DJI drones are the most popular on the market. Whether you’re a hobbyist wanting to experience the thrill of flying, a content creator keen to capture some seriously good footage, or a commercial operator aiming to maximise efficiency and improve safety, there’s a DJI drone out there for you.
But which DJI drone is best to meet your needs? In this blog, we take a look at the collection of drones in DJI’s innovative ecosystem to help you decide.
DJI New Release Drones
DJI Mavic Air 2
Highlights: Capture great content with 48MP camera and 4K/60fps video. Enhanced object tracking and safety features. Powerful and portable.
Released in April 2020, the DJI Mavic Air 2 set a new standard for mid-range drones, offering a perfect blend between power, portability, and a fun recreational aircraft to fly.
It was also a symbol of how far DJI drones have evolved in the space of a few years, completely blowing the original Mavic Air (released in 2018) out of the water with vastly superior specs and safety features.
Thanks to its enhanced capabilities, and with a fairly small and foldable frame to boot, the portable DJI Mavic Air 2 – priced £769 upon release – is the ideal companion for casual content creators, vloggers, and travel enthusiasts.
Its standout photography modes include 48MP image capture and 8K Hyperlapse, as well as shooting 4K/60fps video and slow-motion video up to 240fps at 1080p – a feature not found on the flagship Mavic 2 models.
That’s a common theme, with the Mavic Air 2 undergoing a thorough modernisation of DJI tech, such as enhanced tracking features, the longest battery life of any Mavic drone at 34 minutes, and sophisticated safety and obstacle avoidance features.
As a side-note, the Mavic Air 2 was expected to come with DJI AirSense – an alert system that uses ADS-B signals from nearby airplanes and helicopters to warn drone pilots if they appear to be on a collision course. To the frustration of some drone users, only models in North America featured AirSense at launch – although DJI has said this tech will be rolled out further at a later date. The absence of AirSense might not be a major blow though
Regardless, the DJI Mavic Air 2 is a seriously good drone and one which will appeal to a broad range of pilots.
The Mavic Air 2 is available as a stand-alone drone, or as a Combo featuring a range of key accessories.
DJI M300 RTK
Highlights: 55 minute flight time. IP45 Rated. Carry three payloads. Three propeller emergency landing.
Drones have become a key commercial tool, and the DJI M300 RTK is DJI’s most sophisticated enterprise aircraft yet.
Building on the success of the popular M200 Series, this newest member of the Matrice family boasts an abundance of smart features to provide businesses and public safety departments with a mixture of intelligence and reliability.
This cyber workhorse can achieve 55 minutes of flight time, is IP45 rated for increased weather resistance, and can carry up to three payloads at once for enhanced mission efficiency.
When it comes to cameras, the M300 RTK can be integrated with sensors such as the XT2 thermal and Z30 zoom, as well as third-party payloads, plus two new hybrid cameras – the Zenmuse H20 and H20T – which have been engineered specifically for the M300 RTK and offer multi-sensor capabilities, including zoom, thermal and laser rangefinder options.
Integrating the H20 Series enables operators to utilise functions such as AI Spot-Check – allowing you to automate routine inspections and capture accurate data, time after time; and Smart Track – allowing you to locate and follow moving subjects with the auto-zoom function while acquiring your target’s dynamic location.
Other key features include Advanced Dual Control, enabling operators to switch aircraft control in-flight; and enhanced flight safety mechanisms, such as six-way directional sensing, Dual Battery provision enabling the drone to return to home if one battery fails, a three-propeller emergency landing to aid aircraft control in the event of a motor malfunction, and a Health Management System to provide key insights into the state of the aircraft.
Best Drones For Beginners And Children
DJI Mavic Mini
Highlights: Seriously small. 12MP images. 30 minute flight time. Powerful drone for its price bracket.
DJI is known for its innovation, and drones don’t get much more innovative than the DJI Mavic Mini.
This groundbreaking drone can capture 12MP stills and 2.7K Quad HD videos – all while weighing just 249g; that’s almost as light as an average smartphone.
Perfect for recreational flyers and vloggers, this drone is your perfect travel companion; meaning you can slip it into your pocket or handbag.
It can fly for up to 30 minutes and features a range of QuickShot shooting modes, and this footage can be quickly shared on social media.
Because of its tiny frame, and aided by easy-to-follow flight tutorials in the DJI Fly app, and its compatibility with prop guards, the DJI Mavic Mini is the ideal beginner’s drone, and the perfect drone for children.
They say that size doesn’t matter, but another advantage of the sub-250g Mavic Mini is that it currently falls under the drone registration threshold in certain countries, including the UK.
There are some niggles with the Mavic Mini; it can’t shoot 4k video, and it doesn’t have object tracking, but all things considered, it is a powerful drone which ticks a lot of boxes.
The fact it comes in at under the £500 mark is another huge advantage; giving you a lot of drone capability for the modest price tag.
The Mavic Mini is available as a stand-alone drone, or as a Combo featuring a range of key accessories.
Ryze Tello
Highlights: Incredibly safe and fun drone. Perform cool stunts like flips. Quickly share content to social media. Learn how to code with Scratch.
If ever there was a drone for beginners and children, the DJI-powered Ryze Tello is it.
This cheap mini drone – usually priced around the £100 mark, weighing just 80g and coming with prop guards – offers a safe and fun experience, ideal for newbies and youngsters who want to hone their flying skills.
Start flying the Tello by simply tossing it in the air. Once flying, perform cool flips, while a Bounce Mode sees the drone fly up and down from your hand automatically.
Boasted by an Intel 14-Core Processor and electronic image stabilisation, the Tello can capture 5MP photos. EZ Shots allows pilots to record pro-level videos and share them on social media from a smartphone.
Designed with children in mind, the Tello can be used as a fun educational tool, programmable with Scratch – a coding system which allows kids and teens to learn the basics of programming. More advanced users can develop software applications for Tello using the Tello SDK.
Best DJI Drone With Camera
DJI Inspire 2
Highlights: Incredible image capture for high-end filmmaking. Versatile; use a range of cameras. Speed and endurance.
When it comes to capturing high-end cinematic shots, look no further than the DJI Inspire 2.
Engineered for filmmaking, this drone has become a firm favourite for professional creatives, thanks to its ability to capture seriously impressive content, combined with its speed, endurance, and ruggedness.
The drone benefits from a CineCore2.1 image processing system, recording video at up to 6K in CinemaDNG/RAW and 5.2K in Apple ProRes when used with Zenmuse X7 camera.
It goes from 0 to 50mph (80 kph) in just 5 seconds and hits a maximum speed of 58 mph (94 kph) and has a max descent speed of 9m/s for unheard of speed and agility in an aircraft this size.
A dual battery system prolongs the flight time to a maximum of 27 minutes (with an X4S), while self-heating technology allows it to fly even in low temperatures.
An upgraded video transmission system is now capable of dual signal frequency and dual channel, streaming video from an onboard FPVcamera and the main camera simultaneously, for better pilot and camera operator collaboration.
The versatility of the DJI Inspire 2 means that filmakers can swap cameras, such as the Zenmuse X4S, Zenmuse X5S and Zenmuse X7.
DJI Mavic 2 Pro
Highlights: Capture gorgeous 20MP shots with one-inch Hasselblad sensor. Compact, foldable, and portable. Omnidirectional object sensing.
The DJI Mavic 2 Pro was a game-changer for aerial photography.
When it was released in 2018, this drone offered impressive content-capture capabilities, but in a small, foldable, and easily-transportable form.
Featuring a 1-inch CMOS Hasselblad sensor, this compact drone can capture 20-megapixel images, supports a 10-bit Dlog-M colour profile, a f/2.8-f/11 adjustable aperture delivering outstanding image quality in high and low-light environments, and an ISO range stretching to 12800.
This image, captured by Simon Heron, is a fine example of the images the Mavic 2 Pro can produce. For more examples, click here.
The Mavic 2 Pro also features a range of smart shooting and object-tracking modes.
The drone, with a maximum 31 minute flight time, also houses obstacle sensors on all sides of the aircraft for greater operational safety.
The Mavic 2 Pro can also be used with the DJI Goggles for a more immersive FPV flight experience, while the DJI Smart Controller accessory provides an ultra-bright 5.5-inch 1080p display that maintains clear visibility and vivid colour even in direct sunlight.
The Mavic 2 Pro isn’t faultless. The absence of a mechanical shutter is disappointing, but it is still a great photography drone.
DJI Mavic 2 Zoom
Highlights: Compact, foldable, and portable. Omnidirectional object sensing.
The DJI Mavic 2 Zoom was released at the same time as the Mavic 2 Pro. With both flagship drones sharing the same body, it is the camera where the differences come. And the Zoom has enough about it to make it a seriously worthwhile alternative to the Pro.
As its name suggests, the string to this drone’s bow is its zoom capabilities; achieving 4x zoom, including a 2x optical zoom (24–48 mm), while the Dolly Zoom automatically adjusts focus when flying, adding an intense, warping visual effect to your video.
The Mavic 2 Zoom also has a Super Resolution feature. When taking a picture with a 24mm equivalent field-of-view, the camera will capture and patch nine photos with its telephoto lens, resulting in a 48-megapixel super resolution photo. It’s a cool feature.
The Zoom also shares the smart shooting and object tracking modes found on the Mavic 2 Pro, as well as the same safety features and flight time.
It can also be used with the DJI Goggles for a more immersive FPV flight experience, while the DJI Smart Controller accessory provides an ultra-bright 5.5-inch 1080p display that maintains clear visibility and vivid colour even in direct sunlight.
There are some aspects where the Zoom falls down against the Pro, such as a smaller sensor (1/2.3″ compared to the Pro’s 1″) capturing 12MP images instead of 20MP, and a smaller ISO range. Like the Mavic 2 Pro, it also doesn’t have a mechanical shutter.
But, the Zoom is a quality drone, and its amazing zoom abilities give content creators an extra dimension to play with.
Phantom 4 Pro V2.0
Highlights: A great option for professional content creators, capable of capturing 4K/60fps video and 20MP stills. Mechanical shutter. Classic Phantom shape.
The Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 was re-released by DJI at the start of 2020; a welcome announcement for content creators.
Described by DJI as ‘a complete aerial imaging solution’ for professionals, this drone certainly has some stand-out features, such as a mechanical shutter, and the ability to capture 4K/60fps video.
Unsurprisingly, the drone’s shape is that of the classic Phantom design – the iconic fixed structure with two legs, and a camera underneath its star-shaped body.
On the camera front, the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 can capture 20MP stills via its one-inch sensor, and boasts a 14fps Burst shooting mode, while the mechanical shutter allows pilots to freeze fast-moving objects in frame, helping to capture high-speed action with stunning clarity.
The drone has reliable obstacle sensing in five directions, can be flown using the DJI Smart Controller, and has a range of smart modes, such as object tracking, an improved TapFly mode which allows pilots to fly in reverse, and Draw Mode, which sees the drone follow a pre-drawn route on the remote controller display screen.
Due to their content-capture similarities, the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 is often compared to the Mavic 2 Pro. The Phantom has some stand out features against the Pro, with the mechanical shutter and the ability to capture 4K/60fps video being the obvious ones, while the Phantom’s 14fps Burst Mode is preferable to the Pro’s 5fps.
In contrast, the Pro is a foldable and more portable option, has omnidirectional sensing, a 10-bit Dlog-M colour profile to give photographers control over dynamic ranges and added flexibility for colour grading in post-production, and is cheaper.
It’s a shame that both drones have fixed cameras, so no alternatives can be integrated, but both are a great option for content creators.
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