Choosing drones

DJPedram · Apr 5, 2018

a) MAVIC Air (DJI website) - $1025 CAD + TAX (1drone + 1 battery)
[https://store.dji.com/product/mavic-air?vid=38981]

b) MAVIC AIR (Bestbuy) $1079 CAD + TAX (1drone + 1 battery)
[https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/dj ... 18800.aspx?]

c) MAVIC PRO (Costco) $1149 CAD + TAX (1drone + 1 battery + controller, battery charger, 16 GB MicroSD card, backpack and propeller guards ) - single battery
[https://www.costco.ca/DJI-Mavic-Pro-Aer ... 90812.html]

d) MAVIC PRO (Bestbuy) $1149 + TAX (1drone + 1 batter + 1 additional battery + controller)
[https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/dj ... 09570.aspx?]

looks like Mavic has longer battery life, but doesn't have some of the feature of Pro.

Mossiback · Apr 5, 2018

The Pro at Costco looks like the best deal of the choices listed. The "backpack" is really a carrying case with a shoulder strap. With any of your listed choices, you will need to get some ND filters for smooth video, higher capacity SD card(s), and batteries (3 total). I would not buy directly from DJI but from an authorized dealer with a good return policy.

KBerrah · Apr 5, 2018

The RC is also displaying less info on the Mavic Air vs Mavic Pro. Be also aware that because Mavic Air has less battery power and is lighter than the Mavic Pro, this can make a difference when flying against the wind (shorter flying time).

DJPedram · Apr 5, 2018

This is my first professional drone.

Originally I wanted to get DJI Spark. As soon as I decided to get it, DJI Mavic Air came out.

Spark - shorter flight time, not 4K and WIFI.
Mavic Air - better flight time and WIFi and Newer.
Mavic Pro - higher flight time and Ocusync but Older.

what do you guys suggest?

Mossiback · Apr 5, 2018

It depends on your usage, but because of the flight time, OcuSync, and RC display, I would choose the MP or MPP. I have the MP with the quieter props and no experience with the other models so my choice may be biased. The fact that the RC has telemetry display that you can use in case of an app crash is a big deal to me.

RKX · Apr 5, 2018

I picked up a Refurbed Mavic Pro from DJI just over 2 weeks ago, was 799US, no extras but I did get dji refresh with it, all in 1212CAD. Arrived in a week. I was going to buy a MAvic Air (799 US$) until I found the refurb for the same price. Considering that buying refresh with a new mavic air in canada is about 1500 for both after tax CAD I put that extra 300 in savings to useful cases, parts, and a soon to be second battery.

I personally like the MP better, yes the air has some nice new features and sensors, however, I wanted the rock solid range ocusync provided (even though I would never use it to that range the extra power is comforting in high radio noise situations) And I wanted full telemetry on my remote for a number of reasons. I also find the bit of extra weight and thickness on the MP makes it more stable, and the extra 6 minutes on the battery is always welcome.

RKX · Apr 5, 2018

Mossiback said:
It depends on your usage, but because of the flight time, OcuSync, and RC display, I would choose the MP or MPP. I have the MP with the quieter props and no experience with the other models so my choice may be biased. The fact that the RC has telemetry display that you can use in case of an app crash is a big deal to me.

I completely agree, the extra telemetry on the RC was a big thing for me. I learned on an MJX bugs b2w, and learning to fly with that extra telemetry is a great backup if the app crashes. I also knew it would be a bit before I got more batteries so the more flight time I could get in the better.

DJPedram · Apr 5, 2018

I also looked at the DJI Refurbished program, but its all sold out, maybe I am stuck with the Mavic Air.

Mavic Air is $1219 TAX Included (Brand new - Best Buy solid with control)
Mavic Pro is $1298 TAX Included (Brand new - costco with controller bag and charging hub.)

DJPedram · Apr 5, 2018

As NOOB flyer, what would you consider as your first, second option?

RKX · Apr 5, 2018

DJPedram said:
This is my first professional drone.

Originally I wanted to get DJI Spark. As soon as I decided to get it, DJI Mavic Air came out.

Spark - shorter flight time, not 4K and WIFI.
Mavic Air - better flight time and WIFi and Newer.
Mavic Pro - higher flight time and Ocusync but Older.

what do you guys suggest?

Older is not always a downside. I find older is a more proven tech with a much greater range of third party accessories available. Most comparisons online I have watched will all tell you the same thing, it's personal preference on what you want to use it for. I agree. it makes your choice hard because you may not know exactly what you want most. All 3 would be fun. I would want the remote for the spark though.

If cheap flying is your thing, the spark is great to start with (you will want the remote addon probably fairly soon after), If video and flight time and availability of extras then the pro. The best compromise would be the Air, you gain some newer tech, but lose some flight time and flight characteristics. Personally.

RKX · Apr 5, 2018

DJPedram said:
I also looked at the DJI Refurbished program, but its all sold out, maybe I am stuck with the Mavic Air.

Mavic Air is $1219 TAX Included (Brand new - Best Buy solid with control)
Mavic Pro is $1298 TAX Included (Brand new - costco with controller bag and charging hub.)

Patience is the key there. for over a month there were no refurb mavics I happened to just take a quick peek one day and there they were and I jumped on it. Of course a new mavic is 899 us on sale with an extra battery right now. That's a good deal. you'd want an extra battery anyhow. So if you left off refresh you are still 1200 after tax. So you are only saving 100. but, with best buy there is no return policy for it. Costco you would have one, but no extra battery, and the case is meh.

RKX · Apr 5, 2018

DJPedram said:
As NOOB flyer, what would you consider as your first, second option?

You will have more fun with the pro or the air (if you got a spark without the remote) aside from that, it comes down to cost. the air has more sensors which may help you out. I still picked the pro in that scenario, this was my first serious drone. Either of these two will give you a good experience.

good luck and enjoy

DJPedram · Apr 5, 2018

RKX said:
You will have more fun with the pro or the air (if you got a spark without the remote) aside from that, it comes down to cost. the air has more sensors which may help you out. I still picked the pro in that scenario, this was my first serious drone. Either of these two will give you a good experience.

good luck and enjoy

Thank you, I will keep you all posted.

joejaxvic123 · Apr 5, 2018

D. You can always find a cheap bag to put your stuff in. Or keep an eye out for someone selling one

Just_nick · Apr 5, 2018

DJPedram said:
As NOOB flyer, what would you consider as your first, second option?

Noob flyer is practically irrelevant for a DJI. There is very little skill involved in learning how to fly, because everything that makes flying a quadcopter difficult is controlled by the computers. I have let children and people that have never touched an RC vehicle in their life fly these things, and they all are able to do it within minutes. The biggest thing is that I always make sure to put them well above the tallest obstacle. Then they have a figuratively unlimited amount of room to learn to maneuver.

The Air has rear-facing sensors that the Pro does not, but these sensors are nearly-useless with tree branches and anything small, so don't fly close to trees. Overall, I am not particularly impressed with the obstacle sensors on these drones, but I guess they can save you if you are apt to make mistakes while in close proximity to objects. I would not use it as a major selling point over the Pro.

The biggest advantages of the Air are the significantly superior gimbal design (the Pro one sucks), the better image quality due to 100 Mbps vs 60 Mbps, and the slightly smaller form factor (which actually makes very little difference in transporting it, because the size of them in a carrying bag is negligible. The size of them in the smallest carrying bags is almost identical. Unless you want to carry around the remote and drone in your pockets, you're really not going to notice the size difference).

The biggest disadvantages are the battery life and the WiFi. I have noticed that battery anxiety is very real for the Mavic Air, and it always shocks me how fast it is before you're already needing to return home. The WiFi makes it worse, because while it may be able to do just fine in the middle of nowhere, you cannot rely on it always being great. The Mavic Pro has a much better transmission protocol, which means you're never really worried about if it is going to give you issues in flying a certain distance.

In conclusion, for what I use it for the Mavic Air does not make any sense over the Mavic Pro. I've highly considered switching, but then I fly with people or see videos of them flying, and I am dissuaded again. I think the biggest thing that draws me is that it looks fancier. Haha. The advantages do not outweigh the disadvantages, and it's not like there is a Spark vs Mavic price difference: they're pretty much the same price. In fact, with the refurb and eBay deals, the Mavic Pro is actually quite a bit cheaper than the Mavic Air. I've seen as much as a $120 price difference.

msinger · Apr 5, 2018

DJPedram said:
I also looked at the DJI Refurbished program, but its all sold out, maybe I am stuck with the Mavic Air.

The DJI Store currently has refurbished Mavic Pros in stock here on Newegg. If you order there, your order will be shipped directly from the DJI Store.

DJPedram · Apr 5, 2018

Newegg.com is for USA. I am located in Toronto.

DJPedram · Apr 6, 2018

What color Air do you guys think its better to get?

msinger · Apr 6, 2018

DJPedram said:
What color Air do you guys think its better to get?

Which color looks best to your eye? That's the color you should buy.

If you haven't seen the colors in great detail, there are some up-close photos in this Mavic Air photo gallery.