Jody Arnott
September 26th, 2014, 02:13 AM
Align has finally made a contribution to the drone market. For those that don't know, Align has been the leading manufacturer of recreational RC helicopters for a number of years now.
They have just released their first aerial photography/video platforms, the M480 (quad) and M690 (hex). From what I can tell, both use the same frame. 2 arms can be added or removed to change the copter to quad or hex (don't quote me on this).
Both models take a GH4 or 5D 3-axis gimbal (which is impressive for a quadcopter).
Everything is built in, including flight controller, GPS, OSD, etc. And a video transmitter can be added easily. The carbon fiber frame helps to keep the weight down. ~20 minutes flight time from a 5200mah battery.
On top of all that, folding arms and retracting landing legs.
Best part - the setup is significantly cheaper than DJIs equivalent model (the S800/900). I can't find US pricing but here in NZ, the M690 is about $1500-2000 less than the DJI S900.
M480 with gimbal = $3200 NZ (roughly $2500 US)
M690 with gimbal = $3500 NZ (roughly $2800 US)
I'm seriously considering selling my Phantom and buying this thing.. It's still up for pre-order and there aren't any reviews around that I can find, but I'll be keeping a close eye on these.
They have just released their first aerial photography/video platforms, the M480 (quad) and M690 (hex). From what I can tell, both use the same frame. 2 arms can be added or removed to change the copter to quad or hex (don't quote me on this).
Both models take a GH4 or 5D 3-axis gimbal (which is impressive for a quadcopter).
Everything is built in, including flight controller, GPS, OSD, etc. And a video transmitter can be added easily. The carbon fiber frame helps to keep the weight down. ~20 minutes flight time from a 5200mah battery.
On top of all that, folding arms and retracting landing legs.
Best part - the setup is significantly cheaper than DJIs equivalent model (the S800/900). I can't find US pricing but here in NZ, the M690 is about $1500-2000 less than the DJI S900.
M480 with gimbal = $3200 NZ (roughly $2500 US)
M690 with gimbal = $3500 NZ (roughly $2800 US)
I'm seriously considering selling my Phantom and buying this thing.. It's still up for pre-order and there aren't any reviews around that I can find, but I'll be keeping a close eye on these.