[Software] Why the DJI Air 2S has convinced me to sell my DJI Mavic 2 Pro

[Agent47]

 

 

I’ve been the happy owner of a DJI Mavic 2 Pro for a couple of years, and during this time I’ve been hugely impressed with its flying performance and camera. I’ve also flown and reviewed almost every consumer DJI drone released in the last few years, but it’s only now that I’m starting to think about upgrading my drone – and that's all thanks to the arrival of the DJI Air 2S.

As a reviewer who frequently handles some of the best new camera gear money can buy, it takes something truly special to catch my eye – otherwise I’d be pretty skint. Most recently it’s been the DJI Air 2S that has caught my attention; a drone weighing 595g and featuring a 20MP 1-inch sensor is a very attractive proposition to an outdoor photographer who often carries both stills cameras and a drone while out shooting.
Getting the weight of my kit down is always a challenge, so the Air 2S raises a tantalizing question: should I sell my DJI Mavic 2 Pro (vital stats: 907g and 214×91×84mm folded) and use the cash to buy the brand new Air 2S, which weighs only 595g and folds down to only 180×97×80mm. 

Sure, the folded size isn’t dramatically different, but that weight saving of 312g (plus smaller and lighter batteries) simply can’t be ignored. And it's not the only reason I'm looking to sell my Mavic 2 Pro.
High and Pro
I’m primarily a stills photographer, so it’s my normal camera kit that takes priority in my bag while out shooting. When I was originally considering which drone to buy in 2018, I wanted something compact and lightweight, and the three best options at the time were the DJI Mavic Air, DJI Mavic 2 Zoom and DJI Mavic 2 Pro.
I ended up buying the Mavic 2 Pro for a few simple reasons. Firstly, it’s smaller and lighter than the Phantom series thanks to its foldable design. It also offers a larger 1-inch sensor than the original Mavic Air and Mavic 2 Zoom. And lastly, its adjustable aperture could be used to increase depth-of-field alongside providing the ability to adjust exposure while shooting video on the fly. 

At the time, the Mavic 2 Pro was also producing the best quality images of all of DJI’s consumer drones. And to be honest, it’s still up there with the best, so I’m positive that buying this drone was indeed the best choice. Only a smaller and lighter DJI drone with a 1-inch sensor could ever have a chance of making me consider a replacement...

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Air force fun
I reviewed the DJI Mavic Air 2 last year and loved it, but moving down in sensor size felt like a step backwards, so I never thought much more about it. But when the Air 2S came along it was a completely different story. 
The Air 2S features a 20MP 1-inch sensor, while the camera provides an 88-degree field of view and full-frame equivalent focal length of 22mm with a fixed f/2.8 aperture. There’s also a digital zoom with works well up to 2x, but zooming in any further looks rubbish and needs to be avoided. Still, the advantage here is that you can fly at safe and legal distances from people and buildings, but zoom in 2x to get a much closer shot.

The main differences with the Mavic 2 Pro are that it also offers a 20MP 1-inch sensor, but does this with an equivalent focal length of 28mm and an adjustable f/2.8-f/11 aperture. This is particularly useful when shooting video because if the light changes you can change the aperture, rather than always needing to land the drone to change the ND (Neutral Density) filter.

Still, the Mavic Air 2S, in the Fly More Bundle, comes with a set of four ND filters, which during my testing were perfect for controlling shutter speed while shooting video in a range of conditions. I did miss the flexibility of an adjustable aperture, but the reduction in weight of the Air 2S makes the loss of this useful feature much more palatable.