1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:07,919 The Spark. DJI says this is the 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:10,080 affordable, compact drone for the masses 3 00:00:07,919 --> 00:00:14,719 without compromises to their signature technologies. And why shouldn't we 4 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:21,039 believe them? They've been dominating every other drone segment from 5 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:24,480 filmmakers to industrial use to 6 00:00:21,039 --> 00:00:27,119 enthusiasts with over a grand to burn. 7 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:33,120 But for all their noise about the dawn of the age of the UAV or whatever, 8 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:40,640 they've never had a product to offer your mom, grandpa, or Lindsay yet. But 9 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:43,920 does Lindsay even need a drone? And if 10 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:46,879 she does, is this the one she could buy? 11 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:49,879 We don't really think so. Let me explain. 12 00:00:55,199 --> 00:01:02,239 Browse privately and securely with Tunnel Bear, the simple VPN app. Start 13 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:05,119 your 7-day free trial at the link in the video 14 00:01:03,159 --> 00:01:10,560 description. Let's get one thing straight. While the Spark borrows a lot 15 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:15,680 from its foldable big brother, the ability to pick color profiles and RAW 16 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:22,080 images are both missing. It gets, in practical terms, half the battery life 17 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:25,479 of the Mavic Pro, and it substitutes a 18 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:27,920 third axis on its gimbal for digital 19 00:01:25,479 --> 00:01:33,640 stabilization, restricting video capture resolution to a measly 20 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:38,479 1,080ps rather than 21 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:41,439 4,000Ks. So, it's not a baby Mavic Pro. 22 00:01:38,479 --> 00:01:46,560 But then, does Lindsay really need any of that stuff to take selfies on the 23 00:01:43,439 --> 00:01:49,320 beach? Maybe not. So, let's talk about 24 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:53,680 things that she does need, like controls. We've tried all the different 25 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:59,360 ways that you can interface with the Spark, and all three of them have come 26 00:01:56,240 --> 00:02:02,000 short of being ideal. Gesture control is 27 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:07,840 the flashiest, most party trick-like among them, promising to allow you to 28 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:10,239 launch the drone, raise it, lower it, 29 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:16,239 move it away and towards you, take a selfie, follow you around, and even come 30 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:21,840 back and land gracefully on your outstretched palm without an additional 31 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:26,800 controller. The idea here is outstanding. Having a portable flying 32 00:02:24,640 --> 00:02:31,520 camera that behaves kind of like a well-trained dog is a future that I 33 00:02:29,599 --> 00:02:35,239 could really get into, but we feel like DJI could have done a better job of 34 00:02:33,599 --> 00:02:39,920 setting realistic expectations. To enter gesture mode, you 35 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:44,640 power up the drone. Then once it's booted up, you double click the power 36 00:02:41,599 --> 00:02:47,760 button, flash at your biggest smile, and 37 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:50,239 it takes off. Reasonably intuitive so 38 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:56,000 far. But that's where things break down a little bit. between using the force to 39 00:02:53,920 --> 00:03:02,560 move the spark to the right position, doing this instead of something more 40 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:05,920 like this or like this or I don't know, 41 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:08,400 like this to take a selfie, and the fact 42 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:14,560 that the Spark communicates back to the user exclusively through blinking lights 43 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:19,920 in ways that only the most obsessive weirdos are going to actually memorize 44 00:03:16,879 --> 00:03:23,280 before attempting to use their new toy. 45 00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:26,000 and that depend on the context, we end 46 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:31,760 up with an experience that was actually stressful or even a little bit scary at 47 00:03:28,599 --> 00:03:34,720 times. The Spark has a battery of 48 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:38,799 sensors, but in gesture mode anyway, it's kind of like your weird uncle who 49 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:43,599 knows that you're there, but doesn't seem to really understand your personal 50 00:03:40,799 --> 00:03:48,959 boundaries. And this is only amplified by how twitchy the Spark's flight is, 51 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:54,560 along with how easy it is for it to lose track of where you are. It really makes 52 00:03:51,840 --> 00:04:00,400 me wonder how they can even be touting this as a flying selfie stick or even a 53 00:03:57,519 --> 00:04:06,159 tripod substitute, ignoring how obnoxious it would actually be to pull 54 00:04:02,879 --> 00:04:08,879 out a drone and fly it to take a family 55 00:04:06,159 --> 00:04:13,519 portrait at your next gathering. As for touchscreen control, well, it's 56 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:18,639 obviously a lot more flexible, but the lack of tactile feedback through the app 57 00:04:16,479 --> 00:04:23,759 is exactly what you'd expect if you've ever tried to play a racing game on your 58 00:04:20,479 --> 00:04:27,919 phone, and Wi-Fi's limited range comes 59 00:04:23,759 --> 00:04:31,600 well short of DJI's advertised 2 km 60 00:04:27,919 --> 00:04:34,240 maximum for the Spark. For that, you 61 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:39,600 need the third control scheme, the remote, which comes with some other 62 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:41,840 benefits as well. Thumb sticks, which 63 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:46,479 are by far the best way to fly the Spark, are the most obvious one, but 64 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:51,440 it's also got a programmable button and some gimbal controls. And you get the 65 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:57,840 option to unlock sport mode, which basically boosts the maximum speed of 66 00:04:53,520 --> 00:05:01,040 the Spark by over four times. But if 67 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:03,440 you're buying this accessory, I have to 68 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:10,560 wonder a little bit why you're buying a Spark in the first place. It's 69 00:05:06,199 --> 00:05:13,840 $150 standalone or $200 as part of the 70 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:16,320 Fly More package. That means we're not 71 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:20,479 talking about a $500 cell phone accessory anymore. It's not that we 72 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:25,240 think the Spark is terrible. It's just that if you're a drone nerd, then by the 73 00:05:23,199 --> 00:05:31,840 time you're spending $700, 4K video recording, more manual 74 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:37,320 controls, and better flight range are just the beginning of the ways that the 75 00:05:33,919 --> 00:05:40,520 Mavic Pro crushes this thing for another 76 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:43,919 $300. And if the sales pitches to 77 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:46,639 Lindsay, then the price to fun ratio 78 00:05:43,919 --> 00:05:52,240 compared to cheap video drones on Amazon is still kind of out of whack. And if 79 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:58,120 you want to ask this kind of premium, then we think the intuitiveness and the 80 00:05:54,960 --> 00:06:01,520 safety of the gesture controls need some 81 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:04,000 work. Not including propeller guards in 82 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:09,600 particular is a pretty crap move on something that's small and mainstream 83 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:14,080 enough that DJI must know that people are going to be flying it indoors. Which 84 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:18,240 isn't to say that the Spark doesn't have a place in the market at all. It's still 85 00:06:16,319 --> 00:06:22,960 not water resistant. That could be improved, but this thing is 86 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:28,240 astonishingly durable. You probably wouldn't even guess that the one in RB 87 00:06:25,039 --> 00:06:30,639 roll has been crashed three times. And 88 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:37,440 the autonomous flight modes, things that you wouldn't find on a toy grade product 89 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:40,400 like beacon, active track, and even the 90 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:45,440 newer cinematic ones, are as reliable as they were on previous DJI offerings. I 91 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:50,080 just think it's a little disingenuous to call it a $500 drone when its 92 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:55,919 functionality is so limited in that form. And I wouldn't pay $700 for it 93 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:59,520 compared to the Mavic Pro without some more software 94 00:06:57,479 --> 00:07:05,759 improvements. Speaking of improvements to the Mavic, you can improve yours with 95 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:07,840 a skin from Dbrand. DBR is the place to 96 00:07:05,759 --> 00:07:12,560 go for skins that improve the durability, not to mention the sex 97 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:17,479 appeal of your devices. Be they phones, game consoles, portable computers, or 98 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:22,319 apparently drones, you can use their configurator 99 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:26,880 to see exactly what your device will look like. So whether you're looking to 100 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:30,479 make it all sleek and carbon fibery or whether you want your device to look 101 00:07:28,319 --> 00:07:35,120 like pure cancer, you can check out Dbrand's site and for just a few bucks, 102 00:07:33,599 --> 00:07:39,680 skin up your device. They've got worldwide shipping and we've got a link 103 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:42,800 below that you can follow to get started right 104 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:46,319 now. So thanks for watching, guys. If this video sucked, you know what to do. 105 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:48,960 But if it was awesome, get subscribed, hit that like button, or check out the 106 00:07:47,599 --> 00:07:52,800 link to where to buy the stuff we featured in the video description. Also 107 00:07:51,759 --> 00:07:58,560 linked down there is our merch store which has cool shirts like this one and our community forum which you should 108 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,560 totally join.