DJI Mavic Air 2 | How good is the new Drone really?
The new drone from market leader DJI has great ambitions: it aims to be the best drone on the market for less than a thousand dollars. But can it really set new standards, or are the new features nothing more than a clever marketing strategy? Let's briefly summarize the five most important categories and find out whether the drone truly is what it promises to be. Hello, DJI Mavic Air 2.
Design
In terms of design, the new Mavic Air 2 cannot really convince. Instead of further developing the futuristic and aerodynamic-looking housing of the predecessor, DJI simply switched to the shell of most of its drones. Quite boring. How many drones look practically the same by now? Let's quickly count them: Mavic Pro Mavic Pro Platinum Mavic 2 Pro Mavic 2 Zoom Mavic Mini Mavic Air 2 A new design would have been refreshing.
Of course, one should not forget the advantages of the well-known housing. It is made of high-quality plastic and aluminum, is used millions of times all around the globe, and it can also withstand rough landings and some bumps. In terms of quality, there is nothing wrong with the housing and design.
Flight
When it comes to rating the flight experience, then the Mavic Air 2 scores high. Just as with pretty much all DJI drones, the Mavic Air 2 is straightforward to control. I gave the remote control to my little sisters and just let them take control. Of course, nothing went wrong. I hadn't expected anything else. DJI learned a lot in recent years and, therefore, offers a very comfortable and intuitive in-flight experience.
Of course, the Mavic Air 2 communicates with both GPS and Glonass satellites. It has a modern ground tracking system installed (VPS) to offer almost absolute stability when flying low to the ground. Whether indoors or outdoors. In the event of a problem, the drone automatically returns to the take-off position. Also, it has an anti-collision system aboard. Two cameras scan what's in front of the drone, and another two cameras take care of possible obstacles behind the drone. A real highlight of the drone is the new tracking mode that finally works genuinely reliable! On the smartphone, simply draw a box around the object to be tracked - and the drone takes control. It can fly around the object in constant circles, fly alongside it, or track it freely. The tracking mode is second to none. In terms of precision, it outperforms all other tracking modes on the market. The drone is a faithful companion for travelers, outdoor and sports enthusiasts, and everyone seeking to track people/obstacles and create beautiful cinematic videos.
Camera
Put short: the camera is convincing. The lens has an aperture of F2.8 and a field of view of 84°. The sensor measures, and that's pretty special, half an inch. Sure, 4K is not big news anymore and the standard in 2020. However, DJI installed a 60FPS mode to the Mavic Air, allowing people to create beautiful slow-motion shots in crisp 4K. This is a very powerful tool! And if you want to experience motion at just a tenth of its real speed, then the Mavic Air 2 lets you do that. Just dial in the 240FPS mode that is available when filming in FullHD. By the way: Yo