The Sony Airpeak drone has been officially revealed in a short teaser video. What does it tell us about the DJI rival?
After months of teasers and development announcements, the Sony Airpeak S1 drone has now officially landed – and it’s a powerful aerial cinematography tool for filmmakers. Sony’s Airpeak project was first announced back in November 2020, before Sony took the wraps off its first drone at CES 2021. But we’ve only been given basic specs and glimpses of what this Alpha-friendly flying machine can do – until now. Sony has now revealed the specs, pricing and release date of the Airpeak S1, and these show that the Airpeak S1 is very much gunning for the pro filmmaking space that’s currently inhabited by the aging DJI Inspire 2. Designed to whisk full-frame Sony Alpha cameras over high-budget film sets, the Airpeak S1 certainly isn’t a beginner-friendly drone in the vein of DJI’s Air and Mavic series. But it is an exciting glimpse of how far drones have come in the past few years and will almost certainly be responsible for shooting some creative aerial scenes in your favorite films and TV shows over the next few years. Here’s everything we know about Sony’s mildly terrifying, but very capable, flying machine and new DJI rival… The Sony Airpeak S1 is available to pre-order now ahead of its availability in “Fall 2021”, which for those outside the northern hemisphere means somewhere between September and December. Given its professional leanings, we expected the Airpeak to be pricey – and that’s certainly the case. It’s priced at $8,999 (around £6,350 / AU$11,620), and that’s without either a gimbal or camera. The Airpeak S1’s gimbal is a custom version of the Gremsy T3, which is a three-axis affair with a quick-release setup. Sony says this custom version will cost in the region of the current model, which is around $1,750 (or about £1,235 / AU$2,260). When you factor in the cost of a full-frame Sony Alpha camera, like the Sony A7S III ($3,499 / £3,800 / AU$5,999), it’s clear that the Sony Airpeak S1 is a five-figure setup for professional filmmakers and studios. Still, its closest rival, the four-year-old DJI Inspire 2, isn’t exactly cheap at $3,299 / £3,059 / AU$4,699. And a closer look at the Airpeak S1’s tech and integration with Sony Alpha cameras suggest it’ll very much be a new aerial toy that big budget filmmakers will be tempted by. The Sony Airpeak was officially announced at CES 2021, with Sony offering an exciting first glimpse at its new flying machine through a series of product shots and an impressive promotional video. And what an entrance it was, with the Airpeak filmed soaring above a snowy landscape and carrying a Sony A7S III, as it kept pace with a prototype Sony Vision S car at a race track. That short demo video emphatically answered our main question about Sony Airpeak – what kind of drone will it be? With its mildly terrifying wingspan, nifty retractable landing gear and high-end Sony Alpha payload, there was no doubting its professional pedigree (and price tag).
