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The Sony Airpeak S1 drone hits pre-order – and it costs $10,000
By Jon Stapley about 9 hours ago
The Sony Airpeak S1 has gone up for pre-order in Japan – and it carries a hefty $10,000 price tag
(Image credit: Sony)It’s been a long wait, but it looks like it’s nearly over: the Sony Airpeak S1, officially unveiled back in January 2021 and teased long before that, has started to show up at online retailers – and carries a price tag in the $10,000 region.
The big selling point of the Airpeak S1 is that it’s the first drone designed to enable users to take their existing photo setups to the skies. It’s capable of carrying a Sony Alpha 7 camera and lens, with a precise payload capacity of 2.5kg. Given that the Sony A7R IV, as a representative example, weighs 665g body only, this provides a lot of flexibility in terms of loadout. For video users, Sony says the drone will also take the Sony FX3 cinema camera.
• Read more: Best camera drones
Drone cameras currently tend to rely on 1/2.3-inch and 1-inch sensors, so having full-frame cameras up in the sky has the scope to radically change the game of aerial photography and videography – though it will, of course, make it that much more gut-wrenching if you accidentally land the drone in your local lake.
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Still, having this kind of imaging power in the air is probably going to be the USP that enables Sony to effectively compete with DJI in this sector, especially as this drone is going to be much more tempting for photographers and videographers who are already in Sony’s ecosystem.
An in-situ glimpse at the Sony Airpeak S1 (Image credit: Sony)
The S1 is capable of fast maneuvering thanks to its high-powered brushless motors, with 0-50mph acceleration possible in just 3.5 seconds, and it’s even been seen withstanding 44mph winds, which is more than most of us could manage. It’s operated via the AirPeak Flight remote controller, which can control the drone itself, the camera and the 3-axis gimbal, and is also compatible with iOS, with phone control possible via the Airpeak Flight.
It can achieve up to 22 minutes of flight time without payload, and approximately 12 minutes with. It also has a Vision Sensing System that can detect spatial position and orientation in real time, allowing the drone to compensate for camera shake.
None of this is going to come cheap, though. The Sony Airpeak S1 has started to appear on Japanese websites available for pre-order, and in the US has also been listed on B&H Photo Video, (as spotted by Sony Alpha Rumors), albeit without a confirmed arrival date or an order link in the latter case.
Still, the Sony Airpeak S1 is expected to cost ¥1,100,000 in Japan, which is approximately $9,985 / £7,265 / AU$13,675. However, if you’re prepared to drop that kind of cash, we have some good news – the Japanese press release estimates that shipping will start in late October (only slightly behind the September release that Sony originally promised).
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جون ستابلي
أمضى جون سنوات في كتابة ميزات الكتابة والأخبار والمراجعات ومحتويات التصوير الفوتوغرافي الأخرى الخاصة بـ IPC Media لمنشورات مثل المصور الهواة و What Digital Camera في كل من الشكل المطبوع والرقمي. بفضل خبرته الإضافية لمنافذ مثل Photomonitor ، يجعل هذا من Jon أحد المتخصصين الذين نختارهم عندما يتعلق الأمر بجميع جوانب التصوير الفوتوغرافي ، من الكاميرات وكاميرات الحركة إلى العدسات وبطاقات الذاكرة ، ومشتقات الفلاش ومشغلاته ، والبطاريات وبطاقات الذاكرة ، وصورة شخصية. العصي و gimbals ، وأكثر من ذلك بكثير.