DJI's new Mavic Air 2 folding-style drone is a huge improvement over the previous model—so much so that for most people, this is the perfect drone.
The Mavic Air 2 is the middle child in DJI's consumer drone lineup, sitting between the smaller, lighter, but less capable Mavic Mini, and the more powerful, more capable, but also more expensive, Mavic 2.
If you're just getting started with drones, the less expensive Mavic Mini (8/10 WIRED Recommends)—my previous top pick for most people—might be a better buy. That said, the Air 2 offers better collision-avoidance systems, higher-quality photos and video, and a wide assortment of automated flight features that newcomers and seasoned vets alike can appreciate.
The Mavic Air 2 is slightly bigger than its predecessor, at least on paper. In practice, I didn't notice the difference. The folding design remains compact, and at 1.3 pounds, the drone is plenty portable. Fully folded, it takes up about as much room as a medium-size telephoto lens. It fits nicely in several camera bags I happened to be testing as well.
The camera sensor is bigger this time around too. The lens on the Air 2 is still 24-mm-equivalent, with an f/2.8 aperture. However DJI has moved to a larger half-inch sensor on this drone, which makes for much sharper images. The camera captures 12 megapixels per frame, but there's also an option to generate 48-megapixel images that are stitched together automatically from multiple shots. Provided conditions are right for a composite image—meaning the drone is able to capture multiple images of the same scene cleanly, without the wind throwing it around too much—the 48-megapixel images are impressive.
While the photo improvements are welcome for still photographers, most people will be more excited about the expanded video capabilities, which now include the ability to shoot 4K video at 60 frames per second and 120 Mbps. The rest of the Mavic line—including the more expensive Mavic 2 Pro—tops out at 30 fps when shooting in full 4K resolution.
The 60 frames-per-second 4K video is especially useful when shooting anything fast-moving. A video with more frames serves as a better record of the scene and opens up more possibilities when editing, such as slowing down the footage to allow viewers to see more of what happened.