DJI’s Air 2S has been one of the most popular consumer drones since its launch, and it’s easy to see why. Although this is a mid-tier drone, it comes loaded with many innovative features normally only available in his high-end DJI drone series. The DIJI Air 2S mavic air 2 While the name suggests there’s little difference between the drones, there are actually some major upgrades, most notably the larger 1-inch sensor that comes with the DJI Air 2S. We will discuss the main features of the drone and how it compares to its competitors.
DJI Air 2S Review
The DJI Air 2S is part of the Mavic series of drones, but like the Mini 2, DJI ditched the Mavic name for some branding reasons.
The overall design of the drone isn’t too different from its predecessor, with some notable differences.
The drone has a diagonal dimension of 302mm, which is the same as the Mavic Air 2, but slightly heavier at 595g, mostly due to the camera and additional sensors.
Still, this is a very lightweight drone that is easy to carry along with its compact foldable design. This is perfect for those who travel a lot and are looking for a good drone for photography.
Like most other drones, there are LED lights at the end of each rotor that indicate different flight states of the drone and also help identify problems with the drone. There are also LED lights on the abdomen to help navigate and land the drone at dusk.
Like most new DJI consumer drones, the Air 2S comes with 8GB of internal memory and has a micro SD card slot on the side of the drone with a maximum capacity of 256GB.
DJI Air 2S Review – Controller
Air 2S uses the DJI RC-N1 controller. This is the same controller as the Air 2 and Mini 2 but uses DJI’s new transmission system 03 which gives the drone a range of 12km.
The controller is large and very different from the foldable controllers that came with previous Mavic models that many people liked, but that’s fine with me.
It has a telescoping arm that can be pulled out from the top to attach a large smartphone and a dial to take off and land, auto-home, switch flight modes, record video, capture images, and control the gimbal.
To access more advanced features of FPV and drones, you need to download the DJI Fly app.
The Air 2S is also compatible with DJI’s smart controllers and has the added benefit of a 5.5-inch high-brightness LCD screen. It runs on the Android operating system and allows you to download third-party apps for additional features such as live streaming on Facebook and YouTube.
DJI Air 2S Review – Camera
The main feature of this drone is the camera, which has been significantly updated from its predecessor.
The Air 2S is equipped with a 1 inch CMOS sensor with a 22mm focal length, fixed f/2.8 aperture and 88° FOV.
The sensor is much larger than the one on the Air 2, and is the same size as the one on the Mavic 2 Pro.
larger image sensor More details are captured, improving overall image and video quality. One thing to keep in mind is that this is the first drone with a 1-inch sensor for less than $1,000. This is a big deal, given that previous drones with similar sensor sizes cost well over $1,500.
The camera is stabilized by a 3-axis gimbal that can control the tilt range from -90° to 24°, although the pan axis is unfortunately not controllable.
Equipped with a 20MP sensor, the camera can capture images in both JPEG and RAW and comes with multiple photo modes such as Burst, AEB, Panorama and SmartPhoto modes, perfect for HDR without the need for post-processing You can capture a modified image. .
Videos can be recorded in various resolutions and frame rates. The highest is 5.4k at 30fps. Even the more expensive Mavic 2 Pro can’t record at this resolution.
The camera can also record in 4k at 60fps, 2.7k at 60fps and FHD at 120fps with a maximum video bitrate of 150Mbps.
Video can be recorded in 10-bit D-log, giving you more flexibility for color correction in post-production. this is, mavic 2 pro And a big upgrade to Mavic Air 2.
The camera also has a high ISO range that allows you to capture more details in low light and reduce image noise for sharper photos.
There is also a zoom feature that allows you to zoom up to 8x, but this is a digital zoom feature, so zooming results in a grainy image. You can take a closer look at something without moving the drone.
The drone has an internal memory capacity of 8GB. This is a new addition to his latest DJI drone, but not enough memory, especially for those who record video in HD.
It has an external memory compartment that accepts micro SD with a maximum capacity of 256 GB and has a UHS-I speed grade 3 rating.
Flight features
The Air 2S comes with 3 flight modes: Normal, Sport and Cine. This is the same as most other Mavic models, but the Cine can go into tripod mode.
Normal and Cine modes are similar to each other, most of the drone’s features are available in these modes and are the easiest to operate.
In Sport mode, the controls are a little more sensitive and the drone can reach a top speed of 68 km/h.
There is an altitude hall mode that activates when the GNSS signal is weak, disabling the obstacle avoidance sensors. This is the most difficult mode to control as flight stabilization is not available. It’s good to practice to improve your flying skills, but you need to do it in a large area.
The drone is powered by an intelligent battery that provides 31 minutes of flight time, which most people achieve around 28 minutes when flying under perfect conditions, which is still very good. .
Flight time is on par with the Mavic 2 Pro, but slightly shorter than the Mavic Air 2. This is probably because the Air 2 is lighter and uses a similar type of battery.
intelligent function
The Air 2S is packed with many intelligent features that make flying and taking photos and videos easier.
The drone comes with several autonomous flight modes including Spotlight, ActiveTrack and Point of Interest (POI). All of these flight modes can be found in his FocusTrack menu in the DJI Fly app.
These modes allow you to focus the camera on your subject. Depending on the tracking mode selected, the drone will either follow a person/object (ActiveTrack), or circle a POI, or the camera will be stationary if in spotlight mode. On the subject while manually operating the drone.
The drone has a new feature called MasterShot, which is like an evolution of the QuickShot feature that comes with the Mavic 2, Air 2, Mini 2, and Mavic Mini.
With Master Shot, you can create short cinematic videos while the drone automatically performs 10 different maneuvers.
QuickShots work similarly to MasterShots, but instead of performing different actions, the drone will perform one of a total of six actions you can choose from.
Both are fun ways to create cool short videos that can be easily edited and shared on social media.
You can also create time-lapse videos using the Hyperlaspe feature. This feature he has four flight modes, and each mode allows you to adjust the time between each photo, the length of the video, and the maximum speed.
Finally, the drone is equipped with an intelligent home function, which is manually activated via buttons on the controller or the DJI Fly app. This feature is also automatically triggered if the drone loses connection or the battery charge is low.
Obstacle avoidance system
The Air 2S comes with an upgraded obstacle avoidance system and features 4-way obstacle sensing. It improves on the Air 2’s 3-way sensing and avoidance system, but falls short of the Mavic 2 Pro’s omni-directional system.
The obstacle avoidance system is good, but not effective in areas with many nearby obstacles, such as in a forest, where there are many trees around. and DJI hasn’t found an answer yet, but the Mavic 3 is close.
Is the DJI Air 2S Worth It?
Whether the DJI Air 2S is worth it depends on your specific needs and use cases.
The DJI Air 2S is a high-quality drone with many advanced features, including a 1-inch sensor camera capable of capturing 20-megapixel still photos and 5.4K video at 30 frames per second. It also has a maximum flight time of 31 minutes and a video transmission range of 12 km.
If you’re a photographer, videographer, or want to capture high-quality aerial footage, the DJI Air 2S is for you. However, if you’re just looking for a drone to fly for fun, there are other, more affordable options available.
Ultimately, you’ll have to decide if the DJI Air 2S is worth the investment based on your specific needs and budget.
Replacement for DJI Air 2S
The main alternative to the Air 2S is the drone I mentioned throughout this review. They are Air 2 and Mavic Pro 2. The table below shows their main features and their differences.
