DJI Mavic Air 2 vs Yuneec Mantis Q Camera Drone Comparison

Spec Comparison of the DJI Mavic Air 2 and the Yuneec Mantis Q

In this comparison we compare the DJI Mavic Air 2 and the Yuneec Mantis Q which are both folding camera drones for aerial photography and drone film making. The Yuneec and DJI brands both manufacture and sell high-end professional camera drones and quadcopters.

These two models are their smaller, more portable camera drone range and cost $999 for the DJI Mavic Air 2 and $399 for the Yuneec.

The Yuneec is the older of the two, having been out for 2 years now, released in 2018, with the DJI Mavic Air 2 having been released more recently in 2020 just a few months ago.

Physical Comparison

These two folding arm camera drones are very similar in size, both have folding arms and are nearly identical in diagonal length when folded up in their smallest form.

They are about 20cm in length diagonally, with the other dimensions being smaller on the Yuneec, this makes this camera drone the smallest of the two.

The DJI Mavic Air 2 is 1.5L in volume, exactly 1466cm³ and the Yuneec Mantis Q is 935cm³ in volume, making it half a litre smaller than the MA2.

The Yuneec is the lighter of the two drones at 480grams in ready to fly weight, with the Mavic Air 2 weighing 570 grams in total.

Performance Comparison

In terms of performance, it is surprising to see that the Yuneec Mantis Q is actually the faster of the two drones, not by much but it can top out at 72kmh compared to 68kmh of the Mavic Air 2.

They have similar ascent and descent speeds of 4m/s.

What lets the Yuneec Mantis Q down is that of transmission distance, with only 1km available to it, compared to the incredible 10km of the Mavic Air 2.

They do though have near identical flying times, with the Mavic Air 2 just beating the Yuneec in this department. The MA2 can fly for up to 34 minutes and the Yuneec can fly for 33 minutes.

Photo and Video Comparison

The Yuneec has a unique feature comaring to most other camera drones. It has a super wide field of view, similar to an action cameras wide FOV at 117° degrees. This is huge in comparison to the DJI Mavic Air 2 which uses a 84° degree field of view camera.

So at the same height you will see far more with the Yuneec than you will with the DJI Mavic Air 2. This is great for those wanting to scan local areas for activity on the ground.

The video bitrate of the DJI Mavic Air 2 is 120 mbps and 20 mbps more than the Yuneec Mantis Q which is 100 mbps.

They are both 4K video camera drones with the DJI Mavic Air 2 using a 1/2" inch Sony IMX586 image sensor, compared to the 1/3" image sensor of the Yuneec. This makes the MA2 image sensor 2mm larger diagonally and better for low light and other settings.

They both take 12MP raw photos but the DJI is also capable of 48mp photos which is perfect for those wanting to do larger prints or crop in to their photos.

You get more video resolutions and frame rates with the DJI, 240fps at 1080p and 4K comes with 60fps, compared to the 30fps of the Yuneec.

As well as HDR video and d-cinelike flat profile for colour grading goodness in post.

The biggest difference though is the 3-axis gimbal on the Mavic Air 2 and the 2-axis that is used by the Yuneec. It also implements electronic image stabilisation to help with the smoothness of the footage. Similar to the DJI Spark, you can still get fantastic footage but it just won't be as smooth when you are yawing or turning the camera drone, this is made for fixed direction flying if you want to get the smoothest footage you can with the 2-axis gimbal.

Summary

The DJI Mavic Air 2 is nearly 3x the price but it does come with three times the features, it is a fantastic drone.

The Yuneec seems great for the money but is limited by that 2-axis gimbal, still great for single line flying and photography and it is a very fast drone which has a long flying time for being 2 years old.

If you're getting in to aerial photography or drone film making you can't go wrong with either.