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DRONE camera sensors - IS A BIGGER CAMERA BETTER? Phantom 4 Pro vs Mavic Air 2

The bigger the better. Especially in low light scenarios. Also, the models of drones which use 1 inch sensors typically dont have fixed apatures, so there is much greater flexibility when it comes to controlling light. There are countless YouTube videos now comparing the Mavic 2 Pro to the Mavic Air 2. Worth a look.
 
The size of the sensor is everything. You will be better off with (I am exaggerating) a 2" sensor rated at 5mp vs a 1/2" sensor rated at 20mp. A larger sensor will let you have a lot more details, which will let you zoom or enlarge your picture. But as the sensor of a camera gets larger, so is it's price.
 
The bigger the better. Especially in low light scenarios. Also, the models of drones which use 1 inch sensors typically dont have fixed apatures, so there is much greater flexibility when it comes to controlling light. There are countless YouTube videos now comparing the Mavic 2 Pro to the Mavic Air 2. Worth a look.
100% the bigger sensor size is better but the price point of the MA2 makes it more than worth a look. There are indeed, I think I've watched them all! There's no disputing the image is better but if you are looking for a prosumer drone for sharing on social media etc I'd still recommend the MA2 with its price tag etc
 
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The size of the sensor is everything. You will be better off with (I am exaggerating) a 2" sensor rated at 5mp vs a 1/2" sensor rated at 20mp. A larger sensor will let you have a lot more details, which will let you zoom or enlarge your picture. But as the sensor of a camera gets larger, so is it's price.
The size of sensor is important that's for sure bit if you are looking for a prosumer drone for sharing footage on social media etc the MA2s price tag edges it. It all depsnds what you are using it for etc
 
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Also at this point unless you can’t spend over $1000 I would wait until September to see what the Mavic 3 brings.
I think that's still just a rumour atm, the Mavic 3 hasn't been offocially confirmed so may never happen. Its likely it will but its more likely to be towards Christmas time if it appears
 
I think that's still just a rumour atm, the Mavic 3 hasn't been offocially confirmed so may never happen. Its likely it will but its more likely to be towards Christmas time if it appears

I hope not but that’s kinda why I bought a MA2 just because I was impatient. Figured I will sell it and get Mavic 3. Fingers crossed for at least October launch before it gets too cold.
 
I had mavic 2 pro and now i got mavic air 2 and in terms of pictures and videos quality in good light condition those two drones are very very close in terms of camera quality. I can even type that i prefer mavic air 2 picture. Although at the moment i am experiencing some lags and even glitch during video recording.
 
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Its a great little drone. I've been impressed with the image as well. If you couple that with it's portability it makes it a really good option
 
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It's very simple. The bigger the sensor, the more light which lands on it and the more information digitized.
The smaller the sensor, the shorter the focal length of the lens, and the greater depth of field for the same view and f/ number.
If you want to build a fixed focus camera (i.e. focus a little beyond the hyperfocal distance) wide angle lens and small sensor are a good place to start. Save bulk and weight by taking away the aperture mechanism - there is no need to stop down for depth of field, and small pixels will show up diffraction effects sooner. So for a lightweight camera on a drone which will fly in daylight and good weather small sensors are a good design choice.
You will get lower noise and more dynamic range with bigger pixels - and if you make the sensor bigger there is a choice between more or bigger pixels (or slightly more and slightly bigger). A better sensor won't give better pictures without a better lens, you might add aperture control and a focus mechanism and the better camera needs a bigger drone to lift it with bigger batteries to power it.

So in the end, are you taking a airframe and adding a workable camera, or designing a good camera and building the flying parts on to it ?
 
Also at this point unless you can’t spend over $1000 I would wait until September to see what the Mavic 3 brings.
The rumored Mavic 3 Pro will likely be an even bigger MFT sensor, with interchangeable lenses, which will rival the Inspire 2 line in a more compact Mavic design. Expect a big price increase over the M2P with multiple lenses available to purchase, each with a hefty price tag. Earliest release rumored to be EOY, not September. Rumors are just that. Only DJI decides what and when to release new models!

M2P is still the best image quality bang for the buck, when purchased on sale at $1285, which was the cheapest new price available over this last Father's Day. It was $1178 last Xmas, when certain online dealers discount the DJI discounts by an additional 10-15%.

M2P 1” sensor area is a full 4x larger than the MA2 1/2” sensor! If image quality is important, it's hard to beat the M2P, which is why it still hasn't been superseded in almost 2 years!
 
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I think its the price point to tech ratio that makes the MA2 most appealing. For the money I think you are getting an amazing product and IMO the drop in image quality isn't substantial enough to rule it out. I've already got some amazing footage with it and in post there's still room to play especially with its 4K60FPS capabilities
 
You can only do so much with a Mavic camera be it pro or not. I would save my $1000 and invest in a good post processing software application.
i use a Mac Air with Adobe Lightroom or Gimp and find both give excellent results.
 
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You can only do so much with a Mavic camera be it pro or not. I would save my $1000 and invest in a good post processing software application.
i use a Mac Air with Adobe Lightroom or Gimp and find both give excellent results.
Agree with this 100% You can have the best or worst camera in the world but if you don#t know how to treat in post then it doesn't really matter
 
Well said, which drone do you fly at the moment?
Only the mm, because I didn't want to get involved in all the stuff which comes with a heavier drone.

I had nearly 20 years experience of film before digital came along, and now have nearly 20 years of digital. My very first film SLR didn't allow you to control everything, but for 35 years I've been more of a limitation than the cameras. Film wasn't much good at concerts where 1600ASA film (only 36 shots) was a special purchase and needed special processing. So for that situation I was limited by film - 6400 on a digital SLR is like old 400 film so that limit no longer applies. High ISO performance won't be great on the MM, but since I can't fly legally in the dark and don't do dawn/dusk stuff it's really not an issue. If I become a better drone pilot and put more time into it I'll invest in something bigger and heavier with a better camera.
 
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I think its the price point to tech ratio that makes the MA2 most appealing. For the money I think you are getting an amazing product and IMO the drop in image quality isn't substantial enough to rule it out. I've already got some amazing footage with it and in post there's still room to play especially with its 4K60FPS capabilities
Agreed, but not when you factor in the discounted prices that have been available on the M2P. Do you actually own a Mavic 2 Pro to compare, or are you merely assuming sour grapes? I own both, and the 4x larger M2P sensor runs circles around the M2A at dusk and in any low light situation. MA2 is a nice starter drone, but the M2P still excels in every way. True 20MP stills instead of of 12MP, and spherical panos that are incomparable to those of the MA2, especially in low light, to avoid the sun in the image . Full control over all settings in GO4, rather than a crippled set of Fly controls. There is a reason it is called the M2 Pro.
 
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