Esteemed filmmaker, Philip Bloom, has a good amount of experience using DJI drones in his work. Now he's hands-on with the new DJI Mavic Air 2.
The DJI Mavic Air 2 is DJI's newest drone, pegged to be a mid-level unit with flagship features, and on the face of things, both statements are true. The drone will be retailing at $799 but offers 8K hyperlapse time-lapse, 48 megapixel images, and 4K 60p video, with a maximum flight time of around 34 minutes; that's an impressive spec.
British filmmaker — and one of my favorites — has just received one of these units and gives his first impression and review of it. Some of Bloom's work is created using stunning angle from drones (you only need to watch the introduction of this video to see that's true!) It seems that the Mavic Air 2 has a lot going for it and its only real drawback is the infamous automatic post-production sharpening that's seen in almost every DJI drone other than the Mavic 2 Pro.
Will you be getting DJI's newest flying camera?
VERY disappointed to see all that noise in shadow detail, definitely an unwelcome carry-over from the original Mavic Air, which also means much less flexibility in post-processing to control exposure without introducing noise.
It is a very good upgrade all-around from the original Air, but that shadow noise for me would be a show-stopper if I didn't already own the Mavic 2 Pro.
I find it funny that when it comes to video cameras everyone wants crazy dynamic range, low light magic, etc but with drones, it's like picking the best actioncam footage between gopro, etc.