Did I ever make a mistake purchasing the Air 2S

Dbez1 · Oct 12, 2021

When integrated RID becomes mandatory next September for the manufactures, VLOS will not be required by the FAA, at least for 107 pilots with built-in RID quads, (according to what I’ve read). The same is evidentially not true for older units that have add-on RID which becomes mandatory in September of 23. Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just repeating what I learned about the new FAA requirements.

There are more knowledgeable members on the forum that can either confirm or refute this.

brett8883 · Oct 12, 2021

nick779 said:
With current FAA LOS regulations, I doubt that DJI will ever have a native waypoint mode ever again. I could see DJI even ceasing the SDK program as it could cause liability issues as it "enables" the pilot to break LOS rules even with other programs controlling it.

There is no evidence to suggest this.

From business point of view the SDK is a huge boon to their bottom line. It increases the value of their products without needing to spend as many resources on software development.

nick779 · Oct 12, 2021

brett8883 said:
There is no evidence to suggest this.

From business point of view the SDK is a huge boon to their bottom line. It increases the value of their products without needing to spend as many resources on software development.

You're right, I have no evidence, I'm just saying that they might be trying to limit their liability. I love waypoint modes myself.

Jagerbomb52 · Oct 12, 2021

nick779 said:
Perhaps for the consumer series only.

No its more of a marketing plan. It gets the consumer to pay extra bucks for their enterprise editions. If you have the cash to buy the their enterprise drones that would come as standard options. Has nothing to do with safety.

lissforester · Oct 12, 2021

Agustine said:
Yes it would be nice but this is the Air 2S and does not have the SDK to allow such things. DJI likes to play a game called hide the SDK until sales drop off enough to warrant releasing the SDK to spark interest back into a dying platform. Other wise you need to buy one of their drones that has this option.

''I've mastered the ability of standing so incredibly still that I become invisible to the eye''
Who said that? I cant see anyone, its like magic (Or is that Mavic)

Holdenfish · Oct 12, 2021

Dronelinke is excellent... Good luck and fly safe

spudster · Oct 12, 2021

Holdenfish said:
Dronelinke is excellent... Good luck and fly safe

Dronelink does not work with the Mini2 or the Air 2s.

Kilrah · Oct 12, 2021

Agustine said:
Well now that would be suicide for DJI if they ever did that. All mapping programs need native way points to work. Many programs such as agriculture rely on mapping their fields. The competition would bury DJI if they ever did something so dumb.

I recall some time ago DJI having said that consumer models wouldn't get waypoints anymore, only the "pro" models. I'd expect the Mavic 3 to have it but not the Airs and Minis.

Jagerbomb52 · Oct 12, 2021

Kilrah said:
I recall some time ago DJI having said that consumer models wouldn't get waypoints anymore, only the "pro" models. I'd expect the Mavic 3 to have it but not the Airs and Minis.

The very reason I made post #24. I would say you and I believe the same thing.

RarcerRoy · Oct 13, 2021

I would agree with everyone that posted above if this was a 200.00 drone but these things are $1,200. For most of us that is not a drop in the bucket and the drone is almost useless for creating good video without something that can help.

Jagerbomb52 · Oct 13, 2021

Like I said before there is a way to slow the Air 2S down past the 5m\s 11MPH. (Cine Mod\Tripod) but you need to join the software mod section as it is not allowed to talk about software mods in the open forum.
The Air 2 S can easily be slowed to 5 MPH \ 2.2352M\S with just a few changes and its free.

jmbsmt63 · Oct 16, 2021

Agustine said:
Like I said before there is a way to slow the Air 2S down past the 5m\s 11MPH. (Cine Mod\Tripod) but you need to join the software mod section as it is not allowed to talk about software mods in the open forum.
The Air 2 S can easily be slowed to 5 MPH \ 2.2352M\S with just a few changes and its free.

OK...Disregard....I Finally Found it!!!

Software mod Section? How would I "join" that section? Unless I am completely way off, I can't find how to get to that...Thank You

Jagerbomb52 · Oct 16, 2021

jmbsmt63 said:
OK...Disregard....I Finally Found it!!!

Software mod Section? How would I "join" that section? Unless I am completely way off, I can't find how to get to that...Thank You

Go into your account details under settings. Scroll down a tad and you should see where you ask permission to join that section.

JetM · Oct 16, 2021

TheSnowyPilot said:
From videos I watched I see the Anafi as not being very stable and the Air2S being far superior. Just my opinion, totally not like I have any bias owning and loving an Air2S or anything.

That's not the case. I own an Anafi and I can tell you first hand it is very smooth and it has an awesome Flight Planning software and overall it's a great drone. The only issue with the Anafi is it's range being a Wifi drone but that can easily be overcome when needed by creating Missions. And yes Missions will continue even if the signal is lost..unlike with the newer DJI drones (e.g, Mini, Air 2, etc.) that only support the crappy virtual sticks API for 3rd party ISVs to use.

Galeforce1 · Oct 16, 2021

The moral of this story is to do your research thoroughly before purchase. It is not DJI's fault that the Air 2S is not the same as the Parrot. As many people have pointed out here in this thread, there are plenty of ways of getting smooth footage with the Air 2S.

Kentucky Ranger · Oct 18, 2021

Huh? I almost purchased the Air 2, but got the Pro 2 instead.
From everything I’ve seen, the Air 2 is an awesome quad, with a very high quality camera.
This post leaves me shaking my head…

Pixeldawg · Nov 8, 2021

RarcerRoy said:
I had a older Parrot Bebop 2 drone that I made a very good looking overview of a golf course with. I used Flight Plan and was able to create footage that was smooth and looked good. Out course was remodeled over the summer and so when they wanted a new overview I thought I would purchase a new drone with a better camera. I bought the Mavic Air 2S only to find out there is not app like Flight Plan for this unit. I start reading forums and realize there probably never will be. I paid $1,200 for something that it appears DJI isn't going to offer an SDK for so outside companies can't support it.

I read all the hype and marketing information about DJI and got fooled. I should have purchased the Parrot Anifi. Anybody want to buy a slightly used DJI? It's about impossible to create smooth video on a golf course without years of practice. No way to limit speed other than your finger.

A couple of things you can do here. First, use the "T" (Tripod) mode. It limits the speed to 1meter per second and gives nice, fluid movements for your shots. Next, use a high frame count. When I shoot video, I max out at 120 frames per second. Quality wise, it is much better to speed up than slow down. This is because when you slow down, it adds frames and those frames have to be created from the other frames that are an actual part of the video, so there quality is lesser. When you have a high frame count, it takes frames away, so ALL of the frames within the video are authentic to the original footage and lose no quality. Next, shoot RAW footage if you can. This is the highest quality available and adds nothing to the actual footage shot by the camera. Not all have RAW available, but if you do, use it. Next, shoot at low ISOs, less noise and again better quality because the shutter speed is lower (shoot for 1/30th of a second for best video quality. If you do this though, you won't be able to shoot at 120 FPS, obviously. And look at the compression for the video and determine which is best for your situation. Some are better at allowing color correction than others.

Hope this helps.

Cordially,

Mark