Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Photography
  3. News

DJI’s 2022 drone contest offers record prize pool

Trevor Mogg
By

Leading drone maker DJI has teamed up with the SkyPixel online community for its eighth annual photo and video contest.

Whether you’re an experienced drone pilot or an absolute beginner still finding your way, the contest is the perfect opportunity to send your machine skyward in a test of your creative skills.

Recommended Videos

This year’s collection of more than 42 separate prizes is worth $143,000, representing the highest value in the contest’s history. Prizes include everything from a Hasselblad 907X Anniversary Edition Kit, to a DJI Mavic 3 drone, Osmo Action 3 action camera, and $13,700 in DJI credit.

Related

The theme for this year’s contest is “The Story Behind,” and puts the art of storytelling front and center.

The contest offers 10 categories, each one designed to inspire unique stories, DJI said. There’s no restriction on the type or brand of drone that you can use, and participants can submit any number of photos and videos.

Video entries should last between 30 seconds and 5 minutes and can be entered into one of six categories: nature, city, travel, sports, story, and vertical (for vertical videos).

The photo section has four categories comprising nature, architecture, portrait, and sports. Photos should be at least 3 MB with a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch and with the EXIF data retained.

Send your work in and it’ll be pored over by a panel of expert judges that includes Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda, The Blue Planet director of photography Toby Strong, National Geographic’s Anne Farrar, and Better Days director of photography Jinping Yu.

The contest runs from November 9, 2022, through January 30, 2023, and the winners will be announced on March 3, 2023.

Need to get yourself a drone? DJI’s Mini 3 Pro quadcopter or the cheaper Mini 2 offer a lot of features for a reasonable price. Or check out the latest hands-on reviews of other machines tested by Digital Trends.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
DJI’s new Matrice 30 drone is a mean machine for specialists
DJI's Matrice 30 drone.

DJI has added another drone to its lineup, this one sporting “unprecedented power that fits in a backpack.”

The new Matrice 30 drone, unveiled by DJI on Monday, March 21, is aimed at specialist users rather than hobbyists and has its own docking/recharging station for autonomous missions.

Read more
See how DJI’s new Mavic 3 drone handles stormy conditions
see how djis new mavic 3 drone handles stormy conditions

Just days after DJI took the wraps off the Mavic 3, tech YouTuber DC Rainmaker tested the new bird in gusty winds so you don’t have to.

Amazingly, the new quadcopter handles the abysmal conditions with stunning success, the captured footage silky smooth and a joy to watch.

Read more
Flying a drone other than DJI made me instantly regret the decision
Holy Stone HS720E drone flying in air.

I’ve been flying DJI drones exclusively for the last few years, and for good reason. In the world of drones, DJI’s technology and lineup of consumer drones have been outstanding -- to the point that I haven’t had the desire to pilot drones aside from those from DJI. The only other non-DJI I’ve flown and tested out was the Parrot Bebop 2, and while it did introduce me to the world of drones, nothing has been able to steer me away from DJI of late.

People still have this fear about buying drones, especially those that cost thousands of dollars, which is why entry-level models like the DJI Mini 2 are attractive at under $500. Very recently, though, I tried out another similarly priced drone, the Holy Stone HS720E, just to give myself some practice and insights into what the competition offers. After trying it out for a couple of weeks, however, it made me realize the huge disparity between DJI’s drones and competitors like Holy Stone.
The draw of low cost
As I’ve clearly detailed, pricing is a strong deterrent for anyone who’s just getting started. No one wants to invest thousands of dollars into a drone, only to fly it a handful of times and have some kind of accident that turns it into a paperweight. I know I wouldn’t be comfortable buying a drone in the $1,000 range as my first drone, which is why sub $500 models like the Holy Stone HS720E are attractive -- a peek at its specs sheet is indication enough of that!

Read more