Mavic air 2 best drone of 2020?

[J.C.]

With the new fly app 1.1.6 I can say that the mavic air 2 is the best drone I've owned up to now. The drones I've had in past was mavic pro, mavic air, autel Evo and now mavic air 2. Men this drone fill-in all my needs and more. This drone makes perfect cinematic footage with the new fly app update. I am glad I took DJI care and care + so I am fully covered for two years. I don't see myself changing this drone before at least these 2 years because it as everything I need. Best drone of 2020. ?cheers guys.

 

[MavicPeter]

I agree it's pretty darn good, a huge leap above the Mavic Air 1. Flying is so much more fun, and the much greater battery life along with lower noise make operation so much easier.

However I still think there are some improvements needed in the DJI Fly App, most of which are regressions from DJI Go 4. Here are my opinions:

1. DJI Go 4 always gives an indication as to which mode video mode you're shooting in, i.e. "4K 30" always shows on screen. By contrast DJI Fly makes you press an icon on screen to see this.
2. Camera/video settings are in different places. For example, to modify video settings for Quick Shot, you have to go to settings->camera, and then confusingly, this is where 1080p or 4K can be selected. Whereas for normal video, it's selected through the normal video option menu on the right side.

Thankfully these can and hopefully will be fixed in an App update.

As for the MA2, it's almost perfect. Some things I wish were better:

1. Active Track doesn't support 4K @ 60 fps. Most likely this is a hardware constraint given the extra processing required using Active Track. A firmware update might be able to address this but I wouldn't hold my breath.
2. The controller removed some buttons as compared to the MA1. Don't get me wrong, I like the MA2 controller design much more, but compared to the MA1's, there you had two customizable buttons, separate buttons for photo/video, and also a dedicated "pause/stop the aircraft in its current position" button. (That functionality is now combined with the RTH button - tap to pause, hold to RTH)
3. No side sensors. I know, you should always be flying responsibly but having this would have been a nice upgrade from the MA1. DJI probably didn't include this to avoid feature parity with the higher-end Mavic 2 Pros, and also to keep the cost down. But it would have been nice to have.

Having said that, I only got the MA2 less than a month ago and have already flown 25% the total number of flights that I did with my MA1. That's how much I enjoy flying it!

 

[Ben Anderson]

MA2 is my first drone, which of course makes it my best drone of 2020 I have, however, been researching drones for about two years and couldn't convince myself until MA2. Features I like:

1. Ease of use. Everything just works. Controller feels good. Device is above controller and closer to eyes. Folds into a compact size for carrying. Long flight time so you can take some time figuring out your shots. Camera that takes great pictures and videos. I showed my wife how to fly MA2 and within 5 minutes she was flying all over and framing shots from various locations.
2. Sound. I liked the videos of MA1, but I just couldn't see making that much noise in my neighborhood. Have you taken a close look at the curvy props on MA2? DJI put some serious effort into those and it shows on every takeoff. Those props also help with the high power to weight ratio of the MA2.
3. Dependability. In gusty winds it holds steady. The flight time together with effective RTH gives peace of mind. Ocusync means the connection is stable. Steady hovering, ground detection, landing light, brushless motors and precise sensors add dependability.

If I had a significant concern it would be the lack of side and top sensors. The type of flying I do does not need those, as I try to ensure the safety of the drone myself without relying on a sensor to save it, but it would still be a nice backup when flying through tight spaces.

 

[hiflyer201]

It's a Jim Dandy!