DJI Mavic 2 Pro review: how to crash a drone without even trying
REVIEW: It’s the most advanced drone on the market that’s the talk of Instagram, but there are still plenty of ways to crash the DJI Mavic 2 Pro, as we discovered.
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SOMEONE suggested my drone’s attacker was an undercover operative from the Civil Aviation and Safety Authority.
But while the sky police are innovative, training a killer magpie to dive-bomb my efforts at a great aerial photo would have been a step too far.
Plus, it appeared to be the work of one genuinely angry bird.
The unyielding avian attack was just one reason I almost crashed the world’s most photographically advanced, and smart consumer drone to date.
The DJI Mavic 2 Pro also teetered on the side of a beachside cliff while I panicked incoherently, and momentarily flew on an extreme and untenable angle when winds later turned violent.
It’s a miracle I was able to return more than a jumble of drone remnants, wrapped in a tearstained apology letter.
So this review is not just designed to tell you about what this next-generation drone can do, but what you really should not do with it.
MEET THE DRONE (POTENTIAL VICTIM)
A quick scroll through Instagram will tell you how excited photographers are about DJI’s newest flying machine.
And, unlike previous models, they’re not as keen on its hovering abilities as they are excited about its camera.
The $2499 Mavic 2 Pro is the first DJI drone to benefit from a deal with Swedish camera maker Hasselblad, and the end result is a camera with a sensor four times as large as those before it, and one with a 20-megapixel resolution.
Photographs from this drone will capture every ripple, every sea creature, even items submerged beneath water in exacting detail.
But its photographic advantages stretch beyond this one piece of hardware.
The 28mm camera also uses Hasselblad’s Natural Colour Solution technology to faithfully produce scenes, features a range of one billion colours, and its settings can be tweaked in mid-flight thanks to additions on its remote control that attaches to you phone.
Mavic 2 Pro pilots can change the flying camera’s aperture, ISO, shutter speed, and colour balance, or dial its exposure up or down while it surveys the scene from above.
This not only gives photographers finer control over the end product, but means they need not get stuck with the wrong settings if the light or conditions change after takeoff.
WHY YOU MIGHT NOT CRASH A DRONE
Unlike the shaky, hobby-style drones of two years ago, modern drones are surprisingly stable in the air.
In the right conditions, the Mavic 2 Pro hovers in mid-air as if perched on an invisible tripod.
Its retractable arms are solid, its four propellers are quieter than those on the two-year-old model it replaces, and the mechanical gimbal holding the camera is designed to accommodate movement on three axes.
It’s capable of capturing video so smooth people will think you know what you’re doing.
This model is also packed with 10 sensors covering all sides of the drone. These act to detect obstacles around it and avoid them automatically.
The drone will not only send a warning to its remote control if an obstacle is nearby but, if it gets too close to a tree, for example, it will simply stop and wait for instruction.
The Mavic 2 Pro also comes with pre-prepared flying routines, including one to follow you automatically (ActiveTrack 2.0), to survey you from every angle (Circle), and Hyperlapse for stunning time-lapse videos.
Its remote control features two large antennae to ensure a stable connection to the drone from up to 8km away (though you shouldn’t fly it that far).
With all of these safety additions, you’d think it would be impossible to crash this drone. You would be mistaken.
HOW I ALMOST CRASHED A DRONE … THE FIRST TIME
Drone-flying conditions seemed perfect. No one else was near the sandy cliff on Fraser Island. The trees cleared for a safe takeoff. I’d checked CASA’s Can I Fly There app to ensure I was far away from hazards.
But then the drone started beeping. It complained of magnetic interference, which was odd given there were no buildings nearby, much less any other technology.
It advised to calibrate the compass by spinning the drone around in circles. I tried this but nothing seemed to register.
I’d seen error messages like this before and they typically disappeared quickly. This one persisted.
I checked for new software, downloaded and installed two updates to the drone, passed a drone safety test, and tried to calibrate the compass again. Nothing.
So I did what any other foolhardy technology journalist would do: launch it and see what happens. The results were not good.
The drone took off as normal, hovering about a metre in the air. I directed it towards the cliff’s edge to get a look at the beach but that set off alarms.
It beeped about obstacles even though there were none. It wouldn’t return to me due to these ‘obstacles’.
I tried its Return to Home feature, the handiest of shortcuts that lets you press one button to have the drone land at your feet.
But the drone compass was still out-of-whack and it seemed to think its home was over the side of the cliff!
I cancelled the order but not before the drone flew right to the edge. What do you do when your loaned drone is about to crash and you were never that great with driving games involving joysticks?
You panic, you curse, grit your teeth, and you direct the drone back from the edge very slowly. Then you land the drone, kiss it, and stow it away until your pulse returns to a human-like rate.
What to learn from this: the compass inside most drones, like those inside smartphones, is based on magnets and can require calibration from time to time.
It’s best to follow the on-screen instructions exactly as they’re shown to achieve this because if you spin the drone in the wrong direction, the compass will remain confused and the drone will have incorrect bearings.
HOW I ALMOST CRASHED A DRONE … THE SECOND TIME
Agent Magpie was responsible for my drone’s second near-miss, which was as brutal as it was hilarious.
After successfully calibrating the Mavic 2 Pro, I tried to redeem my pilot skills with a sunset shoot.
The drone launched successfully, rose over a bank of trees, and looked over a distant suburb to a cloud-smeared sunset.
The drone was near its maximum allowable height when I looked up and noticed a bird beside it.
The magpie looked curious. In reality, it was just angry.
The allegedly undercover CASA agent then started swooping the drone, flying back and forth with alarming speed.
Spectators quickly noticed the air show and starting running towards it to watch a $2500 gadget fall from the sky.
Meanwhile, I’d moved the drone away from that one spot, and tried bringing it closer to earth to appease its attacker. Nope. The magpie just dive-bombed the device, barely pulling up before the ground.
A slapping noise rang out every time it swooped past the drone and, while it didn’t appear to have broken a propeller, the bird wouldn’t stop.
SO MANY WAYS TO CRASH A DRONE
Ever been at the beach when the wind suddenly picked up? When that happens, drones can tip on an extreme angle, and warnings will sound about gimbals being overloaded. Just trust me on that.
Another heartbreaking way to crash your flying machine is to lose sight of it, and lose your connection to it.
One Melbourne man was flying a drone around Eureka Tower (which he should not have been doing), and when he flew it to the other side of the building, he lost direct sight of it, his controller lost its connection, and it fell.
Someone found it after the crash, and the owner collected it and a $1080 fine for his effort.
Did you know a boat’s satnav system and metal structure can interfere with a drone’s magnetic compass? Many drone pilots complain of this and being unable to automatically land the drone back on a boat’s deck as it has moved from its original location.
DJI also lists a host of other reasons for drone crashes, including insufficient battery to return to its pilot, crashing into another drone, and malfunctioning propellers, which you should check for before each flight.
DJI MAVIC 2 PRO VERDICT
Despite seemingly relentless efforts to destroy it, the DJI Mavic 2 Pro not only survived but captured amazing footage and photographs.
Its obstacle detection and avoidance is second to none, and it’s arguably easier to fly than the recently released, consumer-friendly Mavic Air drone.
Ultimately, though, the second Pro drone is one for aerial photographers, who will appreciate its one-inch Hasselblad camera sensor, its ability to capture images in RAW, its colour depth, and the possibility of changing camera settings quite literally on the fly.
You’ll still only get 31 minutes out of a battery charge, you’ll need to add a memory card to boost the 8GB it has on board, and you’ll probably find a new way to crash this drone if you fly it long enough.
DJI sells a one-year, two-drone, crash replacement package, though, and it could be a solid investment for anyone nervous about the angry, magpie drone police.
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