Anyone going to swap out their mavic pros with the new mavic air?

[msinger]

slower speed

The max speed is actually faster (42.5 MPH vs. 40.3 MPH), but the ascent/descent speed is a little slower for some reason.

 

[JoostGT3]

Prior to the releas, my wishes for a successor of the mavic pro were:
1. Better Camera - Requirement
2. Better gimbal - Wish
3. No shorter battery life - Requirement
4. No worse connection - Requirement
5. Smaller - Wish
6. Quieter - Wish

Now that the Mavic Air has been released, I see the following items:
1. Only slightly better camera (100MBit/s vs 60MBit/s, but not the camera of the P4P)
2. Gimbal seems more robust and protected, but I need to hear first-hand experiences first regarding horizon creep, etc.
3. Shorter battery life, but could live with it.
4. Expect worse connection due to range 7km vs 4km... I don't need that long range, but I expect worse connection robustness
5. OK, quite smaller, nice.
6. Sound levels? Don't know

Even though, I would love to just buy it for the coolness factor, for me it is too expensive for that. Rationally, I see no reason to buy it.
Conclusion; I think I will wait for the Mavic Pro2, which I will have the same requirements for as described above, with the addition that camera quality should be a big step forward wrt the current Mavic Pro.

 

[Kilrah]

It helps to read the specs correctly.
Yes the top speed in sport mode is higher, but you can bet that's only to satisfy marketing.
What matters is speed in P-Mode which is only 28km/h. vs 35 or 50 for the MP depending on whether the OA sensors are on or off.

Given the similarity of the gimbal to that of the spark, I would not be surprised if like with the Spark sport mode is not usable for shooting with the gimbal bouncing around like crazy. In which case those lousy 28km/h might be the best you can get for any footage capture.

As usual this is stuff that the specs will avoid mentioning and conditions the paid reviewers who posted stuff today will have been told not to talk about. So need feedback from actual users before it can determined what the thing is really good for.

 

[JustinR]

The only issue for me is the battery life. Even so, that's an easy fix by just having additional batteries. Casey Neistat already posted a good new comparison video. Of course, it has to be taken with a grain of salt since they probably pay him for the review, but based on the eye test, I think it looks fantastic.

Casey likes to take his drone flights long distance and in risky areas (over traffic on freeways, over houses, over you name it!)....I doubt he'll stay with the air and its lower battery life and weaker wifi signal. In fact, I predict he loses it going long distance and running into wifi interference. I like his videos and he has great talent at vlogging/videography and keeping an audience, but he got a free drone and whatever else from DJI, so he's pushing their new product.

 

[Mike_in_Letcombe]

Certainly not. It will be replacing my Spark though. That's really what it is, a "spark pro".

Couldn’t agree more. Should be called the Spark Air. I may sell my Spark (bought for foreign holidays, as I’m nervous taking the Mavic overseas) and replace with the Air. But I’ll be keeping my MP.

 

[MaviP]

Staying with my Mavic Pro. I will see what will Mavic 2 offers. Next step is 5 or 6 Sensor direction (360 degree) then Orginal will be replaced.

 

[regdawg]

Nahhhh... staying with my MP. Can't justify this even being an upgrade, more a downgrade. Good thing I sold my spark weeks ago. With this release, spark prices are going to dip even more especially on the used ones.

 

[RayOZ]

If you own a Mavic, it’s more of a downgrade. If you own a Spark, it’d be an upgrade. If you own both, you’ve got too much money and time to fly 3 drones.

 

[christopher1979]

May sell off my Spark for it but the Spark in itself is awesome for what it can do already. So no, that's not an option. The MP however will never be replaced. On other hand the only thing that is really tempting is it's something new. And who doesn't like playing with something new.

 

[dbyantis]

Based off the specs its pretty tempting 4k 30fps, 3-axis gimbal, 2.4 mile range(never went this far with my mavic), front and rear sensors, even smaller size...anyone thinking the same?

I believe that the Mavic actually can go further than the Air and with the longer battery life a better chance of returning. The Air is a step up from the Spark and down from the Mavic. Just my opinion, of course.

 

[philh24]

Based off the specs its pretty tempting 4k 30fps, 3-axis gimbal, 2.4 mile range(never went this far with my mavic), front and rear sensors, even smaller size...anyone thinking the same?

Yes I am thinking the same,I think it depends on what you use your mavic for. I’ve personally never flew my mavic even half the distance it can be flown. I like the way it looks and I don’t think it will attract as much attention as I get with the mavic. I have noticed people with the spark don’t get so much aggravation I think that’s because it’s smaller. This is slightly smaller than the spark I think with better functions. I only fly line of sight now and not having the display on the controller has never a problem for me because it’s on the phone.
Looking at the videos this is certainly smaller and easier to pack into my trike. I pressed the button tonight and ordered one,how long it will take that will probably be another story.
If like me you don’t use all the functions it’s ideal. Selling the mavic on eBay now while people are still paying a decent price for them.

 

[ConsciousGeek]

Outside of the way it avoids obstacles instead of stopping completely, nothing about the Mavic Air would make me consider swapping my MPP. Surprised at the price point of the MA, basically DJI just left the spark out in the cold, unless hand take off and landing is all you care about.

 

[regdawg]

At $800, might as well get a full sized mavic. Better yet, buy a Mavic to resell it later for a Mavic 2.

 

[JMF]

No way !

The Mavic Air is not a Mavic, it's a Spark upgrade, they can keep it.

 

[dronerdave]

I'll stay with my MP. I can see the MA being great for those on foot or bikers being it's so small but that's not a requirement for my uses. I do hope it will drop the price of the MP but I'm not counting on it.

 

[philh24]

Makes you wonder if there will be a mavic 2. There have been so variations of the mavic now,the next one might be a mavic air plus or even a new name completely. The phantom 5 is taking its while coming,I would think that would be the next new drone to arrive now after they have just launched the air.

 

[msinger]

Makes you wonder if there will be a mavic 2.

The word on the street is that the Mavic Pro 2 is just out of beta testing.

 

[LivinLarge]

The word on the street is that the Mavic Pro 2 is just out of beta testing.

What? I thought we were the beta testers...

 

[Marco Cantieni]

For my use case the 100mbit is the only benefit. I‘m pretty sure that will be a feature on the forthcoming Mavic successor.

Observing the development of DJI drone models shows one thing very clear: It’s all about energy. More bitrate, more datastreams from backward cameras require more processing power on the mainboard. At the same time those things need to be smaller and smaller for having it ready for almost every occasion.

 

[daisy-girl]

Based off the specs its pretty tempting 4k 30fps, 3-axis gimbal, 2.4 mile range(never went this far with my mavic), front and rear sensors, even smaller size...anyone thinking the same?

Not after reading the following:

Consumer Drones Comparison- DJI