Sony has finally revealed its new Airpeak drone targeted at professional photographers and videographers, as CEO Kenichiro Yoshida unveiled the company's new quadcopter during a press conference at CES 2021 What we know so far is as follows

Sony initially teased Airpeak in November, but did not reveal more than a few dark images This week's unveiling at CES finally gave us a clear look at the device

Our first impression is that it's big; the Airpeak is designed to work with the Sony Alpha mirrorless SLR camera, which requires significant lifting capacity Press images show a Sony A7s III with a Sony FE 24mm f/14 GM lens, which together weigh about 23 pounds

Like the DJI Inspire 2, Airpeak's dual landing skids retract when the drone is in the air to help provide an unobstructed view when rotating the camera 3-axis gimbal is located underneath the drone and connects to a Sony camera of your choice The Sony Airpeak is impressive Sony's Airpeak looks impressive, but whether videographers will switch from the DJI Inspire 2 remains to be seen

There also appears to be a second small built-in camera just below the Airpeak itself, just above what appears to be two obstacle avoidance sensors [From this first look, it appears that Airpeak is aiming for the DJI Inspire 2, which starts at $5,299 with the Zenmuse X5 micro 4/3 sensor but costs $7,599 for the Zenmuse X7 with a full-frame image sensor

By comparison, the Sony Alpha A7s III costs $3,498 for the body only However, Sony likely assumes that those who purchase the Airpeak already own one of the electronics giant's cameras, helping to reduce the overall cost of the system For videographers, it will also give them a wider choice of lenses to use

The larger issue, and the one with more uncertainty, revolves around DJI itself The company is on the list of US companies, which could make it more difficult for China-based drone manufacturers to source parts and technology from US companies However, it is unclear at this time how much of a blow this will actually be for DJI and whether the designation will continue after Joe Biden is sworn in as president later this month

Sony has not mentioned a release date or price for the Airpeak, but a November press release said it would be available this spring