Thermal drones / DJIDiscontinued
DJI Matrice 30T
640×512 · 12 µm · 9.1 mm · Discontinued
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US availability: DJI has been on the FCC's Covered List since December 22, 2025. Models already authorized stay legal to sell and fly; new models cannot be authorized. Checked October 11, 2026.
What the thermal camera sees from above
Calculated for a camera pointed straight down; each animal is drawn at its true length in sensor pixels (the cow from above, the deer and hog at a camera angle). One square is one sensor pixel, on one scale throughout.
100 ft up · ground strip 84 ft wide
Cow
57 px nose to tail · 16 across
Deer
38 px nose to tail · 10 across
Hog
34 px nose to tail · 11 across
200 ft up · ground strip 169 ft wide
Cow
28 px nose to tail · 8 across
Deer
19 px nose to tail · 5 across
Hog
17 px nose to tail · 6 across
400 ft up · ground strip 338 ft wide
Cow
14 px nose to tail · 4 across
Deer
9 px nose to tail · 3 across
Hog
9 px nose to tail · 3 across
Cow still shows its shape up to
~470 ft
Deer still shows its shape up to
~320 ft
Hog still shows its shape up to
~280 ft
Shape means about 12 pixels nose to tail and 3 across the back. Pilots usually find animals on thermal from 200 to 400 feet and confirm with the zoom camera. FAA rules cap most flights at 400 feet above the ground. Trees, a tilted camera and sun-warmed ground all cut these figures; upsampled "super resolution" modes and digital zoom add no detail.
Specs
| Sensor | |
|---|---|
| Resolution Sensor resolution How many heat-reading pixels the sensor has, such as 384 × 288 or 640 × 512. More pixels show more detail, but the lens matters just as much. | 640 × 512 |
| Pixel pitch Pixel pitch The size of each sensor pixel, in microns. Smaller pixels mean more magnification from the same lens. Most current thermals use 12 microns. | 12 µm |
| NETD (maker’s claim) NETD (thermal sensitivity) How small a temperature difference the sensor can show. Lower is better, but brands measure it differently, so numbers from two makers are not a fair comparison. | <50 mK |
| Refresh rate Refresh rate How many times per second the picture updates. 50 or 60 times a second looks smooth; lower rates stutter when you pan or a coyote runs. | 30 Hz |
| Optics | |
| Lens Focal length The lens number in millimeters, like 35 mm or 50 mm. A longer lens puts more pixels on a distant animal but shows a narrower slice of ground. | 9.1 mm f/1.0 |
| Base magnification Base magnification How much bigger things look before any digital zoom, like 2× or 4×. Higher is not automatically better: it narrows your view. | 1× |
| Max digital zoom Digital zoom Electronic enlarging of the picture. It makes the animal look bigger but adds no detail; past about 2× to 4× the image gets blocky. | 20× |
| Field of view Field of view How wide a view you get, in degrees. A wide view makes scanning for animals faster; a narrow one usually means more magnification. | 61° diagonalDJI publishes the diagonal only. Its stated 9.1 mm lens implies about 57°; DJI prints 61°. |
| Detection range (maker’s claim) Detection range The maker's figure for how far away a warm object shows up as a dot or two. It is far longer than the distance you can tell what the animal is. | — |
| Display | |
| Display Display resolution How many pixels the small screen inside the eyepiece has. A sharp screen looks cleaner but cannot add detail the sensor did not capture. | Not published |
| Power | |
| Battery | DJI TB30 Intelligent Flight Battery (two per flight), removable |
| Features | |
| Rangefinder Laser rangefinder A built-in laser that measures how far away the animal is. The rated range is for big, reflective targets; expect much less on a coyote. | 1,312 yd |
| Storage Onboard recording (storage) Built-in memory that records photos and video of what you see. Useful for reviewing shots and sharing hunts; listed in gigabytes. | — |
| Wi-Fi / app Wi-Fi and app A wireless link to a phone app for live viewing, downloading videos, changing settings and updating the device's software. | — |
| Drone | |
| Thermal camera | Built inAlso a 1280x1024 upsampled mode, which adds no detail |
| Visual cameras | 12 MP wide (1/2-inch), 48 MP zoom (5x to 16x optical, 200x hybrid) |
| Radiometric | Yes |
| Flight time | 41 min (no wind) |
| Wind resistance | 27 mph |
| Range (FCC) | 9.3 mi |
| Takeoff weight | 8.3 lb (FAA registration required) |
| Spotlight / speaker | — / — |
| Build | |
| Weight Weight How heavy the device is. Check whether the maker weighed it with or without the battery, because brands do it differently. | 133 oz |
| Water rating IP rating (water rating) A two-part code for how well the device keeps out dust and water. IP67 means dust-tight and survives a short dunk; an X means not tested. | IP55 |
| Operating temp Operating temperature The temperature range the maker says the device will work in. Batteries lose much of their runtime well before the low end of that range. | -4°F to 122°F |
| Buying | |
| Warranty Warranty How long the maker promises to repair or replace a faulty unit. Check whether it needs registration and whether it passes to a second owner. | Not published for US |
| US price US price The price we found for the unit in the US, with where it came from and when. Prices change often, so treat it as a snapshot. | Discontinued |
| MSRP MSRP The maker's suggested retail price in the US: the list price, before any sale. Useful for seeing how good a deal really is. | Not published for US |
Source: DJI Matrice 30 series specs, DJI Matrice 30 series product page (US thermal camera block, frame rate), DJI Matrice 30 Series User Manual v2.2 (thermal digital zoom), FCC DA 26-223 (DJI and Autel on the Covered List since December 22, 2025).
Added October 11, 2026 · Specs last checked October 11, 2026