The Chinese drone manufacturer DJI has set a standard when it released its Phantom 4 drone eight months ago. Now, the company has upped the ante by launching an upgraded version called the Phantom 4 Pro. It now boasts of a better camera, a better battery life, updated obstacle avoidance, and more intelligent flight modes. The drone has become more drooling than ever.

The DJI Phantom 4 Pro is now equipped with a 1-inch 20 MP CMOS sensor. It can now capture up to 11.6 stops of dynamic range, which means that images will have a more balanced lighting. This is very important when shooting aerial footage, especially in a brightly lit sky. It is still capable of shooting 4K videos at 60 fps at 100 Mbps bitrate.

The new model has also eliminated the "rolling shutter" effect, which is a distortion on footages common to a fast camera pan or recording fast-moving objects. A new mechanical shutter is now incorporated that also takes advantage of its large aperture lens. Its electronic shutter was also improved. The camera can now capture 14 images per second, with its burst mode. At the same time, it can also deliver high-quality images even in a slow-mo mode at 60 fps frame rate.

The Phantom 4 Pro offers up to 30 minutes of flight time, compared to 25 minutes, and a better chance of avoiding obstacles even when moving backward with a new sensor at the back. It now contains four sensors that will allow the drone to avoid obstacles while traversing to any directions.

There are actually two variants offered by DJI a Pro and a Pro Plus. The Pro model costs U$1,499, the basic package, while the Plus offers a built-in screen into the controller and would cost an additional $300. The touchscreen is a 5.5-inch 1080 p display and offers twice the brightness compared to a smartphone or a tablet. Its application can also be optimized for the built-in display and makes pre-flight preparation less of a hassle.

Having the built-in screen will also let its user Draw a flight plan for the drone to follow and set a subject to focus on while moving when ActiveTrack is engaged. The TapFly option will let the drone fly backward and forward while maintaining focus on a subject and a Return to Home feature that let it fly back to its original position if the signal got lost.

The DJI Phantom 4 Pro is now available for pre-orders and will start shipping by next week.