WEBVTT 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:07.919 The Spark. DJI says this is the 00:00:04.120 --> 00:00:10.080 affordable, compact drone for the masses 00:00:07.919 --> 00:00:14.719 without compromises to their signature technologies. And why shouldn't we 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:21.039 believe them? They've been dominating every other drone segment from 00:00:17.880 --> 00:00:24.480 filmmakers to industrial use to 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:27.119 enthusiasts with over a grand to burn. 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:33.120 But for all their noise about the dawn of the age of the UAV or whatever, 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:40.640 they've never had a product to offer your mom, grandpa, or Lindsay yet. But 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:43.920 does Lindsay even need a drone? And if 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:46.879 she does, is this the one she could buy? 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:49.879 We don't really think so. Let me explain. 00:00:55.199 --> 00:01:02.239 Browse privately and securely with Tunnel Bear, the simple VPN app. Start 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:05.119 your 7-day free trial at the link in the video 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:10.560 description. Let's get one thing straight. While the Spark borrows a lot 00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:15.680 from its foldable big brother, the ability to pick color profiles and RAW 00:01:12.960 --> 00:01:22.080 images are both missing. It gets, in practical terms, half the battery life 00:01:18.240 --> 00:01:25.479 of the Mavic Pro, and it substitutes a 00:01:22.080 --> 00:01:27.920 third axis on its gimbal for digital 00:01:25.479 --> 00:01:33.640 stabilization, restricting video capture resolution to a measly 00:01:30.520 --> 00:01:38.479 1,080ps rather than 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:41.439 4,000Ks. So, it's not a baby Mavic Pro. 00:01:38.479 --> 00:01:46.560 But then, does Lindsay really need any of that stuff to take selfies on the 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:49.320 beach? Maybe not. So, let's talk about 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:53.680 things that she does need, like controls. We've tried all the different 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:59.360 ways that you can interface with the Spark, and all three of them have come 00:01:56.240 --> 00:02:02.000 short of being ideal. Gesture control is 00:01:59.360 --> 00:02:07.840 the flashiest, most party trick-like among them, promising to allow you to 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:10.239 launch the drone, raise it, lower it, 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:16.239 move it away and towards you, take a selfie, follow you around, and even come 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:21.840 back and land gracefully on your outstretched palm without an additional 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:26.800 controller. The idea here is outstanding. Having a portable flying 00:02:24.640 --> 00:02:31.520 camera that behaves kind of like a well-trained dog is a future that I 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:35.239 could really get into, but we feel like DJI could have done a better job of 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:39.920 setting realistic expectations. To enter gesture mode, you 00:02:37.920 --> 00:02:44.640 power up the drone. Then once it's booted up, you double click the power 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:47.760 button, flash at your biggest smile, and 00:02:44.640 --> 00:02:50.239 it takes off. Reasonably intuitive so 00:02:47.760 --> 00:02:56.000 far. But that's where things break down a little bit. between using the force to 00:02:53.920 --> 00:03:02.560 move the spark to the right position, doing this instead of something more 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:05.920 like this or like this or I don't know, 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:08.400 like this to take a selfie, and the fact 00:03:05.920 --> 00:03:14.560 that the Spark communicates back to the user exclusively through blinking lights 00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:19.920 in ways that only the most obsessive weirdos are going to actually memorize 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:23.280 before attempting to use their new toy. 00:03:19.920 --> 00:03:26.000 and that depend on the context, we end 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:31.760 up with an experience that was actually stressful or even a little bit scary at 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:34.720 times. The Spark has a battery of 00:03:31.760 --> 00:03:38.799 sensors, but in gesture mode anyway, it's kind of like your weird uncle who 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:43.599 knows that you're there, but doesn't seem to really understand your personal 00:03:40.799 --> 00:03:48.959 boundaries. And this is only amplified by how twitchy the Spark's flight is, 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 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 00:03:57.519 --> 00:04:06.159 tripod substitute, ignoring how obnoxious it would actually be to pull 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:08.879 out a drone and fly it to take a family 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:13.519 portrait at your next gathering. As for touchscreen control, well, it's 00:04:11.040 --> 00:04:18.639 obviously a lot more flexible, but the lack of tactile feedback through the app 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 00:04:20.479 --> 00:04:27.919 phone, and Wi-Fi's limited range comes 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:31.600 well short of DJI's advertised 2 km 00:04:27.919 --> 00:04:34.240 maximum for the Spark. For that, you 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:39.600 need the third control scheme, the remote, which comes with some other 00:04:36.400 --> 00:04:41.840 benefits as well. Thumb sticks, which 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:46.479 are by far the best way to fly the Spark, are the most obvious one, but 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:51.440 it's also got a programmable button and some gimbal controls. And you get the 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:57.840 option to unlock sport mode, which basically boosts the maximum speed of 00:04:53.520 --> 00:05:01.040 the Spark by over four times. But if 00:04:57.840 --> 00:05:03.440 you're buying this accessory, I have to 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:10.560 wonder a little bit why you're buying a Spark in the first place. It's 00:05:06.199 --> 00:05:13.840 $150 standalone or $200 as part of the 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:16.320 Fly More package. That means we're not 00:05:13.840 --> 00:05:20.479 talking about a $500 cell phone accessory anymore. It's not that we 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 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:31.840 time you're spending $700, 4K video recording, more manual 00:05:28.880 --> 00:05:37.320 controls, and better flight range are just the beginning of the ways that the 00:05:33.919 --> 00:05:40.520 Mavic Pro crushes this thing for another 00:05:37.320 --> 00:05:43.919 $300. And if the sales pitches to 00:05:40.520 --> 00:05:46.639 Lindsay, then the price to fun ratio 00:05:43.919 --> 00:05:52.240 compared to cheap video drones on Amazon is still kind of out of whack. And if 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:58.120 you want to ask this kind of premium, then we think the intuitiveness and the 00:05:54.960 --> 00:06:01.520 safety of the gesture controls need some 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:04.000 work. Not including propeller guards in 00:06:01.520 --> 00:06:09.600 particular is a pretty crap move on something that's small and mainstream 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:14.080 enough that DJI must know that people are going to be flying it indoors. Which 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 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:22.960 not water resistant. That could be improved, but this thing is 00:06:20.600 --> 00:06:28.240 astonishingly durable. You probably wouldn't even guess that the one in RB 00:06:25.039 --> 00:06:30.639 roll has been crashed three times. And 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:37.440 the autonomous flight modes, things that you wouldn't find on a toy grade product 00:06:33.440 --> 00:06:40.400 like beacon, active track, and even the 00:06:37.440 --> 00:06:45.440 newer cinematic ones, are as reliable as they were on previous DJI offerings. I 00:06:43.440 --> 00:06:50.080 just think it's a little disingenuous to call it a $500 drone when its 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:55.919 functionality is so limited in that form. And I wouldn't pay $700 for it 00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:59.520 compared to the Mavic Pro without some more software 00:06:57.479 --> 00:07:05.759 improvements. Speaking of improvements to the Mavic, you can improve yours with 00:07:02.400 --> 00:07:07.840 a skin from Dbrand. DBR is the place to 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:12.560 go for skins that improve the durability, not to mention the sex 00:07:10.080 --> 00:07:17.479 appeal of your devices. Be they phones, game consoles, portable computers, or 00:07:16.080 --> 00:07:22.319 apparently drones, you can use their configurator 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:26.880 to see exactly what your device will look like. So whether you're looking to 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:30.479 make it all sleek and carbon fibery or whether you want your device to look 00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:35.120 like pure cancer, you can check out Dbrand's site and for just a few bucks, 00:07:33.599 --> 00:07:39.680 skin up your device. They've got worldwide shipping and we've got a link 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:42.800 below that you can follow to get started right 00:07:40.520 --> 00:07:46.319 now. So thanks for watching, guys. If this video sucked, you know what to do. 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:48.960 But if it was awesome, get subscribed, hit that like button, or check out the 00:07:47.599 --> 00:07:52.800 link to where to buy the stuff we featured in the video description. Also 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 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:58.560 totally join.