Just got the DJI Mavic Air 2 - first impressions

DJI Mavic Air 2 is probably the best-selling drone in 2020 and here our first impressions with it

The Mavic Air 2 drone - our first impressions

Hi there drone fans! It is another day in the office but today we are supper excited because we just got a new drone - the mighty DJI Mavic Air 2.

You've probably already heard much about this new drone, released by DJI couple of months ago but we want to share with you our first impressions and tell you some interesting facts about it.

Mavic Air 2 - first impressions

Now let us tell you more about the first touch with the Air 2 right after the unboxing. There are much positive things to say about this drone at first hand - it is quite compact and lightweight considering its flight capabilities and features and also looks like a well made product.

The Mavic Air 2 casing is almost entirely made of durable (at least we hope it is durable...) plastic and is colored in light gray. We are not sure if this is the most suitable color for a drone since it gets quite camouflaged in the air and it was quite often that we lost it out of sight during our first couple of flights.

Our first impressions video review:

In the box you get 3 pairs of low-noise propellers with the standard version and 6 of these with the Fly More Combo. Other things that were included in our basic (and cheaper) version: 3x RC cables with connectors for different devices, battery charger, AC cable, gimbal protector, Type-C cable, spare control-sticks, the aircraft, intelligent flight battery and remote controller.

The drone was nicely packaged in a thick white cardboard box:

Unboxing the Mavic Air 2

For the price that we paid for our unit (over $800) it is really a shame that some basic accessories like a simple pouch to keep or carry the drone in (not a bag like in the Fly More Combo) or just 1-2 basic filters are things that we would expect.

Mavic Air 2 remote control with OcuSync 2.0 for some great coverage

We are well aware that the accessory business takes a huge part in the drone and any other industry but it is really a shame that even for a premium price some of these fine-touches are missing.

Just a quick note here: even when we tested a cheap $40 Philips shaver the other day it got a carrying pouch and tons of accessories.

Functionality

To get a better idea of the Mavic Air 2, here are some of its key differentiators that make it stand out from the crowd:

48 MP camera
4k video mode with up to 60 frames per second (240 fps in 1080p)
8k Hyperlapse
Up to 34 minutes of flight time (more realistically around 27-28)
3-axis gimbal system for the camera
Obstacle Sensing with forward, backward and downward sensors
Up to 10 km video transmission in HD thanks to OcuSync 2.0 - much improved over the previous generation
Intelligent flight modes

First flight with the Mavic Air 2

During our first test flights we were really impressed with how stable the drone was and how good the transmission kept the whole flight. DJI really did a great job here and the only thing that was missing at first glance were the side obstacle sensor which really help in some conditions - we guess they decided to keep this feature for the more expensive models like the Pro and Zoom.

For now we've only tested the Circle and Rocket QuickShot modes but we will go through all of them shortly. In these two modes the Air 2 did just great - stable image with great quality.

DJI Mavic Air 2 - battery life

On our first couple of flights with the Mavic Air 2 we managed to squeeze around 25 minutes on the average.

Under a very strong wind that we experienced the other day the performance figures dropped with some 15-20%.

Here we shout point out that we are still among the most experienced drone pilots so probably there will be some tome to optimize the flight and battery performance in general.

Mavic Air 2 Image and Video quality

Great, it is just great! We have a lot of superlatives about the image and video quality on the shots that we made with the Mavic Air 2. The 4k video is sharp and bright even in darker conditions and full of detail. We would like to get some ND filters (included in the Fly More Combo) and see how these would do but will get these some time later.

Mavic Air 2 Circle QuickShot - video

We are also glad that the camera has 48-megapixels which will allow us to crop on the spots that we are interested in and use them the best way and resolution possible.

Well, this pretty much sums it up to our consumer feedback after testing the DJI Mavic Air 2 for the first time. Please leave your comments about this product in the form below, we will be happy to hear your opinion about the Mavic Air 2.