Hi, what's up Steemians! Last week DJI released their new drone its name is Mavic Air and it is probably the best bang for the buck drone right now. As a drone enthusiast I couldn't wait to see what the DJI company prepared for us and now one week after the release here's my little review so let’s begin.
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Designed for portability
You know what they say: the best camera is the one you have on you. Keeping that in mind Mavic Air is something you can easily carry around with you on your adventures. It is so small that you can almost stick it in a jacket pocket. You don't need any special backpack because this drone folds up with the footprint little bit larger than a smartphone. The DJI Mavic Air comes in three colors: white, black and red. It's been designed to be simple and that's exactly what it is.
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Image quality and intelligent fly modes
The Mavic Air has a powerful 12-megapixel camera combined with a 3-axis improved gimbal. It shoots 12 megapixels stills with the ability to take RAW files, and the camera has an incredible 32-megapixel sphere panorama mode. 8 GB of internal storage plus a Micro SD card slot is more than enough storage. The video goes up to 4K 30Fps with 100Mbps and 1080p 120Fps. Footage that comes from this small camera is absolutely great and everything looks sharp and rich as long you shoot during the day and as the sun goes down camera small 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor begins to show its flaws. It also has built-in front, down and backward obstacle avoiding sensors so it’s really hard to crash it into something. The major distinction between the old DJI Mavic Pro and the Mavic Air is that Air relies on a Wi-Fi connection rather than radio frequency. Because of that maximum range is only 4 km which is almost half the distance of the Mavic Pro. When I fly my drone I always try to use different intelligent fly modes and Mavic Air is packed with them but I will write a separate post describing each one of them.
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Battery life speed and range
Despite its small size, the Mavic air Can fly for 21 minutes on a single charge, reaching speeds of 48kph in sport mode.By the time you get it up in the air plus the time to bring it back for landing it leaves you less than 15 minutes to capture footage. I think it is it’s biggest limiting factor but you can always buy more batteries.
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Conclusion
With the price of $799, Mavic Air is the newest and most advanced drone that size available on the market today. For those looking for a portable drone, but don't quite need the longest possible battery life or extreme range Air is just perfect. But for everybody looking to shoot some professional looking or night footage, I suggest to be patient and wait for the Mavic Pro 2 release that will happen probably later this year.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great compact design | Image quality in low light |
| Clever obstacle avoidance system | Short battery life is limiting |
| Fun autonomous flight modes | Wi-Fi connection range |
| Price |
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