By the spring of 2021, it was imperative that we discontinue the Phantom 4 Pro. We could see that something smaller that attracted less notice would be required as the initial interest in drones swiftly transformed into an ever-expanding field of public disgust and irritation. Of course, it would have to meet all the professional specifications that our company demands. The DJI Mavic Pro 2 and the Autel Evo Pro 6k, both excellent folding drones with respectable-sized footprints, were our options at the time that met our needs. However, since both of those were equipped with outdated technology, we decided against choosing either of them. also you will learn our article on DJI Air 2S review. The DJI Air 2S is essentially the Mavic Air 2 from a year ago, but it has a better camera, upgraded obstacle sensors, expanded automatic camera movements, and other strong safety features that have helped DJI become the industry leader in aerial imaging. For professional photographers and videographers, the larger camera sensor and 5.4K recording are worthwhile upgrades. However, we believe that most pilots just getting started with a drone will be just as happy with the Mavic Air 2, which costs $200 less and is still our Editors’ Choice winner. The Air 2S is still worthwhile, though, if you require more than 4K.
DJI Air 2S review: Design
The Air 2S and DJI Mavic 2 Pro have a striking resemblance in terms of fundamental design, despite the Air 2S being significantly more compact and lightweight. The front arms swing out while the rear arms move down and out, and the propeller arms are folded in for storage and out for flight. The construction quality is superb, and all the moving parts seem sturdy and reliable. With a weight of just 21 oz., a folded size of 7.1 x 3 x 3.8 in., and an unfolded size of 7.2 x 3 x 10 in., the Air 2S has excellent portability credentials. The drone body stays the same, so the extra unfolded size is, of course, just the lengthened propeller arms; it is still incredibly small in both configurations. The controller abandons the folding architecture of the Mavic 2 Pro in favor of a fixed size with a larger battery, which generally results in improved battery life. However, unlike the Pro, this controller supports phones via a telescoping grip at the top rather than arms at the bottom of the controller. To transport, the control sticks can be unscrewed and stored in the rubber sections at the controller’s base.
Features
One of the safest and simplest drones we have ever used is the Air 2S. Although it lacks fully omnidirectional object sensors for obstacle avoidance, it does have the ability to “see” forward, backward, upward, and downward, so it should only collide with something if you fly it sideways into it. With four antennas on board and a 1080p live video feed enabled, DJI claims that the controller-to-drone range will increase to 12 km. Even though those are ideal circumstances, it would still be illegal to fly the object beyond eye level. also you can check our article on DJI Air 2S review. It was only a few hundred metres away at the time, officer, and we only once during testing lost the video feed and control signal before the drone’s return-to-home safety mechanism automatically brought it back into range. The Air 2S is more than capable of competing in a wind despite its lightweight, compact design. It maintains a steady hovering position like a robotic harrier thanks to GPS and sensor-based stabilization. A switch on the controller lets you switch between the normal, cinema (slower), and sports (fastest, without safety sensors) flight modes if you want to change how it moves in the air. It also zips around with surprising speed and nimbleness, landing and taking off quickly. It’s important to note that – at this time – neither the DJI Motion Controller nor the DJI FPV Goggles are supported. According on the language on DJI’s website, that appears to be coming via a future firmware update. The maximum flight time per battery is 31 minutes, which is very good. Since it takes them a while for them to recharge (about 80 minutes from empty to full), you should have extra batteries on hand if you intend to shoot from the air for a long period of time. A note on the DJI Fly companion app before we wrap up. Despite not always being the most streamlined or user-friendly, this DJI app has a nice user interface. It’s simple to quickly change camera settings like video resolution or white balance thanks to the controller’s physical buttons and the app’s easy-to-use touchscreen controls for the camera. With its FocusTrack feature, which keeps your subject in-frame, and its new MasterShots feature, which automatically takes a series of dramatic video shots around a tracking point or object with a single tap, the app also offers a variety of generally impressive tracking modes.
DJI Air 2S review: Performance
A 20MP one-inch sensor, a full-frame equivalent focal length of 22mm, a fixed aperture of f/2.8, and a focus range of 60 cm to infinity are all features of the Air 2S camera. For still photos, an ISO range of 100-12,800 is available; for videos, an ISO range of 100-1600 is available. Additionally, the Air 2S offers in-camera processing for noise reduction that is applied to Raw files as well. This produces excellent results because noise is only discernible at ISO 6400. The fixed 22mm equivalent lens produces photos that are sharper in the Centre with a fall-off in clarity towards the corners. However, this is typical of most consumer drones, so it isn’t a significant problem overall. In addition, the Air 2S has a digital zoom that, despite the fixed lens, enables you to go much closer to the action without physically moving the drone in that direction. However, since image quality naturally declines the more it is used (up to 4x in 4K and 8x in FHD), the maximum setting you’d want to use is 2x. You can shoot stills in Raw, JPEG, or both, and video in standard color profiles for footage straight out of the camera, D-Log (10 bit) for raw video of a professional standard, or HDR in HLG. You can shoot 5.4K at 24/25/30 frames per second, 4K at 24/25/30/48/50/60 frames per second, 2.7K at 24/25/30/48/50/60 frames per second, and FHD at 24/25/30/48/50/60/120 frames per second.
Video quality
In terms of video, any drone would be impressed by the boost to a maximum of 5.4K (5472 x 3078), even if it were to be done at 30 frames per second as it is in this case. When resolution is reduced to 4K (3840 x 2160), the entire image is substantially zoomed in to fit the crop, and frame rates can also be increased to 60 fps or digital zoom is available at 30 fps or less. The lack of digital zoom in 10-bit video modes and at 120 frames per second, which may indicate hardware limitations, seems unlikely to be a problem because it only likely appeals to those who want to share quickly. you can read our article on DJI Air 2S review. Our best guess is that the majority of the time, 4K shooting—or even one of the lower resolutions preferred by the MasterShots automated shooting—will be the choice of most people. It helps you avoid the lens’ edges and get a little closer to your subject. For example, if you’re using the automated ActiveTrack feature to follow a mountain biker, you won’t mind if they take up a little more of the screen. For the most dedicated, there is also the option of shooting in 5.4K (and possibly doing some editing afterwards). The 150 Mbps bitrate (which significantly exceeds the 100 Mbps of the Mavic 2 Pro) results in impressive video quality. Video can be recorded in 10-bit D-log, and today’s advanced image processing algorithms make post-editing and post-processing for the majority of users entirely unnecessary. Some people might think it’s advantageous to switch to “Pro” mode before starting a shot where camera turns might otherwise force a change in exposure, but the system does a good job of handling this, especially at Cine speeds.
Image quality
No matter how many bells and whistles you add to a drone, the image quality is frequently the most crucial component. Here, the DJI Air 2S unquestionably succeeds. The camera has an 88-degree field of view or a full-frame equivalent focal length of 22mm, and it has a 20MP 1-inch sensor. The Air 2S, like the Mavic Air 2, regrettably has a fixed f/2.8 aperture with a focus range of 60 cm to infinity (more on that later). Even when the Mavic 2 Pro’s aperture is set to f/2.8, still shots look noticeably softer around the edges than those taken by the Pro. Although it is discernible in a side-by-side comparison, this sharpness loss is really slight and is not a factor in deciding which drone to buy. However, the image in a video is clear all the way across the frame. The Air 2S’s ability to handle high ISO noise must be the biggest improvement in image quality over the Mavic 2 Pro. Even with a 1-inch sensor, images captured at ISO 3200 are surprisingly clear for a drone. Only at ISO 6400 does noise start to be more obvious. In short, ISO handling is far better than the Mavic 2 Pro, allowing you to shoot at higher ISO settings when you need to in low light without having to worry about chroma and luminance noise being too noticeable. In this regard, the Air 2S completely outperforms the Mavic 2 Pro. There is a cause for this, though. The reason the Air 2S’s raw files are so clear is that, as DJI informed us, they have undergone “temporal denoising technology” to lessen high ISO noise. The outcomes are excellent, but they do raise a crucial query: is a raw file still a raw file if processing is applied? Consumers may lose faith in products like cameras and drones if they can’t be sure that results are honest and accurate if any alleged negative issues in raw files are corrected using in-camera processing.
DJI Air 2S review: Battery life
In our testing, the device’s overall performance and battery were essentially faultless. The Air 2S has a battery life rating of up to 31 minutes, but that is obviously not feasible on the relatively windy coast where we tested it. We never really worried about the battery life, though. A far cry better than many of the earlier models, we were in the air for more than 20 minutes before receiving any low battery signal. Additionally, the Air 2S performed flawlessly in the windy conditions. Although you could see it struggling to stabilize itself in the wind, the 3-axis gimbal kept the video looking nice and smooth.
Price and availability
Both a regular kit and the Fly More Bundle are offered for the Mavic Air 2S. The standard package costs £899 (US $999) and includes the drone, controller, one battery, propellers, a backup pair of propellers, a charger, and all necessary cords. In addition to everything in the standard kit, the Fly More Bundle, which costs £1169 / US $1299, also comes with two extra batteries, extra spare propellers, a three battery charging hub, a shoulder bag, and a set of four ND filters.
Conclusion
Because of its many remarkable capabilities, including a one-inch sensor with 20 megapixels fitted into a drone that weighs only 21 ounces, the DJI Air 2S is an intriguing choice for photographers and videographers. The Air 2S is a very capable drone for its price range, with its build quality and features, and it can be used professionally while also being simple to operate for a beginner. The Air 2S’s position as the best drone on the market has been hotly contested for almost a year after it was introduced, especially in light of the recent release of the Mavic 3. In our opinion, it is.
