By default, the drone will be set to record video, which you can record either into the built-in 8 GB memory, or into a separate microSD card. While it is nice to have some built-in memory, It is recommended to get a fast microSD card that won’t boggle down when you write 4K video into it. A 64 GB microSD card, is capable of very fast throughput, even beyond 100 Mbit/sec rates.
Once you insert a microSD card into the unit, you can format it from the app and get it ready to record videos and photos.
To switch to photo mode, you simply press the icon above the red video record button, which switches the camera to photo mode. Once you do that, you will see that the menus will change accordingly. Again, there are three tabs in the photo mode as well.
The DJI Mavic Air comes with a boatload of other features called “Quickshot” that you can try. Personally, I didn’t care for these, but some of them can be quite cool to try out. Below is a list of things you can do with the drone:
To access these modes, you need to click the “Remote Control” icon on the left of the screen, then select “Quickshot” and pick one of the modes from the above list.
The DJI Mavic Air has a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor with equivalent 28mm f/2.8 aperture lenses for 12-megapixel stills. And it’s really small, making it incredibly portable.
In Mavic Air, the compact and foldable design makes a re-appearance, a feature in which DJI is taking portability to a whole new level. It comes with a nice zip-up case, but honestly, without the case, it can quite easily fit into a jacket pocket.
This drone doesn’t just offer straight photos, it offers panoramas, vertical, horizontal and even 180-degree images, which the drone stitches together for you. You just tap to find the mode and select to take, then the drone will move, taking shots to stitch together the finished product.
The Mavic Air can sense objects in 3 directions. It has a Forward, Backward and Downward vision system, which is constantly scanning for obstacles in front and behind the Mavic Air, allowing it to avoid collisions by flying either flying around the obstacle or hovering in front.
Obviously, there are some disadvantages, as there are with all drones. But we think the DJI Mavic Air is not too bad in comparison, and the kinds of features missing are really to be expected when you consider its price point, making this a really good drone overall.
Unfortunately, DJI didn’t implement the Lightbridge and OcuSync radio link technology on the Mavic Air, known for maintaining a great signal. The drone instead comes with an “enhanced” Wi-Fi link but it can be intermittent and in city’s where there is interference has a severely shortened range.
As usual with most drones, the 21 minutes of flight time advertised by DJI is very optimistic to say the least. In actual fact you would be lucky to fly for 15-16 minutes before reaching 20 percent of the battery in normal cruising. You may be able to drain the battery down to the critical level for another two minutes or so but no more than that.
The Mavic Air’s controller seems to be a copy of the Spark and like the Spark, the complaints remain the same. The phone grip is still too small for most tablets, the cable attachment on the side is not very practical, only slim smartphones fit in the grip and you must remove the protective case on your phone.
Is this the perfect portable drone for you? Simply click the links to the right to find out where to buy the DJI Mavic Air, and if you find it cheaper elsewhere let us know! Your fellow drone enthusiasts will thank you.
The size and portability are incredible. The level of technology packed in this tiny frame is impressive. The video is stable even in windy condition and the footage looks nice.
On the other side, the poor quality of the WiFi radio link is disappointing, especially for people living in countries were the 2.4 GHz band is disabled, leaving them with 5.8 GHz to deal with radio interference’s.
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