The release of Intelligent Flight Mode for the Phantom 3 and Inspire 1 has been much anticipated. The good news is that the wait is over. Intelligent Flight Mode can be added to your existing Phantom or Inspire simply by updating to the latest firmware and downloading the latest version of the DJI Go app.

Once installed, you will be able to set up your Phantom or Inspire to:

1. Fly waypoints: record a flight path, and then fly the same exact path whenever you want to. Perfect for allowing you to focus on what the camera is doing in flight, and for time-lapse photography
2. Orbit a point of interest: your machine will automatically revolve around a point of interest in a perfect circle, with the camera trained on the point of interest at all times
3. Follow me (only currently available for the Phantom 3): you can tell your Phantom to follow you, at a distance and height of your choice, whilst keeping the camera pointing at you
4. Home Lock and Course Lock are now also both available

With these features now available for the DJI Phantom 3 and Inspire 1, these really are the number one choices for anyone interested in owning and using a camera drone. I’ve just come back from Interdrone, the largest camera-drone conference in the world to date, in Las Vegas and attended by 5,000 delegates. The frustration with the products offered by 3DR (the gimbal still hasn’t shipped and the flight controller is fiddly to manage) and Yuneek amongst delegates was palpable.

DJI are the class leaders in this field. And as far as I can see, their lead is getting bigger.