Waterproof photography used to be the domain of high-end cameras capable of magically surviving underwater. We’ve moved on from there to waterproof phones and cases, and now the logical endgame: waterproof drones called the Navatics Mito, so we can all that sweet underwater footage without any of the work or wetness.
The Navatics Mito is a drone designed to take underwater footage. It can be paired with a smartphone, has a range of about 500m (or .3 miles) and can film in 1080p HD for up to 4 hours at a time. There are lights to help you see the drone as you navigate, and you can stream the results to social media. All for only $1,499 during pre-order, and $1,999 regularly.
This begs the question, who is the audience for this device? It’s not great for fishing since movement and lights are going to scare the crap out of the fish. If you’re an adventure seeker, you’d rather be IN the water, and if you aren’t, do you really need to spend the equivalent of a decent MacBook, a Louis Vuitton bag, or a series of snorkeling lessons getting you into the water, just so you can watch the fish from a 1/4 mile away? Especially when a fraction of that price gets you a waterproof action cam? Admittedly, these aren’t rated for as deep as the drone, but it still doesn’t explain if there’s enough of an audience to live vicariously through a drone for $2,000.
Maybe I’m wrong and there’s a huge potential audience for these. If you’re one of them, you can check out their website and pre-order now. If you do, please let us know why in the comments!