Aug 4, 2020 3:11:16 PM 4 min read
The Mavic Air has grown up. It’s the Mavic Air 2 now, and although just a little bigger, it definitely has matured. It’s a more sophisticated, more capable quadcopter.
Has Mavic Air 2 become the perfect drone? Maybe not so much as it is the perfect combination of size, function and price, falling between the Mavic Mini and the Mavic 2 Zoom. At $799, the Mavic Air 2 with remote controller, battery and charger is hard to beat. A more nearly perfect deal, though, is the $988 Mavic Air 2 Fly More Combo, which includes three batteries, a charging hub, a hub-to-power bank adapter, three spare pairs of propellers, three ND filters, and a shoulder bag.
While the old Mavic Air and Mavic Mini might not be suited to professional use, the Mavic Air 2 could easily work in the hands of a wedding photographer, publicist, real estate agent or developer, news reporter or photographer posting to a web site, or a serious vlogger.
Some things are much the same as in the earlier Mavic Air. It folds easily for portability. It’s still light, although at 20 ounces it requires FAA registration. It continues to stabilize video with a 3-axis gimbal, not a cheaper after-the-fact software program.
More important is how many things have improved. Range has doubled, extended flight time surpasses 30 minutes, the remote controller is more comfortable, and automated flight programs are more numerous. Then there’s the camera, which delivers superior stills and video.
Flying the Mavic Air 2
The FAA requires you to have your drone in sight; good luck at this model’s stated 6.2-mile range. No matter. With buildings, trees and hilly terrain, real range is reduced. The Mavic Air 2 still flies beyond the 3.1-mile range of the Mavic Mini and the 2.5-mile range of the Parrot Anafi.
Extended flight time might be more valuable than extended range, and a new Intelligent Flight Battery gets flight to 34 minutes—again, a laboratory-achieved maximum not likely with hovering, accelerating and wind. Flight times in the upper 20s are realistic.
There’s obstacle avoidance, although not ideal. The Mavic Air 2 lacks sensors on the top and sides. Watch yourself—or the drone’s path—when using preprogrammed flight stunts. Some have the drone flying up and sideways, neither of which is protected by obstacle sensing. In the open, there’s no problem. In areas with encroachments, overhead wires and thin branches could interfere. Here’s where the Fly More Combo proves its worth, with plenty of spare props to keep the drone flying should a crash occur.
Subject tracking in the Mavic Air 2 is efficient. Just draw a box around a subject onscreen and the smart little drone calculates the moving subject’s path. Even when a target ducks temporarily out of view—a bicyclist behind a barn, or a kayaker behind an outcrop—MA2 follows the trajectory and picks up the subject once back in view. That’s something the smaller Mavic Mini can’t do.
Flight is stable. Mavic Air 2 can handle winds up to 23.5 mph. The Mavic 2 and Anafi do better, but at nearly twice the price.
Commands go through a new remote controller. It’s more comfortable to hold than the old model, and the controls are more tactile. All that range comes from an antenna that’s housed inside the adjustable smartphone bracket—neat trick.
Improved Images
The camera on the improved Mavic Air 2 is better in every respect. The sensor bumps up to a full half-inch. Video continues at 4K super high definition, but now at 60 frames per second, perfect for slow motion. Mavic Air 2 also is capable of super slow motion at 240fps in 1080p. By contrast, Mavic Mini shoots 2.7K at 30fps. Closer in price to the MA2, the FiMI X8 SE and Hubsan Zino 2 manage 4K, but at only 30fps.
The standard resolution for stills is 12MP, but shoot in RAW format and resolution jumps to 48MP. Colors in 12MP photos already are rich, with excellent contrast. RAW affords broader editing. The higher resolution also makes it easy to zoom in and crop for a detail. The penalty in quality for doing this is surprisingly minimal—ideal on a big monitor, posting on a web page or making a print.
The Fly More Como comes into play again with images. The included ND filters let you step down the light entering the camera, great when a field is awash in sunlight, or snow or reflective water is in the frame.
Use just a few of these features and you’ll realize that the Mavic Air 2 Fly More Combo is more fun and more function for not much more money.