In which order are the best Mavic cameras?

[Buel]

Hi all.

Whilst I am impressed with the photo quality that I have on the photos and videos from my beloved Mini2 , please can I ask for some advice on which have the better cameras / photo quality? Is it is simple as the more you pay, the better the cameras or is it more nuanced than that, please?

 

[SmilingOgre]

The primary camera offered on the Mavic 3 series is a micro 4/3 sensor. This is a much larger sensor than on the Mini2. The larger photo sights on the MFT sensor will provide an overall better quality and better low light performance. The Mavic 3 series also offers 10 bit color vs 8 bit on the mini2. This offers much better color graduations throughout the color range. The debayer information on the 3 series is sketchy per my research. The cine versions offer 4:2:2 debayer. Not sure what non cine debayer is. I'm thinking probably 4:2:0. This has to do with chroma sampling. 4:2:2 is better. The Mavic 3 Pro cine offers a Prores codec. This is a highly sought after codec in the filming industry. Having said all that, if your posting to youtube, the differences will be minute per youtube mangling the video for streaming. Also, most viewing screens streaming YouTube are 1910 x 1080 4:2:0 8 bit. More 4K TV's are being sold but most of them are not true 10 bit and can't take advantage of the extended color gamut. I'm working on a project that is intended to be distributed though FilmHub and their delivery standard is 4:2:2 10 bit Prores. FilmHub distributes to major networks. This is where the Mavic 3 cine would be advantageous but many film makers use Mavic 3 or 3 pro non cine for drone shots submitted to FilmHub and deliver that footage as ProRes. Obviously these short clips are establishing or transitioning shots for the most part.

So at the end of the day, I'd advise you watch videos posted here and see if the difference in images is worth the money for you.

 

[Felix le Chat]

Hi all.

Whilst I am impressed with the photo quality that I have on the photos and videos from my beloved Mini2 , please can I ask for some advice on which have the better cameras / photo quality? Is it is simple as the more you pay, the better the cameras or is it more nuanced than that, please?

I suppose it depends what you intend to do with the camera to begin with. My own take on the question? (in order)

Mavic 2 Zoom. Only 12mp, but has a genuine 24-48mm optical zoom, was also the first drone to offer close on a 48mp equivalent output through the 'super-resolution' feature.

Mavic 2 Pro. A 1" sensor 20mp camera with variable aperture. A very good still camera.

Air 2S. A 1" sensor 20mp camera with decent size photosites, but no variable aperture.

Mini 3Pro. Outstanding camera and sensor for it's size. Repeats the old Mavic Pro's 'portrait orientation' party piece. Takes a leaf out of the Parrot Anafi playbook with an extended upwards gimbal range (+60 degrees). Truly outstanding '48mp mode' output that can be written to microSD as DNG.

 

[yankfanp]

Hi all.

Whilst I am impressed with the photo quality that I have on the photos and videos from my beloved Mini2 , please can I ask for some advice on which have the better cameras / photo quality? Is it is simple as the more you pay, the better the cameras or is it more nuanced than that, please?

I have owned the Mavic Pro (2018), the Mavic Air 2, the Air 2S, and now the Mavic 3 classic. I often look back at photos from the there drones and I have to admit the Mavic 2 Pro outshines them all! Dam I sold it a couple of years ago.