Choosing drones

msinger · Apr 6, 2018

DJPedram said:
I heard something about over heating with White, is that true?

No.

RLW8888 · Apr 6, 2018

Mossiback said:
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.

DJI Return policy has much to be desired

DJPedram · Apr 6, 2018

RLW8888 said:
DJI Return policy has much to be desired

Sorry I am just not sure what is DJI return policy? under what condition can a drone be returned?

Red Baron · Apr 6, 2018

DJPedram said:
Originally I was thinking RED, but I am now thinking more of black. I heard something about over heating with White, is that true?

No that is completely false. I bought red and I like it as it has much greater visibility to me- I fly a lot in the Mojave desert where after a while every thing blends together as far as visual. Love the Red
as it stands out more in the sky to me.

RLW8888 · Apr 6, 2018

DJPedram said:
Sorry I am just not sure what is DJI return policy? under what condition can a drone be returned?

Trying to Return a spark because wasn’t happy with it and was declined return return because wasn’t happy with it and was declined return because I didn’t have the exact same packaging that was received. Are used the same box and returned everything that I had received. Are used the same box and returned everything that I have received

JoostGT3 · Apr 6, 2018

Just_nick said:
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.

Wholeheartedly agree with you. The Air is fantastic, but all the upgrades are for me gimmicks (size, bitrate, rear sensors), whereas I think the upsides of the pro are necessities (display on rc, stronger signal, longer battery time)

I really considered buying a spark or an air to go with my pro, just for fun. The spark is too limited (no raw, short range, short battery life), and the air is too expensive as a fun addition to the pro for me. The only reason I would see dor myself to buy the air is if I would be hiking/canoing, etc a lot... then every gram counts and then the decreased signal strength and flight time are items I would be willing to overlook.

DJPedram · Apr 6, 2018

I found that Air is $90 cheaper then Pro. I have a feeling Pro 2 is coming out, hence most places have reduced their price. I was considering Pro, but not having extra sensor might cause me an issue.
if you didnt have the pro or the air, which one would you chose?

DJPedram · Apr 6, 2018

what do u suggest?

newer DJI Mavic Air regular package vs. DJi Mavic Pro with extra battery?

Just_nick · Apr 6, 2018

DJPedram said:
I found that Air is $90 cheaper then Pro. I have a feeling Pro 2 is coming out, hence most places have reduced their price. I was considering Pro, but not having extra sensor might cause me an issue.
if you didnt have the pro or the air, which one would you chose?

Mavic Pro Fly More Bundle $759.99 +tax 03-28-2018

$759 for a fly-more combo, but I'd love to see how the Air is $90 cheaper.

DJPedram · Apr 6, 2018

see option b vs option D.

$1079 vs $1149.

$70 cheaper - not $90.

b) MAVIC AIR (Bestbuy) $1079 CAD + TAX (1drone + 1 battery)
DJI Mavic Air Quadcopter Drone with Camera - Onyx Black - Only at Best Buy

d) MAVIC PRO (Bestbuy) $1149 + TAX (1drone + 1 batter + 1 additional battery + controller)
DJI Mavic Pro Foldable Quadcopter Drone with 4K UHD Camera, Controller & Battery

Mossiback · Apr 6, 2018

DJPedram said:
I found that Air is $90 cheaper then Pro. I have a feeling Pro 2 is coming out, hence most places have reduced their price. I was considering Pro, but not having extra sensor might cause me an issue.
if you didnt have the pro or the air, which one would you chose?

For $90 get the Pro. It has better range, battery life, and RC. More sensors are nice but you are more likely to side-slip into a tree than back into it and neither have side sensors.

DJPedram · Apr 6, 2018

Yea I was leading toward Pro, but then the Pro doesnt come with propeller guards.

Should I get the one with Extra battery or the one with propeller guards and bag?

DJI Mavic Pro Foldable Quadcopter Drone with 4K UHD Camera, Controller & Battery

vs

Costco Wholesale

Mossiback · Apr 6, 2018

DJPedram said:
Yea I was leading toward Pro, but then the Pro doesnt come with propeller guards.
Should I get the one with Extra battery or the one with propeller guards and bag?...

• You will need prop guards if flying indoors (greatly reduces the pucker-factor) or around solid objects like tree-trunks. Otherwise they are not needed.
• I have 3 batteries which give me around one hour of flying time. You will probably need more than either package provides.
• I really like the DJI bag. It carries everything I need to fly. Having said this, there are a lot of bag alternatives out there (search this forum to see many examples).

If it boils down to either 1 extra battery or prop guards and bag, I would go for the battery. The battery costs more than the other two, prop guards are extremely optional, and there are a lot of different bags to choose from.

DJPedram · Apr 6, 2018

I am still debating if I should go with Air vs Pro.

My concerns is WIFI connection will drop specially if I want to fly it in a city.
My other concern is battery life. - question is 5 min different between 18 and 23 min is really noticable?

Air is much smaller, and its less likely to draw much attention?

Red Baron · Apr 6, 2018

DJPedram said:
I am still debating if I should go with Air vs Pro.

My concerns is WIFI connection will drop specially if I want to fly it in a city.
My other concern is battery life. - question is 5 min different between 18 and 23 min is really noticable?

Air is much smaller, and its less likely to draw much attention?

In my opinion air is only way to go-- I love it. Get the fly more combo 3 batteries and your good to go. This little thing is amazing to say the least.

DJPedram · Apr 6, 2018

Red Baron said:
In my opinion air is only way to go-- I love it. Get the fly more combo 3 batteries and your good to go. This little thing is amazing to say the least.

i can only afford:

a) Stand alone Air (that comes with 1 battery and controller and propeller guards)

b) Mavic Pro (that comes with additional battery)

c) Mavic Pro (that comes with battery charger, 16 GB MicroSD card, backpack and propeller guards)

Red Baron · Apr 6, 2018

DJPedram said:
i can only afford:

a) Stand alone Air (that comes with 1 battery and controller and propeller guards)

b) Mavic Pro (that comes with additional battery)

c) Mavic Pro (that comes with battery charger, 16 GB MicroSD card, backpack and propeller guards)

In that case I would go with pro with extra battery- Your going to need extra batteries regardless of what you fly. If you can afford the air combo $1k that's the way I would go. The air is amazing.

DJPedram · Apr 6, 2018

Red Baron said:
In that case I would go with pro with extra battery- Your going to need extra batteries regardless of what you fly. If you can afford the air combo $1k that's the way I would go. The air is amazing.

do I really need the extra battery with Pro? i love the air, i think its less likely to get attention.

Red Baron · Apr 6, 2018

DJPedram said:
do I really need the extra battery with Pro? i love the air, i think its less likely to get attention.

You need extra batteries with anything you fly- I get around 18 minutes on my air batteries it depends what you are doing. I fly a lot over the ocean and sometimes I have to put in sport mode to get home in a wind. In my opinion if your set on pro I would wait for new one but its going to be more pricey. Again I would go for air and somehow try to get fly more combo with anything you get it will save you $$ in long run. Don't worry about propeller guards not needed- I personally would not fly one of these in the house. The air is incredible and I have not had any issues at all. Air fly more on amazon $999.00 freeshipping

Cooper2053 · Apr 6, 2018

Always go with the combo package for either one. The additional batteries and charging hub are worth the extra money. You are getting the bags and other props for free with that pricing. In my opinion, MP seems to be better than MA and has better pricing. But I ended swapping out my MP for MA because I won't be flying that far and prefer the additional sensors in MA (my MA took a dive onto a roof recently, so I am in doubt of the sensors as selling point). The main reason I went with MA is because of its gimbal that seems better protected and smaller in footprint for portability. I love flying MP more than MA thou.