Hi Fabulous People,
I would like to get myself a DJI Mavic and am wondering if you can give some advice regarding getting the new Mavic Air vs Pro?
I like the Mavic Air because of the smaller size, and backward obstacle sensing. I think that the flight time of 21 minutes is okay for me. But my concern is that being the first generation device, it will be a big "buggy".
Can I please get some thoughts from the Mavic owners out there?
Many thanks.
kind regards,
Cheong
Id wait and see when people actually get their hands on the unit.
I would say go with the Mavic air, they have more features (hand gesture, backward obstacle etc), as for flight time expect around 10-15min flight time because you might need to set up, calibrate the drone and wind factor. So i suggest get extra battery or get the combo. the Mavic air have shorter range but I doubt you will fly more than 1km.
as for buggy, I got the mavic pro,it was ok at the beginning but after some updates the app keep crashing,and I think this is the combination of the spark and mavic pro technology so its not entirely new.
Legally distance is based on line of sight. At this small size its like 100m max to be legal…
I'd been waiting 12 months for the next "proper" DJI consumer drone to come out. Inside my 60 TRS window I finally decided to bite the bullet and buy the Mavic Pro Platinum 2 weeks ago. I got in about 2 hours of fly time and then the MP Air is announced. FML.
I've just put my MPP up for sale on gumtree for the following reasons, camera quality and portability.
I'll miss the extra 8min fly time, and the LCD on the controller is pretty useful too, but it seems like that's really all it's got going for it over the MPA.
That said, if I don't get a decent offer on the MPP, i'll happily keep it until at least the next big upgrade comes along.
I expect we'll see a few of the new modes like 'Boomerang and Asteroid accessible on the Mavic Pro's a little while after the Air is released. That'll be a nice consolation.
I have always held off on buying a drone because of the size. I will be purchasing a Mavic Air hopefully this week before I go OS Monday week, I think it is the perfect drone for travel photographers like myself.
I don't like your chances of getting one before then. AFAIK AU retailers won't be getting stock until mid-late Feb.
Some places are saying they will have stock as early as Tuesday and the JBHIFI website is saying 03/02/2018. I am guessing there will be limited stock if there are some this week but fingers crossed I get my hands on one.
i reckon the pro is still where it’s at.
It comes down to distance you can fly the thing. Air uses wifi which craps out pretty early.
Have borrowed a mates pro and bought a spark as a result. Sold the spark a week later due to the signal dropping out too easily.
Pro uses radio to transmit the signal. Magic and Air uses wifi. It’s crapola.
That's an interesting point. The DJI website gives the Air in-between the Spark and the Pro though (values from the 2.4 GHz band, unobstructed, best case):
Spark: FCC 2km, CE 500m
Air: FCC 4km, CE 2km
Pro: FCC 7.5km, CE 4km
So, pending confirmation from real tests, it looks like the Air will have a much longer useable distance than the Spark
Take all those with a grain of salt. I never got that distance with the spark nor the pro.
2km max on the pro. Spark was always like 500m. This is on my farm too. not much interference.
5 things make a good drone.
Stability of the aircraft
Stability of the gimbal
Flight time
Picture quality
Comms range
Pro smokes all of them.
Forget backwards crash avoidance- you should be a good pilot and never need it. All the software gimmicks aren’t required if you fly well and want to practice to become a good pilot.
FYI I don’t have any drones at the moment but will buy a pro next time a sale comes.
Hope this helps
I've been 2km away with full bars of remote signal.
Some good points guys. I think I'll pull the sale of my Mavic Pro Platinum.
Doing a DJI comparison I also noticed that the Mavic Air only ascends at 2mps, while the MPP goes up at 5mps, despite the weight difference.
I think the MPP is probably going to handle any type of wind much better.
I have a Mavic Pro.
Reasons to get AIR:
- It's slightly smaller and less weight
- The 'best' travel drone to get for Average Joe - combination of size, new obstacle avoidance, auto-modes, etc
IMO the Pro is a more complete product for the hobby photo/videographer and above. Longer flight time, better signal transmission, PROVEN reliability and camera quality.
Air camera and processor needs some reviews for anyone serious to even think about getting it. Mavic is proven, workarounds for bugs exist, correct settings and LUTs and de-noise profiles are everywhere.
21 vs 29 minute flight time, it's a bigger deal than you think. The controller beeps at you at 25-30% (adjustable) to let you know battery is running low. So Mavic Pro will beep at you at the 21 minute mark, Air at 15min. 30% extra battery life? IMO the Air will be enough for Average Joe noobs to throw it up, do a couple auto-capture modes, fly around a bit and take some pics/vids. Mavic Pro gives hobby/pro people a bit more time for scouting.
Stability in the air during windy conditions is another factor. Pro is rated at 22kmph winds and is usable in 30+kmph. It's already less stable than Phantoms. Unsure how Air holds up.
Additionally, did I see AUD$1400 RRP for Mavic Air? Brick'n'mortar cost for Pro is $1600, fly-more $1800, with Aussie authorised resellers selling fly-mores for sub-$1700.
It looks like a few Youtubers were able to get an early copy of the Air. Most of them seem to be impressed by the flying time/quality of the Air and it does look MUCH smaller than the Mavic!
The size of it was definitely something that grabbed me. The weight is my big issue. I'm about to head off to Scandinavia for a few months and I don't think the Air would be able to handle the wind speeds over there. I could be very wrong though. As stickman said above, there's a lot of unknowns.
you answered your own question