Considering a MA2, thoughts?

Dharris6891 · Feb 16, 2021

Crashdummytest said:
Definitively worth it, the MA2 + SC is a great combination, I use it all the time. This winter in really cold weather, down to -25degC.
The smart controller is a favorite piece of gear, just very useful.
You can add other Mavics to the same controller, such as the M2P or M2Z. You will also get MA2 first person view via the HDMI out on the SC. With a Mavic 2 you will have headtracking as well.
But no Mini2 support yet... darn.
Did I mention how usable the SC is? No more fiddling with phones or tablets, cables, mounts etc, and nice bright screen. Just power up & fly. Congrats.

So while flying you can output from the SC to a FPV goggles or an external monitor even?

Crashdummytest · Feb 16, 2021

Dharris6891 said:
So while flying you can output from the SC to a FPV goggles or an external monitor even?

That's right. Any HDMI enabled FPV google, or DJI's Goggles (wirelessly with M2x), or any HDMI display. Works well.

Phantomrain.org · Feb 16, 2021

We nominated the Air 2 as the drone of the Decade.
The Smart Controller is the only DJI device that is gaining value as more drones are added to the list that fly with it.

The Combination of more drones, the ease of use and plug and play and extreme weather resistance to rain / snow makes it a good investment.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Air 2 in the Pouring Rain / Snow and land on Water.

Dharris6891 · Feb 16, 2021

Phantomrain.org said:
We nominated the Air 2 as the drone of the Decade.
The Smart Controller is the only DJI device that is gaining value as more drones are added to the list that fly with it.

The Combination of more drones, the ease of use and plug and play and extreme weather resistance to rain / snow makes it a good investment.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Air 2 in the Pouring Rain / Snow and land on Water.

I was thinking the same thing as far as the SC goes. It doesn't appear to be an item that will be phased out any time soon. And your wetsuits are definitely on my list of accessories to purchase.

Wadja65 · Feb 16, 2021

Dharris6891 said:
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 my MA2 now for three weeks and I love it. I also do off-road and I plan to use there. It is more stout that the mini and just feels better in your hands and in the air.

Ron Caballero CAP · Feb 16, 2021

Dharris6891 said:
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 love my Mavic Air 2. It is easy to fly and has many good features. I take great photos and videos. On great feature is that is will do an HDR video. WOW! Also does take 2X and 4X (digital) zooms.

Todd Clarke · Feb 16, 2021

Don't even debate it... if you can afford the MA2 fly more then that's the way to go!! I bought the MM1 and absolutely loved it, but 6 weeks later I'd outgrown it. Bought the MA2 and haven't looked back... I listed the MM1 for sale with full intentions of buying the MM2 as well, but after a few flights with the MA2 I realised the the MM2 would be a step forward from the MM1, but quite a few steps back from the MA2 so I used that money to buy the Smart Controller. If you have the money I would recommend maybe getting the version that comes with the Smart Controller but try to pick up a cheap standard MA2 controller as well. I use Dronelink and run the Beta with MA2 support but currently it won't run on the Smart Controller. Actually, its quite frustrating that you're always a version or two behind even with DJI Fly on the Smart Controller and you miss out (Or have to wait quite a while) on new features until DJI get around to releasing a working version. The Smart Controller is a premium item and feels great, but the OS is as buggy as hell. Coming from an iPhone XR and the standard MA2 controller to the (Software) on the Smart Controller is a big step backwards. I still use the standard controller about 50% - 50% with the Smart Controller.

vindibona1 · Feb 16, 2021

Yeunglings said:
I'll throw in my 2 cents( 2.8 pence NZ ?) the MA2 is definitely the way to go if you're not worried about size and weight wither for hiking/ riding or registration. It has almost all of the featureset of an M2 at about half to ⅔ the price but is 2 year newer technology overall with better flight time. The Mini2 is mostly a slimmed down verson of the MA2 that doesn't have quite the same stuff but close enough( you can't turn the gimbal side to side like the MA2 and lose out on 4 minutes theoretical flight time) and though they list it as having the same wind resistance I'd beg to differ. It's not a lot but the added density of the MA2 seems to handle slightly higher winds...

I agree and think it's worth focusing on the stated wind resistance and differences between the Mini 2 and MA2. The Mini 2 is significantly better for wind resistance than the Mini 1, which is much better for fly aways, but in terms of stability and flight time in wind, there is a siginficant difference between the Mini 2 and MA2. Just having the extra power overhead and extra mass gives the MA2 way more stability in wind. One of the techniques DJI uses to give the Mini 2 more wind resistance is additional "pitch". That's all well and good, but that extra pitch taxes the range of the gimble as well as reduces smoothness of control in higher wind conditions. Don't get me wrong, the Mini 2 has a lot of great features and advantages which is why I own one. But I also own a Mavic 2 Pro and suspect that the MA2 is almost as stable in higher winds as the much heavier Mavic 2.

Cirdan · Feb 16, 2021

Yogi053 said:
Thank you, I had no idea you could buy a combo which included the SC. I'll have a look now.
Stay safe!

I recently purchased the MA2 Fly More combo and it didn't come with the SC. I would prefer to wait until I buy a new iPad later this year rather than get an SC. I only have the one drone and doubt that I'd need/want to get another.

Mitch · Feb 16, 2021

While there are a lot of great things to say about the MA2 keep in mind it does not have traditional waypoint ability. So, if you were planning to use it with Litchi to map out missions, at present time that ability does not and may never exist.

Todd Clarke · Feb 16, 2021

Mitch said:
While there are a lot of great things to say about the MA2 keep in mind it does not have traditional waypoint ability. So, if you were planning to use it with Litchi to map out missions, at present time that ability does not and may never exist.

Great point Mitch, You'd have to go to the Mavic 2 Pro or Zoom for that... however, for a one-time $20.00 payment Dronelink (Even though its still in Beta for MA2 support) does a great job with "Virtual-Stick Waypoint" support and has many other high-end features which may be all you need... I use it regularly and its never even glitched in Beta so far, apparently DJI have some work to do on the MA2 mobile SDK but shouldn't be too long before a full release.

Crashdummytest · Feb 17, 2021

vindibona1 said:
I agree and think it's worth focusing on the stated wind resistance and differences between the Mini 2 and MA2. The Mini 2 is significantly better for wind resistance than the Mini 1, which is much better for fly aways, but in terms of stability and flight time in wind, there is a siginficant difference between the Mini 2 and MA2. Just having the extra power overhead and extra mass gives the MA2 way more stability in wind. One of the techniques DJI uses to give the Mini 2 more wind resistance is additional "pitch". That's all well and good, but that extra pitch taxes the range of the gimble as well as reduces smoothness of control in higher wind conditions. Don't get me wrong, the Mini 2 has a lot of great features and advantages which is why I own one. But I also own a Mavic 2 Pro and suspect that the MA2 is almost as stable in higher winds as the much heavier Mavic 2.

This is all correct based on my experience with both drones.
Gimbal, camera, and wind resistance are superior with the MA2.
The Mini2 is such a impressive little AC though, no doubt about that.

Dharris6891 · Feb 18, 2021

I've made my decision and I ordered a MA2 with the fly more combo and the SC so now I'm get to wait (im)patiently for it to arrive.

Todd Clarke · Feb 18, 2021

Dharris6891 said:
I've made my decision and I ordered a MA2 with the fly more combo and the SC so now I'm get to wait (im)patiently for it to arrive.

You won’t be disappointed...

Deleted member 133794 · Feb 18, 2021

Dharris6891 said:
I've made my decision and I ordered a MA2 with the fly more combo and the SC so now I'm get to wait (im)patiently for it to arrive.

ENJOY ?

Crashdummytest · Feb 18, 2021

It works amazingly well, you even have dynamic 4x zoom via right-wheel on SC, in 1080p. Congrats, such a good AC and comfy controller.

Rmcolon · Feb 19, 2021

icecoldgin said:
My thoughts?

All tranquil, joyful, and relaxed when I bought the MA2

Been there...still there...

halifax · Feb 20, 2021

Dharris6891 said:
I've made my decision and I ordered a MA2 with the fly more combo and the SC so now I'm get to wait (im)patiently for it to arrive.

Wise decision. Absolutely. You're in for a real treat!

Lifeweaver · Feb 20, 2021

Dharris6891 said:
I am interested in the fly more combo that includes the smart controller.

Dharris6891 said:
The controller that comes with it is amazing. Paying 700 more for the SC is nice. But if you only have a MA2 then I don't think the value is there. (Although there is some compelling arguments.)

LA 2020 · Feb 20, 2021

Dharris6891 said:
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

You will not be disappointed at all with M2Pro with the Hasselblad camera the videos are incredible. It is stable and a lot of crash protection. I use the Litchi APP almost exclusively and the programming capability is great. Completely worth the cost