I took the plunge into drone photography this year (or should I say took the leap?), exploring Seattle and beyond, and I have been quite impressed by the drone I purchased: the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom. Reviewing it here, I will try to give you some insight into the drone in case you are shopping around. I’ve had friends and colleagues ask about what I’m using and how I like it, so read on for an impartial DJI Mavic 2 Zoom review.

First off, the Mavic 2 Zoom can zoom, of course, which is why I bought it. That means that the drone aerials with the Zoom don’t always look like drone aerials; they don’t have to be super wide angle. This is really big for me. The Zoom can zoom into 48mm, which is pretty close to the 50mm focal length that I love and have been using for my old-fashioned photography, down here on Earth, for years.

Second, the Mavic 2 Zoom is relatively affordable. It retails for about $1,300. This combination of features, price point, and image quality are what sold me on this model.

The image quality is nice – probably comparable to a Canon 5D mark II. If you want better image quality, I would imagine that the Mavic 2 Pro will be a bit better, with its Hasselblad hardware (DJI bought Hasselblad recently). The Mavic 2 Pro goes for about $1,600; however, it has a fixed wide angle lens. You can’t zoom, which is a major bummer for me.

You can find models that zoom and you can get drones that take interchangeable lenses, but that puts us into a completely different price bracket. The DJI Inspire 2 drone with a Zenmuse X7 camera and one lens will approach about $10,000. Also, those drones are large and … loud. I worked with another photographer at a wilderness camp once, and the noise from the drone was a big distraction to the kids at the camp. I really love how small and quiet the Mavic 2 Zoom is.

For this DJI Mavic 2 Zoom review, I should touch on video quality in addition to photo quality. The Zoom can record video in 4K with some profiles that look beautiful. You can make still photos at up to 3200 ISO and still get quality that is acceptable for editorial use. You can also use slow shutter speeds that work quite well, since the drone can hover very still. Below, I’ve included a photo made at twilight in Seattle’s University District at 3200 ISO and a shutter speed of 1/30 second.

As far as flying the Mavic 2 Zoom, it was really easy to learn. I passed the FAA Part 107 test in June and began flying right away. By the end of the month, I had already used the Zoom on assignment several times and created images I liked. You may want to purchase the DJI Smart Controller so that you have a larger, brighter screen and more battery life. I use my iPhone now, which I like, but the battery can be a problem. It’s hard enough keeping a dang iPhone charged all day, let alone using it for sometimes hours on drone assignments.

I would also recommend buying several batteries. You get less than a half hour per battery, so you’re going to have to land and change batteries often if you want to have an extended session.

Also, if you need to crop the photos during post-production and zoom in to examine the pixels, you’ll see the image quality start to deteriorate. But, for general editorial and commercial photography and filmmaking, the drone is wonderful and I recommend it.

I hope that this DJI Mavic 2 Zoom review was helpful and if you have questions, feel free to comment here or reach out.