DJI Mavic 4 Pro

For the past few years, DJI has been hitting a plateau of perfection where it's hard to consistently top the previous number. The price has become competitive enough, their line-up has become expansive enough (even confusing at times) so that everyone can find a drone that suits them, and the quality has only increased.

We've even handed out a 10 or two here at Gamereactor because it's been downright difficult to find a missing feature or an obvious complaint for the consumer it was intended for, and now we're once again standing at the foot of a masterpiece. So if you're already struggling to find the time to read an entire review of a professional drone, let's just summarise that this is the best professional drone DJI has ever made - and that's saying something.

We've already shared our praise for the latest RC 2 smart controller, which has much stronger connectivity over longer distances, along with responsive control and plenty of features, so we'll skip that one. However, we again recommend buying a Fly More Combo, as this time the bag takes more inspiration from the Air series, which is only a positive thing.

It only weighs 1063 grams, so you still need a certificate, but for these semi-professional drone pilots, this is expected. It's still a bit awkward to fold, but not so much that you damage it, but it would be beneficial if DJI eventually found a way to stop the rotor blades from rotating while packing it up. The battery is 6654mAh, which gives you a good 51 minutes of flight time, though obviously a little less in practice where you might switch between Normal and Sport, and the distance is calculated at between 16 and 20 kilometres, which we... simply haven't dared to test, but we did previously push the previous Mavic 3 Pro with surprisingly positive results, so these figures are certainly not pulled out of thin air.

There are all the same features as before and a few new ones. Homepoint still works flawlessly, and now it works with no GPS signal at all, which means it really doesn't need any connection to ensure a safe return to the starting point, and you can now place a Dynamic Homepoint via your controller instead.

While it's difficult to point directly to a replacement or improvement in materials, DJI is continually working to improve the quality of the flight itself, and this time, especially this time, it shows. The Mavic 4 Pro is noticeably more stable, and is especially better for the beautiful Cine panning that is evident in the EV Hour footage we tested with.

The new camera system again consists of three lenses, a 28 millimetre 100 megapixel 4/3 lens that can be adjusted between an aperture of f/2 or f/11. Then you have a 70 millimetre 48 megapixel lens, and finally a 168 millimetre 50 megapixel lens. The latter two are double telephoto lenses, which gives you plenty of framing options, and from the larger main lens you can shoot in 6K/120fps, which is downright absurd from what, for some, is becoming a common consumer product. All three cameras feature DJI's Dual Native ISO Fusion, which uses an algorithm to remove dust and extend the dynamic range in both stills and video, especially in challenging lighting conditions. No, it's not a true Night Mode, DJI doesn't have the processing that Google, for example, can achieve, but it's hugely impressive. But to be honest, this Hasselblad collaboration has really paid off, and as well as being infinitely reliable across a multitude of shooting modes, and with continued fantastic tracking, DJI cameras have an attitude and you can see immediately that the results speak for themselves. Colour chemistry, depth, sharpness - this is the real deal.

All this leads us to the indisputable fact that this is a stroke of genius for so-called "prosumers", those consumers who are on the verge of needing larger, heavier professional drones, but can easily get by with the level below. With more features, better build quality and more versatility than you could ever ask for, the verdict is clear.