DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

Mind your 'P's and 'Q's DJi Phantom 4 pro vs Mavic Pro

MavicCF

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2017
Messages
1,083
Reactions
606
Age
22
Location
Colorado
e-1-c55885e9b95910920cb5caba54e042ca.jpg Portability vs Quality

Over the past few years, drones have become a very hot, object for people all over the world. An explosion of affordable, reliable, and easy to use drones have appeared on the market. With so many options it may be hard to pick the right one. DJI–one of the worlds most advanced drone producers–has recently released two new drones for consideration. First, the Phantom 4 Pro–with a background of 3 previous brothers–and the brand new Mavic Pro. The main differences between these two are: camera, sensors, and portability. Both are amazing platforms but the question is, which one is best for you?

Although sharing many similar characteristics, the differences should be carefully studied. The Phantom 4 Pro (P4P) has a truly incredible camera, it is made up of a one inch 20MP CMOS sensor, similar to an entry level DSLR. The Mavic Pro (MP) on the other hand, has a 1/2.3in 12.3 MP CMOS sensor, similar to a high end smart phone camera. Both are RAW, a uncompressed video file with much more detail than a JPEG, capable and can shoot in 4K. However, the P4P shoots 4K at up to 60fps vs the MP’s 30fps. This will give you more professional videos capable of being slowed way down. As you can see, the differences, though subtle should be carefully explored to fit your needs.

When it comes to sensors, these quads are packed! The MP uses two forward looking and two downward facing stereo sensors as well as two downward facing ultrasonic sensors. These sensors are used to create a “map” of their immediate surroundings to allow them to sense and avoid obstacles. In comparison, the P4P uses two stereo sensors in the front and back one infrared sensor on each side and various ultrasonic sensors for a total of five direction obstacle avoidance! Both feature dual IMUs and tons of computing cores (24 in the Mavic!). With all these sensors, the quads can fly missions autonomously in safety.

For most people, portability is a big selling point. This is where the Mavic really shines. Incredibly, it can fold its arms and props in to approximately the size of a water bottle! It can be carried in a small bag or even a (large) pocket! On the other hand the P4P takes up a lot of space requiring a good sized back-pack to tote it around. The P4P’s props must also be taken on and off for transport. The remotes have similar differences. The Mavic’s is roughly the size of a Xbox controller with arms that fold out to hold a cell phone/iPad mini for FPV (first person view). On the P4P, the remote is about the size of a typical RC transmitter and is actually bigger than the Mavic itself! When it comes to portability, the Mavic is the perfect option!

Now we have been through the main differences: camera, sensors, and portability. For most people who want a good quality, fully capable drone, the Mavic is the one! While the P4P provides amazing, professional quality results, most people don’t need it and can deal with slightly less quality and much more portability. The ability to pull it out of the glove compartment and fly for miles is a major advantage for most people! So, if you are a professional video maker and want a quality camera in the sky, the P4P, priced at $1,500 is perfect for you. If you are just the average person who wants to take good quality pictures and videos but not quite professional, the Mavic Pro, is right for you.

You can find the Mavic Pro here
You can find the Phantom 4 Pro here

I'm a little biased as a Mavic owner but I tried to do both sides justice. Let me know what you think!
 
Nice review for the uninitiated. Just some suggestions on your camera discussion. The cameras do not shoot "RAW" video. They do shoot "RAW" DNG photo files. The video files are highly compressed (especially on the Mavic). 60 fps does allow you to playback in slow motion but in no way is this considered "more professional video". It's just another choice that the Mavic does not have. If slo-motion at 4K is important to you, then this is a big deal.
 
The 1in sensor in the Phantom 4 Pro is good but it's not similar to an entry level DSLR, it's two stops worse than an APS-C sensor and in practice is a good bit worse in noise, dynamic range and lacks the latitude in its raw files. The 1in sensor is still a good bit better than the 1/2.3in sensor and it does offer a superb balance of IQ and size, I have several 1in based cameras as well as m4/3, APS-C and FF but I think it's misleading to claim the performance is similar to an entry level DSLR. I have toyed with the idea of a P4P and if it had an APS-C sensor I'd definitely go for one but the 1in sensor isn't quite worth it for me.

John
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kestrel
An APS-C sensor on one of these would be fantastic! I'd vote for that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Johnmcl7
Thanks for the input! I wrote this as one of my high-school papers and wanted some critiquing. I think I will take out the part about fps in the second paragraph. As far as the sensor, I wanted people to get a rough picture in their minds that comes close to the quality. Thanks again!
 
Thanks for the input! I wrote this as one of my high-school papers and wanted some critiquing. I think I will take out the part about fps in the second paragraph. As far as the sensor, I wanted people to get a rough picture in their minds that comes close to the quality. Thanks again!

Giving people completely the wrong information is not giving people a rough idea at all, I'm not sure you appreciate how much smaller the P4P sensor is vs a DSLR - to claim the P4P sensor is similar to an entry level DSLR is actually the same as claiming the Mavic sensor is similar to the P4P sensor. as the P4P sensor is around half the size of an APS-C sensor while 1/2.3in is a little under half the size of a 1in sensor. The 1in sensor is great for its size particularly in high end compacts like the Sony RX100 series but unfortunately it's a long way off a DSLR sized sensor particularly in dynamic range, there's so much overhead to recover highlights and shadows on an APS-C sensor that just isn't there on the 1in sensors.



John
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Kestrel
An APS-C sensor on one of these would be fantastic! I'd vote for that.

I was pretty excited when I found the 3DS Solo Drone could take the Sony QX1 module which is the little APS-C based device Sony released to use with mobile phones and made a lot of sense for use on a drone. However the review failed to mention the QX1 was only available on a special $10,000 version :(

It is frustrating having basically no exposure latitude at all in the Mavic files particularly when I usually take the FF DSLR out at the same time and a couple of slider changes transforms the photo so I've been toying with a P4P but the fact it's not portable like the Mavic nor is the 1in sensor that big an improvement is enough to kill the idea even though the detail from the 1in sensor is a big improvement on the mush from the Mavic.

John
 
Has anyone figured out how to adjust aperture? I can only do shutter speed and iso. It shows the aperture but won't let me adjust it.
 
This is where I got the bit on the sensor.

That isn't a good source, you can check the information yourself quite easily - this diagram shows how small a 1in sensor is compared to APS-C:

APS-C - Wikipedia

You can see how the 1in cameras (the RX100 and the G7) are again the entry level DSLRs, there's far more noise on the 1in sensors:

Studio shot comparison: Digital Photography Review

High iso isn't so important for the drones as they have stabilised platforms but you also get two stops advantage of dynamic range which makes a big difference for drones as the scenes they are taking in will often cover a wide range of exposures.

John
 
Ok, I looked up the 1" vs APS-C. You were right! Big difference, almost APS-C vs full frame! Thanks, I will change that before I turn it in! Guess I should do some better research next time;).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Johnmcl7
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,411
Messages
1,552,344
Members
159,418
Latest member
jamoke