Anafi and Mavic 2 Pro Quick Footage Comparison

[Gadget Inspector]

Not a super detailed comparison, but I was flying both drones in the same location and thought I'd compare the footage. Just keep in mind that the Anafi is half the price of the Mavic 2 Pro and the little dragonfly definitely holds its own.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

You should have included a clip of the Anafi taking video going side ways like the Mavic 2 at the start instead of just going straight forward. Would have been a dead give away as the Anifi sucks with that.

 

[Gadget Inspector]

You should have included a clip of the Anafi taking video going side ways like the Mavic 2 at the start instead of just going straight forward. Would have been a dead give away as the Anifi sucks with that.

True, but that would have made for a less interesting video .

 

[dmbrody]

True, but that would have made for a less interesting video .

Great video. Love it.

As for orbits or panning sideways, obviously the Mav2Pro’s 3-axis gimbal is superior, especially in tougher wind conditions. However, I’ve been testing things out on the Anafi a lot lately, and narrowed down the main issue to smart shots; specifically, any smart flight mode where the user draws a rectangle around a target.

For example, around 3:30 in your video, it’s clear you used “CameraMan” to draw a box around the church. The give away is the up-and-down movement, as if your drone is “nodding” it’s head at the Church.

Using TapFly: POI replicates all the functionality of CameraMan, but with none of the nodding. Those orbits are as smooth as my Mavic 2 Pro.

The nodding issue probably has nothing to do with the limitations of the gimbal because it only seems to occur in flight modes where the user draws a rectangle around a target (from Dolly Zoom to Follow Me).

Personally, I can work around that because I still find the Anafi is easier to grab-and-go for a hike, or to have fun with the kids. It’s just quicker and easier to get up in the air. The rest of the time, I’ll stick with my Mavic 2 Pro or drag out the big guns (M600) and hang a real camera.

 

[loyukfai]

The difference becomes much bigger in dimly lit situations, I suppose...?

Cheers.

 

[Gadget Inspector]

Great video. Love it.

As for orbits or panning sideways, obviously the Mav2Pro’s 3-axis gimbal is superior, especially in tougher wind conditions. However, I’ve been testing things out on the Anafi a lot lately, and narrowed down the main issue to smart shots; specifically, any smart flight mode where the user draws a rectangle around a target.

For example, around 3:30 in your video, it’s clear you used “CameraMan” to draw a box around the church. The give away is the up-and-down movement, as if your drone is “nodding” it’s head at the Church.

Using TapFly: POI replicates all the functionality of CameraMan, but with none of the nodding. Those orbits are as smooth as my Mavic 2 Pro.

The nodding issue probably has nothing to do with the limitations of the gimbal because it only seems to occur in flight modes where the user draws a rectangle around a target (from Dolly Zoom to Follow Me).

Personally, I can work around that because I still find the Anafi is easier to grab-and-go for a hike, or to have fun with the kids. It’s just quicker and easier to get up in the air. The rest of the time, I’ll stick with my Mavic 2 Pro or drag out the big guns (M600) and hang a real camera.

Great points and yep, I was using Cameraman. It's actually one of my favorite modes Parrot has because it still gives you altitude, speed and distance control. A couple factors contributed to the less than stable circling: I was in sports mode and it was actually pretty windy that day. I think if I was flying a bit slower it may not have been as noticeable. I'll definitely have to try that tap to fly POI though. I dig the Anafi for all the reasons you mentioned and I love how light, compact and quiet it is.

 

[Gadget Inspector]

The difference becomes much bigger in dimly lit situations, I suppose...?

Cheers.

Oh for sure; the M2Pro has a 1" sensor vs. the 1 2/3 sensor the Anafi and most other drones have. The HDR feature does help a bit in low light, but you'll still get more grain.

 

[dmbrody]

Great points and yep, I was using Cameraman. It's actually one of my favorite modes Parrot has because it still gives you altitude, speed and distance control. A couple factors contributed to the less than stable circling: I was in sports mode and it was actually pretty windy that day. I think if I was flying a bit slower it may not have been as noticeable. I'll definitely have to try that tap to fly POI though. I dig the Anafi for all the reasons you mentioned and I love how light, compact and quiet it is.

Yeah. “TapFly: POI” is nice little feature. Last year I don’t recall it existing. I just discovered it last week (when I decided to give the Anafi another try). Just like CamerMan, you can fly low, fly high, fly right over your target, fly beneath it (if it’s a bridge), and it will always keep your target locked. It’s smoother (like we were discussing above), and it never looses its target, even if you fly behind a tree/mountain/building. The only drawback is it requires the extra step of setting the altitude of the target, whereas CamerMan just works.

 

[IronSky1]

I find my Mavic 2 has more natural looking colors is less prone to over exposures and has little jitter when tuning quickly. The software on the Anafi is more robust and easier to use. All the DJI sensors are more of a nuisance in my opinion unless you are using Atrac riding something through obstacles

Anafi is also 35% the cost of the Mavic 2 so value is on its side

 

[dmbrody]

I find my Mavic 2 has more natural looking colors is less prone to over exposures and has little jitter when tuning quickly. The software on the Anafi is more robust and easier to use. All the DJI sensors are more of a nuisance in my opinion unless you are using Atrac riding something through obstacles

Anafi is also 35% the cost of the Mavic 2 so value is on its side

I’m with you on the sensors. Any hesitation I had about the Parrot’s lack of obstacle avoidance sensors went away when I realized I’ve pretty much permanently disabled them on all my DJI drones.

 

[IronSky1]

Good example a few days ago I was using the Mavic 2 and that stupid voice came on telling me "home point recorded bla bla bla" the google assistant heard it and responded blocking my screen what dumb ideas. In mid take off I had to figure out how to shut the assistant down while the drone was flying away. It must have got turned on with some update.

Keep it Simple

 

[AnafiPilot]

Great video and comments...thanks!

I noticed the buildings on the horizon were discernible with MP2 and almost too small to see with Anafi. Seems like the Anafi's wide angle lens is great for close-ups of large objects. I'm getting into construction progress reporting, and the client is happy with the images so far. But they do need sharpening.

I got to fly a friend's MP2-Zoom on Saturday...not as loud as I expected. Interesting that switching between modes eg Tripod and Sport, was not possible in flight, whereas it's no problem in FF6. I liked how the camera settings were visible in the DJI interface. Seems like they're buried in menus in FF6.

 

[loyukfai]

Oh for sure; the M2Pro has a 1" sensor vs. the 1 2/3 sensor the Anafi and most other drones have. The HDR feature does help a bit in low light, but you'll still get more grain.

Do you have any suggestions to reduce the grain for dimly-lit footage?

 

[dmbrody]

Do you have any suggestions to reduce the grain for dimly-lit footage?

Neat Video is the king of noise reduction.

It also works for still images.

Neat Video noise reduction is superior to all other available options. Take Da Vinci Resolve, the goto tool for colorists and a professional NLE with excellent built in noise reduction. Neat is still better. In fact their is a Neat Video plug-in for Resolve, as there is for all of the major NLEs.

Neat is processor intensive. VERY processor intensive. Its really best to use it with (multiple) eGPUs to carry the load, BUT, if you’re patient, it will run just fine on a 5 year old MacBook. I’d just recommend editing down your footage to the final cut first. There is no point running it on footage you don’t use.

 

[Gadget Inspector]

Great video and comments...thanks!

I noticed the buildings on the horizon were discernible with MP2 and almost too small to see with Anafi. Seems like the Anafi's wide angle lens is great for close-ups of large objects. I'm getting into construction progress reporting, and the client is happy with the images so far. But they do need sharpening.

I got to fly a friend's MP2-Zoom on Saturday...not as loud as I expected. Interesting that switching between modes eg Tripod and Sport, was not possible in flight, whereas it's no problem in FF6. I liked how the camera settings were visible in the DJI interface. Seems like they're buried in menus in FF6.

The Mavic 2 line is definitely better in many respects, but I always go back to the price tag. The Anafi is a beast for the price. One thing you might find useful with the Anafi is flight planning for your construction progress reporting. Setup the flight plan once and just execute it over the span of the construction. You'll end up with a nice timelapse.

 

[Gadget Inspector]

Do you have any suggestions to reduce the grain for dimly-lit footage?

If the grain isn't too significant, you can do some tweaking in your editing software.

 

[AnafiPilot]

I have seen Neat video take multiple days to process long files. But it was worth it.

 

[loyukfai]

Neat Video is the king of noise reduction.

It also works for still images.

Neat Video noise reduction is superior to all other available options. Take Da Vinci Resolve, the goto tool for colorists and a professional NLE with excellent built in noise reduction. Neat is still better. In fact their is a Neat Video plug-in for Resolve, as there is for all of the major NLEs.

Neat is processor intensive. VERY processor intensive. Its really best to use it with (multiple) eGPUs to carry the load, BUT, if you’re patient, it will run just fine on a 5 year old MacBook. I’d just recommend editing down your footage to the final cut first. There is no point running it on footage you don’t use.

Thanks!

Neat is very expensive though. Does it offer discount from time to time? How's the upgrade policy?

BTW, how about DaVinci Resolve's built-in NR?

Cheers.

 

[dmbrody]

Thanks!

Neat is very expensive though. Does it offer discount from time to time? How's the upgrade policy?

BTW, how about DaVinci Resolve's built-in NR?

Cheers.

Yeah. It’s definitely not free. I’ve got no idea on pricing/upgrade policy. It’s been awhile. It’s probably best to get just the plugin for your nle of choice. Skip the standalone app they sell.

Resolve’s NR is pretty good on its own, but it’s my understanding that the NR features are disabled in the free version.

 

[loyukfai]

Yeah. It’s definitely not free. I’ve got no idea on pricing/upgrade policy. It’s been awhile. It’s probably best to get just the plugin for your nle of choice. Skip the standalone app they sell.

Resolve’s NR is pretty good on its own, but it’s my understanding that the NR features are disabled in the free version.

Understandable.

However...
DR is $299
NV plugin for DR starts at $89.9 (res-limited to 1080), $159.9 (full res)

It's really pretty steep if you look at it this way...