DJI Air 2S Launches Now! Hell YES!
If you’re like us you’ve been patiently waiting for the all new DJI Air 2S to launch today. If you can’t wait any longer, just click over to the Air 2S launch page at dji.com!
Ever since we first reported on the Air 2S months ago, the amount of drone rumors about it have been record setting. And for good reason.
The Air 2S is more than just an upgrade for the existing Mavic Air 2. Some of the new features are so much better that it now steps into (or exceeds) benchmarks set by much more expensive drones like the Mavic 2 Series.
We’ve published a complete list of the Air 2S specs at the bottom of this article, but first let’s go over what’s new & better in the all new DJI Air 2S:
Best Camera Drone Under $1000?
Available in a Basic Kit for $999, or the Fly More Combo for $1299 DJI has smartly kept it’s price point aimed at the pro-sumer market where $1000 seems to be the upper limit for many drone pilots to hit the “buy” button. But price is only one part of the equation. When you compare all of the exciting features(below) that you get in a sub-$1000 folding drone, it makes an incredibly compelling argument for why so many will step up to the Air 2S. And for those who were considering buying the aging Mavic 2 Series, there’s very little about the Air 2S that could be considered a step down.
Smart Controller Compatible!
This is the ONE feature we hoped would be “a thing”! We’ve loved the DJI Smart Controller since we ordered it with the Mavic 2 Pro. Good work making the Air 2S compatible with the Smart Controller DJI!
1″ CMOS Sensor
Borrowing from it’s older sibling, the Mavic 2 Pro, the Air 2S has the largest sensor of any folding quadcopter under 600 grams. A camera this large on such a small drone would have been unheard of just a couple of years ago but DJI keeps pushing forward to give creators and aerial photographers exactly what they want: the highest quality image & video capture in the smallest possible package.
The only point of contention with the new 1″ camera on the Air 2S is the fixed f/2.8 aperture. Many are saying a sensor that large needs a variable aperture like the Mavic 2 Pro. We tend to agree, but given a larger sensor with 20MP vs a 1/2″ 16MP sensor on the Mavic Air 2 you’re still going to have superior images and better low-light performance going with the Air 2S over the Mavic Air 2.
And don’t forget that there are firmware tricks (like in the Pocket 2) that
give aperture-control like results to fixed aperture photos.
8x / 4x Digital Zoom
Air 2S enjoys the same software driven digital zoom feature we’ve come to love in the Mini 2 and Mavic Air 2. Enjoy 8X digital zoom at 1080p or up to 4X digital zoom when shooting 4K so you never miss the perfect shot!
5.4K Video
Mavic Air 2 was the first DJI drone to give us 8K hyperlapse with a 4K camera. But even with this captivating video feature it still falls far short of what Autel released at CES in 2020 with the EVO II. Available in 3 models, the EVO II has either 6K or 8K video, a category-leading feature that has gone unchallenged by DJI since it was released.
5.4K video is obviously an upgrade for all of the DJI drones, but it’s a) not enough to play catch-up. If you had been at CES2020 you would have been absolutely blown away by how 8K video dominated the show. Every year there are a handful of themes that stand out, and 8K was one of them.
Yes it’s an upgrade, but 5.4K video is just a way for DJI to buy time until the Mavic 3 can be released later this year.
20MP Stills
We absolutely love this feature because we’ve been so used to it with our Mavic 2 Pro. Before I head out with a drone to shoot photos I have my choice between the 2 Pro, Air 2 and Mini 2. Any one of them can capture decent images that are perfectly lovely to most observers. But 99.9% of the time I reach for the Mavic 2 Pro simply because of it’s larger sensor and low-light performance. Ok, amazing performance in wind is a plus too.
If you pay attention to the aerial photo creators on social media, you’ll notice that they all have one trick in common when it comes to their gorgeous landscape photos: vertical panoramas. And this is where the 1″ sensor shines.
New Upward Sensor =APAS 4.0
DJI released it’s first version of APAS with the original Mavic Air, which only had 3-direction obstacle avoidance sensors.
APAS continues to evolve, and with the Air 2S it’s now in it’s 4th iteration….on a new drone that only has 4-direction obstacle avoidance sensors.
APAS 4.0 is one of the features we’re strangely looking forward to testing. We’ve never intentionally used it in the past, but because DJI claims it keep improving the APAS system we need to find out if it has any appeal for the type of content we create. Who knows, maybe APAS 4.0 might become our new favorite feature!
Obviously the new upward vision sensor are an upgrade from the Mavic Air 2, we just wish DJI had rounded out the obstacle avoidance by adding side sensors as well. When we tested the original Mavic Mini in Red Rock Canyon outside of Las Vegas at CES2020, we almost smashed into a tall cactus while trying out the Circle Quickshot. Thank goodness for fast reflexes!
Bottom line: more sensors are always better than less.
Ocusync 3.0 = Increased Transmission Range
Because it uses O3 (the new moniker for OcuSync 3.0) for signal transmission between the C2 and the Air 2S you’ll enjoy up to 12km of transmission distance as well as superior, lag-free video transmission back to your smartphone. DJI keeps upping the game when it comes to signal strength (remember the old wi-fi signal in the Spark?) to give pilots of all stripes the confidence to fly knowing they don’t have to worry about signal drop when they’re trying to get the “money shot”.
Borrowed from the just-released DJI FPV drone, O3 is absoluley epic RC transmission system.
Smart Features, Perfect Shots
MasterShots and FocusTrack effortlessly turn any adventure into cinematic footage
Introducing MasterShots
The next evolution of QuickShots, MasterShots is a n advanced autonomous feature that gives users the best shots in any location with just a tap. Simply select your subject, and the drone will film while executing ten different maneuvers in sequence, keeping your subject center-frame and generating a short cinematic video afterward
The Center of Attention
FocusTrack features Spotlight 2.0, ActiveTrack 4.0, and Point of Interest 3.0, making it a breeze for DJI Air 2S to follow or circle your subject
One Billion Colors
Fully immerse yourself in all the hues of your environment. The 10-bit Dlog-M color profile can record up to one billion colors while retaining all the little details that make footage pop.
ADS-B for Safer Skies
DJI Air 2S provides an added layer of airspace safety with the industry-leading AirSense safety system. This receives Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) flight location information from airplanes and helicopters in your area that transmit ADS-B signals, displays those aircraft on a map, and provides audio and visual alerts through the DJI Fly app to help you keep the drone out of the way of those aircraft.
Should You Buy The DJI Air 2S?
Whether the Air 2S is and upgrade from your current drone, or your first serious step into an pro-sumer drone we can tell you from experience that your favorite drone will be the one you have in the moment, when it needs to be captured.
Looking objectively at the specs, we would absolutely recommend the Air 2S as an upgrade from the Air 2S simply because of the price point, the larger 1″ 20MP sensor and higher video quality and the fact that they use the same battery.
If you’re considering the Air 2S as your first drone, it will nicely spoil you for quite some time. Those of us who have been through many (inferior) products over the years would have been over the moon to have a folding quacopter like the Air 2S as our first drone. The 31 minute battery life, excellent wind performance and highest quality video possible in a DJI consumer drone means you’ll enjoy a long meaningful life together with very little need to upgrade.
And factor in upgraded flight modes with SpotLight 2.0 and ActiveTrack 3.0 you will be creator content far in advance of what you thought your skill could achieve right from the start.
Where to buy the DJI Air 2S
Hands down we always recommend buying new product from the DJI online store simply because you can add DJI Care Refresh at checkout and it’s already ‘bound’ to the aircraft…there’s nothing more to do. Like ‘Apple Care’ for your drone, DJI care refresh allows for 2 low-cost replacements in the first year if your drone is damaged by a crash, water, dropping. After the first year you’ll be invited to extend the coverage for another term. It’s cheap insurance.
We also recommend that you consider buying DJI Select, when invited by DJI, as it pays for itself several times over with the coupons you receive. And as a DJI Select member you receive priority fulfillment on your future orders…meaning you get your orders before anyone else!
If you prefer to use retailers other than DJI, we recommend Adorama, B&H Photo and BestBuy.
What do you think? Are you going to buy the new DJI Air 2S? Let us know why in the comments!
Nice! The spec looks fantastic but I’m not remotely tempted because in the EU and UK, at the end of next year, we will not be allowed to fly that in towns or parks and must keep it at least 150m away from all buildings and 50m from uninvolved people.
The ONLY drones worth buying in the EU or UK will now have to have the new C1 classification, or weigh les than 250g.
Did you try Burst shooting in still mode? If so how many frames before buffering and any idea of speed (frames per second)?
Great post – here’s my main question – what’s the deal with this an Remote ID? Is it all set for that or will we need to buy a module down the road?