the 3 axis gimble, then maybe eventually technology can improve connection and have a better battery. There’s going to have to be compromise with a smaller drone for certain, probably mostly in limited flight time at the present.

 

[Andre Levite]

I appreciate your optimistic view of the drone hobby's future. Perhaps I am being too cynical but when it comes to governmental regulation that is usually the safe bet.

Truth be told the "dream Spark" you describe is my Mavic Pro with a quiet prop upgrade. At first I was intimidated by the size and complexity but after a few weeks the Spark isn't getting much use. Once the MP1 is 100 feet away the size difference literally disappears. It's much quieter than the Spark's "angry hornet shriek". And it gets up and away so quickly it's a silent speck in the sky before anybody even notices it. Throw in the 4K, extended range, 3-axis gimbal and doubled airtime and it's Game Over.

DJI has sold so many people the Tello AND the Spark AND the Mavic Pro I think their product line is firing on all cylinders. No reason to change it until they get some competition other than themselves.