Air 2S vs. M2P camera quality

[halifax]

My sister takes better pictures with her 2017 iPhone X compared to her husband with his Sony A7mkIII with Zeiss optics

I, too, am amazed at the image quality of the latest iPhone - it is remarkable. But when it comes to capturing critical imagery that may end up in print or on a wall, my Sony A7III is way better than the phone. But, as is said, use whatever you've got on hand.

I want the Air2S to have a better camera than my M2P. I'm thrilled with every step in technology. I won't run out and buy the A2S because my A2 works fine for its intended purpose, but a better cam in the A2S means that the next MP will likely have another technological leap under the hood. The more people that buy the A2S, the better for all of us. Keep pushing that technology ahead.

This from a guy who use to manually develop black and white 120 film (shot with a box camera) in his mom's bathroom...

 

[test2000Anafi]

I, too, am amazed at the image quality of the latest iPhone - it is remarkable. But when it comes to capturing critical imagery that may end up in print or on a wall, my Sony A7III is way better than the phone. But, as is said, use whatever you've got on hand.

I want the Air2S to have a better camera than my M2P. I'm thrilled with every step in technology. I won't run out and buy the A2S because my A2 works fine for its intended purpose, but a better cam in the A2S means that the next MP will likely have another technological leap under the hood. The more people that buy the A2S, the better for all of us. Keep pushing that technology ahead.

This from a guy who use to manually develop black and white 120 film (shot with a box camera) in his mom's bathroom...

I meant she takes better pictures as in verall better (composition, subject, etc), of course, if they were to trade cameras she would not takes worse pictures, but there is no substitute for talent I guess. Of course better tools will have you create better quality with regards to image characteristics

 

[Meta4]

Of course better tools will have you create better quality with regards to image characteristics

But only if you know how to use it properly.
It's very easy to take atrociously bad photos with even the best cameras.
A great camera doesn't make its owner a great photographer.

 

[MTFilm]

It’s sounding like the MA2s will be a replacement for the M2Pro in the lineup. The rumors I am hearing is the MA2s will have a 20MP 1” classic bayer filter sensor with 10 bit color video and shoot 5.4k at up to 30p and 4k up to 60p.

It may not have an adjustable aperture which isn’t a huge deal but I definitely prefer adjustable over fixed.

The MA2s almost certainly will have an HDR video mode, though, I wasn’t too impressed with that feature in the MA2, though with a classic bayer filter it may be better (or worse.)

Incremental technology improvements assumes the bit rate will be at least 120mbps and better dynamic range than the M2Pro.

I actually think the MA2s is shaping up to be closer to what we expected an incremental upgrade to the Mavic 2 Pro or a Mavic 3 to look like than a successor to the Mavic Air 2. If all the rumors are true then either this is our Mavic 3 or the eventual Mavic 3 will be radically different from the Mavic 2 Pro.

One thing I find really interesting in the rumors is what they call “Spotlight 2.0.” This is interesting because one feature of the Inspire 2 that is invaluable is called Spotlight Pro which locks the camera onto the tracking subject while allowing you to fly the drone manually. The way it is done in the Inspire 2 which makes it so flexible is you can combine Spotlight Pro with any and all flight modes. So you can use it in Sport mode, waypoints, tapfly, etc. I really hope this functionality makes it into the Air 2s.

If the Mavic Air 2s really can do 5.4k in 10-bits this will really be a big step up. The major complaint with the Mavic 2 Pro was that in 4k it had to window the sensor to get the best quality, “HQ mode,” which meant you no longer were filming with a 1” sensor and took a noise hit because of that. If the MA2s can record the full width of the sensor this will no longer be an issue.

I don’t expect the photo quality of the MA2s will be much different from the M2P

is Spotilight 2.0 like this?

SpotLight with Mavic2pro

 

[brett8883]

is Spotilight 2.0 like this?

SpotLight with Mavic2pro

Yea exactly but it’s on the Home Screen and you can use it at any time and don’t have to jump through all those hops to get it started.

 

[jmbsmt63]

After spending a week and way too much time "pixel peeping" between the Air2 S and the M2P I can offer my non-professional findings/opinions so far:
Night/low light images straight out of the camera even at the same ISO are less noisy on the Air2S. The advancements in sensor technology are very apparent.
Video ( on normal H264 no log or HLG since I haven't analyzed the other log results since they will have to be edited to taste anyway) is **** near the same and if you like a bit more color and sharpness without the M2P's "overdoing" both (if set to anything but neutral), the Air2S is more pleasing and there is less of the moire around the edges.
There are a few less specific adjustments but it is not for that kind of user (a "pro" user will be at a loss for no adjustable aperture at the least)
Considering that the M2P sensor is the same as what is in the Sony Rx100Mk1 and the new one in the Air2S is the RX100Mk6 the generational gap is great!

These are just a few thoughts so far but I can definitely say that if you are not a "power user" and just want to get an excellent image without resorting to editing, etc. The Air2S is a good choice.
The M2P can still deliver excellent results but some additional attention must be made during and after shooting to draw that out. For example, the JPGs out of its camera are actually not very good but a bit of work on the raw files will yield outstanding results

 

[bkushner]

My Phantom 4 Pro V2 video is still better then any mavic to date including Air 2S

 

[Canada Goose]

I still love the Hasselblad camera on the Mavic 2 Pro, but I'm really curious what this thing can bring to the table with the 1-inch sensor. Anybody willing to guess how the quality between these two drones would compare against each other?

As far as I am aware there is nothing Hasselblad about the camera itself whatsoever other than DJI own a portion of the company and Hasselblad helped in the colour algorithm software but as far as optics etc it's all DJI plastic!

 

[projectarjun]

As far as I am aware there is nothing Hasselblad about the camera itself whatsoever other than DJI own a portion of the company and Hasselblad helped in the colour algorithm software but as far as optics etc it's all DJI plastic!

Exactly.

 

[zlek131]

I’ve had the M2P for 2.5 years and love it. I recently picked up the Air2s and also love it but still exploring all the photography options/settings available to me. One option I tired for the first time just yesterday was the Smart photo. I always shoot in AEB (3 photos) mode and then merge in post before editing. I have to say that I am impressed with the Smart Photo mode. I purposely used both modes yesterday while shooting a sunset. In post I was very impressed with the smart photo end result. After my edits the smart photos were just as good if not better than the AEB version of the same shot. It’s my understanding that the Smart photo mode is actually doing shooting/merging multiple exposures under the covers. I think I will continue to shoot in smart mode given what I have seen so far, not to mention I don’t have to merge the AEB photos which saves me time.
Has anyone tried the Smart Photo mode, and if so what are your thoughts?

The whole aperture debate.... I have to say that I wish it was available on Air2s. I am a huge fan of sunrises/sets and always hunting for that starburst effect with my M2Pro aperture set at f11. I took the attached photo with my M2Pro, and so far have not been able to capture a starburst effect like this one with my Air2s. Still try though....