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DJI's new Mavic Air 2 folding-style drone is a huge improvement over the previous model, so much so that for most people, this is the perfect drone.
The Mavic Air 2 is the middle child in DJI's consumer drone lineup, sitting between the smaller, lighter, but less capable Mavic Mini, and the more powerful, more capable, but also more expensive, Mavic 2.
If you're just getting started with drones, the less expensive Mavic Mini ([8/10 WIRED Recommends](https://www.wired.com/review/dji-mavic-mini/))—my previous top pick for most people—might be a better buy. That said, the Air 2 offers better collision avoidance systems, higher quality photos and video, and automated flight features that newcomers and seasoned vets alike can appreciate.
###Big Star
[#image: /photos/5ea341f0a22a050008c72771]||||||
The Mavic Air 2 is slightly bigger than its predecessor, at least on paper. In practice I didn't notice the difference. The folding design remains compact, and at 1.3 pounds, plenty portable. Fully folded it's about the size of mid-size telephoto lens. It fits nicely in several camera bags I happened to be testing as well.
The camera sensor is bigger this time around too. The lens is still 24mm-equivalent, with an f/2.8 aperture, but DJI has moved to a larger, half-inch sensor, which makes for much sharper images. There's also an option to shoot 48-megapixel (stitched) images. Provided conditions are right for a composite image—meaning the wind is not throwing the drone around—the 48-megapixel images are impressive.
While the photo improvements are welcome for still photographers, most people though will be more excited about the expanded video capabilities, which now include the ability to shoot 4K video at 60 frames per second and 120 Mbps. The rest of the Mavic line—including the more expensive Mavic 2 Pro—tops out at 30 fps when shooting in full 4K resolution.
The 60 frames per second 4K video is especially useful when shooting anything fast-moving. More frames mean a better record of the scene and open up more possibilities when editing, such as slowing down the footage to allow views to see more of what happened.
Better 4K frame rates aren't the Air's only tricks for slow-motion footage though. There are also some new slow-motion modes that slow down footage to four times slower than real life (1080p at 120 fps), or eight-times slower (1080 at 240 fps). The other big news in video on the Air is support for HDR video. Put it all together and you have an impressive set of video capabilities in drone that fits easily in a camera bag and costs less than $1000.
I'll be honest, the more I shoot with drones, the less I want to do anything but fly. That's the fun part. Worrying about the shot? I'm happy to let a computer handle that.
[#image: /photos/5ef51f62d916dc1ac6a5a685]||||||
It would seem I'm not alone. DJI has increasingly been adding in bits of computational photography to make shooting easier and require less work on your end. The latest effort is something the company calls Smart Photo mode. Once you turn it on, Smart Photo will do scene analysis, tap its machine intelligence algorithm, and automatically choose between a variety of photo modes. The modes cover just about every type of scene you're likely to encounter with a drone, including trees, grass, blue skies, sunsets, and snow. In each case, exposure is adjusted to optimize tone and detail.
Perhaps the biggest physical change in this update is actually the design of the controller, which is much larger than what you'll find in any of the other Mavics. It also has the phone mounted up top, rather than the bottom. Since I started off flying Phantoms I'm more comfortable with the screen-on-top anyway, but for some this might take some re-learning muscle memory (I should also note that, unlike the Phantom controllers, the clamp does not extend far enough to hold a small tablet).
###Superfly
While the camera and automation improvements are all welcome, my favorite feature of the Mavic Air 2 is the much-improved flight time. DJI claims 34 minutes in ideal conditions. I never hit that, but on eight different flights I got over 32 minutes, which is impressive, especially considering the original Mavic Air struggled to get much over 20.
The longer flight time means less need for batteries, which no only lightens the load you need to carry, but also makes the Fly More kit, which includes extra batteries, propellers, and a multi-battery charger, feel less necessary. That said, the battery to power bank adapter is very useful for recharging in the field.
Staying in the air longer may be the Air 2's best trick, but it's certainly not the only one. The range has expanded to over 6 miles, which I tested to make sure it worked, but don't suggest doing yourself. At that distance, your situational awareness is near zero. The DJI Fly app will also warn you about flying too high. Safe flight levels vary somewhat according to where you are so be sure to check regulations in your area. Also remember that since the Mavic Air 2 weighs well over 250 grams, you need to [register it with the FAA](https://faadronezone.faa.gov/#/).
Just as photo and video features are ever-increasingly the province of AI, so too is flying.
DJI has revamped its Active Track feature to version 3.0 for the Air, which brings better subject recognition algorithms and new 3D mapping capabilities. This makes the Air better at automatically tracking people through a scene. The camera stays on the subject and the Air does what it need to do to keep your subject in frame.
[#image: /photos/5ef51f85437ef26a54241ad1]||||||
DJI is also claiming that the Point of Interest mode—where you select an object on the screen and then the Air automatically flies around it in a big circle while the camera stays pointed at the subject—is better at tracking some subjects. Previous versions often struggled to do this with moving vehicles or people walking. Due to the number of trees where I live, and lack of open public spaces due to the pandemic, I was not able to test this with a car, but it did well tracking me as I walked through my yard.
To my mind the most exciting new flight mode in the Air 2 is Spotlight, which was pulled from from DJI's professional-grade Inspire drone. Like Active Track mode, Spotlight keeps the camera pointed a moving subject, tracking it through the scene. The difference is that Spotlight mode allows the human pilot to retain control of the flight path. You do what you want, the drone will keep the camera where it needs to be to track your subject (within reason of course, if you fly behind a building, for example, you'll lose your subject). Spotlight mode opens up a huge range of shots that were previously very difficult, if not impossible, in consumer-grade drones.
This feature alone makes the Mavic Air the drone to get, though I would expect Spotlight to eventually come to the Mavic 2 line as well.
At the moment though the Mavic Air 2 feels very much like a flagship drone. If you need the higher quality image sensor of the Mavic 2 models—which offer a 1-inch sensor—then clearly the Air 2 is not going to cut it. But if you want something that flies well, offers 90 percent of what more expensive models offer and costs less than $1000, the Mavic Air 2 is an impressive machine.
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