MAVIC MINI 2 - UPDATE | Latest Leaked Photos and Spec Info

[Heindrich1988]

Everyone fails to mention a HUGE advantage which is cheaper replacement or spare batteries. The Air 2 batteries are $115 and the current mini batteries are like $45. So with the new mini fly more, you do get 3, but if you want two more batteries it'll be less than the cost of one more Air 2 battery.

It's a much cheaper drone to fly as the batteries wear out fairly quickly. Cheaper per flight or cheaper per minute etc.

Yeah, you're right. I was not aware of the gap in price of the batteries.

Last week I went to shoot some scenes around my nearest big city. I ran out of my three batteries by the time I finished my morning scenes. I tried to recharge at a cafe, which kindly let me leave my batteries with them whilst I went exploring. But even so, with each battery taking 1hr40mins to recharge, I only had 1 battery fully recharged and one battery to about 80% by the time I came back for them. In that moment, I realized that 3 batteries just ain't enough if you want to capture one big location over just one day.

So, I ordered a new battery at the local DJI store, where they helpfully started charging it for me before I went to pick it up. But the price was pretty painful, 699 RMB. I see that the Mini battery is just 299 RMB in China. That'd have been a lot more palatable for sure. It's quite amazing that the Mini achieves basically the same flight time on a much cheaper battery.

 

[Th3DroneroGT]

Everyone talks that the Mini 2 is similar to Air 2, it is true but it is 4K at 30fps not 60fps.

Keep in mind that the Mavic Mini's main feature is that it is a drone made for travel, a mavic air 2 will not let you enter any country.

Also the flight modes are the same as the Mini 1, only they added the Pano mode (which I don't know if DJI incorporated it into the Mini 1)

 

[Ahmed2424]

Sorry....$449 - $599 USD (fly more combo)

do you know how much that will be in euros?

 

[skunky1]

Everyone talks that the Mini 2 is similar to Air 2, it is true but it is 4K at 30fps not 60fps.

Keep in mind that the Mavic Mini's main feature is that it is a drone made for travel, a mavic air 2 will not let you enter any country.

Also the flight modes are the same as the Mini 1, only they added the Pano mode (which I don't know if DJI incorporated it into the Mini 1)

Are you saying that I can’t travel to any country with a Mavic air 2 or my M2P?

Where did you hear this from ?

 

[skunky1]

do you know how much that will be in euros?

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[Heindrich1988]

do you know how much that will be in euros?

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Unfortunately it is not as simple as plugging USD prices into a currency converter.

DJI charges a premium for many (most?) countries that are not China and the United States. For example, currently, the Mavic Mini 1.0 is $399 ($499 for Fly More Combo) and also 399 Euros (499 Euros for Fly More) in the EU, even though obviously Euros are worth more than USD.

So, my best bet? Mini 2 will cost 449 Euros, or 599 Euros for Fly More.

 

[karlblessing]

I have a couple theories and what I suspect may end up being the case when the official specs and reviews get underway in a week.

4K - I suspect since the sensor and the camera seem to be the same based on the people who got the early best buy boxes, that the 4K isn't "native" to the sensor but rather upscaled 2.7K, hoping it isn't the case but if it's the same sensor, that would likely be the case no? Unless there's additional hardware to read the pixels differently (hence not actually the same basic camera).

Level 5 Wind Resistance - I suspect the wind resistance hasn't actually changed from the Mini, but rather field testing of them by consumers showed the Mini could handle a little more than what DJI said was the warranty covered range and decided to extend it in specs after having enough field data to be confident about holding up to it.

Occusync 2.0 - This should have been on the Mini 1 to begin with imo, not for the sake of range, but rather for stability of connection among areas of interference. But I suspect this is new even if most other stuff isn't.

The additional software stuff like Panaromic and such, I would hope to see that possibly included in a firmware update for the MM, unless for some reason the Mini 2 has a different processor all together and the software wouldn't do well with it's predecessor.

I suspect that if there was additional weight elsewhere on the drone, that they shaved it off with the new batteries to keep it at 249g. So I am curious to see if there is much a difference in the batteries from the old one. I know the old batteries are roughly 100g, if the new ones are noticeably less then may point to weight changes elsewhere in the drone.

Things I hope for, but are rather unlikely to happen :
- The ability to purchase the new remote to work with the old Mini, or at the very least the included prop guard (if they are found not to warp the prop blades).
- Firmware updates to have the same 'software' functionality as the new Mini 2
- Some kind of rebate from DJI (if retailers don't do anything) for people who brought the Mini in the last week or two at the regular year's price. (highly doubtful but would be nice )

 

[boblui]

4K - I suspect since the sensor and the camera seem to be the same based on the people who got the early best buy boxes, that the 4K isn't "native" to the sensor but rather upscaled 2.7K, hoping it isn't the case but if it's the same sensor, that would likely be the case no? Unless there's additional hardware to read the pixels differently (hence not actually the same basic camera).

May well be the case. As a matter of fact M2P's 4K FOV is just inflated 2.7K :

 

[karlblessing]

Everyone talks that the Mini 2 is similar to Air 2, it is true but it is 4K at 30fps not 60fps.

Even if both shoot at 4K, the sensor doesn't appear to be the same thing in terms of actual pixel quality (or least their processing before being saved as a video onto the card). Not just about the frame rate or resolution, but the quality of that resolution.

For example I two identical 12 megapixel cameras, one in the Mavic Mini, and one in an old Pentax Q10 from 2012 (interchangeable lens mirrorless camera, with identical sized 1/2.3" sensor to the Mini, but the Q10 will shoot DNG raw files).

When using the 01 standard prime lens set at f/2.8 (to match the fixed aperture of the mini), the photo quality is actually noticeably better at 100% than the photo quality on the Mavic Mini.

Though photo wise, the 12.4 Megapixel photos of the Mavic Air 2 aren't as clear as that of the Q10 from nearly 10 years ago, but still better than the Mavic Mini (the 48 megapixel mode, seems closer to what the Mini produces at 100% in terms of chunkyness). The Q10 outperforms both in regards to clearer details, and smoother gradient areas (grass, sky, etc) without banding, but does produce more purple fringe and more edge distortion at the edge of the frame (when not using the embeded lens profile)

Photo wise both seem kind of behind the times, but video wise do a lot better.

I'm mainly curious to see if the Mini 2's 4K video footage is even close to the frame quality of the Air 2 at 4K , regardless if it can't shoot above 30fps, as I wouldn't really rely on either the Mi2 or MA2 for photos (other than the fact it's the only camera you can get up into those viewing vantages).

 

[Category 5]

Even if both shoot at 4K, the sensor doesn't appear to be the same thing in terms of actual pixel quality (or least their processing before being saved as a video onto the card). Not just about the frame rate or resolution, but the quality of that resolution.

I'm mainly curious to see if the Mini 2's 4K video footage is even close to the frame quality of the Air 2 at 4K , regardless if it can't shoot above 30fps, as I wouldn't really rely on either the Mi2 or MA2 for photos (other than the fact it's the only camera you can get up into those viewing vantages).

Mavic 2 Pro can't do 60fps and it's doing just fine with photographers, so 60fps itself isn't the killer feature. As for the sensor, I think it's been said that the mini has a 4K sensor already, and that the output is downsampled, so it could have the same camera and just different processing, and get great 4k.

 

[superfunkmojo]

Any idea when the Mavic Mini 2 will actually be released? The official release date?

 

[zeusfl]

I hope will be dual-band. 2.4 and 5.8.

 

[RogerDH]

I have a couple theories and what I suspect may end up being the case when the official specs and reviews get underway in a week.

4K - I suspect since the sensor and the camera seem to be the same based on the people who got the early best buy boxes, that the 4K isn't "native" to the sensor but rather upscaled 2.7K, hoping it isn't the case but if it's the same sensor, that would likely be the case no? Unless there's additional hardware to read the pixels differently (hence not actually the same basic camera).
*snip*

No, the camera in the Mini 1 has a 4000x3000 pixel sensor, and the video has the same horizontal field of view as the 12 MP photos, so the 4K native video is being downsized to 2.7K (which is done on the camera chip).

 

[zeusfl]

No, the camera in the Mini 1 has a 4000x3000 pixel sensor, and the video has the same horizontal field of view as the 12 MP photos, so the 4K native video is being downsized to 2.7K (which is done on the camera chip).

Correct. Is my understanding of what I was reading in the DJI forums, they do not go to 4K because was overheating the camera chipset, but the camera was 4K capable. Probably they resolved the problem now or were just marketing reasons.

 

[nn666]

DJI was never gonna please everyone. It's impossible to pack all the features people want into 249g, not to mention the cost implications.

To be honest, I think Active Track is only a gimmick that looks really fun at first glance, but for most drone enthusiasts, the fun part of flying a drone is... well, actually flying it yourself. It may be very important to you, but I would be surprised if it it even came in the top three for the majority of people.

For me, I picked the Air 2 over the Mini for 3 main reasons:

1) Occusync 2.0: I was first intrigued by drones when I watched a Mavic Mini range test by Dustin Dunnill and some "exploration" videos by MilesDeep. I thought it was amazing that such a tiny little machine could fly so far and explore places you cannot easily reach on foot.

2) 4K camera. That's a big deal to most people, because 4K is pretty much the "industry standard" for the next generation of games and other video platforms. It means that your camera won't be obsolete any time soon.

3) Wind resistance. This is perhaps not apparent to those who dive into a purchase without much research. For me, my research quickly revealed that the Mini 1.0 is just too vulnerable to fly-away in high winds. I was sorely tempted to buy a Mini to save money, but then I realized that it would be far more likely for me to lose my Mini than an Air 2, so overall, I felt that the Air 2 was actually more economical once risk is factored in.

The fact that the Mini 2.0 address all three of the above for just $50 more blows my mind. ($100 more really, cos I'd always buy the Fly More combo). Honestly, I hate to admit it, but I'm feeling a bit salty that Mini 2.0 users will get 90% of the functionality that I care about for 60% of the cost I paid for my Air 2 Fly More combo. Plus, I always thought the Mini looks cooler too.

Unless I'm missing something big, it looks like the Mini 2.0 is basically an Air 2 minus Active Track and obstacle avoidance.

I've already said what I feel about auto flight modes... Obstacle avoidance sensors is the same thing for me. At first, I felt like it was a big deal. But frankly, I don't want to entrust the safety of my expensive drone to technology and basically fly as if my Air 2 has no sensors at all. In fact, I've heard about so many accidents that were caused by sensors that I'm not sure they offer that much protection overall.

If the mini doesn’t have raw photos that will be the difference. Jpeg limits you so much with editing.

 

[nn666]

Correct. Is my understanding of what I was reading in the DJI forums, they do not go to 4K because was overheating the camera chipset, but the camera was 4K capable. Probably they resolved the problem now or were just marketing reasons.

It could also be a way to get people to buy the new one. Apple do this all the time, release iPhones that don’t have features current competitors have and release it on their next model.

 

[WannaBFpv]

Any idea when the Mavic Mini 2 will actually be released? The official release date?

I think is being released on Nov. 2 (bestbuy info)

 

[boblui]

I hope will be dual-band. 2.4 and 5.8.

It is as indicated in the report submitted to FCC.

 

[Repaid1]

I think is being released on Nov. 2 (bestbuy info)

The other thread mentions Nov 4th (BestBuy)? Can't remember which one...there are so darn many. Guess we call it 1st week of Nov and call it a day.

 

[karlblessing]

If the mini doesn’t have raw photos that will be the difference. Jpeg limits you so much with editing.

Based on the Jpeg quality it already has, raw isn't going to save you much, it's very chunky.