DJI Spark Review: Small Responsive

DJI has proven successful in breaking into the drone world by launching the DJI Mavic Pro. Even though it is priced at a relatively expensive price, this first foldable and up-to-date drone from DJI is one of the best-selling drones in the world. With the success of the folding drone concept, in 2017 DJI returned to present a drone that was no less innovative. Welcome, DJI Spark, DJI's first drone with a very small size and very affordable price.

Easy to carry on the go

Like the tiny drone of all DJI drone variants, DJI is designing a spark with a new face. This design does not copy the DJI Phantom or the DJI Mavic Pro lines.

Spark appears with an elongated body that is very compact and lightweight. The shape is only the size of the palm of an old person's hand with a body size of 143 × 143 × 55 millimeters. While the total listed battery weight is only 300 grams. Put it in the protective box. You can immediately put this drone in your bag to take it on an adventure.

On the left and right sides of the Spark's body there are 4 propellers. Similar to other DJI drones, the four propellers are very easy to remove. In the basic type of purchase package, DJI has also provided 2 extra propellers which act as backups.

Shifting to the front can be found a camera with a small size. One thing that deserves thumbs up is that this tiny camera is equipped with 2 gimbals.

The arrival of the gimbal is what makes the DJI Spark superior in its class. With the gimbal stabilizer feature, which is more powerful than the electronic stabilizer feature, it allows the DJI Spark to take photos more normally while flying.

Sliding slightly to the top of the camera can be found a sensor listed 3 Sensing System which is a sensor to identify obstacles in front of him. And on the back there is a microSD card slot, mircoUSB, and an on / off button that integrates directly with the battery.

One thing you need to know, DJI has indeed designed Spark to fly from the palm of your hand. So don't be surprised if the DJI Spark's legs are very short. As a result, the distance between the Spark's body and the ground is very close.

In short, although it is small and light, the overall body design of the DJI Spark deserves two thumbs up. The body feels very solid. The aerodynamic body design also allows the Spark to be able to go fast, let alone fly big very normally and is quite resistant to wind gusts.

Started flying and landing easier

Not only small, the DJI Spark is also endowed with various smart features. One of its flagship features is the feature to start flying and landing from the palm of the hand.

In practice, when we try this feature we hardly create any problems because it is very easy to put into practice. You only need to place the Spark in the palm of your hand and position the Spark camera towards the face. Press the power button 2 times after that, wait a few times for the sensor to work to identify your face. When the face is recognized, the lights on the propeller of the Spark will automatically turn on and the propeller will start to turn. After that Spark will automatically fly from your hand.

Make landing just as easy. When the Spark hovers near you, make sure the Spark's camera is facing your face, then position your palms just below the Spark. Wait a few times and Spark will land automatically.

No wonder the arrival of this feature makes DJI Spark continue to be easy to use. Especially for users who haven't had the chance to fly a drone, even though we believe they can fly the Spark right away.

Sophisticated smart control features

Continued to the second feature that is the flagship is the smart control feature. At the DJI Spark you want to create a variety of smart control features consisting of QuickShot, Active Track, TapFly and Gesture modes.

Can Fly Safely

Not only all the smart control modes above, the DJI Spark is also equipped with another cutting-edge technology, namely the FlightAutonomy System. These features include the main camera, a vision positioning system (VPS) sensor, a 3D sensor sensing system, dual-band GPS, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) with a large degree of precision, and a powerful 24-core computing system.

Thanks to this technology Spark can float anywhere by relying on VPS guidance up to a height of 30 m, stay away from objects in front of it up to a distance of 5 m and of course land comfortably.

Not only that, the DJI Spark is also equipped with the RTH (Return To Home) feature. Relying on its GPS feature, Spark can fly back and land to the early flight point when the battery is in critical condition, runs out of connection, or you press the RTH button.

Easy to control and very responsive

After reviewing the series of smart control features advanced, you must be curious about how it feels to fly the Spark. Before flying, we connected Spark to a smartphone, remembering that the Spark type we reviewed was the basic type that was not equipped with a remote.

By only relying on a WiFi connection and the Spark smartphone can fly up to 100 m long and a maximum size of 50 m. If with the remote you can fly the Spark up to 2 kilometers long. To be sure, for safety and comfort we always prefer to fly the Spark as far as the eye can see.

One thing that deserves attention is how DJI pays close attention to every aspect of control contained in the DJI Spark. Listed methods of setting up the camera gimbal.

The battery is relatively fast running out

Then how long can the DJI Spark fly? DJI said, the Lithium Polymer DJI Spark battery with a capacity of 1480 mAh can last up to 16 minutes. But in practice this is not the case. From our tests, the DJI Spark battery can only last almost 13 minutes at low speed and in quite windy conditions. If you want to fly it longer, we highly recommend 2 or 3 spare batteries.

You also don't need to be afraid that this drone will suddenly fall if you lose its battery. By carrying out the Intelligent Flight battery technology, the battery can estimate how long you can fly and want to fly back to the early point of flight when the battery is critical.

The battery can also be set at what percentage it is mandatory to share critical battery notifications. From our experience the percentage of 30% is a very comfortable one. So when the battery has held 30% a notification will appear on the smartphone screen, so you can quickly pull it back and fly closer to you. Or, you can always fly and use its RTH (Return To Home) feature. This feature can also work properly when we practice it because Spark successfully flew back to its early flight point successfully.

Conclusion

No wonder the DJI Spark is a very exciting drone. The very affordable price tag of all DJI drones, smart features and a variety of flight modes, a very compact size, and very easy operation are some of the advantages offered by the DJI Spark.

Through Spark for us, DJI has at least succeeded in ensuring that today's smart drones can be owned and flown by anyone. With the jargon Seize The Moment that DJI carries, it seems that you want to emphasize whatever your current activities can be immortalized via drones.