DJI has upgraded its mid-level Mavic Air 2 drone. The new drone is named in Apple-style – ‘Mavic Air 2S‘, which comes with a much larger image sensor. Mavic Air 2S has a one-inch sensor that is capable of shooting 20 MP photos and 5.4K videos. Along with the sensor site, Mavic Air 2S includes more impressive features.
The camera sensor size of Air 2S is larger than the half-inch sensor of last year’s Air 2 and is the same size as that of Mavic 2 Pro. That one-inch sensor will shoot similar quality photos and videos as the Mavic 2 Pro. The Air 2S has a slightly wide focal length of 22mm. Previous DJI drones have either 24 or 28mm focal length.
The mechanism of digital zoom is also another feature of Air 2S and it depends on the shooting mode you’re in. While shooting in 1080p / 30fps you can zoom up to 8x; with 1080p / 60fps, you can zoom 6x; with 4K / 60 zoom can be done up to 3x; and 4K / 30 permits 4x zoom. But the digital zoom can’t be used while taking pictures and shooting video in 5.4K.
The Air 2S includes a new automated flight feature called SmartShots. With smart shots, the drone takes a few footages with pre-programmed styles such as wide circular shots, tight circular shots, dronies, top-downs, etc. After recording the required footages the app automatically generates an edited video that can be shared with friends easily. With 2S you can’t get 8K hyperlapse like on the Mavic Air 2.
DJI claims that all obstacle sensors have been updated. In Air 2S there’s an extra set of sensors at the top of the drone to help with obstacle detection and avoidance, which DJI calls APAS (Advanced Pilot Assistance System). With OcuSync – DJI’s video transmission technology) Air 2S can be flown up to 12 kilometers away but you may not want to fly that far.
Air 2S weighs 595g a bit heavier than its predecessor Air 2 (570g). The battery life of Air 2S is slightly lower than Air 2. Air 2S’s battery life is said to be capable of 31 minutes of flight time compared to the 34 minutes on the Mavic Air 2.
Air 2S has only 8GB of internal storage and you need to get the micro SD memory card seperately for more storage.
The price of Air 2S starts at $999 and is available in a $1299 package that includes two extra batteries, ND filters, a charging hub, and a shoulder bag.
