Amateurs first impression of the Mavic Air

[Auspete]

I am not a photographer nor an expert on technical things but these are my first impressions of the Mavic Air.
I have had a number of other DJI drones and these comments mostly focus on the negatives/concerns.
First flights were done in open country with iPhone 6 plus. All firmware up to date and compass/IMU calibrated.
(1) Each time I took off, the Air moved about 30 cms to the left without stick input. UPDATE:- Subsequent flights - Air still flinches to the left when taking off - My Pro lifts straight up.
(2) RTH performance was no where near as precise as my Mavic Pro. Air was about 1-2 metres off each time. UPDATE:- RTH was perfect today. Landed almost exactly where it took off from. The Air made its final landing correction quite close to the ground.
(3) In asteroid mode the remote disconnected from the Air by itself at the end of completion of 2 out of 3 shots. The Air self activated RTH and landed about 5 metres from me (presumably because it was too close to me when RTH activated) UPDATE:- No disconnections in asteroid mode today
(4) The new APAS function worked pretty well. On two occasions when it was heading towards me, it just stopped and refused to fly around me. (probably because I am so ugly!!!)
(5) I wish it had a second customizable wheel on the remote. On the Pro I use the wheel to easily change the cameras EVO value.
(6) The micro SD card is impossible to get out without using something to push it in and tweezers to get in and pull it out. Other DJI drones have been difficult but not as bad as this one.
(7) I cant use my Crystalsky on the remote because the official DJI mount that I purchased for the Pro doesn't fit in the Air's remote arms. Plus no firmware support yet.

Overall though, I was really very impressed with the Air. I flew about a kilometre away without any issues.
Video and photo quality was excellent to my untrained eyes. It was definitely noisier than my Mavic Pro with quiet props. I think it was the higher pitch that causes this. Sounds very similar to my Spark.

As with all new DJI products I have confidence that DJI will fix any glitches with firmware updates.
I am of the view that the Pro is still the best all rounder.

 

[lisadoc]

(5) I wish it had a second customizable wheel on the remote. On the Pro I use the wheel to easily change the cameras EVO value.

Amen... This is my number 1 gripe about the Air. Why would they include such a worthy remote and yet not include a second wheel (as well as the C1 and C2 buttons)? I can live without the C buttons but the lack of a 2nd wheel is driving me crazy.

 

[msinger]

(6) The micro SD card is impossible to get out without using something to push it in and tweezers to get in and pull it out.

I've been connecting the USB Type-C cable to my computer to transfer data from the memory card. It's not as fast, but it's much easier than attempting to remove the memory card. Here's to hoping the Mavic Pro 2 is not designed like this.

(7) I cant use my Crystalsky on the remote because the official DJI mount that I purchased for the Pro doesn't fit in the Air's remote arms. Plus no firmware support yet.

If the firmware comes out before the new mount, there are some 3rd party CrystalSky mounts that'll work with the Mavic Air remote controller. Here are a few of them:

• HeiyRC
• PolarPro

 

[synaesthesia]

(6) The micro SD card is impossible to get out without using something to push it in and tweezers to get in and pull it out. Other DJI drones have been difficult but not as bad as this one.

This so much, I actually have trouble getting the SD card in as well but getting it back out again is basically impossible without using something to poke it. Going to end up carrying around some kind of tiny pokey stick just to deal with the SD card I think.

 

[Verizondrone28]

+3 for the SD card. It’s horrible. But I just connect the drone to my Mac and transfer that way. It’s fine for now or until I start packing tweezers in my drone case.

 

[ColdForged]

I'm not sure where the SD card difficulty reports are coming from. I've yet to struggle even a bit with it. Orient correctly, push in with tip of fingernail, done. When I want to eject, push in slightly with tip of fingernail, it unseats and I pull it out. It's not ideal but it doesn't feel like the burden I've seen it made out in forums.

 

[Mike4884]

I'm not sure where the SD card difficulty reports are coming from. I've yet to struggle even a bit with it. Orient correctly, push in with tip of fingernail, done. When I want to eject, push in slightly with tip of fingernail, it unseats and I pull it out. It's not ideal but it doesn't feel like the burden I've seen it made out in forums.

But what if u don't have long fingernails??

 

[NJRUFan]

But what if u don't have long fingernails??

Or small hands