Is a Foldable Drone for You?

2017-04-11

If you’ve invested in a high-quality camera drone over the last few years, you have probably found yourself in one of the following scenarios:

Grumpily lugging a massive, heavy case around while praying you get some unique aerial shots that justify the effort.
Watching your drone collect dust on a shelf because you think it’s too big to take outside.

Now envision a camera drone that can fit into a small DSLR-sized camera bag and weighs no more than 2–3 pounds, including extra batteries. A drone that you can have flying in just 15 seconds. A camera drone that you can just pull out of your bag, unfold, turn on, and launch into the air to begin your next aerial adventure.

These qualities are exactly what DJI envisioned with their foldable drones, the Mavic Pro and Mavic Air, and Mavic 2 on DJI.com. Some of you may be thinking that portability inevitably means inferior hardware, camera capabilities, and so on. However, these drones quickly dispel those beliefs. With their foldable design and advanced features, Mavic drones bring you the best of both portability and intelligence.

If you’re looking for high-end technology that is convenient to carry wherever you go, these are the foldable drones for you! Let’s take a look at some of the features that set DJI’s Mavic series apart from the pack.

Portability

The DJI Mavic Pro folds down to the size of a water bottle, making it small enough to pack in your carry-on luggage or hiking backpack. The compact design extends to its pocket-sized controller, familiarly built like a gaming console controller, with precise functions to help you fly like an expert.

Half the size of the Mavic Pro, the Mavic Air takes foldability and portability to the next level. With foldable landing gear and detachable control sticks, the Mavic Air is amazingly compact and easy to take anywhere.

At about the same size as the Mavic Pro, the Mavic 2 is the latest addition to DJI’s Mavic series, so you can expect the latest technology and features available. This portable drone comes in two powerful versions: Pro and Zoom, both of which can easily fit in a small carrying case or backpack.

Camera

The gimbal camera on the Mavic Pro uses the same sensor as the Phantom 4, shooting 4K video at 30fps and full 1080p HD at 96fps. It also takes 12 MP photos and supports Adobe DNG RAW. With a 3-axis gimbal, the Mavic Pro’s camera is on a par with the Phantom 4.

The Mavic Air’s camera sports a 3-axis gimbal and the same sensor as the Mavic Pro, but the Mavic Air shoots 4K footage at a higher bit rate (100 Mbps vs. 60 Mbps) and shoots 120fps FHD for awesome slow-motion shots.

The Mavic 2 Pro was co-engineered in partnership with renowned Swedish camera manufacturer Hasselblad, so expect the emphasis to be on high-quality images. The Mavic Pro’s Hasselblad L1D-20c camera with a 1-inch CMOS sensor allows users to capture gorgeous 20 MP aerial shots in stunning color detail.

The Mavic 2 Zoom is powered by a 1/2.3-inch 12 MP sensor with up to four-times zoom, including a two-times optical zoom (24mm–48mm). It’s an incredible option that gives users the flexibility for unique, cinematic shots like Dolly Zoom.

Flight Time and Speed

Despite its compact size, the Mavic Pro offers up to 27 minutes of battery life on a single charge and has a top speed of 40 mph.

The Mavic Air is slightly faster than the Mavic Pro with a top speed of 42 mph, but with a max flight time of 21 minutes, you won’t stay aloft for quite as long.

With a max flight time of 31 minutes and top speed of 44 mph, the Mavic 2 is the fastest, longest-flying Mavic yet.

Range

The Mavic Pro’s OcuSync transmission system offers up to 4.3 mi (7 km) of transmission range, streaming long-range HD 720p and full short-range HD 1080p. The Mavic Air has an enhanced Wi-Fi transmission system that allows you to fly (2.4 mi) 4 km away. The Mavic 2 offers OcuSync 2.0, which supports auto-switching between 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz frequency bands. This results in stronger interference resistance and the capability to deliver 4.9 mi (8 km) 1080p video transmission feeds.

Safety and Reliability

The Mavic Pro’s FlightAutonomy system senses obstacles at up to 49 ft (15 m) away and directs the Mavic Pro to bypass them or brake and hover, increasing flight safety and reliability. Vision positioning paired with GPS and GLONASS ensures precise positioning, whether indoors or outdoors.

With additional vision sensors, a pair of infrared sensors, redundant IMUs, and fancy new positioning algorithms, the Mavic Air’s FlightAutonomy system has been upgraded to FlightAutonomy 2.0. Vision sensors on the back detect obstacles in the rear, and Advanced Pilot Assistance Systems (APAS) lets the drone fly around obstacles automatically when flying forwards or backwards.

For the first time in a DJI drone, the Mavic 2 boasts obstacle sensing on all six sides of the aircraft. It also offers a fully upgraded FlightAutonomy system, with data being continually transmitted to a powerful central processor for more accurate obstacle avoidance and safer flight.

Intelligent Flight Modes

The Mavic Pro features different Intelligent Flight Modes that enable the pilot to capture incredible footage with ease. These include ActiveTrack,Terrain Follow, Gesture, and TapFly, which allows you to simply tap a point on your mobile device screen, commanding your drone to fly smoothly in the direction you tap.

Thanks to FlightAutonomy 2.0, the Mavic Air features an upgraded Gesture mode called SmartCapture, which lets the aircraft follow you, take off, land, and record photos or videos with simple hand gestures. You can also use TapFly while flying since the Mavic Air has rear-facing vision sensors.

The Mavic 2 has all the flight modes you’d want in a portable drone, including ActiveTrack 2.0, multiple panorama modes, and creative shooting options like POI 2.0, Waypoint 2.0, Asteroid, Hyperlapse, and Boomerang.

These are some of the features that make the Mavic series a top choice for anyone looking to get an aerial perspective of their next great adventure.

Learn more about the Mavic Pro and Mavic Air ,and Mavic 2 on DJI.com.