DJI - Air 2S

As person who has both Air 2s (with 1’ sensor) and Mini 4 pro I would say yes if you want quite noticeable increase in IQ. But wait for any good reviews.

I already have the 1-inch sensor on my Air 2S, but I end up using the Mini 3 Pro more — it’s discreet and attracts less Karens than the louder Air 2S. The upgraded sensor alone sells me.

DJI is basically the only choice now, except maybe Autel Evo models that are somewhat older now, but they are included in the ban too! By the way, the ban won't affect actually the legality of buying and operating the drones, just importing and selling, so if you can buy one, you are good. The only issue is that warranty and support may be not available. I think a used DJI air 2s is a very good value. Extra refurb batteries are much cheaper than newer air3 batteries. However I have an air3 as well and love the zoom lens for some of my shots.

I'm having good luck with refurb batteries I find on eBay for $40-50 each. The air 2 and air 2s were very popular drones, and plenty of people and dumping them for the 3 and 3s. If these were scarce items, I think the prices would be much higher. These drones are like the Toyota Camry of drones and parts are out there. That said, the reason I gotta buy new batteries is because the used ones that came with my used drone wore out - they got all puffy and were cracking the plastic case.

This addiction is a wallet killer. So far I've Neo v 1 x3 and Neo 2 , Mavic Pro 1 and Pro 2 x2, Air 3s (sold my original Air 3) Air 2 and 2s x3 , Spark x2, Flip, Goggles N3 x2 and Goggles 3. Avata v1 and v2 DJI FPV too God knows how many rc controllers - N3 , RC2 , Smart Controller and Pro. Rc330. And now the lure of Avata 360 is strong and I'm weak Oh and Mini 3 Pro. Mini Mavic + Mini SE. Think that's everything

This addiction is a wallet killer. So far I've Neo v 1 x3 and Neo 2 , Mavic Pro 1 and Pro 2 x2, Air 3s (sold my original Air 3) Air 2 and 2s x3 , Spark x2, Flip, Goggles N3 x2 and Goggles 3. Avata v1 and v2 DJI FPV too God knows how many rc controllers - N3 , RC2 , Smart Controller and Pro. Rc330. And now the lure of Avata 360 is strong and I'm weak Oh and Mini 3 Pro. Mini Mavic + Mini SE. Think that's everything

I just looked on eBay and I'm not seeing these high selling prices. I have an Air 2S I'd sell if I can get close to what I paid for it, but looks like they're still going for like $500 on eBay (with some accessories).

This is my main drone. I can push and pull the colours so much better than my mini 4 pro and air 2s.

I haven’t tried the follow feature and you’re right, it is better now. This was a couple of years ago when we had phantoms and a mavic 1. My mavic 3 seems overly sensitive to obstacles compared to my old air 2s.

Just a heads up—I grabbed five of the Air 3S combos with the regular controller from Adorama earlier today. They actually have plenty in stock. Skip the eBay listings claiming “only 1–7 left”—they’re almost always grey market, overpriced, and usually ship from Korea or one of the Indo-China regions with sketchy terms. Adorama’s site is a mess right now (can’t add to cart, checkout fails, DJI pages throwing 404s), but if you **call**, you can still place an order directly. Meanwhile, the RC 2 controller alone is going for **$1,000–$1,200**, up from $600 just yesterday. Prices have doubled overnight like it's wartime ration gear. Honestly, I wish I’d pulled a Costco move and gone in with friends to buy 200 units of the Air 2S or Air 3 before this market exploded. You could list the combo at $10K and people would still buy—at least until the shipping backlog clears and pricing settles closer to MSRP. Also worth noting: **DHL is hammering people with “handoff” fees** between $50 and $200, *on top* of normal shipping costs. Feels like straight-up extortion. And here’s the part no one’s talking about—ports like LA, NJ, and Miami are a total mess. Cargo containers full of DJI gear are going missing or getting “held,” and if you think it’s not an inside job, I’ve got a bridge to sell you. There’s a real sense that organized groups, maybe even with mafia ties, are cherry-picking hot cargo before it even hits the system. Look, I love DJI. Yeah, it’s state-linked, but the tech is legit. What we get here in the West is just the consumer-grade stuff—they’re likely developing DARPA-level projects behind closed doors. The idea that my drone is a national security threat is laughable when the U.S. already has 1" eGIS terrain data, hyperspectral satellite imagery, and an always-on IoT network tracking everything down to our light bulbs. But with Remote ID now tying all of us to centralized drone data, and with another DJI blacklist bill back in play, the threat isn’t the drones—it’s that someone at the FAA, or worse, someone tweeting from a toilet, could *brick every DJI drone in the U.S.* in one night. No DJI Care, no repairs, no parts, no resale value. Just fleets of grounded gear and thousands of professionals screwed. We should’ve treated DJI stockpiles like GME (Game Stop) shares, but instead the ports knew what was coming since they talked about doing this durning the election eun-up — and now they’ve got the golden containers warehoused someplace while the rest of us are fighting over whatever they feel like gaming over a million Amazon and eBay FSBO scams going on this second. GAHHH!! lol APS: If my Air 2S flown for over 1600 miles and owned for 4+ years didn't decide to watch it's final sunset from about 10,000ASL in the high Rockies a few weeks ago, and drop lto terminal velocity through the thin air of about 400 feet after an un-happy battery released itself med-flight at the opportunity to be set free into the heavens, likely only to reappear in a glacier in a few thousand years, a few thousand feet down the mountain lol. Or maybe a mountain goat will find it swollen & leaking lithium, and use it as a salt lick until eventually turning into a the infamous Yeti? Anyway was amazingly able to recover the drone, and will never fly without an AirTag velcro'd somewhere on them again! sure lifesaver more than once, including one theft. So yeah... drones are way too expensive. >\_< Dont even get me started on commercial drone insurance costs and how they absolutely rake this nitch of ppl bloody with so many stupid fees. Like how the hell is it more expensive and dangerous for me to fly a 0.70 lb drone around a field, than it is for me to drive my 4,000lb SUV at 75mph through 5-lane rush hour traffic ?! Oh yeah.. cause its federal air space, they say. Good thing the firmware kids have already gotten into the super encrypted Air 3S and new Mavic firmwares according to many of the sub-reds and other "deeper" forums filled with ppl talking about this stuff and the blocks. And yep you guessed it - the knowledge gained in the last 2-4yrs alone across the Ukraine incld ed printed parts, cheap microprocessors running off-the-shelf relatively simple code systems like Raspberry Pi and others. The advant of fiber spooled drone comms, etc. Shit's gonna be bananas as we already see record rone swarms every month from countries like China who dominate. Fly safe ya'll!

You could probably find a used DJI Air 2s in that range. It has a great camera. The Air 2 has a nice camera as well, but the 2s is a little improved.

You could probably find a used DJI Air 2s in that range. It has a great camera. The Air 2 has a nice camera as well, but the 2s is a little improved.

Just my opinion, but overpriced drones are also not worth it. And yeah, I'm pretty much looking explicitly at DJI and autel when I say that.. I remember when DJI did not inflate their prices so much. I've had affordable drones from them. Mavic Air 2, great drone at a great price. Ever since the air 2s came out it's like they really took premium pricing to a whole other level. The 2s was basically adding obstacle avoidance and roughly doubling the price of the air 2. While it's a comparison of two different categories, one being prosumer and the other being professional, my x8 tele max was mine (on sale) for $400, and have loved it ever since. I can identify buildings 30 km away with it at 400 ft. That drone has 90% of the capabilities of the mavic 3 Enterprise, which starts at $4,500. Could the fimi step into the mavic 3 enterprises role at a corporation? No, definitely not. Mainly due to the lack of software integration. It could easily replace the M3E at many smaller businesses, however. Anyways I'm just ranting about how expensive DJI has gotten. While at it, I think I need to mention that the ability to take 360° photospheres should be standard on pro camera drones. That is a feature that is more useful than many realize. Anybody out there with a DJI drone, and in need of a hobby, look at major points of interest in your city and if there isn't an aerial 360 panorama in place already for a location, take one with your drone and post it on Google maps. Pretty soon you'll dominate the entire region because people like Aerial shots for those places better, almost universally. I'm up to 36 million views on Google maps for what was essentially a hobby where I would stop somewhere interesting after work on my way home. Now the entire front page for Eugene is full of [my shots](https://maps.app.goo.gl/4ejX4Etfk7GExQA8A?g_st=ac). It was fun.

Yeah idk I've owned an air 2 and 3, and now I own a Fimi mini 3 and an X8 tele max... I don't find myself longing to get the air 3 again. I'd say across all specs, the air 3 wins but picture quality is the same to most people and the Fimi's zoom is sweet, as is the weatherproofing. I miss 360 panoramas though, very much. The value winner is Fimi, hands down. I got my tele max new for $450 lmao.

i do wedding videos and overall happy with the DJI Air 2s so far. just looking at FPV to get those cooler fly by shot. speed is not a requirement. i just hate swapping batteries all the time. clients dont like it when they have to wait on 1 of the most busiest day of their lives while i chance batts. thank you for the Flywoo link, it looks pretty good! how easy is it to install the DJI o3 camera on as well as an Insta360 Ace Pro? i guess i need a 7inches drone since i need the Insta360 cam i am starting from scratch with FPV so i assume i will need the DJI goggle (since i want the dji o3), a controller, lipo pack for drone, lipo for controller, and lipo chargers, anything else?

Dji air 2s. Really great and dirt cheap used.