There are uncountable drones in the market, but very few meet the criteria of mid-range priced drones with high-end performance. DJI Mavic Air 2 is among those aircraft that meet this criterion.

It comes bundled with every feature that one might expect from the upgrade of Mavic Air. The predecessor Mavic Air was an exceptional aircraft itself, but some deep-level upgrades in Mavic Air 2 elevated every aspect of the drone flying experience.

DJI Mavic Air 2 Review

When this drone came out in April 2020, it was assumed as a piece released by the manufacturer to cash DJI Mavic Air’s success even further. But Mavic Air 2 started making rounds in the market quickly due to the serious up-gradation and its feature set. And the most intriguing feature is that it is a lot better than its predecessor but costs less.

It is perfect for professional-level videography, casual shoots, or any photography niche you want to explore from aerial view. Just take it out from the box, and it is ready for the flight. With that, DJI Mavic Air 2 is complemented with numerous safety features so that there is no way you lose your aircraft.

Other noteworthy features it possesses are 4K60 capability, a 48MP sensor, 34-minute flight time, 10km OcuSync 2.0 range, several images/videos mode, automated & intelligent process, 68.4 kilometers per hour flight speed, 8K HyperLapse & HDR features, and ActiveTrack 3.0.

For more deep insight, check out the next section with detailed information of salient features and on-field performance details of  DJI Mavic Air 2.

Key Features of Mavic Air 2:

Built and Design

Though this drone is slightly heavier than the predecessor, the weight increment affected its portability or flight performance. Overall the design is straightforward like all other classic DJI drones with spidery design and simple fold-out arms.

It weighs 570 grams, has folded dimensions of 180×97×84 mm (L×W×H), and unfolded dimensions of 183×253×77 mm (L×W×H ).

DJI never over complicates the appearances of their aircraft and maintains the elegant look in each of their releases. The same is the case with DJI Mavic Air 2; uniform grey color, rugged but plain body, and compact size and weight.

As mentioned prior, it is slightly heavier than the original Mavic (one-third); the added weight, however, did not affect the drone’s performance. It accomplishes the same 68.4 kph (42.5 mph) as its forerunner and is just slightly slower than the Mavic 2’s 72 kph.

At the lower body, there are LED lights to improve the footage in dimly lit situations and spot the drone easily.

Overall, all significant updates are internal, and the manufacturer didn’t experience anything with the physicals and the classic design of the series.

Controller

The controller is simple and makes it very easy to control the device. Top right displays battery life, remaining flying time, and satellite collection data. Symbols next to these display the strength of the communication between the drone and the controller and the condition of the vision sensors.

The bottom left displays data on the height, speed, and distance of Mavic Air 2 from the controller, while the bottom right displays video and camera information. When you touch the film symbol in the center-right, it takes the flyer to drop-down menus with all the options for video and stills operations.

Honestly, for the price of the drone, the controller of DJI Mavic Air 2’s controller disappointed us a little bit as it does not come with its screen. Though cable can be used to connect it to a smartphone and then to DJI Fly App, several competitors and low-end manufacturers offer screens with their controllers, so this is one of the major cons of this gadget.

Overall, the controllers work just fine once the connection is established with a smartphone. It is light and sturdy, and using the smartphone can control several drone functions in an automated way.

Fight Performance

This quadcopter is exciting to fly for rookies and expert pilots because it is effortless to handle and has many safety mechanisms and pre-sets.

With our hands-on experience, it turned out that the specifications mentioned in the manual are pretty accurate. On a single 90-minute charge, Mavic Air 2 can fly for 34 minutes at a speed of 11 mph (18 km/h). It will still give you approximately 30 minutes of flight time in windy circumstances.

The Mavic Air 2 speed is 42 mph or 68 km/h maximum, flying in sports mode, at close sea level with no wind. Maximum speed can vary depending upon the Mode you’re flying your drone. Users can also manually set the top speed and other parameters.

The Mavic Air 2 flight distance range is 11.49 miles (18.5 km), whereas its maximum altitude (above sea level) is  3.10 miles (5 km). But we recommend that users never push their aircraft to its ultimate limits unless necessary. It affects the battery life.

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Safety Features:

Besides the superior performance, there are multiple features for drone’s safety like:

• Obstacle Detection and Advanced Pilot Assistance Systems (APAS): this intelligent system allows the drone to detect obstacles in the way and avoid them. The user has to turn on this detection manually, but once it is on, the drone automatically detects barriers and changes the path a few meters before approaching that.
• Straight to Home: This feature brings the Mavic Air 2 straight back to the point of flight as soon as it loses touch with the controller or the battery is about to die.
• Tripod Mode: This feature slows the overall speed of the drone to around 1/10th of its regular rate, and it shortens the time it takes to stop, allowing you to stop more quickly via the controller if you’re approaching an obstruction.
• Normal Mode: This feature is more about the ‘moderate’ approach. It can utilize all features, i.e., APAS but restricts the drone from flying too high above or far away.
• Sports Mode: Though this feature can allow you to catch some beautiful shots but isn’t as bright in safety measures as the other modes. It comes with some primary obstacle avoidance systems of drones, but you cannot enable additional security parameters with this mode. It’s designed to make catching quick action photos from high above and low to the ground simpler while allowing the DJI Mavic Air 2 to fly faster and maneuver more precisely. But again, Sport mode has no active safety features, so don’t go flicking the button straight away and use it if you need to film some action activity like sports photography or wildlife photography.
• Altitude and Distance Parameters Settings: Users can set the minimum and maximum altitude/distance for utmost ease and safety. But even if you aren’t confident with that as a beginner, this drone comes with a built-in ‘Beginner Mode,’ which sets the parameters for the user, which works just like ‘training wheels. Once you’ve mastered flying the drone, you can turn the mode off.
• Physically Rugged: Besides all the features mentioned prior, the build of Mavic Air 2 is itself very rugged and robust. It can easily take shocks and bumps without a single scratch on the body.

Camera Performance

Like flight performance, DJI Mavic Air 2 camera performance is also incredible. It comes with 48 MP stills and 4K UHD video bundles with several automated flying modes.

For stills, the drone’s camera supports both JPEG and RAW in 4:3 or 16:9.

The camera supports both 4K wide and 4K zoom for videos. Also, it can capture 1080p slow-motion video at 120 and 240 fps.

Noteworthy shooting modes offered by DJI Mavic Air 2 are SmartPhoto, 8K HyperLapse, HDR video, HDR panorama, FocusTrack, remote controller video transmission at 720p @ 30 fps & 1080p @ 30 fps, QuickShots, Hyperlight, and Cinematic Shots.

Connectivity

The Mavic Air 2 employs both GPS and GLONASS, allowing the quadcopter to trace many satellites. This dual satellite technology aids in high accuracy flying, super-accurate hovering, return to home, several akin features.

DJI Mavic Air 2 Specifications:

• Weight: 570 g
• Size: Folded – 180×97×84 mm (L×W×H)
  • Unfolded: 183×253×77 mm (L×W×H )
• Max Ascent Speed: 4 m/s (S Mode), 4 m/s (N Mode)
• Max Descent Speed, 3 m/s (S Mode), 3 m/s (N Mode)
• Max Flight Time (without wind): 34 minutes
• Max Flight Distance: 18.5 km
• Internal Storage: 8 GB
• Battery Capacity: 3500 mAh
• Voltage: 11.55 V
• Charging Voltage Limit: 13.2 V
• Battery Type: LiPo 3S
• Sensor: 1/2″ CMOS
• Effective Pixels: The Mavic Air 2 employs both GPS and GLONASS, allowing the quadcopter to trace a significant number of satellites. This dual satellite technology aids in high accuracy flying, super-accurate hovering, returning home, and more.
• Lens FOV: 84°
• Equivalent Focal Length: 24 mm
• Aperture: f/2.8
• Focus Range: 1 m to ∞
• ISO Video: 100-6400
• Photo ISO (12 MP): 100-3200 (Auto), 100-6400 (Manual)
• Photo ISO (48 MP): 100-1600 (Auto), 100-3200 (Manual)
• Max Photo Resolution: 48 MP 8000×6000 pixel
• Photo Modes: Single – 12 MP and 48 MP
• Burst: 12 MP, 3/5/7 frames
• Timed: 12 MP 2/3/5/7/10/15/20/30/60 seconds
• SmartPhoto: Scene Recognition, HyperLight, and HDR
• HDR Panorama: Vertical, Wide-angle, 180° Panorama, Sphere, Photo Formats
• Photo formats: JPEG/DNG (RAW)
• Video Resolution and Frame Rates:
  • 4K Ultra HD: 3840×2160 24/25/30/48/50/60 fps
  • 7K: 2688×1512 24/25/30/48/50/60 fps
  • FHD: 1920×1080 24/25/30/48/50/60/120/240 fps
  • 4K Ultra HD HDR: 3840×2160 24/25/30 fps
  • 7K HDR: 2688×1512 24/25/30 fps
  • FHD HDR: 1920×1080 24/25/30 fps
• Video Formats: MP4/MOV (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, H.265/HEVC)
• Supported SD Cards: with a capacity of up to 256 GB

• Zoom: Available
• Gimbal Stabilisation: 3-axis (tilt, roll, pan)
• Obstacle Avoidance System: Advanced Pilot Assistance Systems (APAS) 3.0

Pros:

• Good battery life
• The intelligent obstacle sensing system
• Superior camera performance
• Reliable safety modes

Cons:

• The controller doesn’t have its screen

Conclusion

If you want to spend money on a quality drone <– Affiliate Link 🙂 that is more than just a toy. DJI Mavic Air 2 is the answer for you. It comes with an incredible set of features, a pretty good built, reasonable battery life, and some awe-inspiring safety features. I highly recommend it!

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