The Mavic Air is DJI’s most impressive drone yet. By combining the best bits from the Spark and Mavic Pro, it’s made a cracking gadget for both beginners who want stunning aerial travel videos and those who just want to fly a nimble drone full pelt around the local park. It’s such a good all-rounder that it’s actually hard to recommend getting either the DJI Spark or the Mavic Pro ahead of it, unless price or battery life considerations put you off. Once you’ve added a controller to the Spark, the Mavic Air is only £190 more – and the video quality, portability, extra range and longer battery life more than justify that. The recent Mavic Pro Platinum does promise lower noise levels and 30-minute flight time, which are two of the Air’s main weaknesses, but at £1200 it’s a significant jump up. Which leaves the Air as our current favourite flying, autonomous 4K camera. It’s an amazing gadget that slips into a hiking backpack and can shoot videos that would have, until recently, required serious flying skills and a film studio budget. Now, where to take it next...

Incredibly portable; Very good video and stills quality; A cinch to fly;

Battery life still quite restrictive; Quite noisy when nearby;

The DJI Mavic Air is an easy-to-fly drone that shoots great 4K video, packed into an impossibly small package.

An amazing amount of tech in a pocketable drone, the DJI Mavic Air is the best travel drone you're going to find right now.

The DJI Mavic Air's folding design makes it great for travel while its 4K-resolution camera and three-axis gimbal capture nice-looking photos and video; Automated shooting options and obstacle avoidance make it easy to get good results fast.

Flight time is typically between 15 to 18 minutes, so expect to buy extra batteries; Piloting by app can be frustrating, especially on smaller screens; Obstacle avoidance doesn't cover you from the sides or top.

DJI's first real effort to sell drones to the masses wasn't as rousing a success as you'd expect from the company, which has dominated the marketplace in terms of quality and sales since consumer drones have become a thing. The Spark, released last year, was hamstrung by really short battery life and a control interface that needed some refinement to be ready for mass consumption. The Mavic Air ($919) is what the Spark should have been—foldable, with a 4K camera, and a battery that keeps the drone flying longer. It packs a lot of tech into a small package, including some panoramic photo and video tricks, and is a great option if you don't want to spend $1,149 on our Editors' Choice, the DJI Mavic Pro Platinum. Design The Mavic Air ($499.00 at Drone Nerds) is the smallest drone that DJI makes. Like the Mavic Pro series it folds for storage and transport. When folded it measures 1.9 by 3.3 by 6.6 inches (HWD), small enough to fit into most jacket pockets, and it weighs a little bit ...

The Mavic Air is DJI's smallest, most portable drone, and is just as full-featured as its larger siblings.

Very small; High bit-rate 4K UHD video; HDR and Panorama still capture; Raw and JPG support; Asteroid video shot; Good obstacle avoidance; Automated flight modes

Doesn't support USB charging; No 4K DCI video; Panorama stitching needs some work; Real-world flight limited to about 18 minutes

While not perfect, the Mavic Air is easily one of the most impressive drones to date. It's portable, powerful and packed with features. What's more, its batteries last far longer than the smaller Spark.

Portable design means it's easy to carry around; Full of features; Quick Shot modes are a highlight; Battery life is decent for a drone this size;

ActiveTrack tracking didn't work reliably; Video was often oversaturated; Auto exposure slow to play catch-up; App menu system is still quite complex;

Summer is a great time to explore. Whether that means going on a hike or relaxing on a beach, there's no better time to see the world. And what better way to capture your new adventures than with a drone? You don't have to be a professional photographer or pilot to fly a drone. The DJI Mavic Air Quadcopter, which is available for just $679 for Prime Day ($120 off), is a great drone for beginners and experts alike. The quadcopter and remote are both foldable so you can easily slide them in your bag to carry along wherever you travel. To ensure your drone is even more secure, you can get the fly more bundle, which includes two additional hard cases for a total of $879. You can control this drone with hand gestures, your phone, or a remote to capture the perfect shot at any moment. It features a three-axis gimbal that steadies the shot and can stitch up to 25 photos together in just 8 seconds to create 32MP sphere panoramas. With this quadcopter, you'll soon be capturing image...

Incredibly compact and convenient to carry around; Easy to fly with intelligent flight modes; Great video quality; HDR and panoramic still images; Includes built-in storage;

Need to opt for the Fly More Combo to get the most out of it; Switching between control methods can be fiddly;

Incredibly portable; Very good video and stills quality; A cinch to fly;

Battery life still quite restrictive; Quite noisy when nearby;

Prime Day is upon us, and Amazon is dishing out insane deals on pretty much everything it offers. Summer is also drone-flying season, and this year's sale has some steep price drops on these tiny aircraft. Holy Stone HS440(Opens in a new window) for $69.99 Holy Stone HS720E(Opens in a new window) for $209.99 BWINE F70 Mini(Opens in a new window) for $198.04 DJI Mini 3 Pro(Opens in a new window) for $729.99 Drones can be used for all sorts of activities. Some reach high altitudes and operate over long distances to let you photograph beautiful, sweeping landscapes. Some are extremely agile, turning on a dime for drone racing or high-speed chase footage. Other drones skimp on functionality to come in at a lower price. But on Prime Day, you can get a high-end drone for a budget price from brands like DJI and Holy Stone. These are can't-miss deals that won't be around long. Not yet a Prime member? New members can up for a 30-day trial(Opens in a new window) and get all the advantag...