DJI Mavic pilots - Australia

[JustinVV]

1080P/60 is pretty good, most peoples monitors and TVs cant show any better than tis anyway.

 

[Chris.K]

Have you tried the video at 1080/60 on the mavic ? It's horrendous. My iPhone takes way better video at that setting.

I read it has something to do with the mavics coding of that combination or something.

 

[JustinVV]

I use it's from time to time. Never noticed to much of an issue. What colour profile are you using? And what sharpness?

I use D-log and color grade and +1 on the sharpness to lower the effect of the in camera noise reduction (there is a food YouTube vid on this)

 

[Chris.K]

I just use normal color. I don't have any idea about editing yet so not keen on using cinelog cos it looks too flat.

Have you got some video you could post ? Honestly the couple of times I took it the footage was horrible. Aliasing and moire gone berserk. There's a lot of information about this mate, 1080/60 is I think the worst setting to use on the mavic.

 

[SeaComms]

This was shot in 4k in cinelog with +1 sharpness. No colour correction, just edited and exported at 1080

 

[Chris.K]

what do i even use to edit video ? im on windows

 

[wombat]

This was shot in 4k in cinelog with +1 sharpness. No colour correction, just edited and exported at 1080

any filters on the mavic in your vid SeaComms ?

 

[Clintsc9]

what do i even use to edit video ? im on windows

On Windows you can use Windows Movie Maker. Very basic and the output won't be 4K. But it is free and a start off point before deciding if you want to pay for the high-end video editors.

 

[SeaComms]

any filters on the mavic in your vid SeaComms ?

Nope! Only just got it, that's the second vid and prob 3rd real flight! Still working out what filters to get and haven't even looked at colour corrections yet. Just read somewhere a recommendation to use the dlog cinema on the .600 firmware so thought I would give it a try

 

[SeaComms]

what do i even use to edit video ? im on windows

That video I put up was edited with Shotcut for Windows. Totally free and handles 4k no probs

 

[BeeDrone]

I was interested in the previous discussion regarding insurance for Mavic. My particular worry is around public liability and crashing it.

Just confirmed on our renewal that it IS covered. We're with GIO and they have charged me under specified items (around $40 extra pa with a $100 excess) but have confirmed that it is covered for theft etc. as well as public liability and crashes. They had no special fact sheet about drones but said it was covered under their model aircraft section.

I compared with RACV who had more of a fact sheet about use requirements (same as CASA). Not sure what the extra premium was but I was put off by a $500 excess.

 

[SeaComms]

"Hobby Aircraft" are covered by Youi under their general contents, which has now been auto upgraded (for me at least) to cover this stuff outside the home from theft/damage/loss and liability. Only downside is it comes under general contents, so follows the same excess. I have my excess set at $700 to keep the policy premium cost down (1 claim in 30 years!)

 

[BeeDrone]

"Hobby Aircraft" are covered by Youi under their general contents, which has now been auto upgraded (for me at least) to cover this stuff outside the home from theft/damage/loss and liability. Only downside is it comes under general contents, so follows the same excess. I have my excess set at $700 to keep the policy premium cost down (1 claim in 30 years!)

Sounds like what RACV had. With GIO I have a $500 excess on the house but it's only $100 on the Mavic and other extras whereas the RACV one sounds like yours with $500 across the board.

 

[Havinacrackatit]

G'day all. I'm new to the forum: retired and live in the Port Macquarie region on the NSW Mid-North Coast.
I have never flown a drone and don't own one (yet!!) but have been looking at the Mavic for quite a while.

I've been reading this forum and others with great interest for quite a while and figure this will be the best place to find answers (and for reassurance) to my many questions/issues related to the Mavic and flying drones in general.

Feeling the pain of people purchasing late last year and early this year what are the current indications of availability of the Mavic and best method of purchase; online or direct from stores. I notice some cheaper prices online but from reading earlier posts some pitfalls with customs re taxes etc.
Just another comment; from what I am reading the Mavic seems relatively easy to fly but also very complex with all of its gadgetry if that's the right word.
This is the reassurance issue. Having a lot of money hanging up in the air? The few crashes i have read appeared to mainly pilot error with little or no major damage or loss occurring. I don't want to be the first to change the statistics.

I'd be keen to hook up with someone to view them flying at sometime if possible. I get down to the NSW Central Coast at times as well.

Cheers and thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[BeeDrone]

G'day all. I'm new to the forum: retired and live in the Port Macquarie region on the NSW Mid-North Coast.
I have never flown a drone and don't own one (yet!!) but have been looking at the Mavic for quite a while.

I've been reading this forum and others with great interest for quite a while and figure this will be the best place to find answers (and for reassurance) to my many questions/issues related to the Mavic and flying drones in general.

First question is what seems to be the current availability of the Mavic and best method of purchase; online or direct from stores. I notice some cheaper prices online but from reading earlier posts some pitfalls with customs re taxes etc.
Just another comment; from what I am reading the Mavic seems relatively easy to fly but also very complex with all of its gadgetry if that's the right word.
This is the reassurance issue. Having a lot of money hanging up in the air???

Cheers and thanks in advance for any feedback.

Love the name Haxinacrackatit!

I'm certainly not the most experienced pilot here and am very new myself to the Mavic but I can tell you about my very recent purchase experience (last week). I had searched in lots of places and was unsure of availability like yourself. I happened to notice that JB hifi were advertising it. The cheapest I had found the fly more package (which I would recommend) was $2089 through Aus-Cameras which had an extra memory card and showed varying reviews online as to their customer service. I thought I'd just walk in to JB and "have a chat" and ended up walking out with the pack. They had it advertised at $2199 but I ended up getting it cheaper than the Aus-Camera price including a 64Gb memory card just by asking for a cheaper price. Downside - you have to organise the DJI refresh cover separately online within 48hrs of purchase if you want it as JB wouldn't do that.

As far as piloting experience goes, I have had little $30 - $150 drones that I have flown on and off for a few years. I believe that Mavic is an awesome drone that has a lot of safety features. Personally I would be investing in a cheaper craft either instead of or as well as the Mavic (mine is a Syma X5C but I think the current model is the X8G) so you can get the feel of controlling the aircraft with relatively little risk first.

As a guide, I'm happy to let my teenage kids fly the mavic with a little guidance and me watching them but have told them they have to get a couple of hours on the Syma first so they don't panic and do something rash.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your decision.

 

[SeaComms]

Agree with grad a cheapie first, them you learn the basics. The hardest tho g for new flyers is getting used to the orientation and which way is which. The cheapies also force you to fly it the whole time do you get more used to the controls. Once you get the hang of that the MP will be am absolute breeze. As in, you press the button to take off and it takes off then just sits there with no movement and no input from you. Unlike the cheapies, if you do get confused you let go of everything and it just stops dead waiting for you to work out what you should be doing!

As for price, I ordered mine from a camera shop in the gold coast, around $1970 from memory for the more fly kit. Very prompt service too.

 

[Havinacrackatit]

Hi BeeDrone.
Thanks for the reply. Have been thinking about buying a cheepy drone to "Hava-crackatit" with mixed thoughts. didn't want to be put off with something that I might have hated, yet to gain some experience would be beneficial.
My quote regarding the Mavic being easy to pilot was based on posts read on this forum and read on other reviews.

I'd be interested if you wanted to divulge the price you paid from JB Hi-Fi. I am leaning very much towards the "fly more" package and looked at Aus Camera's site last night.

I have an basic interest in photography and thinking I could expand my interest there as well as experience the joys of "flying high".
Also reading many comments I would do my utmost to be completely compliant with casa rules/regs and not want to get offside with any of the public. Have read of a few instances here. I have a good local footy field away from housing in my immediate area which would be great to use during the days when no-one is there (most days). I am also very close to the ocean front (not common swim areas) which would be great to utilise once i gain some experience and confidence.

Cheers.

 

[Havinacrackatit]

Agree with grad a cheapie first, them you learn the basics. The hardest tho g for new flyers is getting used to the orientation and which way is which. The cheapies also force you to fly it the whole time do you get more used to the controls.
As for price, I ordered mine from a camera shop in the gold coast, around $1970 from memory for the more fly kit. Very prompt service too.

Thanks for your input SeaComms.
I think I will take the punt and go for a cheapy first for the experience. I am in NO rush to become a "Top Gun" pilot. I just want to take my time and be comfortable with a steady learning curve. Piloting first ... photography second seems to be the go.

Thanks for the heads up on the price. How long ago?? I have read all of the posts on this forum previously but can't remember everything. Way way too much to absorb in such a short time.

Looking forward to get active.
Cheers,

 

[EJay]

Hi,
I am new to this game and Mavic is my first machine, apart from an indoor model where you had to do ALL the flying. To give you hope, I did scores of flights with the indoor quad and all but one or two ended in a crash, but so far no Mavic crashes and my log shows 130 flights over about 7.5 hours and 37km. All that stability stuff works! And made about 50gb of data.
I got mine from Aus-Cameras incl the extra 64gb card. Ordered from them on Sunday and it arrived on Friday which was ok because at the time a lot seemed to be on back order and this shipped from China to western Vic AU.

I watched plenty of review videos and information prior to purchasing, then heaps of how-to stuff after I ordered it. Fortunately there is plenty of information out there including this site. I was almost an armchair expert when my Mavic arrived, now I am gathering practical skills.

Anyway Havinacrackatit, you mentioned the Mavic is "easy to fly but complex with its gadgetry", my comment is that the flying side and the camera side can be as simple or as complex as you want and it is scary, fun, nerve wracking, challenging, exciting and rewarding growing with all that is Mavic, not to mention the movie editing creating side, soooo I think you Bettahavacrackatit!

 

[BeeDrone]

Hi BeeDrone.
Thanks for the reply. Have been thinking about buying a cheepy drone to "Hava-crackatit" with mixed thoughts. didn't want to be put off with something that I might have hated, yet to gain some experience would be beneficial.
My quote regarding the Mavic being easy to pilot was based on posts read on this forum and read on other reviews.

I'd be interested if you wanted to divulge the price you paid from JB Hi-Fi. I am leaning very much towards the "fly more" package and looked at Aus Camera's site last night.

I have an basic interest in photography and thinking I could expand my interest there as well as experience the joys of "flying high".
Also reading many comments I would do my utmost to be completely compliant with casa rules/regs and not want to get offside with any of the public. Have read of a few instances here. I have a good local footy field away from housing in my immediate area which would be great to use during the days when no-one is there (most days). I am also very close to the ocean front (not common swim areas) which would be great to utilise once i gain some experience and confidence.

Cheers.

I ended up paying $2016 for the package plus another $70 for the card. In hindsight I shouldn't have bothered with the extra card yet as I've been nervous enough with the short stints I've had (although insurance has made me a little less nervous) but I can see it being needed in the not too distant future. It looks like SeaComms did better so shop around.

There are elements of the cheap drones that suck but there are also good parts. I enjoyed being able to fly the $30 drones/helicopters around the house and not worry too much about them. Yes they are definitely harder to control but they are still a lot of fun and give you the grounding that you need. There are others that are just as good but the Syma has a really good reputation and you can still get them with a basic camera. Not sure if the new ones stream to the controller but I think it's a good thing that they don't - means you learn to fly LOS.

I'm the same with photography and the Mavic has blown my mind as to the possibilities but don't feel you have to rush, no doubt there will be a Mavic 2, 3 etc. all with better features.