The DJI Mavic Mini doesn't look so old against the DJI Mavic Pro 2
Toy or serious video drone? Drone professional Cemil Erkoç pitted the DJI Mavic Mini against the Mavic 2 Pro. Of course, the little one loses the duel - but without embarrassing itself.
With the Mavic Mini, DJI has launched a drone that is significantly cheaper, smaller and lighter than the DJI Mavic 2 Pro. Of course, this is not without cuts in functionality. I wanted to find out whether these drawbacks are bearable, at least for beginners - or whether the DJI Mavic Mini is even something for real drone freaks.
I'm not doing the test myself, but leaving it to someone who knows a thing or two about drones: Cemil Erkoç. His aerial shots of Zurich speak for themselves. He normally uses a DJI Mavic 2 Pro. He compared it with the Mavic Mini for us.
Flying characteristics
A medium wind was blowing during the test flight at the beginning of December. However, the DJI Mavic Mini remains stable in the air despite its low weight. Cemil likes the gimbal. In general, the drone with the GPS sensor behaves very differently to certain toy drones. It is easy to fly, even for beginners. The motor noise is a little louder or at least more noticeable than with the Mavic 2 Pro: the smaller drone produces a higher sound.
The memory card slot on the Mavic Mini is open and has no cover. This could become a problem in high humidity.
Cemil is pleasantly surprised by the flight time. The battery lasts about as long as the Mavic 2 Pro. In the windy conditions, that was around 20 minutes. In calm conditions, it should be 25 minutes, Cemil estimates. The drone probably requires little power due to its low weight.
In contrast to the Mavic 2 Pro, the Mavic Mini has no sensors to detect obstacles. This is not a problem during the test flight as there are no obstacles. In any case, the sensors are a double-edged sword for Cemil. "You automatically fly less carefully if you know that your drone has sensors built in." However, this is a deceptive level of safety, as the drone can only reliably avoid obstacles at a relatively slow speed.
DJI claims that the image transmission reaches a distance of two kilometres. The Chinese are taking this too far. According to Cemil, there are already problems with image transmission from 200 metres. With the Mavic Pro, 600 metres would easily be possible. However, this is not a major problem, as you are obliged to keep the drone in visual contact anyway.
The videos
The DJI Mavic Mini records videos in 2.7K, the Mavic 2 Pro in 4K. This disadvantage should be easily bearable for the vast majority of people. Even with 2.7K, a section can still be used for Full HD.
In direct comparison, the Mini's recordings are even sharper. However, this is not because the camera is better, but because of what happens after the recording. The Mini delivers pan-ready videos that do not require any post-processing and are already highly sharpened straight out of the camera. The Mavic 2 Pro is different. It can save videos in the DLog colour profile. Very good results can be achieved with this data - but only if they are post-processed. This can be very time-consuming and is not the right thing for beginners. The standard colour profile also sharpens less aggressively than the Mavic Mini.
The Mavic 2 Pro reveals more details in the shadow areas. It also copes better with high contrasts. At around 2:40 minutes, you can see that the small sensor (1/2.3 inch) of the Mavic Mini struggles with the backlight situation: the sky is overexposed. The exposure cannot be corrected either - manual settings are generally not possible. The Mavic 2 Pro has a much larger 1-inch sensor and more manual setting options.
Nevertheless: The DJI Mavic Mini produces amazingly good videos.
Photos
The Mavic 2 Pro delivers RAW, the Mavic Mini only JPEG. The lower dynamic range of the Mini's small sensor is of course also reflected in the photos.
With the Mavic Mini, you can at least select the part of the image for which you want to optimise the exposure. So if you don't want to overexpose the sky, select it. In addition, the exposure can be locked so that the exposure does not constantly change when flying.
Update, 27.12.19: The photo function of the Mavic Mini also has a manual mode in which you can set the exposure time and ISO sensitivity yourself.
Conclusion: Perfect for beginners
Cemil can imagine buying the DJI Mavic Mini as a backup drone. As it is so small and light, he could easily take it with him in addition to the Mavic 2 Pro. However, it is not a replacement for the Mavic 2.
It is an excellent drone for beginners thanks to its easy handling during flight and filming. The quality of the videos is very good considering the price. The battery life and flight stability are also impressive. <p
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David Lee
Senior Editor
David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.chMy interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
