DJI Mavic Air 2 vs DJI Mavic 2 Zoom Camera Drone Comparison

Spec Comparison of the DJI Mavic Air 2 and the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom

In this article we compare the two high end camera drones by DJI, the brand new for 2020, the DJI Mavic Air 2 and the 2 years old DJI Mavic 2 Zoom.

There is not much between them in terms of price, with the Mavic Air 2 retailing at $999 and the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom retailing at around $1249.

Physical Comparison

The size difference is not that much, they are both folding drones but the difference between these two camera drones is just under 200cm cubed.

The Mavic Air 2 is 1.4L in volume and the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom is 1.6L in total volume in their smallest form.

The weight difference is much bigger, with the Mavic Air 2 weighing in at 570grams ready to fly and the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom at 905 grams ready to fly.

Performance Comparison

They are both high speed camera drones for film making, capable of speeds around 70kmh which is very good for following vehicles or flying down mountains.

They have similar ascent and descent speeds as well, with 4m/s up and down for the MA2 and 5m/s for the M2Z ascent and 3m/s for its descent.

They share the wind speed tolerance too of 38kmh. This is pretty good but not the best when comparin to other camera drones which are capable of much more.

The transmission distance is a little better on the Mavic Air 2, capable of 10km transmission. The Mavic 2 Zoom is capable of 8km transmission back to its remote control.

Flight time is over 30 minutes for both camera drones, which is a requirement in most drones now.

The Mavic Air 2 comes out on top, with 34 minutes total flight time and 31 minutes for the Mavic 2 Zoom, respectable for a drone released in 2018.

Photo and Video Comparison

Here is where we start to see much bigger differences, between the two cameras.

The Mavic Air 2 has a fixed field of view and focal length, its FOV is 84 degrees and is always that.

The Mavic 2 Zoom, because of it's unique zoom feature is capable of 83degrees fully wide angle to much smaller. It is only one of a few camera drones with optical zoom on the camera gimbal.

The Mavic Air 2 can record up to 120 mbps with its 4k video camera, were the Mavic 2 Zoom does so at 100 mbps for 4K footage.

Another difference, but only slight, is that of the image sensor size, the Mavic Air 2 has a larger sensor, but be less than half a millimetre.

The MA2 camera drone uses a 1/2" sized image sensor, the same as the Autel Evo II 8K.

The Mavic 2 Zoom uses a more commonly used 1/2.3" sized image sensor.

This means that the Mavic Air 2 is capable of taking 48mp photos and 4K video footage at 60fps and 240fps at 1080p which is very impressive.

The Mavic 2 Zoom is more standard and does 1080p at 120fps, 4k at 30fps and relies more on the unique zoom feature on the camera drone.

They can both take RAW photos in DNG format and have flat profile video formats when taking video. The Mavic Air 2 can take D-cinelike and the same with the Mavic 2 Zoom, which is great in post for colour grading your own footage.

You get other features such as HDR video and panorama and timelapse features the Mavic 2 Zoom does not get and a host of other auto shooting modes to help with your photography and video work.

They both use a 3-axis gimbal to smooth out their footage.

Summary

The Mavic Air 2 is a lot of drone for the money, especially when comparing it to the Mavic 2 Zoom which costs more and has a fair few less features on the spec sheet.

You get a longer flight time, lighter camera drone, timelapse and slow motion to challenge any of the best camera drones on the market.

You get a professional camera drone in that of the Mavic 2 Zoom and an optical feature which isn't seen on any other consumer folding arm camera drone.