Considering a MA2, thoughts?

[Ron Caballero CAP]

At the moment I have a MM. I'm looking at possibly upgrading, well, adding to my collection. I am 100% a hobbyist, I find it relaxing and enjoyable and a great addition to off-road exploring and hiking. My biggest complaint with the MM is connection stability. In a canyon or in the forest, the signal range is dismal and I often find myself getting disconnects and RTH's at somewhat short range. Is the MA2 connection more stable in these conditions? Also, the wind tolerance is a plus in my eyes too, it'll open up more flying opportunities. What about the smart controller? Is it truly beneficial to buy the fly more combo that includes it? In everyone's opinion, does it add enough value to justify it? Thank you in advance for your time, opinions, insight, and info!
-Dan

I bought my MA2 before the MM2 cam out, so I can't really compare.
HOWEVER, I LOVE the handling and the ever improving features of myMA2. Among other things, I have had it hover in a 30 mph wind.

 

[djifan86]

I originally bought a Mavic Mini. It’s constantly windy in Ireland so I got the Mavic Air 2. Definitely worth it. Longer flight time handles the wind better. And better features

 

[Dharris6891]

Thank you again for all of the input and advice. I'm hoping it comes in early this week as my wife and I have a trip to Prescott next weekend. I'm trying to get her interested in flying with my MM. She like photography.

 

[skycam509]

At the moment I have a MM. I'm looking at possibly upgrading, well, adding to my collection. I am 100% a hobbyist, I find it relaxing and enjoyable and a great addition to off-road exploring and hiking. My biggest complaint with the MM is connection stability. In a canyon or in the forest, the signal range is dismal and I often find myself getting disconnects and RTH's at somewhat short range. Is the MA2 connection more stable in these conditions? Also, the wind tolerance is a plus in my eyes too, it'll open up more flying opportunities. What about the smart controller? Is it truly beneficial to buy the fly more combo that includes it? In everyone's opinion, does it add enough value to justify it? Thank you in advance for your time, opinions, insight, and info!
-Dan

I've had several drones, and currently own a Mavic 2 Pro and a Mavic Air 2, which I purchased recently. To be honest, since I got the MA2, I haven't flown the M2P. While the M2P does a few things a little better, I love the small size of the MA2 and how quiet it is. I like to be inconspicuous when I fly, and the MA2 does that well.

For your use in the woods, I think the MA2 would be a lot better choice than the Mini 2 because of the front and rear obstacle avoidance. I recently flew my MA2 in some very strong winds while shooting some kite boarders, and it did phenomenally well. In my opinion, I don't think my M2P would have handled that much wind as well.

As for the Smart Controller, I've never used one. My favorite setup is my iPad Mini 4. It is has a great display that is visible in sunlight, is lightweight, can be used for other things, and is cheaper than the SC upgrade. The new MA2 controller has a feature you can enable that uses its battery to keep your phone or tablet charged, if needed. There is a slick little extension bracket that makes it fit the controller very nicely, and has a good balance to it.

The connection is rock solid in even the most adverse conditions. I've flown out a long, long ways (keeping VLOS of course, LOL!) and have never had so much as a glitch, except one time flying near a train. Those things throw off some serious EMFs that really mess with your video downlink!

 

[Severian]

At the moment I have a MM. I'm looking at possibly upgrading, well, adding to my collection. I am 100% a hobbyist, I find it relaxing and enjoyable and a great addition to off-road exploring and hiking. My biggest complaint with the MM is connection stability. In a canyon or in the forest, the signal range is dismal and I often find myself getting disconnects and RTH's at somewhat short range. Is the MA2 connection more stable in these conditions? Also, the wind tolerance is a plus in my eyes too, it'll open up more flying opportunities. What about the smart controller? Is it truly beneficial to buy the fly more combo that includes it? In everyone's opinion, does it add enough value to justify it? Thank you in advance for your time, opinions, insight, and info!
-Dan

I bought the MA2 with fly more & smart controller a month ago. Very happy with it. I've had a Mini2 for about 3 months, but wanted more control over my images and video, also better control of the drone in the wind. The MA2 has been great. And I really do love the SC, better than the controller+phone for the Mini2.

 

[Dharris6891]

I received my MA2 over the weekend. I went ahead and ordered a Lykus case, neck lanyard posts, glass screen protectors, and 2 micro sd cards when i ordered the combo as well. So far I really like the setup. I've only flown in in my shop, but it flys really well. The smart controller is really convenient and easy to use. The lykus case is great for storage and transportation. It a bit on the bulky side, but it'll be great for off road use and just general protection. Thanks for all of the input! hopefully this weekend the weather will cooperate so I can get her in the air.

 

[Dharris6891]

Here's the case, all loaded up. It fits everything really nicely.

 

[Steel63]

I have an air2 there awesome i also owned a mini there no comparison the air 2 has a lot more to offer if you get the a2 get the fly more package it's worth the extra cost the range is amazing no lost signal .just my opinion greetings from Florida

 

[Dharris6891]

I have an air2 there awesome i also owned a mini there no comparison the air 2 has a lot more to offer if you get the a2 get the fly more package it's worth the extra cost the range is amazing no lost signal .just my opinion greetings from Florida

I got the MA2 fly more combo with the smart controller. I love it so far, I've only flown it a bit so far, but next weekend I'm going to go camping at the lake. I should get some decent flight time in. I still enjoy my mini and plan on keeping it. It's a great little AC for close proximity flights.