Which is the better choice?

You can't go wrong either way.

Some folks report the Pro has better night time results.  The Zoom, well, it has a Zoom function which can be a nice feature, particularly for video but also stills.

If you can afford it ... Pro

Pro for better video quality

BTW welcome to the forum DCDronePilot!

Zoom is better for daylight filming.
Pro is better for night/lowlight filming and pictures are better on the pro also.

Fly safely
Alex

The M2 Zoom will save you $250 on purchase which you can use to buy other accessories such as an extra battery and ND filters or put towards the fly more kit if you are looking to get that. Money aside, the Zoom does just that - it has a x2 optical zoom in 4K and x4 digital lossless zoom in FHD up to 30p. This will enable parallax compositions in flight which will add a great variety of shots to your images. The zoom function also enables the new dolly zoom quick shot at the touch of a button and to digitally compose 48mp still images with the drone auto stitching nine frames utilising its zoom. It looks like a great drone and also includes H.265 encoding if you have a computer that supports that codec to enhance the bit rate which is already 100mbps in H.264. Many claim the Zoom is better value for money.

The advantages of the Pro over the zoom are plentiful. Firstly, it has a Sony CMOS 1" 20mp sensor over the Zoom's 1/2.3" 12mp - the Pro's larger sensor will give you better images in low light conditions, less compression causing aliasing and moire, a much greater ISO range, more dynamic range and more natural stills with 20mp vs 12mp. It also records in 10 bit over the zooms 8 bit so will have roughly x4 more colour shades to work with in post when recording in D LOG M or hybrid log gamma (a form of HDR for video) and it uses Hasselblad colour science. Another great advantage of the pro is that is has a variable aperture from f2.8 to f11 whereas the Zoom is fixed - this will enable you to have more control over the exposure value and depth of field during flight and will negate the need for ND filters in certain light conditions. You will need to be quite adept at video editing and have the computer and editing tools in place to get the full potential out of the pro as 10 bit can only be used in D LOG M or HLG and those colour settings can only be used in H.265.

Both are indeed excellent drones to suit different needs. I chose the Pro as I mainly use my drones for stills/aerial photography in the golden hour and I don't like digitally stitched images. Choosing is a tough one though - good luck.

A CW Posted at 1-13 03:54
The M2 Zoom will save you $250 on purchase which you can use to buy other accessories such as an extra battery and ND filters or put towards the fly more kit if you are looking to get that. Money aside, the Zoom does just that - it has a x2 optical zoom in 4K and x4 lossless zoom in FHD and when taking stills. This will enable parallax compositions in flight which will add a great variety of shots to your images. The zoom function also enables the new dolly zoom quick shot at the touch of a button and to digitally compose 48mp still images with the drone auto stitching nine frames utilising its zoom. It looks like a great drone and also includes H.265 encoding if you have a computer that supports that codec to enhance the bit rate which is already 100mbps in H.264. Many claim the Zoom is better value for money.

The advantages of the Pro over the zoom are plentiful. Firstly, it has a Sony CMOS 1" 20mp sensor over the Zoom's 1/2.3" 12mp - the Pro's larger sensor will give you better images in low light conditions, less compression causing aliasing and moire, a much greater ISO range, more dynamic range and more natural stills with 20mp vs 12mp. It also records in 10 bit over the zooms 8 bit so will have roughly x4 more colour shades to work with in post when recording in D LOG M or hybrid log gamma (a form of HDR for video) and it uses Hasselblad colour science. Another great advantage of the pro is that is has a variable aperture from f2.8 to f11 whereas the Zoom is fixed - this will enable you to have more control over the exposure value and depth of field during flight and will negate the need for ND filters in certain light conditions. You will need to be quite adept at video editing and have the computer and editing tools in place to get the full potential out of the pro as 10 bit can only be used in D LOG M or HLG and those colour settings can only be used in H.265.

Thank You for comprehensive explanation, Captain!

Another take on the M2 Pro camera quality.   From following different drone forums, I've noticed that a lot of people do most, if not all their editing on their phones & tablets using the editing capabilities of the DJI Go app.   It seems that quite a few people don't have a home computer to edit on, or their existing computers don't have the horsepower required to render video. (This is especially true for 4K).   If this is your case, and you have no plans to get into serious editing,  then the Pro might be a lot more than you need.     

And as a personal anecdote...   I've been a hobby photographer for almost 20 years.  I own a full-frame DSLR.  I have single lenses worth more than an M2 Pro.   But I went for the Zoom.  After flying for three years using drones  with fixed focal length lenses, I found the zoom to be a real treat.   This is especially true for the 4X (optical + lossless digital) zoom that's available when shooting 1080P/30.  It's opened a whole new dimension in aerial video for me.  As such, I don't regret forgoing the image quality of the Pro.

nixuspix Posted at 1-13 04:16
Thank You for comprehensive explanation, Captain!

You're welcome - as you may have guessed I asked myself the same question not so long ago and that was the bottom line

Hello and good day DCDronePilot. Welcome to DJI Forum and thank you for the inquiry. The difference between the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and with the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom is the camera that comes with the drone. For reference I will be posting a link where you can find the specification of the said drones https://www.dji.com/mavic-2/info#specs. I will also provide you a link where you can compare the DJI Mavic 2 Pro to the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom. Thank you.

https://www.dji.com/products/com ... ndsite&from=nav

DJI Stephen Posted at 1-13 06:35
Hello and good day DCDronePilot. Welcome to DJI Forum and thank you for the inquiry. The difference between the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and with the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom is the camera that comes with the drone. For reference I will be posting a link where you can find the specification of the said drones https://www.dji.com/mavic-2/info#specs. I will also provide you a link where you can compare the DJI Mavic 2 Pro to the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom. Thank you.

https://www.dji.com/products/compare-consumer-drones?site=brandsite&from=nav

So why doesn't DJI offer the regular controller for sale? It appears that if I want to purchase the M2 Pro with the smart controller, that I cannot purchase the normal controller separately? I want both so I can use my phone at times as the display and since I already purchased a MavMount for my iPhone X

Pro has better image quality and better performance at the low light condition. However, the zoom function is pretty cool and you can save a hundred bucks. If you are a professional filmmaker, buy pro. If you are a hobbyist, buy the zoom.

DJI Stephen Posted at 1-13 06:35
Hello and good day DCDronePilot. Welcome to DJI Forum and thank you for the inquiry. The difference between the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and with the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom is the camera that comes with the drone. For reference I will be posting a link where you can find the specification of the said drones https://www.dji.com/mavic-2/info#specs. I will also provide you a link where you can compare the DJI Mavic 2 Pro to the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom. Thank you.

https://www.dji.com/products/compare-consumer-drones?site=brandsite&from=nav

I was attempting to order the M2 Pro with the smart controller, so I could get the discount, but I was unable to purchase it because it says it is out of stock. I also want the regular controller, the Fly More kit, and the other items in the attached image.

DCDronePilot Posted at 1-13 13:14
I was attempting to order the M2 Pro with the smart controller, so I could get the discount, but I was unable to purchase it because it says it is out of stock. I also want the regular controller, the Fly More kit, and the other items in the attached image.[view_image]

You can't buy the smart controller in the US yet due to the government shut down.

A CW Posted at 1-14 00:05
You can't buy the smart controller in the US yet due to the government shut down.

So how do I order the aircraft and still get the discount on the controller, because I'm not looking to wait till until the government is back up and running.

DCDronePilot Posted at 1-14 08:13
So how do I order the aircraft and still get the discount on the controller, because I'm not looking to wait till until the government is back up and running.

No idea - PM a moderator on here and see what they say.

A CW Posted at 1-14 12:53
No idea - PM a moderator on here and see what they say.

Where do I find a mod?

DCDronePilot Posted at 1-14 13:57
Where do I find a mod?

DJI Stephen replied to your thread on here - try him.

I'm thinking the Mavic 2 Zoom, although I could see myself sending into DJI the drone to swap the camera out for the pro's some point after owning it.

Hi,  I would like to know why is the difference in the specs about Operating Temperature Range:  0℃ - 40℃ for the Mavic 2 Zoom and -10°C - 40°C for the Mavic 2 Pro.  Since the drones are identical except camera, it's most be camera related.  Is the Camera zoom not working below 0C ?
I have seen a video on youtube using the Zoom by -9C without problem.  I live in Canada, i would like to use my yet to buy drone in winter, temperature mostly between -10C and 0C in winter day.  I would prefer the Zoom for now, except if it cannot work good in winter.
Excuse my poor english, it is not my first language.


Thanyou

I normally compare specifications between different products..  I missed the difference in operating temps.  Thanks for pointing it out.   I imagine the cold has an affect on the zoom since varying the focal length requires moving parts that might bind up in the cold..

But for what it's worth, I've flown my Zoom so far in temperatures as low as -18C (0F) without any problems.     

jwt-873 Posted at 1-16 07:48
I normally compare specifications between different products..  I missed the difference in operating temps.  Thanks for pointing it out.   I imagine the cold has an affect on the zoom since varying the focal length requires moving parts that might bind up in the cold..

But for what it's worth, I've flown my Zoom so far in temperatures as low as -18C (0F) without any problems.

Worth a lot for me, that indicate that i don't have to worry to use the Zoom at -10C.  But i wood like to have an engineer from DJI to respond to that question.

Hi!! I want to replace my mavic zoom leg and not sure where to go to purchase it. Can someone help me.

The M2Z is a great loiter drone.  When you need to impress clients, you have to have an M2P or P4PV2.0.

It depends on what you are looking for, quality or versatility. Now it's up to you.

Hi! Can someone please guide me to where I can purchase a replacement leg for my DJI 2 zoom.

Hi everyone, I'm new to the mavic zoom. I was wondering if you need a internet connection to use these? I bought the mavic mini and zoom and have been using my phone s10. I tried my S8 but it lost remote connection after about 5 minutes, glad I was on the ground with it. Would it be better for me to get a iPad 4 or something Apple? I have never used iPhones. I appreciate any help. Thanks so much

Hi everyone, I'm new to the mavic zoom. I was wondering if you need a internet connection to use these? I bought the mavic mini and zoom and have been using my phone s10. I tried my S8 but it lost remote connection after about 5 minutes, glad I was on the ground with it. Would it be better for me to get a iPad 4 or something Apple? I have never used iPhones. I appreciate any help. Thanks so much m