The agriculture business is fast changing thanks to multispectral cameras and drones. Farmers may optimize their operations by using this creative combo.
Water waste is reduced, and spray/fertilizer consumption is reduced due to better crop monitoring.
What’s the result? Increased yields, lower expenses, and more time saved are all advantages.
To be competitive, today’s farmers must embrace this cutting-edge technology. However, deciding which solution is ideal for you might be difficult with so many possibilities.
That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best multispectral cameras for drones currently available.
Table of Contents
Best Multispectral Cameras for Drones Review
1. DJI P4 Multispectral
The popular DJI P4 Multispectral is our top selection. It’s the first drone to have a multispectral camera in its design compared to the typical payload-style camera attachment.
What is the major advantage of this?
Right out of the box, it’s ready to fly.
It also eliminates any concerns regarding UAV compatibility or extra set-up procedures.
On a white background, an image of the P4 multispectral.
The P4 was designed to streamline the data collection process and provide insight into crop health and management. Take a look at some of its amazing features to see how it accomplishes this:
There are six different lenses to choose from. 1 RGB camera and a 5-camera multispectral array cover the Blue, Green, Red, Red Edge, and Near-Infrared bands.
The five-band multispectral camera may be used to calculate NDVI, NDRE, MSAVI, and other vegetation analysis algorithms. On a 3-axis stabilized gimbal, everything was shot at 2 MP with a global shutter.
A built-in spectral sunlight sensor sits atop the drone, capturing solar irradiance.
This helps acquire the most accurate NDVI readings by increasing data collecting consistency throughout the day.
RGB & NDVI – You may quickly switch between a preliminary NDVI analysis and the live RGB stream to identify where you need to pay attention and make targeted treatment options.
Thanks to DJI’s TimeSync technology, you can acquire real-time, exact location data on photos produced by all six cameras, allowing you to take centimeter-level measurements.
The TimeSync system keeps the flight controller, RGB and NB cameras, and RTK module in sync, setting the positioning data to the CMOS’s center and guaranteeing that each shot has the most up-to-date information.
The p4’s capacity to design intelligent agriculture missions is one of the notable features of the iOS app. GS PRO is DJI’s top-flight iOS software for planning flights, automating missions, and managing flight data.
The app’s UI is simple to use. It’s simple to take action once the data has been collected and analyzed.
The DJI P4 Multispectral drone is a full solution for agricultural and environmental monitoring applications.
Furthermore, it is reasonably priced and accessible. It’s no wonder that it’s a popular choice because of its simple-to-use nature and strong features.
Spectral Bands
- 450nm x 16nm blue
- 560nm x 16nm green
- 650nm x 16nm red
- 730nm x 16nm Red Edge
- 840nm x 26nm NIR
2. Parrot Sequoia
Because of its low price, the Parrot Sequoia is one of the most economical multispectral cameras on the market.
It’s a standard multispectral camera that attaches to UAVs. What’s unusual about it, though, is that it can work with any drone.
This camera may be mounted on either a fixed-wing or multi-rotor drone (with a corresponding mounting kit).
Aside from its extensive compatibility, the Parrot Sequoia is notable for its small size. It has a light structure, weighing only 72 grams (2.5 oz).
But don’t be fooled by its little size; this camera is very advanced. It has an embedded sunlight sensor that records lighting conditions and calibrates the camera’s outputs, assuring accurate measurements.
It captures visible and invisible light in four bands: red, green, red edge, and near-infrared. It also includes a 16-megapixel RGB camera and 64GB of internal memory (with an SD slot if you need more capacity).
The following are examples of typical applications for this multispectral camera:
The Parrot Sequoia is a wonderful entry-level multispectral camera that offers outstanding value for money.
Spectral Bands
- 550nm x 40nm green
- 660nm x 40nm red
- 735nm x 10nm Red Edge
- 790nm x 40nm NIR
3. YuSense MS600 Pro
The MS600 Pro from YuSense comes in at number three on our list of the best multispectral cameras for drones.
Remove whatever preconceptions you may have about Chinese items being low-quality since the MS600 Pro is far from it.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a 6-channel multispectral camera. It’s fully compatible with the DJI M200 and M300 RTK drone flying platforms in drone integration.
There are a few additional noteworthy aspects to mention:
Smart dimming — the dynamic range sensor allows for real-time dimming of multi-objective global optimization, preserving more original picture data.
Accurate data acquisition — high-precision radiation calibration with real-time ambient light adjustment and more precise spectral data.
Strong environmental adaptability – the metal casing and sapphire glass can survive the hard field environment, making it suitable for industrial use.
The MS600 Pro is competitively priced and inexpensive, considering its technical capabilities. This is a viable option to examine.
Spectral Bands
- 450nm x 30nm blue
- 555nm x 25nm green
- 660nm x 20nm red
- 720nm x 25nm Red Edge
- 840nm x 35nm NIR
4. Micasense RedEdge MX
The MicaSense RedEdge-MX is a high-resolution multispectral camera intended for unmanned aerial vehicles. It isn’t universally compatible with all drones, but it does work with a lot of them.
The RedEdge-MX features five bands: blue, green, red, red edge, and near-infrared, giving the operator a wealth of information to analyze crops and make educated harvesting decisions.
These lenses (along with all of the technology) are housed in a tough aluminum housing. MicaSense picked this material, particularly for its high-temperature endurance and performance.
The biggest disadvantage of this choice is its cost, which is high. Despite this, this is a highly dependable multispectral camera with a wide range of agricultural applications.
Spectral Bands
- 475 nm – blue
- 560 nm – green
- 668 nm – Red
- 717 nm Red Edge
- 842 nm in the near-infrared
5. Sentera 6X Multispectral Sensor
The strong Sentera 6x Multispectral Sensor is last on our list of the best multispectral cameras for drones.
The 6X has five concurrently triggered, precision-filtered 3.2MP global-shutter imagers and one 20.1MP RGB imager, each with a dedicated, high-quality optical route, to handle the most demanding research and data science needs.
The sensor generates eight channels of picture data in total, with a rapid frame rate and good radiometric accuracy.
As a result, it is capable of a wide range of tasks, including:
Identification and measurement of stress
- Identification of weeds and plant categorization
- Phenotyping with a high throughput
- Analyze the nutrients
- Monitoring of biomass
- Counts of people
- Management of input
- Maps of elevation
- Mapping the health of crops
It’s a powerful combination when used in conjunction with Sentera’s ‘Field Agent’ software. You receive a single-system solution that takes you from data collecting through data analysis.
The Sentera 6X is a versatile all-rounder that can handle a wide range of agricultural tasks. Its larger price tag, on the other hand, reflects its utility. This is an excellent purchase for anyone looking for accurate and actionable data.
Multispectral Imaging For Agriculture Drones
Multispectral pictures are a powerful tool for measuring plant health and evaluating soil production. Using naked sight to assess the health of soil and crops is extremely restricted and reactive. The farmer can see further than the human eye, thanks to multispectral sensor technology.
The following are some of the advantages of multispectral imaging data:
- Identify pests, diseases, and weeds. Optimize pesticide usage and crop sprays through early detection.
- Provide data on soil fertility and refine fertilization by detecting nutrient deficiencies. Help with land management and whether to take agricultural land in or out of production, rotate crops, etc.
- Count plants and determine population or spacing issues.
- Estimate crop yield.
- Measure irrigation. Control crop irrigation by identifying areas where water stress is suspected. Then, make improvements to land areas such as installing drainage systems and waterways based on the multispectral data.
- View damage to crops from farm machinery and make necessary repairs or replace problematic machinery.
- Survey fencing and farm buildings.
- Monitor livestock. Now, drones with thermal cameras can be used to locate livestock at night and plenty of other terrific uses.
A Year-Round Option
What’s great about multispectral photography is that it may be utilized at any time during the crop cycle.
Drones with multispectral photography may be employed during planting, irrigation, fertilization, and harvesting, allowing the farmer to manage his crops more successfully in every season.
Thanks to multispectral sophisticated sensors and imaging capabilities, farmers now have new techniques to boost yields and decrease crop damage.