Brand New DJI Mavic 2 Pro/ Zoom Drone: My Initial Thoughts + The One I Ordered & Why

brand new DJI Mavic 2 pro Zoom drone leak highres-1

I just finished watching the live stream of the DJI Mavic 2 event…

and I have to say I am even more excited than I was when I first started reading the leaks. Why?

Well today DJI released two different versions of their Mavic drone line and they both have some impressive features that weren’t leaked before the event.

To get you up to speed you need to know there are now two different versions, the Mavic 2 Zoom and the Mavic 2 Pro.

Mavic 2 Drone Specs:
  • Both drones come with 8GB of onboard storage (storage can still be increased with a microSD card)
  • Both drones shoot 4K footage at up to 100 megabits per second (which means better-looking footage)
  • Both drones have a top speed of 44 mph (whoa!)
  • Both drones get 31 minutes of flight time (first Mavic was 28mins)
  • Both drones have 10 sensors for obstacle avoidance which means they have up & down, forward & backward, left & right obstacle sensing (for added peace of mind)
  • Both drones have the new OcuSync 2.0 system which means you’ll get great looking 1080p live image transmission (niceeee)
  • Both drones have a maximum range of up to five miles (line of sight anyone?)
  • Both drones are quieter than the first Mavic (great news)
  • Both drones have the new Hyperlapse mode (sooooooo cool)

Day to night DJI Mavic 2 hyperlapse


 

1) Mavic 2 Zoom: 2x optical zoom lens = $1,249

The Mavic 2 Zoom features:
  • 2x optical lens which means it can zoom from a wide 24mm view to a slightly narrower telephoto 48mm view

DJI Mavic 2 Zoom – 24mm compared to 48mm

 

DJI Mavic 2 Zooming In

 

  • 1/2.3-inch sensor (same size as the first Mavic)
  • 12-megapixel photos
  • “Super Resolution” mode for those who feel like they are missing out on the 20mp Pro. This means the drone will take nine photos and stitch them into a larger 48-megapixel slightly cropped image.
  • “Dolly zoom” mode which is a super cool move where the drone’s camera zooms in while the drone flies backward at the same time

DJI Mavic 2 Dolly Zoom

 


 

2) Mavic 2 Pro: Hasselblad-designed camera = $1,449


The Mavic 2 Pro features:
  • 1-inch, CMOS sensor (this is bigger than the original Mavic sensor and mirrors the sensor size of DJI’s more expensive Phantom 4 Pro drone)
  • Shoots 20-megapixel pictures (an upgrade over the original Mavic’s 12-megapixel cam)
  • Uses Hasselblad’s proprietary Natural Color Solution (HNCS) technology to get more accurate color reproduction
  • The camera has a variable f2.8-f11 aperture (f/2.8 is great for low light shooting)
  • Shoots 10-bit (instead of 8-bit) which gives you much more latitude for color correcting and color grading
  • Supports 4K 10-bit HDR

DJI Mavic 2 Hyperlapse

Having a larger sensor is the main reason why I love my DJI Phantom 4 Pro so pairing a smaller Mavic drone with a Hasselblad camera & 1″ inch sensor means the imagery from this drone is going to be noticeably better than the original Mavic!


Images taken with the Mavic Pro 2:

DJI Mavic 2 photo 1

DJI Mavic 2 photo 2

DJI Mavic 2 photo


 

Which version did I buy? 

I ended up ordering the Mavic 2 Pro mostly because it has the superior Hasselblad camera. I know the zooming feature will be super awesome on the Mavic 2 Zoom (I’m really disappointed the Mavic 2 Pro doesn’t have it) because you will be able to do some really cool effects with it like the classic Hitchcock dolly zoom effect seen below:

Dolly Zoom Effect

Dolly zoom effect with a DJI Mavic 2

….but since I have to pick only one drone (for now, ha), I think that if I really wanted to get closer to something I will just fly over to it or crop in on it since those will be my only options. Now I am not saying those things are the same exact thing as zooming in on something because the background does get compressed which will create a really nice effect. But I think for my current needs I will be ok without the zoom feature……again at least for now :)

Now this isn’t to say that I think the Mavic 2 Zoom isn’t gonna be an awesome drone. I just want to spend my money getting the absolutely best image quality possible with the best aerial camera for a drone this size.

 

What’s next?

Be sure to keep an eye out for my Mavic 2 unboxing and first flight video/post.

Also let me know if there is anything you want me to test on the new Mavic 2 drone once I get it so I can add it to the video and blog post I will do on the From Where I Drone website in the coming weeks.

 


 

DJI Mavic 2 Questions…

From Where I Drone Readers asked the following questions:

  1. Will the Mavic 1 batteries work in the Mavic 2? ANSWER = No, unfortunately the Mavic 2 batteries are bigger

 

Over to you…

Click here to learn more about the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom and the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and then shoot me back a message letting me know what Mavic 2 drone you are most interested in and why!

Finally, if you feel like supporting From Where I Drone I would be grateful if you considered using any of my DJI, Amazon, or Adorama links if you happen to decide on buying something. I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Thanks so much in advance for your support in this way, happy flying!

 


Let’s connect!

If you enjoyed this please consider staying up to date by signing up for my email newsletter and then follow From Where I Drone on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

 


ABOUT AUTHOR
Dirk Dallas bio photo From Where I DroneDirk Dallas, also known online as @dirka, is the founder and curator of From Where I Drone, a blog dedicated to inspiring and teaching drone pilots how to create better aerial photos and videos.

 


 

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