As soon as the acquisition of Mavic Air came to an end with the DJI website late last year, we saw that it was an introduction that a new model was on its way.
Until its replacement, Mavic Air has been known to continue using the best drones you can buy in terms of quality and price. Although we know that there are better options, we always refer to consumer models.
It was expected that the new Air 2 would raise the bar within half of the video and that's exactly what DJI did. Now, for less than € 849, you can buy a drone that records 4K images at 60fps with a bitrate that no other Mavic can offer (even 30fps Mavic 2 Pro).
In addition, it will shoot HDR video up to 4K / 30 and has plenty of camera experience such as smartphone, status detection, HDR, and & # 39; night mode & # 39; Can anyone offer more at this price range?
To all of this we have to add a DJI Fly system that is now easy to use, with a very long flight time, and a precise automatic flight modulator that no one can compete with.
Before going into details of its possibilities, note that this review is in progress. This is because we received the new Mavic Air 2 a week before launch and under the embargo, where we had to add a detention condition to properly test the product.
To this we must add that at the time of publishing this to review, we could not update firmware drone for some reason, so HDR and video recording options were not available.
It is something that we will refresh as we are able to test its full potential, as is the case with the 8K Hyperlapse project that did not arrive as much testing time as we wanted.
Features and design
For those who are not familiar with the previous generation of DJI, the Air 2 model had a complete renaming. Everything is new, even though the fact that the actual composition and type of gray plastic decomposition may be inspired by Mavic 2.
DJI classifies it as the most intelligent & # 39; by stepping aside from the technical option, which emphasizes that the Mavic Pro 3 may arrive sooner rather than later in the summer.
To increase flight time from 21 minutes to 34 minutes, DJI developed drone motors, ESCs, batteries and aerodynamics. The weight has gone from 430 to 570 grams, which is due to a higher capacity battery (3,500 mAh instead of 2,375 mAh).
Rear and downward obstacle sensors work with the first pair to help keep the drone from being in trouble, and there is APAS 3.0 trying to find the best flight path you can use when you are close.
DJI has also added a drop light, yellow LED to its base, so that it can reach even the lowest levels. There are no sensors on the left or right, or up and down, so here is not a very big clue. However, they do a good job installing a pocket of trees.
The battery is now repaired from above and has a similar design to diamonds as opposed to translating the remaining capacity, but you quickly get used to finding out if it gives you another flight.
A noticeable change is a fun new controller. The probability of using is much higher than the fact of handling it from a mobile, in addition to being ergonomic. Control the removable levers and keep them at the lower edges for more compaction.
Cables are powered by Lightning in case you have an iPhone, USB-C and USB mini to ensure video power from the drone, as well as charge your phone. Switching allows for tripod mode, standard mode and sports mode.
If you're familiar with the DJI Go 4, the Fly app may seem low-key, but in fact, all the settings and information are there. This results in a cleaner look and better for beginners with tutorial videos to teach you how to fly.
Geofencing prevents you from flying inappropriately (such as airports) and recommends & # 39; Airports & # 39 ;, ideal for aerial photography. It also has tracking features such as FocusTrack with ActiveTrack 3 and Spotlight 2.
As a complement to the foregoing, you will find PoI 3.0 in which you can fly your Air 2 to an exciting destination, in addition to following a car or passenger and moving.
Everything is built into a shooting and editing application, or the built-in templates are probably useless because you can't delete the automatic captions and overlay. There is also an iMovie-style editor with more freedom.
There are also those who would like to continue editing with a PC or Mac on their computer, instead of using standard cached clips on the phone. With the new features offered by Air 2, many will be interested in taking on some professional jobs.
Room and attributes
So the Mavic Air 2 is light and very safe to fly. What about the camera? Officially, it's a Sony IMX586 sensor, a 48MP unit that uses pixel resolution to create 12MP images.
Like most mobiles, it is able to convert 0.8 μm pixels to 1.6 μm pixels, which translates to better light sensitivity. Many phones have been using this sensor since the introduction of Honor View 2, to OnePlus 7 Pro and Xiaomi Mi 9.
It's not the best or latest sensor on the market, but it is more suited to the Macic Air 2 and offers better performance in low light compared to its predecessors, to some extent that we never talk about getting caught up in night mode. .
You have the option to record videos: standard, HDR or slow motion. You might like the standard as it only offers full 60fps at 4K, but 1080p slower speeds now gives twice the frame rate of the Macic Air at 240fps.
For photos, you can use either 12 MP or 48 MP full mode with JPG or JPG + DNG (RAW) format. If you want more than one frame, there are ways to explode, but the HDR 3×1 or 3×3 may be your choice.
There's more: the 180 ° pan and spherical option, which is 3×8 + 1 images, gives you additional images made of 8192 x 409 pixels. Finally, with Hyperlapse, it's possible to capture video thumbnails while the drone is scrolling.
The evidence
If you are new to drones, the Air 2 will not make it difficult for you. The app has the default sound settings, such as high resolution, height, and obstacle detection, which is the default option.
This means that if you try to launch a Helix QuickShot but there is a tree in the way, it will automatically stop instead of crashing.
Although it has no left and right sensors, the Mavic Air 2 does a good job of stopping when it detects obstacles or other major issues around it. Only when you fly to the sides is there a chance to hit something.
Here is a processed DNG file where you can store shadows information despite the fact that sunlight directly hits your camera sensor.
Depending on the quality, you can expect levels of sharpness and detail like phones that use the same 1/2 inch sensor. The Mavic 2 Pro can only capture 4K at 30 fps, but the 1-inch sensor makes a big difference.
While the Air 2 can be configured in a D-Cinelike color profile, it registers only 8-bit color. However, it should be noted that most owners will be ready for the automated configuration provided by the drone.
We were able to record our test images in a standard color profile with a combination of 4K60 and 1080p / 240. Unfortunately, we were very limited when using the firmware there's no conclusion we couldn't update with DJI Fly. HDR was not available for that video or picture.
However, we can assure you that the quality is very good at the price you pay. You can't match the precision of the Mavic 2 Pro, but it's getting closer. Take a look at the following video and do it using a 4K TV or screen to see it in its splendor.
The fact that DJI incorporates ND filters into the Fly More kitchen shows that Mavic Air 2 is a critical tool for technical work and not just a toy. They sent us a standard version of this review, but we wish we could have tried other filters.
Price and availability
Aside from the good introductions presented in this model, some are better than the ones you will find most professional Mavic Pro 2, pricing Mavic Air 2 She is € 849, which is about € 650 less.
At entry level you can still get an The Mavic Mini from € 399, but unless the video and aires photos don't go with you (a strange thing if you decide to buy a drone), you should drop this entry level model.
And the ease of use and navigation now make things easier even if you're just starting out in this market. See our guide on the best drones of 2020 to know what's in the current market.
The decision
Without a doubt, the Mavic Air 2 looks like the right bet to begin with. Its price is almost double the smallest of the DJI family (The Mavic Mini), but the differences in the location of the video and photos are obvious if you want to use these resources.
It is compact, has a reasonable flight time, great control, and now records at 4K @ 60fps quality. It is also easy to fly and has the ability to follow people, cars, and other subjects while operating complex flight routes.
Genres
- Maximum flight time: 34 minutes
- Top flight speed: 19 m / s (sports mode), 5 m / s (tripod mode)
- Maximum wind resistance: 8.-10.5m / s
- Internal storage: 8 GB (microSD up to 256 GB)
- Camera sensor: 1/2 inch CMOS, 48 MP (8000 x 6000 pixels)
- Camera lens: f / 2.8, FOV 84 °, equal to 24mm
- Gimbal: 3-axis mechanical
- Photos: 12 MP or 48 MP JPG / DNG (RAW)
- Video: 4K / 60fps, HDR up to 4K / 30fps
- Maximum maximum speed: 120 Mb / sec.
- Profiles Color: D-Cinelike, General
- Video formats: MP4 / MOV; H.265 / H.264 AVC; H.265 / H.264 HEVC
- Vision system: forward, backward, downward
- Wrap dimensions: 180 × 97 × 84 mm
- Fixed size: 183 × 253 × 77mm
- Weight: 570 grams
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