Up Your Game: The Mavic Air 2 camera drone takes power and portability to the next level. It combines a powerful camera with intelligent shooting modes for stunning results. Push your imagination to its limits because aerial photography has never been this easy. Next-Level Content: Capture impressive 48MP photos with a 1/2-inch CMOS sensor while the 3-axis gimbal provides 4K/60fps video. The secret to incredible HDR video is a high-performance Quad Bayer image sensor.

As making money with drone photography gets tougher, pilots are flying into new uncharted territories. What goes up must come down. This rule applies to both flying drones, and now unfortunately, to making a buck off them. With more affordable models entering the mass market, any enthusiast with a few thousand ringgit to spare can try his hand at aerial photography. While the lower barrier to entry may be good news for newbies, the increased competition is driving down remuneration.

When DJI revealed the Mavic Pro in late 2016, it ended up being a turning point for the company. DJI was already the dominant name in consumer drones thanks to the Phantom series, but the Mavic Pro was cheaper, smaller and downright meaner looking. The combination of price, features and cool-factor made it an instant success. Then there was the Spark, which was smaller, but less powerful and lacked some of the basic features that a budding aerial photographer wants. Enter the Mavic Air, a quadcopter that slots between the Mavic Pro and Spark on DJI's roster.

Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, a pioneering photographer who had created his own panoramic lens put together what could be described as the world's first drone. With this innovative creation he captured incredible images of American cities from thousands of feet in the air. George R. Lawrence used a system of kites outfitted with a 49-pound camera to show a bird's-eye view of San Francisco, Chicago and New York City - among other cities and towns - in a way that they had never been seen before. He called his invention the Lawrence Captive Airship. However, during Lawrence's first attempt at aerial photography his balloon snapped free from the platform carrying him.

In dozens of urban centers across the globe, city planners are putting eyes in the sky to help them make more-informed decisions about improving city life. Using advanced technology in digital aerial photography, laser imaging and analytics, cities are tackling a wide variety of problems. Singapore has created a 3-D cityscape to help make decisions about where to place solar panels and plant rooftop gardens, among other things. New York City firefighters are using drones to get better overhead views during fires. In Philadelphia, lasers beamed from airplanes are used to detect dangerous roof damage in dilapidated properties.

Beijing, CHINA: A Chinese jobseeker walks pass a poster showing Microsoft founder Bill Gates (L) and Apple computers' Steve Jobs, at an employment fair in Beijing 27 February 2007. This week's milestones in the history of technology include the first patent for aerial photography leading eventually to Google Earth, how Popular Mechanics made Bill Gates drop out of Harvard, and Apple becoming the planet's most valuable company 22 years after going public. Cornele B. Adams is awarded the first US patent for aerial photography. His method of photogrammetry can produce a topographic map by means of photographing the same tract of land from different points from an unmanned stationary balloon on a tether. Keyhole, Inc. launched the Earth Viewer application in 2001 and was acquired by Google in 2004.