Other than a change in name, the new Matrice 4 series brings upgrades to the camera package, a new remote controller, an on-device AI model, and a number of other improvements. The most notable upgrade is the camera system, which puts it in direct competition with the Matrice 30 Series.
See how the Matrice 4 Series stacks up against the Mavic 3 Enterprise Series.
The Matrice 4 series' big improvement comes with the camera package with new and improved sensors.
The Matrice 4E features a 4/3 CMOS f/2.8-f/11 wide-angle camera capable of 20MP photos and 3840x2160 30fps videos with a mechanical shutter. M4E's 70mm medium tele camera is a 1/1.3″ CMOS f/2.8 sensor capable of 48MP photos and 3840x2160 30fps videos.
The final camera on the unit is a 1/1.5″ CMOS f/2.8 168mm tele camera also capable of 48MP photos and 3840x2160 30fps videos. A new laser range finder with a max distance of 1,800 metres has also been added to the camera package.
The Matrice 4T features the same three cameras, with the wide-angle camera dropping down to a 1/1.3″ CMOS sensor with a f/1.7 aperture for low-light data capture. It also adds a 640x512 thermal camera, 1280x1024 in high-res mode, and an NIR auxiliary light for additional illumination in night and low-light operations.
While surveying, the DJI Pilot 2 app will show what areas the drone has already captured with an overlay on the map, making it easy for pilots to see where they've already surveyed to avoid unnecessary overlaps.
The Matrice 4 series comes with point-and-fly cruise mode, FlyTo mode, avoiding obstacles automatically in real-time, Smart Track for object tracking, and POI, for easy observation of subjects and 3D model creation.
When it comes to low-light performance, the Matrice 4 series features a new night scene mode for improved low-light images and full colour night vision, larger apertures for increased camera performance, and low-light obstacle sensing. The Matrice 4T also features an NIR light with a range of 100 metres for additional illumination.
Both drones feature super-resolution telephoto mode, allowing for detailed images to be captured from up to 250 metres away, foreground stabilisation for telephoto images, and electronic dehazing when flying in smog or humidity.
The Matrice 4 series supports 5-directional oblique capture, and the Matrice 4E supports 3-directional ortho capture. Using the DJI RC Plus 2 controller, the Matrice 4E can create a low-resolution model of a structure, which it will then use to create the flight path for a full-resolution model. The Matrice 30 series doesn't have a camera package capabile of capturing high quality survey data, making it more of a inspection and search and rescue series.
On the post-processing side, Matrice 4E supports DJI's Distortion Correction 2.0, with the drone's wide-angle camera being calibrated before leaving the factory. DJI Pilot 2 can automatically generate a surveying report after an operation, including information on photo points, RTK status, and photo parameters.
DJI has given the Matrice 4 series a built-in RTK module, freeing up the accessory port for the new loudspeaker and light modules. The light module has also been upgraded to pan up and down with the camera, making it a lot more useful than just having forward-facing spotlights.
The speaker and spotlight payloads can be used together or individually based on operational needs. Both are sold separately.
Matrice 4E and Matrice 4T work with DJI's new D-RTK 3 base station in base station mode and relay station mode, allowing for centimetre-level accuracy for multiple drones.
The Matrice 30 and 30T is only compatible with D-RTK 3 in base station mode. The Matrice 30 series can currently only be manually calibrated.
The DJI Matrice 4 Series features a built-in AI model capable of detecting vehicles, vessels and subjects for use in search and rescue operations or routine flights. If you are looking to detect different or custom objects , DJI allows third-party models to be developed and deployed using the DJI AI Developer Platform.
The Matrice 4 series features DJI's Fusion Positioning, allowing for on-the-fly adjustments when in return-to-home mode based on the obstacles detected by the 5-directional vision system. A live view of all the vision cameras is also available when in flight, allowing for quick checks of out-of-frame obstacles without needing to rotate the drone.
The DJI RC Plus 2 remote controller can download terrain maps to provide the drone with even more accurate data to know where known obstacles are, great when flying pre-programmed missions.
The Matrice 4 series can also be used with a 4G dongle, ensuring connection dropouts don't occur and allowing for more complex operations to be conducted with peace of mind.
DJI's Matrice 4 series is available right now. Get in touch with our team using the form below, or click either button to find out more about each drone.
