DJI Mavic 2 – Camera Swap Service – Updated!
August 29, 2018The biggest question, since the official announcement of the DJI Mavic 2 series, is which one should you get? Until recently, you had to choose from either the Pro, the Zoom or both. Well DJI has announced an upcoming camera swap service to help you make that decision.
Update! – It’s actually pretty easy to swap the cameras yourself. Check out my DJI 2 – How to Swap the Cameras post.
THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE SEE OUR AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Table of Contents
How Does it Work?
Details are scarce at the moment. All we really know is you send your drone off to a DJI authorized service center and then get it back with the camera swapped out.
Can I Do it Myself?
This is also not really known. It’s recommended that you send it in but not necessarily required so that makes me think that it’s possible but I don’t know if it will void any warranties, how difficult it is to perform or if you can obtain the other camera separately vs being required to use the service (at least for the initial swap).
Will I Get My Original Camera Back?
This is just an assumption right now but, yes. It wouldn’t make sense that you’d buy the more expensive drone, pay to have the camera swapped to the less expensive model and not get your original camera back or vice versa.
How Long Will it Take and How Much Does it Cost?
No one knows yet. The fact that you have to send the drone in to have the service done is off-putting to me. I want my cameras easily interchangeable, to be able to do it myself and receive instant gratification.
Conclusion
Although, not what I was originally hoping for, it is nice to know that the DJI Mavic 2 cameras can be swapped out. Now the question becomes which one do I want first? I’m leaning toward the Pro. It’s also nice to know that DJI offers a camera swap service to do it for you, in case you’re not comfortable performing such surgery on your drone yourself. The downside is the inconvenience of having to ship it in to have it done.
I will update this post with more information as it becomes available.
Now that you know that you can have the cameras swapped out are you ready to buy? If so check out my The DJI Mavic 2 – The New Models Are Finally Here! post for a comparison as well as purchase links (on with a discount).
Do you have anything to add, see something that should be corrected or just want to leave a comment? Please do so below.
Thank you,
Scott Hinkle
MavicManiacs.com
Hi Scott. I’m totally new to the world of Drones. I only came across your website a while back when I was looking for information on a drone that my grandson and I might be able to use together on the weekend. Then the idea came to me that I might be able to take aerial pictures of large gardens and use these pictures on my website. It’s just an idea. As I said, I’m no expert and I’m not sure if the idea would work. Would you be able to email me a bit more information on both the drones and the camera’s? What would be the best camera for this? Thanks Jim
Hey Jim,
Thanks for reaching out. I’ll use the adage “The best drone is the one you have on you”. OK, so I changed the word camera to drone but you get the idea. It is, after all, a flying camera. That said I do have preferences depending on your intended use.
It sounds to me like you want to to basically take landscape shots. I used to travel the country selling my photography (not drone but camera based) at various art festivals. My largest pieces were 5 foot by 8 foot triptychs and 90% of my work was landscape. Color accuracy and image resolution reign supreme in these cases. Based on that alone I’d recommend the DJI Mavic 2 Pro or the DJI Phantom 4 2.0.
Which of these 2 will be based on your physical needs. By that I mean are you looking to travel with it and is the ability to fold down into a compact form important to you? If so, then the Mavic 2 Pro is the winner here. If transport size isn’t as important, I’d consider the Phantom 4 2.0 over the Mavic 2 Pro.
Some will argue that the 10-bit sensor on the Mavic 2 Pro would still win out and I’d agree to some extent but, I’ve also heard of some like skipping issues in the new Mavic 2 Pro that lead to be pause. If those issues are resolved in an update then Mavic 2 Pro all the way but until then, it’s a toss-up and I’d recommend you find someone with one or the other and ask them to demo it or if they’d let you “check it out”.
Of course something I didn’t even consider, that might be very important to you, is price. You said you thought about a drone to use with your grandson. Do you want that first drone experience to be a $1500 model? If that price makes you pause, consider the DJI Mavic Air. You’ll still get a quality shot but at about half the price.
I hope I was able to help you out here. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.
Thank you
Well I guess there comes a time when a comment is less than favorable. I would love to have seen some kind of an update on this product instead of saying I don’t know. I was left not knowing what the camera was really used for or in which enviroments it could be used. Is there a way of showing the consumer how it operates in rain or cold temps or hot temps?
All comments are welcome here, with the exception of lewd content and so on.
This post was meant to focus on the 2 cameras currently available for the DJI Mavic 2 and the camera swap service that DJI announced but with little detail. I try to get the information out to my viewers as quickly as I can. Sometimes it’s with great detail and sometimes it’s just hey, this was announced but that’s all we have at the moment.
At the time of this writing DJI offers the cameras in 2 flavors, a zoom model which offers 12 megapixel resolution and a 2x optical as well as a 2x digital zoom which can be combined into a 4x zoom. The other is a 20 megapixel 10-bit sensor for high resolution and great color depth. You can get more specifics if you take a look at my The DJI Mavic 2 – The New Models Are Finally Here! post.
I don’t have specifics as to operation in different environments however DJI does list their operating temperature ranges which you can find in my review referenced above.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.
Thank you for this article, I am just a beginner and reading up on pros and cons. I didn’t think for a moment that the camera could be swapped to another drone. Really good point to take with me when I buy one. When the drone is crashed, the camera can still be quite fine. And also when you have multiple drones, you can swap between them.
Loes
Very true. Please be aware that these are between the same brand/model of drone. You can’t take a Mavic 2 Pro’s camera and throw it onto a Phantom 4 for example. That said the ability to move them between drones or swap out different types of cameras (as long as they are designed for your drone) is quite impressive. I was considering buying a Mavic 2 Pro and a Mavic 2 Zoom just to have the best of both but now I can buy one and just the other’s camera and swap them out to fit my needs at the time.
Thanks for reaching out!
Hi Scott,
I came across your post and noticed that you need a license to fly these types of drones, why is that? Do they fly really high and what is the range?
Does it matter where you live, seems like if you are in the country it would not be as much of a concern to the authorities, especailly if you are near an airport ro military base.
How much better is the new camera verse the current model? Your article suggest it is but does go into details.
Looks like it would be a lot of fun flying one of these!
Thanks,
Chad
Hello Chad,
Let me clarify, an FAA 107 license is required for any use other than hobbyist use in the USA. If you’re going to sell the images, use them to promote your company, take roof inspection images, etc. then you need the 107. If you’re just flying for fun and that’s it, you don’t need anything at this time. That said, the day is coming when even hobbyists will need some sort of cert/training. Other countries have or are working to come up with laws that govern drones. If you’re not in the US I recommend you reach out to your local government to see what may exist at this time.
So the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom and Pro models are the successors to the DJI Mavic Pro and Mavic Pro Platinum. The Mavic Pro and Mavic Pro Platinum have a 12 Megapixel sensor onboard. The Mavic 2 Zoom also has a 12 Megapixel sensor but it boasts 2 additional features that the predecessor lacks, an optical zoom and a 100 Mbps video bitrate. The Mavic Pro and Mavic Pro Platinum are fixed and offer a 60 Mbps bitrate. The Mavic 2 Pro doesn’t offer an optical zoom option but it jumps up to 20 Megapixel resolution and 10 bit color for increased depth. It also offers the 100 Mbps bitrate. You can find more information on these new offerings in my The DJI Mavic 2 – The New Models Are Finally Here! post.
Although I don’t have either of the Mavic 2 models, I can tell you that the Mavic Pro is great to fly and I love to get out with it whenever I can.
Thanks for reaching out!
I am surprised that the drone has the option to swap out the camera although I probably shouldn’t be. I probably wouldn’t be very keen on shipping my drone anywhere. It is nice that they offer the service to change the drone camera but again I don’t think it is an option I would go for.
I think it is nice to have the option to change the camera rather than being stuck with one.
I totally agree with you. I’d have to say the chance of voiding my warranty isn’t really a factor for me as I’m pretty handy with electronics. I’m actually amazed at how easy yet difficult they made it to change the camera. Easy because it’s 6 screws and a cable, difficult because it didn’t have to be 6 screws…I think a simple twist lock type of connector would have sufficed with no need to remove anything from the drone itself.
That said I really appreciate it for the fact that I can now have the Pro and Zoom models without having to purchase both drones, I just need to buy one and then the other’s camera to get the best of both offerings.