I had the great pleasure of testing out the DJI Air 2S over the weekend before it was released to the public. As a DJI enthusiast, I have experience flying all of the Mavic series including the DJI Mavic Pro 2 and the Mavic Air 2 (among other models), the latter of which is the precursor to this DJI Air 2S. In this article, I will go over new features and improvements as well as offer my personal opinion after flying the new all-in-one drone.
So what’s new about this model?
DJI Air 2S
Out of all the drones on the market, the DJI Air 2S is the smallest, lightest, and the most intelligent 1-inch sensor drone available. The fact that it’s smaller and lighter, coming in at less than 600 grams, means that it’s easy to travel with but also offers the incredible camera quality of the Mavic Pro 2. My initial reaction to flying this drone was that it felt like I was flying the Mavic Air 2 with the quality of my Hasselblad camera equipped on my Mavic Pro 2. Overall, it was an exciting experience. Let’s take a closer look at the camera and the upgraded intelligent flight features which make this drone a real treat.
The DJI Air 2S has a 20 megapixel and a 22mm wide-angle focal lens. It also has a 12.6-stop dynamic RAW photo and 10-bit D-log video for post-processing. The intelligent built-in HDR captures details without post-processing and the HDR pano and Motionlapse have also been further optimized. These improvements definitely made for stunning and sharper photos and videos.
One of the newest features, which I unfortunately was not able to try out (due to app technical difficulties) is MasterShots. This automatically edits footage, soundtrack, and subtitles upon completing your shot.
How does it work exactly? You start by selecting a subject after which the drone will automatically record along one of the three preset flight routes. You can keep original footage too in case you want to edit it later. Although I appreciated the offering of this function, as an experienced photo and video editor, I doubt I will be using it that often.
Now let’s explore the intelligent shooting modes or Focustrack, which all had significant improvements including: Spotlight 2.0, ActiveTrack 4.0, and POI 3.0. All of these are equipped on the Mavic Air 2, but they have just been upgraded. I personally did not feel much of a difference with Spotlight 2.0 and POI 3.0. However, Active Track 4.0 was pretty impressive.
Then there is spotlight 2.0 which allows you to frame and select a subject so that the camera remains focused on the subject while the pilot adjusts altitude and distance. Expect an epic shot. This was a new feature on the Mavic Air 2, so I put the upgraded version to the test. I filmed myself running on a beach and I also filmed a boat sailing through calm water. I was pretty impressed with how well it tracked the boat even from a far distance of 1500 feet.
On to my favorite focustrack feature: Active Track and in this case, Active Track 4.0. I’m already a huge fan of the Mavic series’ Active Track, so I was excited to see this feature. Turns out that it does an excellent job at tracking people. However, when I tried to track jet skis, the ski’s were just a bit too fast. Admittedly, I may have not set this up correctly and started tracking the jet ski in full motion.
Lastly, Point of Interest (POI 3.0) was another upgrade on the Air 2S. This feature focuses on a subject in a circle based on the radius and the set flight speed. You can test this out on a person, car, boat, or building. I tried this feature by filming a boat, a building, and myself running on the beach. This is similar to the previous version. However, the app UI is a bit different. Now, it defines the speed as “fast” or “slow” vs. the actual mph in previous models. In my opinion, I prefer the mileage, but POI 3.0 is on par with previous models.
The battery life seems to be similar to the Mavic Air 2. Flight time is reportedly 31 minutes. When I was using the intelligent flight modes, FPV mode, and sports mode throughout testing, I exhausted four batteries.
In summary, the DJI Air 2S is the perfect merger of the DJI Mavic Pro 2 and Mavic Air 2. If you want the luxury of a light and small drone like the Mavic Air with the camera quality and capabilities of the Mavic Pro 2, then this is definitely the drone for you.
Feature photo by Women Who Drone
