Drones...Image Quality

[StevieBee]

I know there's lot of threads on drones but from what I can see, most seem to focus on ease of use, flying them and whatnot.

What I'm interested in is image quality; video mainly but stills too.

I've whittled it down to either the Mavic Air or the Mavic2 with the Hasselblad camera.

I'm going to be using it in a semi-professional capacity, mainly in weird and wonderful parts of the world to capture dumpsites, landfill operations and the like as well as near-shore marine pollution flows. The content will be used for a variety of purposes but mainly training and awareness raising so what I shoot will be viewed on large screens rather than tablets or phones.

So, question is, is the Mavic 2 worth the premium? From what I've seen, the quality is a bit better than the Mavic Air but I've yet to determine if it is worth the premium. My budget is £1k but would push this to get the Mavic 2 if worth it.

There was also a GoPro drone a recall seeing a little while back but this seems to have disappeared. Was it dropped or renamed?

Thanks in advance!

[justin220]

The Mavic 2 Pro is significantly better than the Air camera wise. Almost no comparison IMO.

[Fordo]

StevieBee said:

There was also a GoPro drone a recall seeing a little while back but this seems to have disappeared. Was it dropped or renamed?

Thanks in advance!

"dropped" may have been a poor choice of words..... as that's what they did, out of the air! - think they had a battery issue initially that caused them to malfunction and drop. After that recall, I think sales were poor and Gopro abandoned them. Gopro haven updated them in a while, and recently in jan they were grounded as there was a rollover / update to the GPS network, and without an update the Gopro drones cant get a GPS signal

For best image quality, I'd go with whichever dji drone has the largest sensor.

FYI, there is a DJI press event on the 27th of April, so it might be worth waiting if you can, in case they update their product line

[Dan_1981]

I think it's the Air 2 that'll be announced on the 27th - there have been a few leaks on it so far.

Looks to have a longer flight time that even the Mavic 2

Better camera than the original Air but not quite up to the level of Pro 2

Worth waiting three days for a full spec I think

[_Hoppers]

I've got a Mavic Air but I'm thinking of replacing it with a Mavic 2 now I've sold my Inspire. The image quality is superb as others have told me. Air has tiny sensor and only 10mp so for me it's a no brainer to upgrade.

I'm hoping DJI wil bring out a Class 2 drone for the new EASA regs soon which will allow easier flying in congested areas with smaller take off/flight separation from people/buildings not under your control.

[GetCarter]

The Mavic 2 pro has really good image quality. I moved from the 4 pro and the lens is sharper.

Highly recommended.



P.S. Pro 5 supposedly coming out at the end of the year, but that'll cost top dollar.

[Coolbananas]

The Mavic Air 2 was launched yesterday and it looks to be a very nice upgrade.

I sold my Mavic Pro and Air a couple of weeks ago and already have an Air 2 Combo pre-ordered this morning.

I prefer the smaller drone because I like it for action video when I am out and about biking. I have a GoPro 8 that I take with me when I am mountain biking but occasionally I take a drone too and try and get action shots and video from above. The larger drones are too bulky so the Air was ideal - although if the Mini had Active Track I would have got that instead.

Anyway, the Air's Active Track was hit or miss at best but the new drone promises to have that sorted out with a far more reliable version plus Occusync 2.0 which will be so much better than WiFi, better video and longer battery life - all in a package that can still fit comfortably in my small CamelBak backpack. Oh, and the new controller looks to be much better too, gone are the foldable antennas and the phone mount being on a collapsible holder means I can get the drone following me and put the controller in my cycling shirt pocket without worrying about it moving about and sending signals to the drone or losing connection.

Looking forward to getting it, it certainly seems more like the drone I need for what I typically use it for.

[jetbox]

GetCarter said:

The Mavic 2 pro has really good image quality. I moved from the 4 pro and the lens is sharper.

Highly recommended.



P.S. Pro 5 supposedly coming out at the end of the year, but that'll cost top dollar.

Nice to see a picture of ‘Nannies’. Oh to not be on lockdown, great picture:-)