Panoramic photos from the air: DJI announces the new Mavic Air

Weighing just 430grams and measuring just over 21cm diagonally the new DJI Mavic Air is one very small but powerful drone.

DJI are quite easily the world leader in drones, they sell more than anyone else they’ve been at it for longer than most and they have really cornered their market to understand the needs of consumers.  DJI call it a “glimpse at the future of possible” and “another leap forward for the industry”.

The Mavic Air draws on the chassis design of it’s big brother the Mavic which was DJI’s first foldable drone which has really changed the portability of drone usage.

But it’s the camera that gives this the edge in the market.  Even at this size it features a 3-axis gimble for stabilisation and camera movement to suit almost all needs, plus the camera itself is capable of slow-motion video in Full HD at 120 frames-per-second.

Panorama mode is it’s real party trick though, shooting 360 degree panoramic photos at the touch of a button, essentially putting it in hover and auto-pilot mode while it spins to take photos and stitch them all together for an amazing panorama.

Other modes to make you look like a gun videographer are their “QuickShots” – known as Rocket, Circle, Helix, Asteroid, Boomerang and Dronie they allow you to set a shot then put down the controller while the Mavic Air does the rest.

Boomerang for example flys away from you, spins around you then flys back to you to complete the shot – it’s pretty impressive.

They’ve also enhances obstacle tracking to make hands-free flying even easier when you are out for a run, or a kayak or whatever the case might be.

Flight time is 21 minutes, with a potential speed of 19 meters per second, and it does feature obstacle avoidance sensors both front and back.

The Mavic Air comes in three colours, black, white and red, and will set you back a cool $1,299 in Australia.