Video comparison of HDR on Mavic Air 2 and Mavic 2 Pro.

[Derlisz]

I have shot these two videos about a week apart and the nature has changed a bit here and there but it should still give you some idea about what to expect from each HDR mode. Mind that shooting in HLG profile you make a 10bit video that will require some knowledge to process but as a result you will get a actual 10bit HDR video. With Mavic Air 2 the results can be impressive but it's HDR only in a way that video has "improved" high dynamic range straight out of the camera. Video shot with Mavic Air 2 will not be recognised as actual HDR file by a TV set or sharing platform like YouTube. I did my best for both videos to look as attractive as I could and I did have to spend a significant additional amount of time on video made by m2p. I would estimate little was as much as 10 times as long as it took me to make video from the other drone.

Mavic 2 Pro version here:

Mavic Air 2 version here

If you have any questions I will be happy to help.

 

[Maxwell79]

well done. Overall I prefer the one made with MA2, maybe it is just sharper and more saturated but looks more attractive. Why did you spend so long to edit on m2p ?

 

[Derlisz]

Thanks. The reasons are many. The 10bit footage is quite taxing on my hardware. Despite the computer being quite modern and having hardware support of the h.265 things work slowly and even initial cutting of footage takes longer without possibility of skimming. The colour correction of true HDR is more involved, especially without a HDR monitor. Add to that having to fix the barrel effect and few other quirks that m2p camera produces in colour department and you might get the gist. In terms of ma2 footage all i had to do was to make a small adjustment of the exposure and dial down on the saturation a little. I found that shooting in HLG on m2p it recorded a lot more info in highlights but as the same time missed out on a lot in the shadows. I'm not quite sure why.

 

[Ice_2k]

Is it just on my computer the M2P footage looks ridiculously over exposed? Judging by everybody else’s comments, here and on YouTube, I’m guessing it’s something particular to how my computer is rendering the HDR video on YouTube.

 

[Ice_2k]

Looks fine on the phone, interesting...

 

[gottahavit]

So watching on my non hdr 4k laptop, I find them very close but think the M2P greens are crushed compared to the MA2. Interesting that on my HDR Oled TV neither trigger HDR mode.

 

[Derlisz]

Is it just on my computer the M2P footage looks ridiculously over exposed? Judging by everybody else’s comments, here and on YouTube, I’m guessing it’s something particular to how my computer is rendering the HDR video on YouTube.

If you don't have HDR monitor the YouTube shouldn't try to play the file in HDR. I'm not sure why it is so. I tried playing them on my non hdr laptop and it plays fine. It works as HDR on my phone and TV that support it.

 

[Derlisz]

So watching on my non hdr 4k laptop, I find them very close but think the M2P greens are crushed compared to the MA2. Interesting that on my HDR Oled TV neither trigger HDR mode.

The m2p version should play as HDR. In resolution selection there should be HDR displayed next to the resolution of your choice. It definitely works. Watching on my end the greens look very similar in both videos. I'm no expert though.

 

[Ice_2k]

If you don't have HDR monitor the YouTube shouldn't try to play the file in HDR. I'm not sure why it is so. I tried playing them on my non hdr laptop and it plays fine. It works as HDR on my phone and TV that support it.

Apparently it was Chrome f*cking up... Chrome on the left, Safari on the right

 

[d-rive]

Different time, different day, different light. It is really hard to compare.

 

[Derlisz]

Different time, different day, different light. It is really hard to compare.

Different day like I said but all other conditions are the same. It is easier then you think

 

[d-rive]

I didn't say is not easy. But it is irelevant. I have MA2 and i am prone to see that the MA2 is better, but a lot of things are different. I am a photographer and the light is what concern me on that videos, not other thing.
But, a big thank you for the compare.

 

[Derlisz]

I didn't say is not easy. But it is irelevant. I have MA2 and i am prone to see that the MA2 is better, but a lot of things are different. I am a photographer and the light is what concern me on that videos, not other thing.
But, a big thank you for the compare.

That is my point. I'm not biased and I do not say which one is better. I couldn't even claim it's a comparison of the two cameras. It is more of a comparison of a real HDR on one and fully auto fake one on the other. But that aside the lighting conditions where no different in both videos.