Air vs Mini (Range & Restrictions)

[Photo Joe]

Thank you all for the wealth of knowledge here!

I am trying to make a decision between the Air and Mini.
I’ve had the Mini for about one month and have been so impressed!
When the Air went on sale recently the cost between the two became close enough that it is not a factor.
I now have the Mavic Mini and Mavic Air with the Fly More Combos.
My primary interest/use for a drone is photography/video.
I’m working on the Part 107 although will not be using commercially.

Initial impressions:
I love the portability of the Mini. It is simple and fun to fly. The limited power and image quality is my only issue.
I find the Air more difficult to operate (mostly complexity of the app) but like the additional features it offers. I also want the potentially better images it’s capable of.

I need to sell one (because I’m saving for a larger drone) and need to make a decision but have found it very difficult.

Wondering if you guys could provide clarity/insight/opinions on the following 3 Questions:

Restrictions
Is the air going to be more restricted (in the software) due to Geo Zones and the fact that it’s over 250 grams?
For example - if I’m traveling and want to fly a drone will I have fewer options with the Mavic Air?


Range/Control
Is the WiFi transmission on the Mini really better/improved compared to the Air?
And what does that mean for me?
(I read this on fstoppers: In Depth Comparison of the DJI Mavic Mini, Air, Zoom, and Pro Drones)
How does this affect my range in open environments or urban environments?


Image Quality
The two drones supposedly have the same camera sensors. Is this true?
Do any of you have experience with images from both?
Do the raw images from the Air offer the same advantages as raws from other cameras?


Thank you in advance!
I appreciate your time in reading this and willingness to share your feedback.


Regards,

Joe

 

[Rchawks]

Sometimes it takes awhile for someone to respond.?

 

[p_sapelas]

Hi Joe,
I really believe that for non commercial use one drone is enough for any circumstances ad long as the image and video quality is good enough for FB use... Really now, most people use their Drone (even expensive ones) just to post a photo or a small video in FB.
I do believe that in your occasion I would sell both and would buy something new like air 2.
For it's spec's about image quality and occusync with a price not more than 1100€ for fly more combo version would be a deal breaker.

 

[lee82gx]

Thank you all for the wealth of knowledge here!

I am trying to make a decision between the Air and Mini.
I’ve had the Mini for about one month and have been so impressed!
When the Air went on sale recently the cost between the two became close enough that it is not a factor.
I now have the Mavic Mini and Mavic Air with the Fly More Combos.
My primary interest/use for a drone is photography/video.
I’m working on the Part 107 although will not be using commercially.

Initial impressions:
I love the portability of the Mini. It is simple and fun to fly. The limited power and image quality is my only issue.
I find the Air more difficult to operate (mostly complexity of the app) but like the additional features it offers. I also want the potentially better images it’s capable of.

I need to sell one (because I’m saving for a larger drone) and need to make a decision but have found it very difficult.

Wondering if you guys could provide clarity/insight/opinions on the following 3 Questions:

Restrictions
Is the air going to be more restricted (in the software) due to Geo Zones and the fact that it’s over 250 grams?
For example - if I’m traveling and want to fly a drone will I have fewer options with the Mavic Air?


Range/Control
Is the WiFi transmission on the Mini really better/improved compared to the Air?
And what does that mean for me?
(I read this on fstoppers: In Depth Comparison of the DJI Mavic Mini, Air, Zoom, and Pro Drones)
How does this affect my range in open environments or urban environments?


Image Quality
The two drones supposedly have the same camera sensors. Is this true?
Do any of you have experience with images from both?
Do the raw images from the Air offer the same advantages as raws from other cameras?


Thank you in advance!
I appreciate your time in reading this and willingness to share your feedback.


Regards,

Joe

Hi,
If you have both drones in hand already, can I ask (with all respect) why don't you perform the comparison yourself and decide?

Surely you can power up both drones and see the NFZ and restrictions Live in both apps. I'm pretty sure they are the same. That does not mean it is same by law, for that I believe its a question of exactly what country / state and but assuming you're in the US, as long as you register your Air, the same regulations apply to both drones in terms of limitations.

Range : I think this is best answered by flying both your drones in similar location and path. My hunch is they should both be similar if not the Air will still have an edge as in low RF density areas it can resort to 2.4G.

Image quality : You can answer this by not even flying your drone...just power up and take a few pictures with both and analyze it by pixel peeping....

 

[Photo Joe]

Hi Joe,
I really believe that for non commercial use one drone is enough for any circumstances ad long as the image and video quality is good enough for FB use... Really now, most people use their Drone (even expensive ones) just to post a photo or a small video in FB.
I do believe that in your occasion I would sell both and would buy something new like air 2.
For it's spec's about image quality and occusync with a price not more than 1100€ for fly more combo version would be a deal breaker.

Thanks for the response.
I agree - I’d like to have just one drone.
I have been absolutely impressed with the Mini and footage/photos. The quality is great for social media. It lacks a bit if I were to try to blow up for printing.
Great suggestion on the Air 2. It seems that may meet my needs/wants.
Thank you.
Cheers.
-Joe

 

[Photo Joe]

Hi,
If you have both drones in hand already, can I ask (with all respect) why don't you perform the comparison yourself and decide?

Surely you can power up both drones and see the NFZ and restrictions Live in both apps. I'm pretty sure they are the same. That does not mean it is same by law, for that I believe its a question of exactly what country / state and but assuming you're in the US, as long as you register your Air, the same regulations apply to both drones in terms of limitations.

Range : I think this is best answered by flying both your drones in similar location and path. My hunch is they should both be similar if not the Air will still have an edge as in low RF density areas it can resort to 2.4G.

Image quality : You can answer this by not even flying your drone...just power up and take a few pictures with both and analyze it by pixel peeping....

Lee - thanks for the response.
I’m glad you asked about me doing a comparison.
I actually have done as much comparison as possible in the past week.
I also made a weighted decision matrix and test criteria.. (a little overboard but trying to teach my kids about decision making and finances )

The reviews I’ve read and watched have been split in terms of image quality and range. This surprised me as I assumed the Mavic Air would be a clear winner.

For my personal experience, I continue to see trade offs and pros about each one.
I did have a valuable learning last night in attempting to do a range test.
I went to a nearby hill where I have good line of sight for a great distance.
I flew both in the same direction as far as I could comfortably.
The Mini made it a distance of 1900 meters but I didn’t feel comfortable because of the constant controller warnings about wind. I also had to drop the height to around 50 meters for most of the flight. However, the Mini made it back and had a few more minutes of flight time.

The Air flew 2400 meters away at 100 meters high before it started to lose signal. It completed the flight much faster and without wind warnings. It had no battery left when it returned.

The big takeaway for me - I definitely feel more confident when flying the Air - especially when wind is present. (This is important as I live in a suburb of The Windy City)

I now need to come up with a test for transmission in an urban setting.

Great suggestion on testing image quality without flying.

Cheers.

-Joe

 

[vadda]

In urban area :
Mini : 1300mt max distance, 21min flight time
Air : 2600mt max distance, 19min flight time (master airscrew v2 propeller)
Same path, 5.8Ghz same channel 165, same full FCC power (mini US model)