DJI Mavic Mini vs DJI Mavic 2 Zoom Drone Comparison

Spec Comparison of the DJI Mavic Mini and the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom

There is quite a price difference between the DJI Mavic Mini and the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom, the Mini coming in at $499 and the Zoom at $1249 depending on sales.

It isn't where the spec differences stop as well with the two camera drones only sharing a couple of similar features.

The Mini is the newer of the two film making drones, at just over 6 months old and the Zoom being released nearly 2 years ago.

The size difference between these two folding arm camera drones is huge, with the mini coming in at 213mm diagonally when folded and the Mavic 2 Zoom at 354mm in length.

This shows in the volume size of the two drones, with the Mavic 2 Zoom being almost three times as big. The Mavic Mini is similar to 2 cans of fizzy pop in volume at 654cm³ and the Mavic 2 Zoom is just shy of being the size of a 2 Litre bottle of pop.

There is a large difference in weight, from 249grams with the Mini to almost a kilo with the zoom, at 905grams take off weight.

One of the similarities is that the both share an 83° field of view. The difference here though is that the Zoom has optical zoom capabilities, allowing it to optically zoom in to around 43° field of view.

The Mavic 2 Zoom is one of only a few which can zoom in optically, others are usually micro four thirds based camera system film drones.

The drones have different max speeds as well, with 72kmh for the Mavic 2 Zoom and a top speed of 46kmh for the DJI Mavic Mini.

Ascent and descent speeds are similar with the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom having 1m/s faster ascent speed than that of the Mini, at 5m/s max ascent speed.

Wind speeds are different too, with the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom having a max wind tolerance of 38kmh, but we're guessing this can be flown in higher wind conditions compared to the Mini which is a much smaller drone so will take gusts more abruptly and struggle with it's lower top speed.

You get double the transmission distance of 8km, compared to the 4km with the Mavic Mini but similar flight times of 30 minutes and 31 minutes.

They both share a similar noise level of 75 and 76 decibels which probably can't be heard when taking off.

They both share a 3-axis gimbal to help stabilize the camera when filming up in the air.

Photo and Video Spec Comparison of the DJI Mavic Mini and the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom

There is a huge difference in bitrate, of 60 mbps. The Mavic Mini has a 40 mbps bitrate and the Mavic 2 Zoom has a bitrate of 100 mbps, which means bigger video files and potentially much better footage quality.

What is surprising is that the two camera drones both share a 1/2.3" image sensor size, unlike the Mavic 2 Pro which comes with a 1" sensor, this shouldn't be mistaken with that as it has an image sensor, like the Mavic Mini of about half the size.

There image sensor size in millimetres is 7.66mm diagonally across the sensor.

But as far as photography and video features go, that is where they draw the line with similarities.

The Mavic 2 Zoom has many better features:

• 4x slow motion at 1080p with 120fps compared to the 60fps of the Mavic Mini
• Raw photo options saving both JPEG and DNG files, where as the Mavic Mini only saves JPEGs
• There are more video resolutions and frame rates to choose from depending on your shot from the Mavic 2 Zoom
• There are more photo and video modes to shoot from, including auto shots done by the drone itself, where the Mavic Mini onlyh as QuickShots and some recent manual updates for shutter speed, iso and white balance which came in a recent firmware release
• You get D-Cinelike, h.264, h.265, MOV and MP4 options for video and film on the Mavic 2 Zoom but only MP4 with the Mavic Mini

Summary

If you require a film making drone with optical zoom, you have to choose the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom, even comparing it to many other options out there in the industry. 

It is hands down a better drone to fly and photograph and film shots.

If you're looking for a simpler introduction to the world of aerial photography and want something you can literally put in your pocket, the Mavic Mini has to be taken as it's still a fantastic film drone in certain circumstances.