Hi fellow pilots and other DJI addicts. I’ve been the proud owner of my DJI Mavic Air for nearly 4 months now, which is CRAZY because it feels like I had it for ages! Therefore, I also feel like this is the perfect opportunity to share my knowledge and experience with you all.

Summary:

If portability is important for you, then you have a perfect drone in Mavic Air. It is the smallest foldable drone on the market with the option of 4K and 12 MP photos. The camera has a particularly high bit rate in 4K that provides more detail in the images. The drone has built-in MicroSD cards, so you don't have to worry about SD cards and formatting. The Mavic Air also has a higher frame rate than similar drones that you can use for cool slow-motion shots.

I have certainly learned a lot by using the Mavic Air constantly throughout this period. The drone has endured many kinds of climates and environments so far, from the tropical climate in Thailand and Cambodia to the maritime temperate climate in Denmark and Germany.

Before I got my Mavic Air, I used to watch tons of videos of the drone featuring its amazing footages and abilities. I must say that I’m one of those that prefer to see RESULTS and what the drone are CAPABLE of before buying it.

In this post, I’ll not only share my review regarding this product but I’d also love to take you all with me behind the scenes and share some of the things I’ve created with this little machine so far and which settings etc. I use to get these crispy looking photos and videos!   

So, what do I think about this drone? Well, to be honest this is my first drone ever and the first one I tried as well. I must admit that I was a bit sceptical in the start, whether it would live up to my expectations or not.  

However, I was very surprised by its ease of use, portability, battery life and the camera performance. These parameters are very important to me as I spend a lot of time traveling and filming, which ALSO means the drone must be durable. This is what concerned me most whether if I could use this small drone in tougher terrain and in strong winds or if I should pick a bigger one?

Surprisingly, for its size I think it performed really well in the different terrains I recorded, from the ruggy and windy places in Europe to the tropical beaches and high mountains in Southeast Asia. The only challenge with the Mavic Air is that it has less flight time and shorter range than Mavic Pro, but for its size I think it’s acceptable.

And now on to the FUN part!! Check my settings below:

Video settings:

Video Size: 4k 30 fps

For video size, I recommend recording in 4k at 30 fps. 24 fps tends to get jittery sometimes, therefore I prefer 30 fps as my standard.

Video Format: MOV or MP4

Quality-wise MOV and MP4 are identical. The MOV are designed for Apple users so I personally use that one.

White Balance: Sunny or Cloudy

Set this according to the current weather conditions. Auto will only ruin your footage by changing while recording.

Style: Sharpness: 0  |  Contrast: -3 |  Saturation: 0

It gives more information in the shadows and will be great in post.

Color: D-Cinelike

I always pick D-Cinelike, since I like to color grade my footage after and it gives you more freedom than Normal.

Photo settings:

Image Size: 4:3

If you post-process 4:3 is best since you can crop your photo to your own desire.

Image Format: RAW

RAW gives you much more control in post-process.

White Balance: Sunny or Cloudy

Set this according to the current weather conditions as mentioned earlier.

Style: None

If you are shooting in RAW, it’s not necessary to adjust that.

#1 TIP: Always use Manual Exposure, because you want to control your exposure without any drastic changes due to Auto. To help you expose right turn on Histogram and Overexposure Warning

#2 TIP: I can highly recommend using ND filters, they work like sunglasses for your drone and will help you to achieve even better quality footage.

An example of how your photos can look like before/after:

A video to give you an example of how your aerial footage can look like with the above settings and post-process:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdchpXo2KSs

Conclusion:

The Mavic Air is perfect for you who loves to travel and don’t want a big drone to carry around. The drone is small and compact - and therefore easy to take on the go. The camera performance is great for photos and videos and is the perfect match for beginners. If you on the other hand are a pro or advanced hobbyist that doesn’t care about the price or weight and are more interested in the best camera performance, flight time and range then I’d recommend investing in the Mavic Pro 2.

Thank you very much for the attention. Hope you enjoyed this review and my tips. If you have any questions, I’ll be glad to answer them.

Rathi

Okay so i'm not sure what happened. All my text and photos suddenly went crazy when I posted, but it should be fixed now, lol. Sorry for that!

I'm looking forward to hear what you all think

Nice review! And thank you for sharing your setting!

DJI Panda Posted at 8-19 20:04
Nice review! And thank you for sharing your setting!

Thank you Panda! It's my pleasure

Excellent review

A J Posted at 8-20 00:00
Excellent review

Thanks a lot AJ!

Rathi_Official Posted at 8-20 00:06
Thanks a lot AJ!

You're welcome

Hi, Rathi, thanks for sharing these very useful tips and review about the DJI Mavic Air. This will help our valued DJI members here in Forum. Thank you for your continued support. Cheers!

DJI Gamora Posted at 8-20 08:05
Hi, Rathi, thanks for sharing these very useful tips and review about the DJI Mavic Air. This will help our valued DJI members here in Forum. Thank you for your continued support. Cheers!

Hi Gamora. Thank you very much for the nice comment. It's my pleasure, hopefully it will be useful to some of the dear members. Always!

DJI Gamora Posted at 8-20 08:05
Hi, Rathi, thanks for sharing these very useful tips and review about the DJI Mavic Air. This will help our valued DJI members here in Forum. Thank you for your continued support. Cheers!

Hi Gamora. Thank you very much for the nice comment. It's my pleasure, hopefully it will be useful to some of the dear members. Always!

Rathi_Official Posted at 8-20 12:22
Hi Gamora. Thank you very much for the nice comment. It's my pleasure, hopefully it will be useful to some of the dear members. Always!

You are always welcome Rathi. Thank you for your continued support!

DJI Gamora Posted at 8-20 13:26
You are always welcome Rathi. Thank you for your continued support!

I'm glad to help and contribute to this forum!

Rathi_Official Posted at 8-20 13:30
I'm glad to help and contribute to this forum!

Thank you for your kindness. Cheers!

Fantasic review.
Thank you for the time and detail in your review.
times 10
.

62+ Posted at 8-21 02:24
Fantasic review.
Thank you for the time and detail in your review.
times 10

Thank you very much for the kind words. I'm glad you liked it!

Cool review Rathi!

Thank you for this good review. I also love my Mavic Air, good footage quality, good portability...but there is a negative aspect too: the noise, I would prefer it to be something more discreet. But in general is a very very good drone. What filters you use? What ND for cloudy day and what ND for sunny?

o_laparoto Posted at 8-21 03:21
Cool review Rathi!

Thanks a lot!

Aurelian Irimia Posted at 8-21 03:40
Thank you for this good review. I also love my Mavic Air, good footage quality, good portability...but there is a negative aspect too: the noise, I would prefer it to be something more discreet. But in general is a very very good drone. What filters you use? What ND for cloudy day and what ND for sunny?

Thank you! That's a really good point, the noise can be annoying, indeed. I primarily use the ones from PolarPro. The ND8 is good for cloudy days  and for mild sun ND16 or very bright days ND32. If you are flying above non-metallic surfaces, such as windows and water use an ND/PL (Polarizers) they will remove glare.

Rathi_Official Posted at 8-21 04:35
Thank you! That's a really good point, the noise can be annoying, indeed. I primarily use the ones from PolarPro. The ND8 is good for cloudy days  and for mild sun ND16 or very bright days ND32. If you are flying above non-metallic surfaces, such as windows and water use an ND/PL (Polarizers) they will remove glare.

Thank you! So, for the Spain sunny days is recommended the nd32. I have seen that the polarized filters add to much saturation and contrast and noise in shadows.

Aurelian Irimia Posted at 8-21 04:48
Thank you! So, for the Spain sunny days is recommended the nd32. I have seen that the polarized filters add to much saturation and contrast and noise in shadows.

Yeah, that would be a good pick. Well, you can actually adjust the filter and decrease the effect.

Rathi_Official Posted at 8-21 05:12
Yeah, that would be a good pick. Well, you can actually adjust the filter and decrease the effect.

Good to know. Thank you for the info. Never use a filter with a drone but I want to test it.

Aurelian Irimia Posted at 8-21 05:58
Good to know. Thank you for the info. Never use a filter with a drone but I want to test it.

No problem! Always worth a test, no need to start with a big package of filters, just try with 1 or 2 and see if it fit your needs.

Aurelian Irimia Posted at 8-21 03:40
Thank you for this good review. I also love my Mavic Air, good footage quality, good portability...but there is a negative aspect too: the noise, I would prefer it to be something more discreet. But in general is a very very good drone. What filters you use? What ND for cloudy day and what ND for sunny?

I got a  cool post on ND filters written the other day in case you want to check it out.

Very nice work!

nice review!

Montfrooij Posted at 8-21 06:47
Very nice work!

Thanks a lot!

djiuser_geJaBJ0V4anq Posted at 8-21 06:49
nice review!

Thank you man!!

Rathi_Official Posted at 8-21 06:02
No problem! Always worth a test, no need to start with a big package of filters, just try with 1 or 2 and see if it fit your needs.

I will start with a ND32PL

o_laparoto Posted at 8-21 06:18
I got a  cool post on ND filters written the other day in case you want to check it out.

Ok, I will check it. Thanks!

Aurelian Irimia Posted at 8-21 07:22
I will start with a ND32PL

Sounds good

Thanks for sharing mate, I’m sure you’re gonna be helping someone out there.....

Toedles Posted at 8-21 09:23
Thanks for sharing mate, I’m sure you’re gonna be helping someone out there.....

It's my pleasure buddy. Thank you!

Rathi_Official Posted at 8-21 07:00
Thanks a lot!

You're welcome!

Rathi_Official Posted at 8-21 09:52
It's my pleasure buddy. Thank you!

As always, only a pleasure.....

Cool review and good tips!

nilsonleow Posted at 8-22 00:44
Cool review and good tips!

Thanks! Appreciate it.

Excellent + a great story telling video...! - Well done

Great thread, very nice review

Aerial-Image Posted at 8-22 03:21
Excellent + a great story telling video...! - Well done

Thank you very much for the kind words.