 This is the new DJI Spark. In my opinion, this is really a drone for beginners, for somebody who's just getting into this hobby. When you're a starter with drones, there's four things you have to consider. The price, the performance, the usability, and the portability. The first and the simplest, price. At $499, this is by far the cheapest drone DJI has ever made. The Mavic, which is just a little bit bigger and arguably is portable, is twice the price at $1,000. So, if you're looking to get into the hobby but don't want to spend too much cash, the DJI Spark is the easiest way to go. The next big category is obviously ease of use. What's interesting about the DJI Spark is that you don't need a remote control. In fact, you don't even have to pair it with a mobile app. You can launch and land it from the palm of your hand and control its movements with some simple gestures. That makes it by far the most accessible unit DJI has ever produced. Let's talk about gesture control. It uses computer vision built right into the drone, has to see you with the camera, and then it can respond to your commands. You hold it in the palm of your hand, double tap the power button, and it'll take off. Then, extend your hand, and you can start controlling it like a Jedi. Left, right, up, down. Give it the old school movie picture move, and it'll snap a shot of you. Wave, and it'll head out to about 20 feet to take a more epic aerial view. You can wave it right back in, and it'll come land in the palm of your hand. This gesture control stuff is really magical, and in my experience, worked really well. On the other hand, you are giving up the remote. So, if it works 99 out of 100 times, there's gonna be that one time you accidentally wave, and the drone starts flying away indoors. That's not good, and definitely terrifying if you're a beginner. You can also control the spark right from a mobile app. You get little thumbsticks on the screen to fly, which works, but it's definitely not ideal. The DJI drone also allows computer vision for tracking a subject. So, draw a little box around yourself, and it'll follow you and dodge obstacles, and it has a couple of cool pre-programmed shots built in there that'll circle around you, fly away, or do a Michael Bay-esque helix of ever-expanding epicness. The other big thing when it comes to ease of use is portability, and the Spark is definitely the winner from DJI in this category. It's about the size of a smartphone and the weight of a soda can. Even with an extra battery, it still weighs less than the Mavic. The Spark has a visual positioning system that sees the ground below it and can hold its position even without a GPS signal. It has rotor guards that snap on, meaning you won't lose an eye or a finger even if you bump into it. It's definitely the kind of thing that's light enough to take on a hike, but also the sort of thing you could fly indoors at a family gathering. The next big thing we care about with a drone is performance. For me, that always starts with battery life. Small drone, small battery. The Spark is rated for about 16 minutes on a full charge, and with aggressive flying or strong winds, you're looking at more like 10 to 12 minutes. Now, the nice thing about the Spark is that you can charge it on the go with micro USB, something you might have lying around for a smartphone or tablet. The small size of the drone definitely makes it convenient, but it can be a problem when there's strong winds. You can see the Spark fighting to maintain its position, and because it only has a two-axis gimbal, you're gonna see some of that movement in your video footage. The Spark has some intelligent flight features built right into the software. It can automatically follow you and avoid obstacles while headed forward, and it can pull off some fancy pre-programmed cinematic shots. But remember, you're only connected to the drone over Wi-Fi, so range is gonna be an issue. Two times when I was using these pre-programmed shots, the drone lost connection in the middle of doing its fancy Michael Bay move. That was okay, the drone knew what to do, went to a safe height, returned home, and landed. But if you're a beginner with a drone a few hundred feet in the air and you lose connection, that can be terrifying. The Spark can shoot 12 megapixel stills and 1080p video. That's good enough for Instagram, but obviously not professional grade. Of course, for $499, the same price as the Spark, you can also get the DJI Phantom 3. You'd have a lot more range and battery life, much better video quality, and a three-axis gimbal. For that price, it's really about the drone that fits your lifestyle. What's crazy about DJI drones is how quickly they've been getting smaller in size. The Phantom 4 came out in November of 2015, six months later, we got the Mavic, which is about half the size and weight of a Phantom. A year later, and we have the Spark, which is half the size and weight of a Mavic. At that rate, by this coming Christmas, we might see something more like this, a tiny little quadcopter with a camera inside. The Spark has a lot of powerful features that rival much larger, more expensive drones. It's not a toy that absolutely anybody can fly, but it's definitely the closest we've come yet to the perfect starter drone. Something accessible, easy to use, that anyone can pick up and get great results with, even if they know nothing about how to fly. Tw Huh, if you've made it this far,