DJI Mini 2 vs DJI Mavic Mini Camera Drone Spec Comparison

Spec Comparison of the DJI Mini 2 and the DJI Mavic Mini

In this comparison, we compare the specs of the brand new for 2020 the DJI Mini 2 and the original sub 249g version of this drone which took the world by storm, the DJI Mavic Mini camera drone.

The DJI Mavic Mini was released in summer of 2019 as a tiny micro camera drone for consumer and professional use, although it was advertised more as a hobby drone, but in the right hands, is an incredible camera drone in it's own right.

2020 is coming to a close and with it, DJI have released a brand new camera drone which follows on from the Mavic Mini original and is now called the DJI Mini 2.

Physical Differences Between the DJI Mavic Mini and the DJI Mini 2

Looking at them side by side, there are almost no visible physical differences, the props have a different colour at the tips and you can see a 4K icon on the cameras lens, but other than that, they look almost identical.

The diagonal length of each camera drone in their folded state is still the exact same, at 213mm from corner to corner.

The dimensions only differ by a few mm here and there, with the DJI Mavic Mini having dimensions of 140 × 82 × 57 mm and the Mini 2 having dimensions of 138 × 81 × 58 mm. This gives the Mavic Mini camera drone a volume of 654cm cubed and the Mini 2 a volume of 648cm cubed, making it a tiny bit smaller.

This isn't noticeable visually but the difference is there.

They are both still 249gram camera drones and both come in under the 250gram FAA and CAA drone weight requirements for licencing and flying.

Performance Differences Between the DJI Mavic Mini and the DJI Mini 2

Here is where we start to see the first real differences between the two cameras, some of the updates make the DJI Mini 2 a more practical camera drone, especially in bad weather and that means one thing, more flying time, which is a great advantage over the original.

The max speed of the DJI Mini 2 has been improved over the original DJI Mavic Mini, it's now capable of speeds of up to 57kmh, which is over 10kmh faster than the DJI Mavic Mini.

This goes the same for the ascent speed as well, an improvement of 1m/s which means quicker take-off speeds and times to get you in the air quicker.

The descent speed is similar but the max wind speed has been improved too. With the new DJI Mini 2 capable of max wind speeds of up to 37kmh, a 9kmh improvement. This means you are far more likely to go out in higher winds and windy areas like mountains and the coast.

To us this is the biggest improvement they have made, bigger than the 4K camera they have added. Because now you can definitely fly the drone much further and in more weather scenarios and that is exactly why you get a camera drone, to fly and you don't want the weather to control your flying times.

The max flight altitude has now improved and is at 4000m, which is 1000m higher than the original Mavic Mini drone.

Another big improvement is that of transmission distance, you now get well over double the distance with an estimated 10km transmission distance between the drone and the camera.

This means you can fly further away because of the new OccuSync 2 feature that they also have on the Mavic Air 2.

Flight time has also been improved by 1minute, to a total of 31 minutes flying time. Even this one minute can make all of the difference, with 30 seconds either side to get the drone in to position and to land.

You get a downward-facing sensor for landing and obstacle avoidance with the new Mini 2 too.

Taking the charge time and battery life of each camera drone, you get an uptime score of 25/100 for the DJI Mavic Mini and a small but important improvement with the DJI Mini 2 of 27/100.

Another area and feature not talked about in specs is theoretical max distance each camera drone can fly.

Here there has been a major improvement, from 23km for the DJI Mavic Mini, to a whopping potential 47km for a single flight for the DJI Mini 2 camera drone.

As you can see, improvements are small but in many areas on the new DJI Mini 2.

Photo and Video Differences Between the DJI Mavic Mini and the DJI Mini 2

You may be aware of the new 4K camera that comes as standard with the new DJI Mini 2 drone, but there are some other differences between the two cameras on each of these drones that go past just the 4K video.

They both have the same field of view and focal length of 24mm and a FOV of 83degrees.

The bitrate has improved from 40mbps to 100mbps, which means more quality recorded and data per video that you record. Perfect for those wanting to do post-grading on their video.

The image sensor is the same size, at 1/2.3" which is common on camera drones, action cameras, smart phones and has a diagonal size of 7.6mm.

You still get a 12mp photo resolution but this time, you can take raw photos in DNG format! The original DJI Mavic Mini just shot in JPEG mode.

You get very similar photo shooting modes and video modes between both camera drones. One of our favourite improvements is the auto exposure bracketing which takes multiple shots at the same time, with one being under exposed, one being the correct exposure and one being over exposed. This can create great HDR photos or help you with editing in post and you can choose between the photos to edit and use.

You also get panorama shot modes for photography and a cool digital zoom which looks pretty good in some of the reviews we've checked.

This is especially good for wildlife photography where you want to keep the drone away, be silent and still get close up footage from the sky and aerial shots.

The biggest difference in the video is that you now record 4k video at 24, 25 and 30fps. Compared to the Mavic Mini which recorded up to 2.7k at 30fps.

There are still no slow motion frame rates, with only 60fps at 1080p, but that is enough for most people, but we would have liked at least 90-120fps at 1080p, just in case and to add a whole new dynamic to the video shooting options and features.

Summary of Differences Between the DJI Mini 2 and the DJI Mavic Mini

The two main features that we absolutely love are the max speed, max wind speed (we've counted these as one), and the 4k camera.

With these two features alone, you know you have the chance to fly more in bad weather, compared to with the original Mavic Mini, you may not want to risk higher winds incase you would lose your drone.

Now you can continue to be safe in small to medium wind speeds and still take the drone out knowing it can perform in stronger winds.

This is the best new feature we like, because a drone in the sky is better than any drone not capable of flying and is sat back in your home collecting dust.

The second improvement we love is the 4K camera, there isn't any slow motion frame rates, but the 4K will enable you to record in this resolution and downsize to 2.7k or 1080p and enable you to digitally zoom in and punch in on the shots by cropping parts you want to keep.

This is invaluable for re-framing a shot you might have just missed when out flying, recropping a 4k to 1080p video for youtube is just a great feature to have and one we personally use a lot.

We haven't even mentioned the OccuSync 2.0 which enables longer flying distances, of up to 10km but we personally rarely fly more than 2-3km from where we are stood and always aim to have the drone in sight.

Overall, for not much more, it's a fantastic set of upgrades compared to the original Mavic Mini.