DJI Unveils New Mavic 2 Drones: Hasselblad-Designed Camera and Dolly Zoom

China’s drone behemoth DJI unveiled the Mavic 2 yesterday, a true successor to the company’s most popular and iconic Mavic Pro. This time round, two editions were unleashed: Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom. Key upgrades include up to 31 minutes of flight time and additional sensors for obstacles avoidance.

The Mavic 2 Pro comes equipped with a Hasselblad-designed camera and a large image sensor, while the Mavic 2 Zoom, though not equipped with the same world-class camera, comes with a 2x optical zoom lens, making it the world’s first foldable consumer drone with optical zoom capabilities. Aside from camera differences, the two Mavics are virtually the same.

DJI-MAVIC-2-PRO-ZOOM
Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom

“Today, a new era of aerial photography dawns upon us with the introduction of DJI’s new flagship product, the Mavic 2 series,” said Roger Luo, president at DJI. “The Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom will enable photographers and videographers to take their inspirations to the air quickly and elevate their creative ideas to new heights.”

Designed for professionals, aerial photographers and content creators, the Mavic 2 is the most advanced camera drone ever built. Incorporating the iconic folding design of the most popular Mavic Pro, the Mavic 2 is a powerful device with new gimbal-stabilized cameras and advanced features like Hyperlapse and ActiveTrack. These functions allow the drone to create moving time-lapse images when the drone covers a large distance. With an impressive flight time of up to 31 minutes and a more stable video transmission system, the Mavic 2 delivers an optimal flight stability for capturing dynamic shots with a higher contrast ratio.

DJI Mavic 2 drone
DJI Mavic 2

“The Mavic 2’s redesigned, more aerodynamic airframe reduces body drag by up to 19 percent compared to the Mavic Pro, allowing it to fly at a velocity of up to 44mph (72km/h) in Sports Mode. The newly improved flight time was a result of the combination of a more efficient, quieter propulsion system and noise reducing propellers,” DJI explains on its website.

The Mavic 2 Zoom also comes with a kick-ass “dolly zoom” function that you might have come across plenty of times in movies. With this mode, the foreground subject remains still while the background is can zoom in and out, creating a bewitching feeling of unreality for viewers. The movie-like mode is usually hard to achieve by any aerial camera, but the trick can be achieved by a simple button click. Powered by a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, the Mavic 2 Zoom is DJI’s first foldable consumer drone with zoom, providing a dynamic perspective that ushers in a new era of creative storytelling.