Xiaomi Fimi X8 SE 2020 vs DJI Mavic Air 2 Camera Drone Comparison

Spec Comparison of the Xiaomi Fimi X8 SE 2020 and the DJI Mavic Air 2

Both these camera drones have been released in 2020 making them two of the newest drones on the market for aerial photography and film making.

The price difference is the first big thing we notice, with the Xiaomi Fimi X8 SE 2020 being less than half price of the Mavic Air 2, this is a considerable price difference and puts the Xiaomi Fimi X8 SE 2020 in good stead.

The first physical difference is that of the diagonal length in their smallest form and folded up. The Xiaomi Fimi X8 SE 2020 is 372mm in length and the DJI Mavic Air 2 is 302, which is 7cm shorter diagonally than the Fimi.

In terms of dimensions and volume difference, there isn't much in it, the Fimi X8 SE 2020 is 2cm longer but is nearly 1cm shorter in height.

The dimensions make up the volume of 1556cm³ for the Fimi X8 SE 2020 and 1466cm³ which is 90cm cubed more in size for the Fimi X8 SE 2020. This is about the size of a small action camera in difference, so negligable and not so noticeable.

We are unaware of the exact size of the DJI Mavic Air 2 controller, but believe it is considerably larger than the Fimi X8 SE 2020 controller. This means that although the Mavic Air 2 is slightly smaller in volume and dimensions, when you pair the drone, with a battery fitted and it's remote controller, you'll actually end up with a larger space used by the drone setup.

We think this is a very important factor when it comes to portability as you aren't going to take a drone with you without the controller, unless it's the Skydio 2 with which you can use just your smart phone if you choose to.

The weight of the two drones have a little more difference, with a total weight of 765grams for the X8 SE 2020 and 570grams for the Mavic Air 2. This is a difference of 195grams between the two drones, in favour of the Mavic Air 2.

Again, with the weight, the controller on the Fimi X8 SE 2020 should be lighter as it is much smaller so this may move the balance in favour of the Fimi or at least put them on a level playing field when it comes to weight and portability, but we'll be sure to update this when we have the correct weight details of the Mavic Air 2 controller.

The Fimi X8 SE for 2020 has increased it's field of view by 1 degree, moving it up to a 80° FOV. But this is 4 degrees smaller than that of the Mavic Air 2, which comes in at 84°. So if you want to see more from the same spot, the Mavic Air 2 just beats the Fimi on this one.

The max speeds of 65kmh and 68kmh are almost identical and won't be noticed from the ground. But they are both high speed portable camera film making drones which means you can follow cars, motorbikes, horses and mountain bikers, etc easily with these two drones.

You do get a slightly faster take off and ascent speed with the Fimi X8 SE 2020 at 5m/s, compared to 4m/s with the Mavic Air 2.

One considerable difference is that in max wind speed, we've seen some amazing footage from the 2018 Fimi X8 SE in high winds and it looks like you can take out the 2020 version in winds of up to 50kmh, but we're sure with it's extra weight over the Mavic Air 2 it could handle even more.

The DJI Mavic Air 2 can handle wind speeds of up to 38kmh which is 12kmh slower than the Fimi. If you're looking to get in to windy spots more often than not, mountainous areas, high up or coast line, the Fimi should be the safer option.

Transmission distance is both very high on the two camera drones, with the Fimi being advertised as 8km and the Mavic Air 2 advertised at 10km, a 2km difference. This is something you can increase yourself though with good positioning of your controller and even transmission distance enhancers which will focus the direction of your controller.

You get a 1 minute advertised extra flight time with the Fimi X8 SE 2020 which could mean all the difference. We are always out on trails, leaving the car and vehicle well behind which means we have to be as light as possible, so having the option to take just one battery with us can make a huge difference, especially on over nighters or multi-night outdoor adventures.

The downside is that the batteries take twice as long to charge with the Fimi X8 SE 2020 compared to the Mavic Air 2, so you'll either want to have all the batteries you'll need for a shoot with you or you're going to have to wait a couple of hours for a battery recharge.

With the speed of each camera drone and flight time, we have worked out the distance that each camera drone could fly in one flight, theoretically. This is just another comparison feature we've added to help compare camera drones more deeply.

And with these two film making drones they are literally the same, both around 38km based on their flight time and speed. You get a touch more flight time with the Fimi but a tad less top end speed, and the opposite with the Mavic Air 2, less flight time but a higher max speed, which balanced them out nicely.

If noise level is a concern and you want to be as quiet as you can, especially when flying over groups of people, the Fimi X8 SE 2020 has a decibel level of about 68db at head height which drops the higher you go. The Mavic Air 2 is a little bit louder at 74decibels, so not by much but maybe too much for some.

The Mavic Air 2 has Occusync which the Fimi does not, which can help it with longer distance flights in the air. Apparently this is meant to be improved upon from the Mavic 2 Pro which also has it, so that is pretty cool and something help you worry less on long flights and not losing the video transmission.

Camera and Video Comparison of the Xiaomi Fimi X8 SE 2020 and the DJI Mavic Air 2

We are still unaware as to what the image sensor is in the Xiaomi Fimi X8 SE 2020, but the Mavic Air 2 has had it's sensor advertised from the off.

The DJI Mavic Air 2 comes with a 1/2" sized image sensor which is just under 1mm larger diagonally than the advertised image sensor size of 1/2.6" for the Fimi X8 SE 2020.

In regards to the photography between the two cameras, you get 12MP photos with the Fimi X8 SE 2020 and 48MP photo capability with the Mavic Air 2.

This is much larger and great for those wanting to get in to prints and large format photography. 

Both can shoot in JPEG and RAW saving them as DNG files so you save a lot more information with each photo to better edit in post and colour grade.

You get a number of photo modes with each drone, manual features and HDR amongst other photo types.

For the video side of things you get flat profiles with both camera drones, F-Log for the Fimi and D-Cinelike for the Mavic Air 2.

They both shoot 1080p, slow motion footage and 4K video, You also get slightly more framerates with the Mavic Air 2, of 120fps at 1080p compared to 100fps for the Fimi, but that might update in the future with a firmware update.

You get 4K 30fps for the Fimi X8 SE 2020 and 4K 60fps for the Mavic Air 2, but the word on the grapevine is that the image sensor is capable of 4K 60fps for the Xiaomi Fimi X8 SE 2020 so that might come in a future firmware update too.

You get HDR video with both camera drones so if you don't want to shoot in RAW video and a flat profile to later color grade, you can shoot in HDR for easy and quick video files to share.

Summary

If you have the money, all $799/$999 for the DJI Mavic Air 2, you're going to get a slightly better camera drone, in terms of photo and video capabilities and potentially better aftermarket support. The hyperlapse and shooting features like spotlight look fantastic and the Fimi just isn't capable of recreating.

It is a solid film making drone that we can see beginners, intermediate and even professional drone operators using to make stunning aerial film footage.

If you don't have that sort of money, for $399/$499 depending on where you look, you will be getting a camera drone that compares in many ways with the Mavic Air 2.

When you compare on price alone and the features and tech that come with each drone, the Xiaomi Fimi X8 SE 2020 is our preffered choice. You get a minute extra battery time which is 3.12% increase in flight time, which is considerable when you only have minutes to fly with anyway.

Added to that, the better wind resistance, you can fit many parts to the drone from the original X8 SE 2020 as it uses the same body, parts and accessories.

We're sure that whatever camera drone you choose you'll be on to a winner.