DJI Mavic Air 1 Review. Is it Still Worth it in 2020?

About a week after it was released, I jumped on the opportunity and ordered myself a Mavic Air. This review covers the experiences I’ve had with since (which is now several years old and comes after the release of the Mavic Air 2).

Stats and info on the Mavic Air:

Name: Mavic Air.

Company: DJI.

Typical Flight Time: 15-21 minutes.

Size: Fits in your palm. Slightly larger than a Spark and slightly smaller than a Mavic Pro.

Price: $599 for basic controller/drone combo. $799 for combo package which includes extra batteries and other accessories.

Camera quality: 4k @ 30 fps with up to 100 mbps, 12 MP camera.

Rating of product: 50 out of 100 points.

My overall view of the Mavic Air: When it first came out, I really enjoyed flying it. However, while my original score of this drone was very high, once models like the Mavic Mini and Mavic Air 2 came out, I had to adjust the score and lessen it.

The drone is not bad at all and is still great, but I’d be lying to you if I said that it’s still worth getting when you have other models that are even better out for good prices, namely those 2 I just listed.

Getting into the details of the Mavic Air 1: 

This drone is basically a blend of the Spark and the original Mavic Pro 1. In some ways, I’d say it’s right in the middle in terms of pros and cons that I’ll get to in a moment. It can fit in your palm, is extremely portable and has a great camera in my opinion.

The pros:

• Great camera.
• Very portable drone.
• Decent flight time.
• 3 sensors.

The cons:

• Very loud.
• Camera tilts down when flying at sport mode (can’t be adjusted).
• Better models on the market today.

Let’s get into the details of each pro and con of the Mavic Air 1:

The camera.

I always focus a majority of my drone reviews with the camera quality.

With this model, you’re looking at VERY high quality camera. 12 MP, 4k @ 30 fps is no joke and it is found on the following models:

• Mavic Pro 1.
• The original Phantom 4. 
• Phantom 3 SE.

I have to admit, I honestly didn’t expect the camera to shoot as well as it did when I first got it. In many ways it surpassed the Spark drone by far.

This photo is shot on auto and I’ve got to say, I was absolutely amazed at how it captured the shadows and details of the rocks on the shore:

And speaking of rocks, I want to draw your attention to the shoreline on the right hand side of the picture.

Because I had to lower the size of the photo, it actually impacted the details a little bit, but make no mistake, when you view this photo from it’s default size, the details in such things as those rocks are simply amazing. One more:

 

 

Now I will try to put up a video soon but here is a screenshot of one of the videos I made with this drone while flying in this area. Ready to take these kinds of shots? Get the Mavic Air here.

 

But when you put it into perspective, how good is the Mavic Air camera?

Well it depends on what you compare it to. From a whole perspective, it’s a great camera, but obviously when you compare it to other drones like these, then here’s what I can tell you:

• Against the Phantom 4 Pro, obviously the Phantom wins.
• Against the Mavic Pro 1, I’d say the Pro wins slightly.
• Against the Mavic Mini, it’s slightly better.
• Against the Spark, it’s better.
• Against the Mavic 2 Pro, obviously the Mavic 2 Pro is better.
• And obviously, against drones like the Autel Evo 2, I don’t think I have to tell you which one wins.

But one thing I like doing is comparing drone footage to camera phone footage. When I first got my Mavic Air 1, I owned a Samsung S8+ and I took some comparison photos to see how they did against one another:

As an auto shot, I dare say the MA has more sharpness and detail. Not to say the Samsung “sucks”. I actually love the camera on it, but on this drone, the footage you take is superior. PLUS if you manually edit the shot (on the drone), this is how it would change:

If there was any doubt the first picture was close, this should put an end to that debate. The MA shoots WAY better than one of the best smartphone cameras on the market (and it’s still considered to be a great camera). 

Auto focus:

The Mavic Pro had this annoying thing, it wouldn’t focus on a shot unless you touched the phone screen to make the camera do it. On the Mavic Air, this is no longer an issue as auto focus is turned on all the time.

Therefore, you won’t get blurry shots because you forgot to touch the screen to focus, just the fine details, every time. Some say this is a hindrance on the quality of the footage, but it depends on the person.

Gimbal:

Despite looking like a 2 axis gimbal, like on the Spark, this one actually has 3, giving it more mobili

ty and options, a huge improvement from the Spark before it.

Sensors. There’s 3 of them. It’s the first portable model of it’s kind to do it.

This is first portable drone that I know of in existence that has sensors on the front, bottom and BACK of the model. The portable options you had before didn’t have anything on the back, just on the front and bottom, so this is a huge plus. Flying backwards is something many pilots do and having this extra safety feature is awesome. 

Before this drone, only the Phantom 4 Pro had this feature. Additionally, these sensors allow the dron

e to more intelligently fly around obstacles when following you.

Flight capabilities (range, 8 intelligent flight modes & palm control):

4 KM range, has several intelligent flight modes such as controlling it with your palm (like with the Spark), accurate return to home option and a bunch of follow me features which let it fly around an obstacle, vs stalling next to it.

The Mavic Air has incredible, Mavic Pro, Phantom 4 Pro level intelligence.

Battery/flight time.

Officially, it’s at 21 minutes, but these numbers always “vary” based on circumstances. Usually the more average and real number is about 5 minutes under, so basically above 15 minutes, but under 21 minutes (unless you can get perfect weather conditions to get to 21).

It has legs that unfold near the tip of the wings. 

I’d say this bonus more so adds aesthetic benefits, but it is nice to have as when you fold it up, the drone has more portability and when you unfold it, it has less chances of touching down on it’s belly. 

Also: ALWAYS unfold them because if you start the drone and the camera starts moving, it’ll touch the ground if the legs aren’t unfolded. 

HUGE: An internal USB drive with 8 GB of storage.

This is the only drone that I know off that has such a thing. With other models, if you ever forget to bring an SD card, you’re out of luck. With the Air model, should such a scenario happen, you can rely on 8 GB worth of internal storage to save you.

And I’ll tell you what, this came in VERY handy the first time I flew this drone:

The shots I took above, I originally used an SD card to do it, but when I got home and tried to have a look, it turned out the same SD card was corrupt and I couldn’t view the files. While I was upset, I decided to check the internal storage of the drone by connecting it to the USB port on my laptop and low and behold, the images/videos were there! 

While most people who review the Mavic Air attribute this perk when you forget an SD card, I’ll add from my own personal experience it comes in handy if the SD card is messed up as it was in my situation.

Flight speed.

Over 40 MPH (41). That’s ridiculously fast.

Smooth flight:

I couldn’t believe how such a tiny, light drone could fly like this. The smoothness of the flight very much reminds me of the Spark, which also is very smooth, but that’s mainly because of it’s size. The Mavic Air is bigger (slightly) and is even faster and still maintains that control the Spark has. This is a huge bonus for people who seek a fun, easy flight.

Good, actually great wind resistance. 

I honestly can’t believe how all of DJI’s portable models, including this one withstand wind, but somehow they do, and it just doesn’t seem logical. They can really hold their own in high winds, we’re talking up to 20-30 mph…

Good, easy controls. 

DJI excels at ease of flying. The Air model continues on this path. If you’re a beginner flyer, you will enjoy this model. The controller is easy to use.

Crazy good portability. 

I’m going to say it: It’s even more portable than the Spark and I say that because the wings are foldable and when it’s in that folded state, it’s even smaller than the Spark. Plus the case the Mavic Air comes with is extremely portable and easy to carry. 

We have a new king of portable drones, ladies and gentlemen.

Great looking drone!

The design of this model is superb. It looks better than any other DJI model I’ve seen so far. 

Price is actually not bad. 

It is literally in between the price range of a Spark and Pro. At $799, it’s not bad at all! And for that, you get a lot more than I expected:

• The drone.
• A controller.
• 1 battery with the whole thing.
• Propeller guards.
• Extra set of propellers.
• Extra pair of controls to put on the remote controller.

Get the regular MA pack here (combo pack also available).

It’s able to shoot better panoramas and a 360 degree shot.

Added to the awesome camera is the ability to shoot more diverse shots with over 30 pictures used to create a panoramic view. The 360 degree shot is also something new not seen before on DJI models. It basically shows the image as a sphere as though you’re looking at it from space.

Slow motion video option available.

Palm usage available here too and it’s next level.

There is no “palm landing”, but you can LIFT it with your palm, land it with your palm and have it follow you while avoiding obstacles. 

The case is awesome.

It’s like carrying a holder for glasses, but it fits this model perfectly (and protects it well). The case comes in both the regular and combo packs so feel safe knowing it’ll come either way. I can carry it in one hand easily.

Love the pros? Get the Air here!

Cons:

Propellers aren’t foldable.

The wings are foldable, but the propellers aren’t. The option is to fold the wings so the propellers stay close to the drone and that will keep them away from hitting something when you walk around with it.

It honestly makes it very portable to carry as I said before, and as long as you keep it in it’s case.

I would have liked to see the body made with the same material are the Mavic Pro.

It seems like the Mavic Pro has an awesome body and feel to that, but it’s a material that’s actually plastic, yet not the typical kind of plastic, but something sturdier and it feels far more dense. The Mavic Air does not have this sadly, even though it still feels great to hold in your hand and the body of the drone is smooth. I guess I’m just too used to my Mavic Pro still…

Other than this, I can honestly not think of any other cons. Even the ones I pointed to here are quite literally nothing to worry about. It’s just my subjective perspective of it. In any case, I really think DJI has made another awesome model worth having.

Why does it have to be so loud?

In my opinion the noise the propellers make are too much, especially when you consider how bigger drones like the Mavic 1 and 2 are WAY quieter. If this model was quiet, I would have scored it even higher.

My Score of the Mavic Air:

50 out of 100 points.

In 2020, this is still a very nice drone and it will definitely get you great shots, but like I said before, compared to the other models, you are likely better off getting them instead considering their price and specs.

Still wondering if it’s worth buying the Mavic Air?

If you’ve never owned a Spark or Mavic Pro 1, you are not going to go wrong with getting the Mavic Air, that I am absolutely certain of. It’s camera is nearly identical to it and the portability is that of a Spark. If you seek great filming potential and portability, the Mavic Air is your go to choice of a drone.

You will have a lot of fun carrying this thing around and using it. You will get great shots from it and awesome memories in the process

-But what if you do own a MP? Well I’d say unless you can afford it, you may want to stick with your existing Mavic Pro, at least until the second generation of it comes out.

-And if you own a Spark? Definitely upgrade. I like the Spark, I truly do and will continue to fly it, but it just can’t film of fly as well as the other drones in the DJI arsenal and the Mavic Air is quite superior to it.

-And if you have had neither but couldn’t decide on either one, then the Mavic Air is a must. Like I said, it’s a hybrid of the two and basically a best case choice as you’ll feel fulfilled with having the perks of both the previous models in this one.

Get The Mavic Air Here.

Mavic Air 1 regular vs combo package. Which should you get?

Normally I suggest first time drone buyers get combo packages because they have extra batteries and a bunch of other accessories you normally won’t get with a regular package.

With the Mavic Air, this appears to have changed as the regular package already holds so much (see above for a list of what it comes with). In my case, I already own several models in addition to this one, so having extra batteries to discharge is more of a problem for me, so I decided to go with the regular package.

If you’re a new drone owner (aka this is your first one), get a combo package, if you’re not and already have multiple models like I do an have to take time to discharge all the batteries, you may want to consider the regular package like me.