(upbeat music)
- In my hand I have the DJI Mavic Air 2.
And what I wanted to do in this video
was go through who I think this drone is for.
What's good about this drone.
What's not so good about this drone,
and just where this fits in the whole drone lineup.
Whether you're a professional or a beginner,
is this the drone that you should get?
All right guys, let's get into it.
(upbeat music)
So, I am out in Yucca Valley right now.
This is kind of near Joshua Tree.
It's why you see all the crazy trees around.
But, my family has property out here.
So, it's the perfect place to come and fly drones.
I'm working on a huge comparison video
between all of DJI's products.
But, I wanted to do a video,
specifically on the DJI Mavic Air 2
because I think this upgrade from the original Air is huge,
and there's a lot of things
that you're gonna really like about the Air 2.
One of the biggest upgrades from the original
Mavic Air is the corporation of occusync 2.0.
So, originally when you flew the Mavic Air,
the WiFi transmission just wasn't that good,
and the image would break up all the time.
But now with the occusync, you have clean transmission,
and I've been flying all over this valley.
And I have had no dropouts whatsoever.
So let's talk about price.
Because that's a huge factor when determining
if you're gonna buy a drone or not.
So this one's priced at $800.
Which is right between the Mavic Mini
and the Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom Light.
I definitely think it's a good price
because this drone is going to appeal
to both beginners and professionals.
It definitely sits right in the middle.
If you have zero flying experience, whatsoever
you're gonna be able to pick up
this drone and start flying.
Whereas, if you're a professional
and you want something that's just easy
and is with you all the time, like in your backpack,
then this would also be a good option for you.
I think this is the drone that bridges that gap.
So when folded out it definitely looks much bigger
than the original Mavic Air, and it is thicker.
However, when you fold it down to pack away,
it's really not that much bigger.
And it's really not that much heavier.
It does have a little bit of a size increase,
but I don't think that's that big of a deal.
If you liked the size of the original Mavic Air,
you'll be fine with the size of this one.
One thing to note though, when it comes to the controller
is that, there is definitely a size increase
from the Mavic Air controller.
So the Mavic Air 2 has more functionality
on it's controller, and the phone now
sits on top versus underneath.
Which I think is a huge design improvement.
Now, in terms of size, I did like the original
size of the Mavic Air controller,
but with this one you don't have any antennas on the top.
And you also have a button dead center
of the controller, which allows you to flip from sport
to normal to tripod mode.
Which for me is something that I have been using a lot.
So, I'll use the sport mode.
I'll fly to where I wanna get to, and then flip
it into the tripod mode, so that I can get smoother shots.
And having all of this integrated right there on the drone,
makes it very easy to fly.
Now, personally I don't mind the size of it.
It is gonna be a little bit bigger packing into my backpack,
but the bigger grips on the side
does make it easier to use.
So we have to talk about the camera
on this drone because the camera is very impressive.
It actually is better than a lot of the other
drones on their lineup, and even with the Mavic 2 Pro,
you don't get 4K60.
And that's a huge upgrade.
I mean having 4K60 is a very powerful tool,
and then with that you also get 120 and 240 slow-mo.
So, you get some really cool options
to be able to do slow motion with this camera.
Now it packs a 48 megapixel camera,
which allows you to do 8K photos.
Also means, it allows you to do 8K hyper lapses.
So there's a ton of flexibility with this camera.
Whether you're a video creator or a photographer.
Couple things to note though when it comes to this camera,
you're not gonna get all of the professional
controls that you might expect out of one of the higher end
Mavic series or the Phantom series.
So, you don't really have control
of your contrast, saturation, your sharpness.
You basically have two profiles that you can shoot in.
You have normal and you have Cinelike-D.
Cinelike-D makes it a little bit flatter,
and it gives you a little bit more room
so that you can color grade.
Now, for me, that's enough.
I've worked with the Cinelike-D,
and with the camera you have 120 megabytes at 4K60.
So it's enough to be able to do a good
looking color grade on this footage.
You don't need the log, however, I know there's some
of you out there that really do like having the log.
And if that's you then you're probably
gonna be more interested in the Mavic 2 Pro.
And one other thing about it because you can't dial back
the sharpness at all, you basically get the sharpness
that comes out of camera.
And I know some of you are gonna think
that it's a little too over sharpened.
And I don't mind the look of the footage,
it actually looks really good
when played back on the computer.
But, it is just something to keep in mind.
You don't really have a whole lot of control
beyond just switching between normal and Cinelike-D.
So one of the most powerful features
that I have noticed with this camera
is the integration of active track 2.0.
So this active track works super well.
Whether you're going uphill, downhill, anywhere.
The camera will track you and follow you.
And I really was trying to push
this camera and see if it could follow me.
I jumped on my one wheel and was going back and forth.
Going in circles, and going up and down hills.
And the camera stayed with me the entire time.
And it even avoided all the Joshua trees
as it was flying through them.
One thing to note about the active track,
is that when you put it in the active track mode
you're not gonna be able to use 4K60.
You're gonna have to bump it down to 4K30
or 24 or 25 frames per second.
Now also with the automation
you have all those modes that make it super easy
to get shots, like the Helix, the Dronie, the Rocket.
Now these are great, however on this drone
they're really catered more towards beginners
or people who just wanna get quick shots.
So when you put it into one of these modes,
it automatically bumps the camera down to 1080P,
and it puts it into the normal color profiles.
So if you wanna fly 4K60 and using Cinelike-D,
then you're not gonna be able to use any
of the automation modes in this drone.
So I did a lowlight test last night
because I wanted to see how this drone compares,
to say the Mavic 2 Pro.
And you definitely notice a lot more noise
in the Mavic 2 Air, but it does get a decent image at night.
It's not gonna be a full on night flying drone.
I would highly suggest looking at the Mavic 2 Pro,
or the Phantom, if you are looking to shoot in low light.
But, the Air 2 will do great at a sunset, sunrise.
You'll still be able to get pretty good looking image.
Especially because it has a half inch sensor
versus the smaller sensor.
So battery life is super important for your drone
because, you don't wanna get into a situation
where you're flying really far away,
and then the battery dies.
So the Mavic Air 2 has a 34 minute flight time
which, has been a huge bonus for me.
Because it allows me to fly out,
plan my shot, kind of check things out,
get the shot, and not have to rush back.
And when you have a drone that has less flight time,
you really need to plan things before you
take it up in the air.
And you also need to swap out batteries consistently.
I've been able to use the Mavic Air 2,
and do multiple flights in one battery
just because that 34 minute flight time
allows me to do a lot more.
So, I definitely like the fact that it has a longer
flight time than some of the other drones out there.
So with the active track I was talking about how it tracks
you up and down, and it can kind of trace the surface.
This drone has surface recognition.
So when you use point of interest, it's not only gonna fly
dynamically around you and avoid objects using the sensors,
but it can also sense the surface.
And another really cool feature that they've added
is the light underneath the drones.
So when you're flying, like, closer to sunset or sunrise,
and you need to land your drone,
it has a light underneath it so you can see
where the drone is landing.
It's super helpful.
So who is this drone for?
I definitely think this is like the perfect drone
for creators because it's sitting at a price point,
it's not too expensive.
It's a drone that's small enough that you can have with you
anywhere you go, just throw it in your backpack.
And it just gives you a lot of flexibility
with having these different video features.
Now, if you're a pro and you need more control
over your camera, then you're gonna need to go up
to like the Mavic 2 Pro.
And if you're just like a beginner
and you're just kind of like flying around
and you don't really need all of the features
that this one comes with, then the Mavic Mini
might be a good option for you.
For me, this drone is gonna be in my backpack
everywhere I go.
So I highly suggest you check out this video next.
It's all about the biggest mistakes
that drone pilots make when flying.