DJI’s Success in the Film Industry

Ten years ago, DJI was just a blip on the electronics radar. But today, they’re a powerhouse in the drone and stabilization industry. So how did they get here? It’s a story of disruption, innovation, and a little bit of mystery.

Located in the Nanshan District of Shenzhen, DJI carefully plans their product campaigns. But for western media, reporting on a private Chinese company can be challenging. We survive on morsels of information and the occasional meeting with their staff. But talking to users, especially on the professional side of the business, reveals the true impact of DJI’s products.

In the early days, the small drone industry was shared by DJI and an American start-up called 3DR. But by 2015, 3DR had backed off making drone hardware and concentrated only on software. The pressure and product roadmap from DJI were just too hot for them.

DJI’s products have become standard across the production world. Big broadcasters like Discovery started to look at the stabilization benefits of DJI’s smaller items. Producers understood that programs that traveled light in places like desert terrains could achieve Jib-like shots with the OSMO range of handheld gimbals.

DJI started to look at becoming a replacement technology in the professional field with their Ronin range of gimbal products. They also added Master Wheels for remote control of your Ronin stabilized camera. The Ronin 2 gimbal made inroads into television drama as a traditional camera gimbal and as a remote head with the Master Wheels.

Now DJI is harnessing its R&D by providing transmission products to transmit video from the camera to a receiver at a claimed 6km in an ideal scenario. That looks like 1080/60p at 50Mbps for monitoring purposes, but the product will only get more refined.

The professional filmmaker trusts their DJI products. They used to have a reputation for releasing beta software, but even that has improved. Where they go from here is anyone’s guess, but one thing is for sure: if you’re the incumbent technology in the field of image capture or even audio capture, then beware the Chinese dragon.