DJI Mini 2 vs Mavic Air 2

Is there an actual competition between the DJI Mini 2 vs the Mavic Air 2? 

Indeed there is! And the new specs of the Mini 2 makes it that much harder to choose between these two drones.

In this article we're going to try and figure out what is the best option for you and compare them side by side in every way possible.

If you don't know yet, the DJI Mini 2 is currently the best drone under 250g in the world (hands down).

Of course the air 2 beats the mini in terms of specs, but that's to be expected from such a huge price difference between them.

And that's why I think the first point I should make is how much you get for what you pay.

Considering the base price of dji mini 2 is $449 and the base price of Mavic Air 2 is $799 while the Fly more combo for the Mini 2 is $599 while the Fly more combo package for the Air 2 is $988 I would say taking the price of this drones into account when comparing them is the most important thing.

Even so, you might have noticed that the Mini 2 has some incredible specs that makes this a pretty hard choice.

However, in this department, the Mini 2 wins by a large margin, as it's half the price of the Air 2 for most packages. And what's more, if you consider additional accessories like batteries, the price difference becomes even greater. A battery for the Dji Mini 2 is $55 while a battery for the DJI Mavic Air 2 is $115, that's more than double the price.

P.S. You might be interested in my new comparison between the Mavic 3 and DJI Air 2s recently released.

The Mini 2 did get a huge bitrate increase from the original Mavic Mini, which only had 40mbps.

Now the Mini 2 has 100mbps and the Air 2 has 120Mbps.

The difference isn't that big between these two anymore and I'm super impressed with the quality of the camera in such a tiny drone.

The Air 2 has the ability to shoot in a flat color profile, this makes it much easier to edit in post processing for people how know about color grading. You can also get more detail out of the image this way.

If color-grading isn't for you, the Air 2 also has HDR video, which means it will expose the image properly in all parts of the image, making for a better overall image. Since not even the mavic 2 pro has this feature, let's not expect it in the MIni 2 alright

As a side note for professionals, the Air 2 does shoot in h265 encoding while the Mini 2 shoots in h264.

One feature that I got most surprised about is the zoom in feature, as the DJI Mini 2 comes with 2 times digital zoom in 4k resolution and 4 times zoom in 1080p. This is a very interesting and super useful feature. Yes you could zoom in post processing, but seeing how the shot behaves in real life with that zoom in helps a lot with framing or maybe simply seeing something that's farther away.

Same goes for the Air 2, however, since the air 2 has two shooting modes in 4k (including a zoomed in one) it zooms a bit further, so you're able to capture pretty much what you can with the the Mavic 2 Zoom in my opinion.

I love the zoom most for its parallax effect and how different it makes your video look compared to any other out there, isolating the subject in front from a fast-moving background even more.

If you want to see my comparison between the Mini 2 and the Mavic mini and see what's changed go in the description.

In my opinion, the Mini 2 is the perfect drone for anyone who prioritizes the small form factor, portability and being able to not register the drone in most countries out there. The price is also a big factor.

The Air 2 is clearly the superior drone in terms of specs, but I would seriously suggest you buy the Mini 2 now as it has clearly become the go-to drone for everyone from hobbyists to vloggers and travelers, so if you're on the casual side of drone filming, you know what to do. The Mavic Air 2 is definitely worth it for people who shoot at weddings, who have a business that makes them money, and who need the drone as a main content creation tool.

If you want to have a more in depth look and side by side comparison I suggest you check my table with these two drones compared in the description or right here. If you want to see another video to convince you further check the video here and if you want to see more content like this from me in the near future please subscribe here and hit the bell notification icon.

When it comes to drone wind resistance, people are on either side of the fence, and sometimes even placing bets and testing these drones to the extreme. I am myself waiting for a very windy weather to test these to the max. So subscribe if you want to be one of the first to check out that video.

On paper both drones handle the same amount of wind, both being rated at 29-38 kph.

I would say the truth is not far from that, but so far, in my experiences (at least a week since I had the Mini 2) I have made 2 observations:

- It's more stable in wind that the original Mini by quite a lot

- But it's a little less stable than the DJI Mavic Air 2 and that's probably because of the additional weight of the Air 2. I could notice that the most in terms of footage shakiness.

When it comes to Speed, these are both really fast drones, but the Air 2 has the upper hand as it can fly up to 69 kph (or 42 mph) compared to the 58kph (or 36mph) of the DJI Mini 2.

This, combined with it's weight, makes the Air 2 have the edge in terms of facing stronger winds.

Higher maximum speeds can also mean longer distances traveled with the same amount of battery as well as being able to shoot some fast-moving objects like cars and actually follow them in most weather conditions.

With things like remote ID looming in the horizon, it could make flying a drone that's over 250g a bit of a pain. That's why this is an area where DJI Mini 2 has a big advantage too.

It's a drone that's simply made for tourists who prefer packing lightly and still have a capable drone. Casual users who don't want to fly a drone that's over 250 grams because they don't want to register it.

The small weight and size is also a dream for having more space in your bag. If you're a frequent hiker for example or like outdoors sports and adventures, the Mini 2 has the advantage of being able to be charged from a power brick as it has a USB C port in the back. For example, I covered both the DJI MIni 2 and the Mavic Air 2 as great drones for watersports like kayaking or kite surfing.

However, keep in mind that the weight of the Air 2 also has some benefits, making it a more solid and sturdy drone in my opinion.

After talking to my subscribers, the biggest factor that still draws a lot of you to the Mavic Air 2 is its obstacle avoidance and Tracking.

First of all the air 2 has 2 sensors in the front, 2 in the back, and at the bottom. This allows it to stop before hitting an object or simply use the new APAS avoidance system to navigate through difficult environments like you wouldn't believe. I've tested the Obstacle avoidance system myself in a video here.

Having the front facing sensors also makes the Air 2 have the capability of doing follow me modes and active tracking, but more about that soon.

The Air 2 also has an LED at the bottom (helps at night when you come in and land, helps see your drone quite a bit easier

When it comes to software, both drones use the DJI fly App but there are a few differences in terms of what you can do in there. Btw, I expect the future Mavic 3 to move on the DJI FLy app too. If you want to see more leaks about a potential Mavic 3 I have written some stuff on my site, it's also in the description.

The biggest difference is in the intelligent flight modes, as they more or less have the same quickshots.

The Air 2 active track, point of interest, and spotlight are some of the shots you most certainly want in a drone, as I found myself using them more often than not lately as it makes it way easier to frame a shot whenever there's a subject in the frame.

However the DJI Mini 2 also has a great benefit: simplified recording and editing.

You can edit, post, and even transfer full files from the drone to your phone without the need of any other app or cables. This makes it great for people who do casual editing or use their phones or tablets to do it.

When it comes to photos I've been impressed with the quality of the pictures the new Mini 2 takes, even more so now that we know it can also shoot in RAW.

The air 2 does have the capability of taking 48mp photos, while the Mini 2 is limited to 12 mp.

But besides the superiority of the Air2, the mini 2 is coming from behind strong as DJI has added Auto Exposure Bracketing. This means you can take 3 photos at 3 different exposure levels with the click of a button to make sure you get the right one. Same with the Air 2 but it takes 5 photos instead of 3.

Indeed the Air 2 comes with HDR photos, smart photos and such.

DJI Mini 2 can now make use of the Galileo satelite system.

This means it can connect to more satellites and faster. So besides GPS and GLONASS it has a third option, making it a more stable GPS flier in theory. In real life I haven't noticed any differences but it's good to have.

With the Upgrade of the Mini 2 getting a 10 km range and Occusync 2.0 we can definitely say it finally got itself on a level where it can battle with the Air 2.

There is no difference in range from the specs, but I'll test it further side by side and make a video on the max range of all DJI Drones.

When it comes to battery life, they are both really amazing drones. It's true, the mini 2 can fly for 31 minutes instead of the 34 minutes of the Mavic Air 2, but in my opinion anything that goes past 30 minutes is just outstanding.

Another advantage the Air 2 has here is that it can operate in slightly lower temperature ranges, starting from -10 degrees Celsius compared to just 0 degrees of the Mini 2. Considering winter is coming at the moment of posting this video, you might want to take this into account if you plan to fly in sub-zero temperatures.

If you want to check all the specs side by side along to how these two drones differ I have a complete table comparison and article to go along it in the description. It's on my site, and please give me some feedback on it down in the comments bellow.

A small thing I wanted to add is that the air 2 has quick-release propellers (with mini 2 you need to have a screwdriver with you).

An often overlooked but very important factor in choosing between these 2 drones is the Livestream Quality. By that I mean the quality of the image you can see on the phone.

How's this important?

Well, it makes for a better and more cinematic phone image, which helps you conclude how the final image would look like, it's great for framing shots and simply getting excited about how cool it looks.

With the Air 2 you can choose between 720p and 1080p resolution and a 12mbps bitrate. The DJi Mini 2 has only 720p and 8Mbps bitrate.

It's not bad, but the Air is just slightly better, noticeably, actually.

Speaking about DJI drones livestream and video quality just got me thinking how convenient it is that the Mavic Air 2 has 8 GB internal storage and the Mini 2 doesn't. As sometimes you simply forget to bring a micro SD card or it can actually fail on you. If you want to stop forgetting this stuff, check my free before Flight checklist in the description.

Don't worry we're getting to the camera next, but for now, let's take a short look at how similar these controllers are. They're basically the same controller and I love that. It's a bit weird that the transmitter of the Mini 2 is actually bigger than the drone itself, but I feel like this is the best drone controller I've ever tried. Much simpler to attach the phone to and allows for Occusinc 2.0 and a 10km range.

The only slight differences being a them writing cine instead of tripod in the flight modes and the LED colors.

For now the Air 2 is the only one that works with the smart controller but I'm expecting an update soon for the Mini 2.