DJI Mavic 2 Pro Battery Pros and cons function and more

Mavic 2 Pro Battery — DJI’s Mavic 2 Pro Battery family has swapped its Phantom series for consumer drone use. Mavic drones are more modest and foldable for easier storage and transport. The top-end model, the Mavic 2 Pro ($1,729), has one of the largest image sensors available in a drone of this size. That means pictures and video look better than those from many other drones, including the Mavic 2 Zoom. The Pro is somewhat more costly, but we think the improvement in image and video quality is worth the additional expense. Finally, the Mavic 2 Pro is an excellent drone for enthusiast pilots and a strong choice for serious aerial photography.

This article is part of Cameras & Drones

Table of Contents

PROS

Superlative 4K video.
20MP Raw and JPG still imaging.
Great battery life.
Compact, foldable design.
Obstacle avoidance sensors.

CONS

8GB of internal memory isn’t much.
No DCI format support.
Expensive.

DJI MAVIC 2 PRO SPECS

Dimensions	3.3 by 3.6 by 8.4 inches
Weight	2 lb
Rotors	4

The Best Folding Drone

The Mavic 2 Pro follows the first Mavic Pro. However, it is somewhat larger overall. It measures 3.3 by 3.6 by 8.4 inches when folded and 3.3 by 9.5 by 12.7 inches with its arms extended. Unfolding the drone is quite simple; you must swing the front arms out before the rear ones. The aircraft weighs around 2 pounds, sufficiently heavy to require FAA registration while flying recreationally in the US.

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Despite being larger than the original Mavic and the later Mavic Air, the Mavic 2 Pro is still very compact. It fits nicely in a camera bag, taking up a similar amount of room to a regular 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto lens. You’ll need to set aside more space for the controller, charger, and any additional batteries you purchase, but you won’t need to dedicate an entire backpack to the Mavic as you do with larger drone designs.

For photographers who use drones as part of a wider photography setup, understanding basic camera equipment can also be useful. If you’re new to dedicated cameras, you can learn more about basic DSLR camera work before combining traditional photography with aerial imaging.

DJI is splitting the Mavic 2 line into two models — the Pro, which we’re reviewing here, and the Zoom, which has a 2x optical telephoto lens but a smartphone-sized 1/2.3-inch, 12MP image sensor. The Mavic 2 Pro uses a 1-inch sensor, which is significantly larger than the sensor behind the Mavic 2 Zoom’s lens. The larger surface area allows for higher image resolution and better video quality.

See How They Test Drones Mavic 2 Pro Battery

The included controller is similar to what you get with other Mavic models. It’s dark, with a short, variable cable to connect to your smartphone, which mounts underneath the controller. Two clips hold your phone — they’re large enough to accommodate a phablet and can handle a thin phone case. However, you’ll need to remove your phone from its case if you use a bulky one. There is a cutout on the left clip, so you can access your phone’s home button while it’s attached to the remote. Cables include connections for phones that use Lightning, Micro USB, and USB-C ports.

The remote has a monochrome display — it shows battery status, telemetry information, and other data. So it’s possible to fly the Mavic 2 without a phone attached. However, you’ll need an Android or iOS device and the DJI Go 4 application to activate the drone before your first flight. We don’t recommend flying without a phone, as you won’t see the view through the camera without one.

The remote control setup is also useful for pilots who want to operate their drones directly from a smartphone. If you’re interested in this type of setup, you can also read about using a powered drone with your smartphone to understand how mobile devices can be integrated into drone control.

Notwithstanding the flight sticks — which are removable for storage — the remote includes dual control wheels and additional buttons on the shoulders. The left wheel tilts the camera up and down, while the right wheel adjusts exposure. Buttons are used to capture an image or start a video. The remote also has a switch to change flight modes, a dedicated button to activate the Mavic’s return-to-home feature, and a pause button to freeze the drone in place. A small four-way controller can point the camera straight ahead or downward. Two programmable control buttons on the back provide additional customization.

How Did It Perform?

The Mavic 2 Pro is rated for up to 31 minutes of flight on a full battery charge. Of course, that number depends on how much time the drone can hover in place, so expect a few minutes less in real-world use. Our tests averaged 27 minutes — still a considerable amount of time in the air and better than the 23 minutes the original Mavic Pro achieved in our flights.

You expect a $1,500 drone to include an obstacle avoidance system, and the Mavic 2 doesn’t disappoint. It has sensors in multiple directions. In most flight modes, the forward, rear, upward, and downward sensors remain active, stopping the drone when an obstacle is detected. Switching to ActiveTrack, where the Mavic identifies and follows a moving subject, enables the side sensors.

They also work in Tripod mode, a low-speed setting that allows photographers to move the drone slowly to approach shots more precisely. The Mavic 2 also has a high-speed Sport mode. It increases the maximum flight speed from around 32mph to just under 45mph. All obstacle sensors are disabled when Sport mode is activated, so use it carefully.

For pilots interested in FPV-style flying, there are also other types of drone setups designed around a more immersive flying experience. You can learn more about flying an FPV drone without goggles and how this differs from conventional drone operation.

DJI has started adding internal storage to its drones — we first saw it with the Mavic Air. The Mavic 2 Pro also has 8GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot. The card slot is essential, as 8GB isn’t enough space to hold a large amount of video. The Mavic 2 shoots 4K footage at 100Mbps, so you’ll be limited to less than 15 minutes of video in internal memory. We would have preferred at least 16GB included with a Pro model. However, memory cards aren’t expensive, and having some internal storage means you won’t be stuck if you forget to pack a card.

DJI Go 4 App and Features

The DJI Mavic 2 Pro works with the DJI Go 4 application, available as a free download for Android and iOS devices. The application does many things, but most importantly, it gives you control over the drone’s camera and displays its perspective at 1080p quality. It also offers a world map overlaid on the video feed, which you can use to understand the Mavic’s position relative to you.

As with other DJI drones, the Mavic 2 Pro works with the DJI Go 4 application, available as a free download for Android and iOS devices. The application provides access to camera controls, flight information, maps, and other useful functions.

In addition to Hyperlapse, many other automated flight modes and options are available. They include Asteroid, which combines panoramic imaging and video to transform a normal view of the world into a Little Planet projection, which we first saw with the Mavic Air. It also supports TapFly, which allows you to fly the drone by tapping on your phone’s screen, ActiveTrack, and APAS. The latter — the Advanced Pilot Assistance System — is useful for flights with multiple obstacles to navigate. It does slow the drone down, but when enabled, it automatically moves around obstacles it encounters.

The application also has several safety features. It works with the drone’s GPS to enforce restricted airspaces, such as the permanent one around the White House and temporary drone restrictions around areas where major firefighting operations are taking place. These features can help pilots remain within applicable flight restrictions. Firmware updates, which can be regular with DJI products, are also performed using the application.

Superlative Video and Images

The DJI Mavic 2 Pro delivers excellent drone footage and still images in a compact form factor. To improve upon it significantly, you’d need to consider moving to a larger and more expensive aircraft with an SLR-sized sensor and interchangeable lenses.

The reason its footage is sharper than that of many other 4K drones is the sensor size. Most drones use a 1/2.3-inch sensor, similar to what you get in a smartphone. The Mavic 2 Pro uses a 1-inch sensor, which is considerably larger than the sensors used in the Mavic 2 Zoom, Mavic Air, and many other folding drones.

It’s not the first time DJI has used this sensor size in a drone — it’s also available in the larger Phantom 4 Pro and Phantom 4 Advanced models. They’re both still capable drones and offer some advantages, including support for the wider 4K DCI format. However, if you’re comfortable with UHD, the Mavic includes many of DJI’s newer features, including more advanced automated shots and APAS.

You get 4K UHD footage at 100Mbps, with your choice of H.264 or H.265 compression. Additionally, you can shoot ready-to-edit footage with a standard color profile. DJI has used color science technology from its partner Hasselblad for the Mavic 2 Pro’s camera.

The Best Small Drone of Mavic 2 Pro Battery

Is there a more capable folding drone than the DJI Mavic 2 Pro? It’s difficult to disagree. It’s small enough to fit alongside your other imaging and video equipment in a backpack, yet it doesn’t make many compromises when compared with larger drones.

If you don’t need to shoot footage intended for theatrical projection, the 4K UHD format is more than enough for most projects viewed on modern televisions and displays.

Combine the video quality with the ability to capture footage from different perspectives, excellent still imaging, and the impressive stabilization delivered by the Mavic 2’s gimbal, and you have a drone that is easy to appreciate. Yes, you pay a significant price, but the Mavic 2 Pro remains an excellent folding drone for enthusiasts and aerial photographers.