Sony's $9,000 Airpeak S1 drone is now available to order, the company announced Dec. 1. It is expected to ship starting Dec. 24.
The Airpeak S1, which was first teased in January at CES 2021, is targeted toward video professionals and is designed to be used with Sony's mirrorless cameras.
Sony's Drone is Available for Pre-Order
According to the drone's product page, it has a flight time of 22 minutes without a payload and up to 12 minutes with a heavy payload, such as a Sony A7S Mark III camera. Sony says the Airpeak is stable in winds of up to 44.7 mph, which could be useful for capturing footage in windy conditions.
The $9,000 price tag of the Sony drone comes with two pairs of propellers, a remote controller, two batteries, and a battery charger. It does not include a camera or gimbal, though, which means you will have to bring some of your own equipment if you decide to order one.
There is a third-party gimbal from Gremsy that is made for the Airpeak S1, but it also expensive at $2,199.99, according to The Verge.
Sony plans to sell an optional $300 per year Airpeak Plus cloud subscription, which will offer additional data storage, advanced geofencing options, and import and export of flight logs.
There will also be an Airpeak Protect Plan that covers accidental damage, but Sony has not shared how much that will cost, according to TechCrunch.
Drone Tested at CES
The Airpeak S1 is created to work with Sony's mirrorless cameras, including the A7S Mark III, FX3, or even the 8K-capable Alpha 1. They will be attached to a special version of the Gremsy T3 gimbal that has been designed specifically for the Airpeak and that you will have to buy separately.
With a camera, the drone will have around 12 minutes of flight time, though it can achieve 22 minutes without any load. It is also worth noting that the camera needs its own batteries, it is not being provided power by the drone.
Sony has already released a preview of the types of shots you can pull off with the drone. You can also get a shot of the retracting landing gear in motion, according to Engadget.
One of the drone's biggest selling points is the stability and wind resistance. According to Sony, it can stay stable in winds of up to 44.7 miles per hour, that is 20 meters per second, double of what DJI quotes for the Inspire 2.
It has five sets of stereo cameras that let the drone and an infrared rangefinder that should help the drone stop before it hits obstacles and stay steady even without satellite reception. Sony even enlisted JAXA, the Japanese space agency to help it do some of the tests for the drone.
The Airpeak is also fast, it can do 0-50 which is close to its top speed of 55.9 miles per hour, in only 3.5 seconds. It is worth noting, though, that is without any type of attachment. Sony has not said what kind of speed or acceleration can be achieved when the drone is flying a camera.
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Written by Sophie Webster
