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New DJI Mavic Drones Will Have Better Cameras and Longer Flight Times

New camera drones in the DJI Mavic series

DJI’s Mavic Pro and the more recent Mavic Air are some of the most popular drones in the market right now. The two 4K camera drones are popular among aerial photography/videography professionals and hobbyists.

Now, DJI has confirmed that two new camera drones in the Mavic series are in the works. It’s essentially one drone, the Mavic 2, that will be available in two versions depending on the camera you want.

The Mavic 2 Pro with a 1” CMOS Hasselblad sensor will be the main offering. The Mavic 2 Zoom with a 2X zoom lens will be the other option.

The planned release of the two new drones leaked in a physical catalog from Argos UK, one of the biggest UK retailers (certainly a weird way for tech product releases to leak).

The print catalog was actually supposed to coincide with a DJI event presumably to launch the drones. But DJI postponed the event at the last minute.

Anyway, we don’t really care much about the who and why of the leak. What matters is that Mavic 2 is here and if the rumors and reports are correct, we are about to see a new standard in consumer camera drones.

Lens Options

DJI Mavic Pro camera drone real estate drone
The Mavic 2 Zoom will have a 2X zoom lens but retain the same 1/2.3” lens size as the one in the Mavic Pro (pictured above)

Initially, there were reports that DJI was planning to release just one drone with interchangeable lens options. This would have meant having a removable lens and gimbal.

But according to the catalog leak (still sounds weird) DJI seems to have opted for two versions of the Mavic 2 drone each with its own lens option.

According to the description in the catalog, the Mavic 2 Zoom will retain the same lens as the one used in the Mavic Pro and Air.

But it will have a 2X zoom lens. This will provide better and more detailed close-up shots.

It could especially come in handy in situations such as inspections of hazardous installations or search and rescue. It will also be a boon for aerial photographers.

But the Mavic 2 Pro is the one that has attracted the most interest because of the 1” CMOS Hasselblad sensor.

That’s a big improvement in terms of sensor size from the original Mavic Pro and will definitely make a huge impact on picture quality.

Both drones will almost certainly have 4K cameras.

Design and Other Specs

The Mavic 2 Pro will most likely be bigger and heavier than the Mavic 2 Zoom and even the original Mavic Pro simply because of the sensor size.

We also expect the camera setup to be bulkier to accommodate the larger sensor.

Reports suggest that both drones will retain the convenient folding design of the original Mavic drones. So they should be just as easy to travel with.

The ad in the catalog says that the flight time will be 31 minutes though I’m not sure whether it applies to both versions.

That would be a significant improvement from the current flight times of the Mavic Pro (27mins) and Mavic Air (21mins).

The ad also mentions omnidirectional obstacle sensing (using various sensors), 1080p video transmission with an 8km max range, and an improved Active Track mode.

Pricing and Availability

It’s not clear when DJI is planning to launch the Mavic 2 drone.

One source claimed that production numbers were to blame for the postponement of the launch event. Seems DJI does not want to have any shipping delays once the drone’s launch.

But they should be available sometime within the year, perhaps even as soon as this month or the next.

Pricing is also not clear but most drone enthusiasts are putting it in the $900-$1,500 range. The Mavic 2 Pro will likely pass the $1,000 mark while the Mavic 2 Zoom might settle at $1,000 or slightly less.

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