Mavic Air vs Mavic Pro (not the 2 Pro) for still image quality

[jgnu]

I'm new to drones, but an experienced photographer. I mainly shoot landscapes, and I'm looking into getting a drone for landscape photography.

I've ruled out the most obvious choice; the mavic pro 2. I can't justify the cost, really.

My main concern is getting good enough still image quality, and I'm willing to do a lot of post-processing (and I'm pretty good at it, too).
When shooting landscapes I use a m4/3 system, so I'm used to maximizing the value from smaller sensors (multiple exposures for higher DR, for example, or panorama stitching for higher resolution/detail).

Anyway, I believe my two main candidates are the mavic air or the mavic pro (probably the platinum version).
I've got a pretty good grip on what sets these two apart, but I find it hard to find a lot of resources when it comes to still image quality. Everything I read/watch is about the increased bit rate of video for the Air, but I don't care about video.

Is there a noticable difference in sharpness between the Air and the Pro for still images (at ISO 100, DNG format, with the image correctly focused for the PRO and not a defect copy of the Air since I've read about some problems with the fixed focus)?

 

[brett8883]

I'm new to drones, but an experienced photographer. I mainly shoot landscapes, and I'm looking into getting a drone for landscape photography.

I've ruled out the most obvious choice; the mavic pro 2. I can't justify the cost, really.

My main concern is getting good enough still image quality, and I'm willing to do a lot of post-processing (and I'm pretty good at it, too).
When shooting landscapes I use a m4/3 system, so I'm used to maximizing the value from smaller sensors (multiple exposures for higher DR, for example, or panorama stitching for higher resolution/detail).

Anyway, I believe my two main candidates are the mavic air or the mavic pro (probably the platinum version).
I've got a pretty good grip on what sets these two apart, but I find it hard to find a lot of resources when it comes to still image quality. Everything I read/watch is about the increased bit rate of video for the Air, but I don't care about video.

Is there a noticable difference in sharpness between the Air and the Pro for still images (at ISO 100, DNG format, with the image correctly focused for the PRO and not a defect copy of the Air since I've read about some problems with the fixed focus)?

Well as you know the Mavic has an adjustable focus and the Air does not so that will always allow a certain increase in sharpness. The sensor itself is nearly identical however.

The main difference is the size. The Mavic Air is a fraction the size of the Pro. Even though it’s not it looks feels, and sounds like a toy. It is incredibly loud compared to the the Platinum as well. The increased power of the RC is as key with the Pro/Platinum.

If you can’t tell I’m partial to the Pro and the Platinum. I think you’ll agree if you try both

 

[AMann]

Don’t let camera resolution hold you back. If you’re doing landscapes, you can do an awesome job making huge pictures by merging them. I started out this way with a low cost DSLR camera and made some really good images that turned out well even when turned into very large prints.

 

[jgnu]

Well as you know the Mavic has an adjustable focus and the Air does not so that will always allow a certain increase in sharpness. The sensor itself is nearly identical however.

The main difference is the size. The Mavic Air is a fraction the size of the Pro. Even though it’s not it looks feels, and sounds like a toy. It is incredibly loud compared to the the Platinum as well. The increased power of the RC is as key with the Pro/Platinum.

If you can’t tell I’m partial to the Pro and the Platinum. I think you’ll agree if you try both

Yeah, the difference in sharpness with the fixed focus lens vs the focusing lens is what I am trying to get an understanding of. Quite hard to find information about it so far

I'm renting a mavic air over the upcoming weekend, so hopefully I will get a good feel for the size, loudness, battery life and controller stability that way. Maybe I'll simply be happy with the image sharpness too, that would make things easier

I also suspect that I would like to have the ability to use the camera in portrait mode (for panos) that only the MP gives, but on the other hand the small size of the Air is tempting of course...

 

[jgnu]

by merging them

Yeah the 12MP doesn't scare me. Merging panos is easy, and so is merging exposures for increased DR

Trying to figure out if the optical sharpness differs though, since the Air has a fixed-focus lens and the MP has a focusing one...

 

[brett8883]

Yeah, the difference in sharpness with the fixed focus lens vs the focusing lens is what I am trying to get an understanding of. Quite hard to find information about it so far

I'm renting a mavic air over the upcoming weekend, so hopefully I will get a good feel for the size, loudness, battery life and controller stability that way. Maybe I'll simply be happy with the image sharpness too, that would make things easier

I also suspect that I would like to have the ability to use the camera in portrait mode (for panos) that only the MP gives, but on the other hand the small size of the Air is tempting of course...

Well that’s just basic camera fundamentals. If fixed focus was as good as adjustable focus they wouldn’t make cameras with adjustable focus

 

[jgnu]

Well that’s just basic camera fundamentals. If fixed focus was as good as adjustable focus they wouldn’t make cameras with adjustable focus

True, but when the sensor is this small, a wide-angle lens might very-well have good enough focus throughout the frame with a fixed focus point.

I wouldn't be surprised if there is no noticable difference at all really, but I havent been able to find out for sure yet.

 

[Irvine]

Hi as well as a Spark drone I also have a mavic platinum which is brilliant for stills and videos.

 

[jgnu]

In case anyone else is in the same situation (choosing between mavic air and mavic pro 1 for landscape photography), here are my conclusions so far.

I've rented a mavic air over the weekend, and the rush of energy and fun from having access to these new camera angles is just amazing

I think the Airs fixed-focus camera is probalby good enough for what I want out of it for landscapes, but there are a few other things I found that makes me think I will end up with a mavic pro platinum instead:

- No dedicated control wheel for exposure (shutter speed) sucks
- The high-pitched noise of the Air bothered me more than I thought it would, and made me think twice about taking it out if there were people around... quiter/lower pitch would be welcome!
- I'm pretty sure the portrait orientation would be so much better for panoramas.
- The wifi signal was ok. Most of the time it was no problem at all, but there were times I would have wanted just a bit more range and stability.


Next step is either renting a mavic pro, or perhaps just buying one I think.

Anyway, here are a few examples of what I could get out of the Air. Not bad for a first weekend of flying in my opinion

 

[jgnu]

Another quick update for the hypothetical person weighing Air vs Pro for landscape stills:

I bought a Mavic Pro Platinum, and I'm confident I made the right choice (for me).

- The difference in image sharpness isn't big enough to matter, but the Pro is slightly sharper, I think.
- The controller is so much better. the dedicated wheel for shutter speed, and the fact that the display shows metering (+- EV) is great!
- The sound is great compared to the Air. So much more pleasant, especially on a quiet evening in nature.
- Portrait orientation panos are awsome.

Minor photography-related gripes (goes for both drones):
- AEB setting is cool, but the 3-frame version is meaningless since the difference in EV between frames is so small. Need to shoot 5-frame AEB and discard 3/5 frames usually.
- I wish I could have the drone do a pano with AEB for each shot. I can do it manually of course, but it would be a cool feature

I'll end with some shots from the other night (from the Mavic Pro Platinum):


Portrait mode pano, no exposure blending:


2 frames blended for dynamic range:


2 frames blended for dynamic range:

 

[HawkEye76]

Nice pictures!

 

[Travis]

Those pictures are great!

 

[Huckleberry]

This is a prime example of how experience with post production trumps any advancement in technology. You’ve taken an inferior UAS camera and produced pictures that not even a M2P can produce straight off the camera.

Beautiful work there jgnu. I wish I had your skill.

 

[jgnu]

Thanks for the kind words everyone, much appreciated

I find that with small sensor cameras, it helps to see it more as "gathering material" than "taking pictures". It's a bit sad that you cant see right away what the image looks like when you take it, but after a while you get used to sort of visualizing what you want to capture before you click the shutter.

I'm super-happy with the drone. It opens up so many exciting possibilities A few nights ago I experimented with stacking many 1/4s exposures to get something similar to a 20s long exposure. It wasn't quite perfect (the drone moved a bit more than expected), but still a fun experiment.

 

[Dustydoug]

Thanks for the kind words everyone, much appreciated

I find that with small sensor cameras, it helps to see it more as "gathering material" than "taking pictures". It's a bit sad that you cant see right away what the image looks like when you take it, but after a while you get used to sort of visualizing what you want to capture before you click the shutter.

I'm super-happy with the drone. It opens up so many exciting possibilities A few nights ago I experimented with stacking many 1/4s exposures to get something similar to a 20s long exposure. It wasn't quite perfect (the drone moved a bit more than expected), but still a fun experiment.

View attachment 78051

Thanks for keeping us updated in your quest for the right drone. I am in a similar situation and waffling between the pro platinum and the air. Great pictures by the way.

 

[jgnu]

Thanks for keeping us updated in your quest for the right drone. I am in a similar situation and waffling between the pro platinum and the air. Great pictures by the way.

For what it's worth, I feel the mavic pro is a much better fit for me at least. The air is a bit more portable, but that's the only thing it has going for it for my use cases, and I have no problem stuffing the pro in my regular camera bag anyway.

One more picture from the pro to keep up with my theme

 

[Dustydoug]

Very nice! Love the textures. You definitely have an eye for photography.