Best Drone for wedding videographers in 2023 | DJI Air 2S Review
Today we are going over what I think might be the best drone for wedding videographers in 2023! The list of things that make me say that is long, but first, let’s dive into why a drone needs to be a part of your wedding videography workflow and some of the things that it can add to a wedding film.
Why your wedding films need drone footage!
While there’s no substitute for capturing great wedding day footage on the ground with your camera, there’s something about adding drone footage to a wedding film that just takes it to the next level! First, drone footage allows you to really set the scene and put together some pretty incredible establishing shots in a way that’s not possible with a handheld camera - unless you have access to a helicopter rig :). Next, Drones allow you to get a different perspective on things. Pairing some REALLY wide drone footage with a wide shot and a tight shot in a sequence really ties it all together. It’s always important to establish the scene and surroundings and drones do an incredible job of that. Lastly, drone footage adds an almost fantastic element to your wedding films. We’re always looking for ways to make our wedding films more dreamy and put together a video that our couple will look back at and say, “holy cow was our wedding really that pretty?”. Aerial imagery is the perfect addition to a wedding film to help garner that reaction.
Don’t like reading? Watch the full review video here!
Tyler describes why he thinks the DJI Air 2S is the best drone for Wedding Videographers in 2023. He points out very specific reasons and shows some footage examples to top it all off!
What makes this thing so great?
Now that we’ve established why a drone needs to be in your camera bag, let’s discuss why this specific drone makes such a compelling case.
1” 20mp CMOS Sensor
Why not start this thing off with a BANG?! This is where all the magic happens. Now you may be asking, isn’t 1-inch small for a camera sensor? Well sure when compared to a full frame or crop sensor DSLR or Mirrorless camera, 1-inch definitely doesn’t get you excited. Take a look at the chart below to see how a 1-inch sensor compares to some other popular sensor size types.
Click on the chart to read through the awesome article written by Dan over at Capture the Atlas. He gets into the weeds about the different popular sensor sizes, popular use cases, and why it’s not a one size fits all conversation.
Let’s get our expectations in check here. Sure, we’d all love a drone with an APS-C or Full Frame sensor, but it’s important to think about the logistical concerns there. Getting a sensor that size into a portable drone just isn’t possible. Even the DJI Inspire 2 which weighs over 7 pounds and costs over $5000 only has a micro four-thirds sensor in it.
With that out of the way, let’s discuss why this sensor is so great! I originally switched to the DJI Air 2S from the DJI Mini 2. The Mini 2 employs a 1/3” sensor and while the images and 4k videos looked quite nice when the lighting was ideal, it started to struggle a bit during sunrise and sunset, and I was pretty much SOL for blue hour or nighttime sessions.
With the Air 2S, the sensor is three times larger and thus lets in three times more light, and IT IS AWESOME! More light means less noise, more detail, and overall better image quality which is never a bad thing. This additional detail and image quality lead to an incredible 5.4k video!
5.4k Video up to 30fps
With 1080p long being the gold standard for HD video, the last decade or so has seen 4k popularity increase, and the last 5 years or so has seen consumer use of the technology absolutely skyrocket. While we can’t dismiss the use of 1080p in wedding films, providing 4k video to your clients both improves their perception of your craft and business and obviously leaves them with a higher quality video to look back on for years to come.
So what good does that extra 1.4k do for us? A few things actually. Having some additional pixels to work with is always a great thing when we’re putting our edit together. Additional pixels mean that we have some additional real estate to work with and can crop down the perfect frame without losing any quality (assuming we are exporting in 4k). Along with that, when we film in 5.4k and deliver in 4k, we’re actually squeezing all of that information down into a smaller frame which is going to give us more detail and overall better image quality. This is the same thing that we are seeing with so many modern cameras now that film in 6k oversampled into 4k.
If you’ve got a camera that can film in 5.4k too, more power to you to deliver a 5.4k video!
Video Resolution options:
5.4K: 5472×3078 @ 24/25/30 fps
4K Ultra HD: 3840×2160 @ 24/25/30/48/50/60 fps
2.7K: 2688x1512 @ 24/25/30/48/50/60 fps
FHD: 1920×1080 @ 24/25/30/48/50/60/120 fps
MP4/MOV (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, H.265/HEVC)
10 Bit color and D-Log
Another thing that DJI nailed with this drone is giving users the ability to record videos in 10-bit color and D-Log. To be honest, I’m somewhat surprised they included 10-bit recording in this drone as I think it probably puts it a bit too close to competing with their higher-end flagship Mavic drones, but hey, I’m all for it!
If you’re not too familiar with the difference between 10-bit color and the standard 8-bit color, I’m not going to go too deep down this rabbit hole but a really high-level explanation is as follows:
8-bit video files can contain 256 colors per color channel while 10-bit video files can contain 1024 colors per channel. This means that 8-bit video records up to 16.7 million colors while 10-bit video records up to 1.07 billion colors. In practice, 10-bit color footage has much less color banding that 8-bit footage and thus a smoother and higher quality looking image.
Here’s a real quick and dirty illustration of the difference between 8 bit and 10 bit color. Click on the image to read an article wonderfully written by Will over at Bounce Color.
Along with 10-bit color recording, you gain the ability to film in DJI’s log profile called D-Log. This is going to give you much more control over your footage in post. D-Log records a really low contrast and unsaturated image directly out of the camera, meaning that you get a much improved dynamic range with a lower chance of blowing out highlights or crushing blacks, and you have more creative control over tweaking the image with a color grade. I show a few examples of log footage directly out of the camera and applying a color grade to it in my video above.
31 Minute Flight Time
We’ve all been there where we’re out shooting and the perfect shot comes along and our cameras die. That’s the last thing we want to happen when we’ve got the drone up while on a job. Up to this point, DJI has done a really great job of optimizing flight characteristics, battery performance, and software to get some awesome battery life results from their drones. The DJI Air 2S is no different. DJI claims a max flight time of 31 minutes if flying with no wind. I’ve found this to be pretty accurate and have even experienced some really great flight times when flying in the cold with strong wind and even snow.
With new drones continuing to be released, those max flight times continue to climb, but I’d encourage you not to get stuck on the numbers. As much as 35 minutes or 40 minutes sounds way better than 30 minutes of flight time, realistically, unless you have a specific use case that requires long battery life, 30 minutes is going to serve 95% of us just fine. I have found it to be the perfect amount of flight time to take the drone out right after the wedding ceremony while family photos are being taken. This usually ends up being right around a half hour so I can grab all the footage I am looking for and do it all without bringing the drone down to swap out batteries.
8gb of Internal storage
Picture this. You’ve got this incredible day planned. You’re capturing a video of a lovely couple eloping on a mountainside in Montana. It’s a 10-mile hike into the spot but that’s ok because you’ve got the most breathtaking shots planned for when you get there. As you knock out the last half mile of the hike, you begin to witness the formation of the most beautiful sunset you’ve ever seen. As you arrive at the site, you tear off your backpack and begin ripping through your gear to get your drone out and capture the sweetest shot you’ve ever captured. Then the bad news breaks… “NO SD CARD”.
It’s a tale as old as time. Well really, it’s a tale as old as maybe 10 years since consumer drones have been available. Luckily, it’s a thing of the past. The Air 2S comes with 8gb of internal storage. Now, that may not seem like a lot, but in a pinch, it can store a fair amount of footage especially if you’re willing to shoot in 4k or 2.7k at 24fps. Be intentional about what you’re shooting and how long your clips are and you’ll be just fine!
Small and Lightweight
With all the great features that this drone packs in, it’s impressive how small and lightweight DJI has been able to keep it. While getting professional-level photos and videos, you retain the ability to pack this thing down tight and it remains a lightweight and easy-to-carry travel partner. It’s not uncommon for me to pack this drone into my camera bag so I can rock a single bag on a job. With that being said, it is coming in at 595 grams so you are going to have to register this drone with the FAA in order to fly it but that’s not a huge deal. One thing to keep in mind though is the drone laws of other countries if you plan to do a lot of traveling with this. For example, Mexico requires all drones over 250 grams to be registered with their aviation regulatory body but only Mexican citizens are allowed to register. This means that any non-Mexican citizen can only fly drones under 250g in Mexico.
Relatively Affordable
And finally, the price. While I wouldn’t call the DJI Air 2S a cheap piece of equipment, I would call it affordable. I think the price is quite reasonable for all that you get in this package. DJI sells this drone for a retail price of $999. Sales come around every so often and at the time of writing, they have it available for $849. This includes the drone, the standard DJI controller, one battery, the charger, and an extra set of props. They also sell the Fly More Combo for $1,299, again with sales every so often. I’d recommend checking Amazon for deals as well. That said, I also browse through eBay when purchasing pricey electronics and gear. I’ve found some fantastic deals on there and 90% of the time, the product arrives looking practically new. This drone often goes for between $600 and $800 on eBay with the Fly More combo running around $700 to $900.
I’d highly recommend going for the fly more combo as the extra batteries are incredibly handy to have around and the ND filters are essential on a professional shoot. I’ve linked the product below.
It can’t all be sunshine and rainbows…
You’re right. As much as I really do love this thing, every product has its flaws. For me, the pros far outweigh the cons but it’s my duty to outline all aspects of this thing so that you can make the most informed purchasing decision as a consumer.
Micro SD Cards… whyyyyyyyy
Here’s a PSA to all companies everywhere: MICRO SD CARDS SUCK! STOP USING THEM PLEASE! Obviously, I understand that there are instances where micro SD cards make sense. A great example is DJI’s own Mini series of drones. They are specifically designed to be under the 250g FAA registration weight and thus are engineered to be tiny and lightweight. I have no gripes there. But when something is not manufactured with the sole purpose of being small and lightweight, just use a standard-size SD card. I would have gladly taken a few extra grams of weight, a slightly larger footprint, and a minute or two less of battery life if it meant that I didn’t have to carry around an extra freaking card reader to work with micro SD cards. On top of this, standard SD cards are much easier to handle, much more durable, and generally cheaper. Alright, I’m off my soapbox now.
Conclusion
That’s about all I’ve got for this one. As you can see, I’ve loved the time that I have spent with the DJI Air 2S and can wholeheartedly recommend it to you depending on your needs! The sensor produces a great image, it is small and lightweight with a great flight time, and it’s affordable. What more could you ask for?!
Thanks all for stopping by! Leave a comment down below. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
