DJI Mavic Air 2 vs DJI Spark Camera Drone Comparison

Spec Comparison of the DJI Mavic Air 2 and the DJI Spark

In this comparison, we compare the 3 years old DJI Spark and the recently released DJI Mavic Air 2.

There is a huge difference in price, does that mean there will be a big difference in features and flying for aerial photography?

Physical Comparison

The Mavic Air 2 and DJI Spark are both small camera drones, aimed at portability and travelling. The main difference between the two is that of folding arms on the Mavic Air 2 and non-folding arms on the DJI Spark.

Still, without the folding arms, the DJI Spark is a tiny drone, at 17cm diagonally in length and almost pocketable. The DJI Mavic Air 2, with its arms folded in, in it's smallest form is 20cm diagonally, 3cm longer.

The true dimensions are seen when you compare their volume.

The Mavic Air 2 has a volume of 1.46L which is 2 bottles of wine and the DJI Spark is just a touch over 1L at 1.12L, so the difference between them is a can of soda. Remember, this is with the DJI Sparks arms still out, as it is not a folding camera drone.

The weight continues on with this same story of size, the DJI Mavic Air 2 is 570 grams in weight, and the DJI Spark is 300 grams, nearly half the weight.

Performance Comparison

The DJI Mavic Air 2 is the faster of the two drones, capable of 68kmh at top speed and the DJI Spark is capable of a top flight speed of 50kmh.

The ascent and descent speed is 1m/s faster in both directions on the Mavic Air 2, capable of 4m/s.

The DJI Spark is capable of 3m/s ascent and descent speed.

It has a max wind speed tolerance of 28kmh, which is pretty low compared to most camera drones on the market now, but that may be due to it's size and not the technology.

The Mavic Air 2 has a much better wind speed tolerance of 38kmh, so 10kmh more, if there are winds of 30kmh which is gusting stronger, you should be great with the DJI Mavic Air 2 in higher winds.

The transmission distance is an even bigger difference, with the DJI Mavic Air 2 capable of 10km video transmission back to it's remote control.

The DJI Spark is capable of just 2km transmission distance, just a fifth of what the MA2 is capable of.

In terms of flight time, the Mavic Air 2 has more than double the flight time of that DJI Spark.

The DJI Mavic Air 2 flight time is 34 minutes, which is pretty standard now for 2020 and is compared to the 16 minutes of the DJI Spark. Obviously they removed a lot of weight by using smaller batteries in the Spark but that came with a price.

They both sound the same when taking off, at 74 decibels noise level, which isn't bad, not the quietest drones but not the loudest either when comparing to others on the market.

The MA2 has better active tracking and obstacle avoidance than the DJI Spark.

Photo and Video Comparison

There have been some big differences so far between the two camera drones, but maybe it is in the cameras where the biggest feature differences will be seen.

The field of views of the two camera drones are not that different, with the Mavic Air 2 having a slightly larger FOV at 84° and the DJI Spark having a field of view of 82 degrees. This means at the same height in the sky the Mavic Air 2 will see slightly more in it's camera of the landscape and what is in front of it.

The bitrate for the video is nearly 100 mbps more, with most 4K camera drones offering 4K at 100 mbps, the Mavic Air 2 offers 4K video at 120 mbps, whilst the DJI Spark offers only 1080p and at a bitrate of 24 mbps.

The image sensor is also larger on the Mavic Air 2, at 1/2" inch in size and it uses the Sony IMX586 image sensor.

With the DJI Spark using a 1/2.3" sized image sensor, which is a more commonly used size, with half of the camera drones on the market today utilising this image sensor size.

The Mavic Air 2 is capable of 48MP photo resolution photos with its image sensor which is perfect for large prints and the DJI Spark the more common resolution of 12MP.

You literally get one resolution in high definition on the Spark, at 1080p, and at 30fps.

The Mavic Air 2 has an abundance of video resolutions and frame rates, from 1080p 240fps through to 4k at 60fps, whatever your need, it should suffice.

You also get RAW photography and flat profiles in video creation with d-cinelike. If you're looking to colour grade and edit your own footage, these two features could help tremendously.

The biggest difference, we believe, is that of the gimbal on the cameras. The DJI Spark only has  2-axis gimbal, which means for yawing and turning you may come in to difficulties and your footage may not be as smooth.

It still helps smooth out your videos but only in the direction of up, down, forward or backward and only when they are being used by themselv'es with one direction and if there is a low wind.

We have seen some incredible footage from the DJI Spark even with this 2-axis gimbal, you just have to be more aware of how you fly it.

The Mavic Air 2 has a more standard 3-axis gimbal which creates smoother footage in all directions for the camera when photographing or videoing in the sky.

Summary

The Mavic Air 2 is obviously a much better drone than the DJI Spark, but it is also 3x the price.

If money is not an issue or you need a specific feature that the Mavic Air 2 has, you won't be dissapointed.

If you are getting in to aerial photography or drone film making, the DJI Spark, we believe in 2020 is still a fantastic drone to buy and learn to get in to the world of camera drones.

A lot can be said for good composition and a good story and the DJI Spark is definitely capable of handling those two requirements.