DJI Debuts Drone Cam with 30x Zoom; Made for Industrial Use, Not Creeps

DJI just released a powerful new drone camera, but it’s not meant for you or me. No, the Zenmuse Z30—which Sweden probably won’t like one bit—is meant for industrial purposes, because it boasts a crazy 30x optical zoom lens that can deliver up to 180x zoom if you add digital zoom.

The camera was developed with DJI’s Matrice line of industrial drones in mind, and the zoom is meant to aid in search and rescue and firefighting operations, or to get you closer than ever to the cell tower or wind turbine you’re inspecting.

Using drones instead of people to inspect sky high installations is much safer, but until now it was difficult to get a drone close enough for an inspection without risking a nasty crash or missing some important detail. No longer. With the Zenmuse Z30, DJI says you can get a detailed look at structures from as far as 100M away.

Check out this GIF from the Zenmuse Z30 announcement page, for example:

DJI made headlines when they released the Zenmuse Z3, their first zooming drone camera, back in July. But that camera maxes out at 7x and competitors have since released more powerful cameras. The Zenmuse Z30 outstrips its little brother and those competitor cameras by miles. In fact, DJI is calling it, “the most powerful integrated aerial zoom camera on the market.”

Equipped with a 1/2.8-inch CMOS sensor, just barely enough pixels to capture 1080p video, 5-axis stabilization, and an f/1.6 – f/4.7 aperture, this isn’t a professional filmmaking tool. But if you’re inspecting cell towers or trying to contain a blaze, the Zenmuse Z30 is one heck of a helper.

To learn more about this crazy drone camera or dive deeper into the specs, head over to the DJI website.

(via CNET)