DJI announce Mavic Air - $1299 drone with 1/2.3' sensor, 4k and 12MP stills

DJI have announced their newest drone, the Mavic Air.

The new drone is a combination of the foldable Mavic Pro and the portable Spark, and makes improvements to the camera, sensor and shooting capabilities of each.

The Mavic Air camera features a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor and a 24mm f/2.8 (35mm equiv) wide-angle lens mounted to a 3-axis gimbal.

The camera is capable of capturing the same 12-megapixel still photos as the Mavic Pro, and also brings with it the ability to shoot the same 4K footage at 30fps, with a maximum bitrate of 100 Mbps. There's also Full HD 1080p video at 120fps, wrapped in a body that DJI says is their most portable yet, weighing 430g. 

Mavic Air is 41% smaller than Mavic Pro, and takes up less space than the Spark when folded. The drone comes with a foldable remote control similar to that included with the Mavic Pro and displays 720p real-time video.

With a top speed of 68 kph in Sport mode, and the ability to operate in winds of up to 36 kph, Mavic Air can also rise to 5,000m, has a range of 4km, and stay airborne for 21 minutes at a time. This compares to 27 minutes for the Mavic Pro and 16 minutes for the Spark.

Mavic Air receives a number of improvements over the Spark, including improved gesture controls, an upgraded FlightAutonomy 2.0 system for precise hovering and better flight performance, a 7-camera obstacle avoidance system, and ActiveTrack for sensing 16 selectable subjects simultaneously and following targets.

Mavic Air is DJI’s first drone with 8 GB of onboard storage letting you save photos and videos directly to the aircraft on the go, plus a micro SD card slot for additional storage capacity. The newly-added USB-C port makes exporting captured footage easy and fast. 

Mavic Air will be available in three colors: Onyx Black, Arctic White and Flame Red. The Australia retail price including the drone, battery, remote controller, carrying case, two pairs of propeller guards and four pairs of propellers, is $1,299 AUD.

The Mavic Air Fly More Combo includes the drone, three batteries, a remote controller, a travel bag, two pairs of propeller guards, six pairs of propellers, a battery to power bank adapter and battery charging hub, retails at $1,599 AUD.

See some images shot on Mavic Air below:

You can watch a very apple-esque video on Mavic Air here:

And a video shot with Mavic Air here:

Mavic Air is available for pre-order at store.dji.com, the four DJI Flagship Stores and authorized dealers. Pre-orders will start shipping on January 28.

For more information on all the new features and capabilities of Mavic Air, visit www.dji.com/mavic-air.