![]() ![]() ![]() When you've got all your KeyFrame points set up, the Skydio 2+ will then fly through them, producing a smooth, continuous shot along your flight path. You can create 3D tracks for the drone to fly.Īll you need to do is fly to where you want to start, mark it onscreen in the app, then fly to the next spot you want to be, mark it, and so on using as many points as you want. KeyFrame takes Skydio's sophisticated 3D modeling capability and turns it into an automated flight system. Earlier this year at CES, Skydio launched a new automated flight system it calls KeyFrame. That alone is impressive, but it was also in the original Skydio 2. Without doubt, Skydio's collision-avoidance system is the best I've ever used. The collision-avoidance system is so good that I had to remind myself not to try some of the things the Skydio can do with the other drones I was testing. It flew paths that there was no way I could have flown on my own. I tried as hard as I could to get the Skydio 2+ to crash into something while following me through some pretty dense trees, but it wouldn't. ![]() (It still is if you can live without log.) But the Skydio's automated flight features mean you don't need hours of flight experience to get great shots. The missing log curve will mostly affect pro photographers, which is a shame, because the Skydio would otherwise be a great option for them. But if you don't plan to edit and color-grade your video in software, the lack of a log gamma curve won't matter. Shooting in log results in higher-dynamic-range video, which you can color-correct later in software (a process that can be greatly streamlined with color LUTs). You can adjust it in the app, but there's no support for log video, like DJI's D-log. I also found the white balance to be less than stellar. ![]() The Skydio 2+ produces great video results, but given how far ahead of the competition the rest of this drone is, it's disappointing that the camera isn't similarly ahead. If image quality is your main concern, get the DJI Air 2S ( 9/10, WIRED Recommends) or Evo Lite+. The 1/2.3 inch sensor is capable of 4K footage at 60 frames per second, which is fine for the average user, but flying it next to the higher resolution camera in the Autel Evo Lite+ ( 7/10, WIRED Recommends) really showed how last-generation the Skydio camera is. That said, I do wish Skydio had improved the camera. The best of what's new in software will still work for you, and on this drone what's really impressive is the software. However, if you bought the 2, don't worry. The two hardware changes are minor but welcome, and the 2+ is all that Skydio is selling now. The Skydio 2 had two pain points: It could stay aloft for only about 20 minutes, and many people had trouble keeping the drone connected to Wi-Fi at the farther edges of its limited range (3.5 kilometers in the first version.) The Skydio 2+ hardware update addresses those two issues with a bigger, more powerful battery and two pop-up antennas, which increase the drone's range and provide a stronger signal. The company followed that up with the Skydio 2, which brought the price down and added more consumer-friendly features. Skydio started out with the R1, a drone that was impressive in its feature set-it was fully automated, no controller necessary-but prohibitively expensive and seemingly aimed more at the enterprise market. ![]()
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