DJI Mavic 2 Zoom - Review

I have had a DJI Spark for over 1 year now and really enjoyed using it. I decided it was time to upgrade to a new drone. I had some key features that I was looking for in a new drone which included the following: 1) 4K video recording capability

2) Better range and with less signal interference

3) Better obstacle detection - although not extremely important

4) Longer flight time per battery charge.

5) A Quiet drone

I really liked the compact design of the DJI spark, and it is a really capable drone. I looked a many different drone reviews over a the past few months. Here are the drones that I included in my search:

1) DJI Mavic 2 Zoom and Pro

2) Parrot ANAFI

3) Autel EVO

4) DJI Mavic Air

Parrot ANAFI: Some reasons why I didn't pick other drones (I'll save the DJIs) for last. The Parrot ANAFI was a serious contender mainly because it had a unique feature to point the camera straight up. It seemed like a cool feature and still does. The ANAFI also has a version with a thermal camera which I thought could add a unique aspect to flying drones, although much more expensive. After watching several reviews I ruled out the Parrot ANAFI for the following reasons: 1) No obstacle avoidance (again this was not extremely critical for me since I really have not hit any objects, but there is always a first time).

2) Range and interference - From other reviews it seemed susceptible to interference and did not have longer range capabilities. I would like it to be able to fly in higher interference areas (like when there are many wifi transmitters around), or at least not worry that my drone is going to loose connection.

I did like that the Parrot ANAFI was extremely quiet and the price was very good.

Autel EVO: I really liked the reviews that I saw on the Autel EVO so much that I purchased one from Best Buy. I later returned it, and never had the chance to fly it since I didn't want to open the box and get hit with a re-stocking fee. I purchase it because there were some great package deals going on and didn't want to miss them, at least till I was finished looking for every review I could find. Things I liked about the Autel EVO:

1) Great range and limited issues with signal interferance

2) Nice compact package with easy fold out arms (less twisting than the DJI Mavic 2)

3) Remote has a built in display that can show the camera view.

4) Very good flight time and battery life

5) Seemed like it had a very good interface

So why did I return it:

1) It may seem like a small concern, but I contacted Autel Robotics to see if they had a list of all the firmware updates since the drone came out. I was expecting they would send me a link to the their site with revision history and I could review what changed and how frequently updates were made. I also wanted to know if some of the issues I was seeing in reviews that were 6 months to a year old were fixed, Unfortunately Autel did not have a list. It was not the overwhelming reason, but it would have been nice to review what they have been doing since launching the drone.

2) This was the main reason: Noise level. I know I have seen a couple review videos that showed the Autel EVO as the same or better than the Mavic 2, but I am not sure I can believe those. Watching some of reviews it seemed clear that I could hear the EVO better then the Mavic 2 and in some cases it sounded very noisy. Anyway there is no way to know for sure unless I actually flew one (which I really would have liked to do).

The Camera on the EVO sounded like it might give better video quality then the Mavic, but I didn't really like the larger field of view compared to the Mavic 2. The EVO is still top on my list for drones, and was a lower cost option. The noise level was a concern in the end for me.

The Mavic Air: It seemed like an option and I almost purchased one. I am glade I did not, mainly do to the noise level. Price was good compared to a Mavic 2. The other concern I had was with range and signal interference in noisy areas, which is occurs in many places. It seemed like the range was similar to the Parrot ANAFI. Definetly would have been a step up from a DJI Spark, however.

Finally the Mavic 2 Zoom or Mavic 2 Pro. How can you decide? The only really difference between the two is the camera and the price. Mavic 2 Pro has the better camera and higher price. I really liked the idea of a 1" sensor with good low light capability. Not that I would be flying at night, but on cloudy days during the late afternoon it would be helpful. And it generally seems to have better image quality. Some reviews say the video image is software on Mavic 2 Pro, but I had a hard time seeing the difference.

Autel EVO vs Mavic 2 Zoom - Some say the camera is better on the EVO which has the capability to record 4K video at 60fps. I thought that would be really cool too, but overall I am not sure I would use the 60fps mode. Again I liked what I saw on the EVO reviews almost kept the one I purchased. Noise level comparisons in reviews swayed me to the Mavic 2 Zoom.

So far the Mavic 2 Zoom is much quieter, as compared to my DJI Spark. I have only flown the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom a few times, but I feels somehow more responsive and smoother then the DJI Spark. Initially I thought the DJI Spark and Mavic 2 Zoom were similar in nose level, but as I flew the Mavic 2 Zoom further away it seemed to become much quieter then the DJI Spark. The ability to fly the Mavic 2 Zoom without concerns it is going to loose connection is so nice, more so then I thought. After all one of the things about the Spark was to see how far you could push it before it looses connection and returns home.

One other factor with choosing the Mavic 2 Zoom, and possibly a bigger factor then I consciously thought, was that I was very familiar with the DJI GO 4 app and the DJI system in general. Although the Autel EVO app looks very nice as well and I was interested in trying it out.

More to come on my Experience with the Mavic 2 Zoom...after I get more flights in.

See first flight video here: https://youtu.be/vViMYGVjfzw