DJI Mavic Air 2S review: a major upgrade

Despite being a year old, DJI is already upgrading its mid-tier Mavic Air 2 drone. The new $ 999 Mevik Air 2S (yes, $ 200 more than prior models) comes with some notable new features and upgrades, including a much larger image sensor. The new one-inch sensor is capable of shooting 20-megapixel photos, 5.4K videos, and 4K to 60fps. But hold your horses (or wallet), there are some caveats to those impressive abilities.

The Mavic Air 2S camera sensor is the same size that you get in the higher-end Mavic 2 Pro. This is much larger than the half-inch sensor used in last year’s Air 2. The Air 2S should shoot almost equally good photos and better video as the Mavic 2 Pro, at least on paper.

The Air 2S has a maximum video resolution of 5.4K, versus 4K on the Mavic 2 Pro. And the 4K video of the Air 2S also has a rate of 150 bits higher than 100Mbps. Finally, the 4K video of the Air 2S also has a higher frame rate. All those you find in the more expensive models make a good upgrade over them, not about the benefits of the smaller Air 2.

Once you switch to 4K 60fps, however, the highest 4K frame rate you can capture will have some significant crop because it is not using the full one inch sensor in that mode. It almost looks like a 1.3x crop to my eyes, but DJI won’t really confirm how much crop there is. This should not discourage you from using 4K / 60fps. The video quality is still intact and the image looks great in the end result. But if you are just comparing the spec sheet, you will not see that there is a crop in this mode.

It can also be explained why the Air 2S’s maverick lineup has a slightly wider focal length than the others. When using a full one inch sensor, the focal length is 22 mm. Typically, DJI drones are of 24 or 28 mm. I personally like the slightly wider look, but if you prefer a tight composition, you can use the built-in digital zoom or crop in editing.

Digital zoom availability depends on which shooting mode you are in. In 1080p / 60fps, you can zoom 6x; 1080p / 30fps lets you zoom 8x; 4K / 60 up to 3x; 4K / 30 has 4x zoom; And finally there is no digital zoom when it is in 5.4K. Historically, digital zoom is not something that tickles my fans, but having a one-inch sensor with a maximum resolution of 5.4K really helps here and does not degrade the quality. Even at 3x, you can capture some very useful footage.

However, here we get another caveat: It doesn’t matter if you’re filming in D-Log or HDR because you can’t zoom in any color profile while shooting, just the standard color profile. When you shoot in either of these two modes, you have to re-edit all your zooming and cropping.

Also, you cannot use digital zoom when taking photos, which is a bit surprising. There is another caveat between the color profiles: the D-log color profile has a maximum ISO 1600, while the standard color profile goes up to 3200. For comparison, the Mavic 2 Pro has a maximum ISO 6400 in the standard color profile. This is not a dealbreaker. But like the 4K 60 crop, it is good to be aware of it.

Air 2S also debuts a new automatic flight mode called SmartShots. Once you activate it, the drone takes a few minutes to capture some pre-programmed video. It has options like wide circular shots, tight circular shots, drones, top-down and so on. It records five to ten “must have” clips, and the application automatically generates a short edit. It’s like a slideshow on GoPro’s Quik iOS app but for drones. This is a great option for less experienced pilots who just want to share something reliable and easy with their friends.

A major selling point of the Air 2 was the ability to shoot 48-megapixel photos with the help of pixel binning. You won’t have that option here, but I’ll always choose the size of the sensor at pure resolution, and the Mavic Air 2S proved me right. The photos look phenomenal. As someone who loves taking drone pictures on video, having an inch sensor in a smaller body than the Mavic 2 Pro is like a dream come true. Both drones take 20-megapixel photos, but there are some noticeable differences.

There is focal length I mentioned earlier, but also the dynamic range on the 2 Pro is better. It offers 14 stops compared to 12.4 stops on the new Air 2S, which helps prevent your sky from flying in high-contrast scenes. Sure, you lose a little information to work with, but the difference is not super noticeable. Photos look impressive at lower and higher ISOs. If you deserve to do anything, you must be missing that Hasselblad color science.

The Mavic 2 Pro has one major feature on the Air 2S: adjustable aperture. This is useful for both photos and videos and gives you another control point when trying to give you the right exposure. On the Air 2S, you have sole control for ISO and shutter speed, so DJI has included a set of ND filters in its Fly More bundle ($ 1,299, which also includes extra batteries and other accessories) so you can Limit its quantity. Light is coming into the lens.

There is also a small change in hyperlap mode. You can no longer get 8K hyperlapse exports like you did on the Mavic Air 2 – the maximum is 4K or below because the maximum photo resolution is 20MP. An additional post stabilization is now applied to that export, but this is not correct; I still saw some unwanted shake in some of the recorded videos. I would still recommend running another stabilizer in the post.

Most of the hardware on the Air 2S is similar to the Air 2, but it has an additional set of sensors that sit just above the drone to help detect and avoid obstacles, especially at high speeds. DJI is calling this APAS (Advance Pilot Assistance System) 4.0.

Obstacle avoidance is something you need to turn on manually and you choose how you want your drone to function – either it will break in front of an obstacle or try to go around it. In my testing, the drone was a little more hesitant than I had anticipated. It would often prefer to brake in front of obstacles rather than avoiding them. Again, here’s a caveat: APAS or focus tracking will not work in 4K above 30fps mode.

This is encouraging for some extra attention in that area, but DJI is nowhere near Skydio when it comes to autonomous flights. It is still only a safety option, not something that will help you get smooth shots while avoiding obstacles.

Finally, all upgrades come with a minor hit on battery life. DJI has rated the battery at 31 minutes of flight compared to 34 minutes on the previous Mavic Air. This is a reasonable compromise, and I did not take into account that it affected my approach to flight.

Despite some odd limitations in its features, the Mavic Air 2S is still a great drone, especially for beginners who want something more capable than a DJI Mini. There are few trade-offs compared to the Mavic 2 Pro, but frankly, most people will be fine with them.

I recently wrote about how the undermined Mini 2 became my favorite drone due to its unmatched portability and better than expected image quality. The Air 2S almost snatched that title. If you prioritize image quality, this is an obvious choice provided you can take an extra hit to your wallet. The Mavic Air 2S now strikes the right balance between a compact size and superb image quality, despite all the asterisks and the cavette.

Photography by Waziran Pavic / The Reporter Door