Mavic 2 Pro vs Inspire 2

I have always been the type of person that likes to prove things and quantify the results.

When Electronic Distance Meters (EDM) came out, yea I know I am dating myself , I had to test them on a calibrated baseline to prove that they measured the same distance as chaining them before I trusted them.

When GPS came out I tested them against the EDM.

When total stations came out I tested them against GPS.

Now drones with aerial survey mapping are available. Guess what? I am testing them out to make sure that they produce the same results as ground survey methods. I just got to know that they work.

There are so many models and manufacturers of drones that it is hard to really know which ones work the best. They all say they are the best.

The same way with processing software, they all say they are the best.

It is hard to get your head around all of it.

If money was no option, you would simply buy each one and test it out then choose the one that works best for your operation. Unfortunately money is an option for most of us which is why I share my testing results so you have something to work with.

I selected the DJI products due to their reputation and reliability. They are the leading manufacturer for some reason.

I tested Dronedeploy the free version, Pix4D for two years and Metashape Pro this last year. I chose Metashape Pro because it has the tools I need for my testing procedures, it is in my price range and it runs on the Mac.

I am sharing the results of the testing I recently completed on a project site.

This test was designed to compare the survey mapping results between the Mavic 2 Pro and the Inspire 2 with x5s camera - 15mm lens.

I have been told and read that the Mavic 2 Pro is no good for survey mapping due to the rolling shutter. Is this true? I had to find out for myself.

People often rely/repeat what they have been told without really checking it out. I am not one of those people.

The Testing Site (1.5 acres)

Thirty (30) GCPs were set using GPS methods. GPS methods were used because this is what most GCPs are set with by the surveying community primarily due to budget and time constraints.

It would really be awesome to have long static reads on GCPs to get the positioning down to millimeters however not many clients are willing to pay for that or have the time that it takes.

Time is money!

Five (5) of the thirty were used to constrain the survey model to with Metashape Pro as shown by the red triangles. Twenty five (25) were used as checkpoints to check the Root Mean Square Errors (RMSE) to the standards set by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS).

The results of the test below confirm that both drones meet the ASPRS at 95% Confidence Level Horizontal class of 0.63cm and the Vertical class of 1-cm.

The site was flown with the Mavic 2 Pro and Inspire 2. The side by side results are shown below.

Mavic 2 Pro

(10.26mm) 20mp

5472 x 3648 (px)

Sensor 13.2mm x 8.8mm

AGL 150'

FOV: (w) 193', (h) 129'

Neat area: (w) 77', (h) 39'

Speed: 8.8 mph

Capture rate 3 sec.

GSD: 1.08 cm

Flight time: 4 min

Flight app: Litchi

# of images: 44

Below are the residuals.

I nspire 2 x5s

(15mm) 20mp

5280 x 3956 (px)

Sensor 17.3mm x 13.0 mm

AGL 200'

FOV: (w) 231', (h) 173'

Neat area: (w) 92'), (h) 52'

Speed 11.8 mph

Capture rate 3 sec.

GSD 1.33 cm

Flight time: 3 min

Flight app: Litchi

# of images: 32

Below are the residuals.

The Inspire 2 control point residuals (ft) are slightly better than the Mavic 2 Pro for the horizontal positions but not by much. The vertical position residuals (ft) are almost identical. The checkpoint residuals (ft) are really close as well.

Myth Busted!

The results indicate that the Mavic 2 Pro does really well even with the rolling shutter. So, is the myth busted? For me it is. Metashape Pro has a rolling shutter compensator which was not turned on for the above comparison. When I turned it on there wasn't much difference.

The Mavic 2 Pro list for about $2000 and the Inspire 2 list for $5000 and up.

I really like my Inspire 2. It does really well in windy conditions and is a workhorse.

The Mavic 2 Pro is a really good option for starting out with survey mapping that will produce survey grade mapping if done right. The right number of GCPs in the right location is the trick.

OK, I bet some of you are asking what would the residuals look like if all of the GCPs were used as control points.

Well let's see!

There is not much difference. The above is for the Mavic 2 Pro with all points turned on as control points.

Here is the result with rolling shutter compensation turned on.

One last thing I wanted to test was the difference between the optimization calculations for the control points vs elevations derived from the DEM model.

The Inspire 2 did slightly better in this test, again not by much.

Keep in mind that the processing by Metashape Pro or any software package is only as good as the method to set the GCPs. In this case a GPS was used to set the GCPs so the residuals are within the GPS tolerances.

Mavic 2 Pro

Inspire 2

Conclusion

In my opinion, based upon the results noted above, that the topographic mapping produced by Metashape Pro and the Mavic 2 Pro meet the tolerances needed for a typical survey mapping project when compared to survey ground methods collected using a GPS.

It is faster, safer and easily verifiable.

OK, now for a little bit of marketing.

I am not a salesperson, I am a techy guy so I do very little marketing, so please bear with me.

If you like the information provided above and would like to see more in future email posts, then consider purchasing some of my books to help support the effort. As all of you know, computer hardware, software and drones costs money. I put 100% of my book sales back into the business to write more books, buy drones to test and so forth.

Thank you all that have supported this effort. It is greatly appreciated.

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