The rumors on the upcoming new drone from DJI, the AIR 2S are circulating around the net for some time. However, the dust is settled regarding its sensor, which will probably is the Sony IMX383. That means the DJI AIR 2S will be armed with this 1-inch 20 MP sensor that is capable of 5.5K, 50 FPS, and 12-bit output.
DJI AIR 2S
The speculations and conformations regarding the new DJI AIR 2S are accumulated. According to rumors, this new drone constitutes a significant step from its predecessor. Here’s what we know so far (thanks to two solid resources: OsitaLV and DJI AIR 2S FB group):
DJI AIR 2S specs (unconfirmed)
- 10-bit color
- 600-gram takeoff weight
- Intelligent HDR, Hyper laps, Panorama
- 8 GB internal storage
- Master Shots – 10 pre-programmed video flight modes
- Spotlight 2.0
- Point of Interest 3.0
- ActiveTrack 4.0
- Support for FPV Goggles V2
- OcuSync 3.0
- Max speed: 70 Km/h
- Obstacle avoidance
Sony IMX383 image sensor
The DJI AIR 2S will be equipped with a 1-inch sensor that is capable of 20 MP. The only valid option for this design is the IMX383 image sensor by Sony. The IMX383-AAQK is a diagonal 15.863 mm (Type 1) CMOS image sensor with a color square pixel array and approximately 20.48 M effective pixels. The 12-bit digital output makes it possible to output the signals of approximately 9.03 M effective pixels (approx. 17:9 aspect) with high definition for moving pictures. It also operates with three power supply voltages: analog 2.9 V, digital 1.1 V, and 1.8 V for I/O interface and achieves low power consumption. Furthermore, it realizes 12-bit digital output for shooting high-speed moving pictures by horizontal and vertical addition and subsampling. Realizing high sensitivity, low dark current, this sensor also has an electronic shutter function with variable storage time. The IMX 383 is designed for use in consumer use digital still camera and consumer use camcorder.
Key highlights of IMX383
- Back-illuminated and stacked CMOS image sensor
- Input clock frequency 72 MHz
- Multi-Aspect (3:2, 16:9, 4k2k cropped)
- All-pixel scan mode Various readout modes
- High-sensitivity, low dark current, no smear, excellent anti-blooming characteristics
- Vertical and horizontal arbitrary cropping function
- Variable-speed shutter function (minimum unit: 1 horizontal period)
- Low power consumption
- 10-bit/12-bit A/D conversion on chip
- R, G, B primary color mosaic filters on chip
- Number of recording pixels: 5472 (H) × 3648 (V) approx
- Max frame rate [frame/s] : 52.37
Final thoughts
There’s a good probability that the sensor implemented in the DJI AIR 2S is the Sony IMX383. If so, this sensor will allow decent image capabilities to filmmakers. According to the dry specs, the IMX383 is capable of 12-bit output, 5.5K, and 50 FPS. Calculating all together with its 1-inch size, we can expect the DJI AIR 2S to deliver high-quality videos for filmmakers. Stay tuned as we’ll keep you posted on this new toy.
