DJI Spark Intelligent Flight Stabilizing Drone
Last updated: February 2, 2022
The DJI Spark's obstacle avoidance feature keeps your drone safe as it navigates around. Although it doesn't feature 4K video, you'll be able to capture decent-quality images and video, making it a great drone for hobbyists. Gesture control makes controlling navigation fun and easy, but that feature can be buggy at times, so bring plenty of patience. Overall, a great drone for the price.
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Product Details
Key Takeaway: Great for hobbyists, this drone is equipped with a camera for photos and videos. Also has an obstacle avoidance feature.
In our analysis of 94 expert reviews, the DJI Spark Intelligent Flight Stabilizing Drone placed 7th when we looked at the top 14 products in the category. For the full ranking, see below.From The Manufacturer
Intelligent Flight ModesSmart, reliable, and incredibly intuitiveQuickShotVideos with a Tap
High-Performance CameraAmazing images and stabilized videoMechanical Gimbal StabilizationShake-Free Shots
Flight PerformanceAwesome potential, immersive experiencesPowerful Propulsion Speed and Precision Control
Flight SafetyWorry-free flight in the palm of your hand ; Propeller guards are recommended when using these functions.
Expert Reviews
What reviewers liked
The Spark is incredibly light, though, at about half the weight of the Mavic Pro. It’s so light I kept thinking I’d forgotten to pack it inside its case because you can barely feel the weight of it. You can happily throw it into a backpack ready for your next shot and not feel over-encumbered.
The DJI Spark’s autonomous features and intelligent flight modes help beginners feel more confident flying the drone because it can hold its position in the air, avoid obstacles, and return to home and land itself in an emergency.
The Spark’s camera is mounted on a 2-axis gimbal, which helps make for an incredibly steady platform. Up at altitude — with a breeze blowing directly at it — video was so smooth, it was as if the drone were mounted on a tripod.
he DJI Spark delivers a tiny, lightweight design; excellent mechanically stabilized camera; USB charging and advanced features like gesture controls and obstacle detection. It travels well and is great for aerial photos and video.
Another big addition is Spark’s obstacle avoidance system. While the ability to sense and avoid objects is usually a feature reserved for larger drones, DJI went ahead and built one into the hull of the Spark.
The Spark is chock-full of intelligent flight modes, which help make it incredibly easy to fly. There's QuickShot mode, where the Spark will fly along and record video from a preset path, TapFly, which sends the drone to a specific point or coordinate with just a tap on the screen, and Active Track mode, which automatically recognizes objects, follows, and tracks them.
The Spark is tiny. It measures 2.2 by 5.6 by 5.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 10.6 ounces—DJI points out it weighs less than a can of soda. It's not foldable, though the propellers do fold in for easy transport—you don't have to remove them for storage, so the Spark is always ready to fly.
Spark is great at hovering in one place indoors, due to its small size, the Spark has to work overtime to stay in one place against even moderate wind. Flying outdoors on a windy day is going to cut down on your battery life and, since it’s a two-axis gimbal, some of that sideways movement will show up in your footage in a way that wouldn’t happen with a Phantom or Mavic.
It is the easiest and most portable option available for buzzing around the backyard, grabbing some aerial selfies, and taking some home movies.
What reviewers didn't like
In real-world flight, I was seeing anywhere between 11 to 13 minutes of flight time, which isn’t amazing. Charging the batteries can take quite a long time, too, so it’s definitely worth investing in spare batteries. But at £55 a pop, these can be quite expensive.
The app provides a 720p FPV live view on a smartphone or tablet, which works well at a range of up to 109 yards, but lacks the video quality and reliability of the OcuSync system found on the Mavic Pro and other higher-end models. If you need more range, you can buy a separate remote control to fly the Spark up to 1.24 miles away.
However, the Spark didn’t feel as spontaneous as it should. Unlike the Mavic, the Spark’s four arms don’t fold into its body, so you’ll always have to worry about its rotors snapping off if not stored in its foam carrying case. And, the Spark can’t fit in its case with its prop guards attached. The Hover Passport drone, on the other hand, has its rotors entirely enclosed in its body; you merely have to open up its two halves and press a button to start flying.
Flight time can be as short as 10 to 14 minutes. The app can be frustrating to use, especially on smaller screens. And you should expect to buy batteries and possibly the optional controller.
The only downside to the Spark is the fact that it doesn’t have a 4K camera, or the ability to shoot raw photos. The drone’s shooter boasts a 1/2.3” CMOS sensor that can shoot 12 megapixel stills and capture video in 1080p at 30 frames per second. That isn’t necessarily bad, it just isn’t 4K, which is something that a lot of other portable drones offer
Unfortunately, gesture control can be a little finicky at times, and your drone may not immediately recognize you. So, you may look like you're swatting at a swarm of bees, even though you're just trying to get your drone to fly away to get a wider shot.
Dedicated remote control is a pricey add-on. Limited range and speed when controlling with phone. Video limited to 1080p.
When the video signal starts to fail, meaning the drone is on the edge of losing its Wi-Fi connection with your phone, the unit should automatically move back into range of a strong connection.
The Spark's video downlink was always smooth and never lagged in our testing, but the video was a bit grainy when compared to the downlinks of larger models. This earned the Spark a fairly mediocre score of 6 out of 10.
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