Considering the specifications and features...

snovvman · Jan 23, 2018

Around last Christmas, I bought a Mavic Pro. Shortly thereafter, I impulse bought the Spark. Having spent some time flying both, I find the Mavic Pro to be more reliable in terms of video transmission and connectivity. The MP just ticks like a clock. It is also more of a joy to fly. The MP's extra fly time allows me to explore without having to worry/plan for battery/RTH.

I pulled the comparison off of DJI's site for the Air, Pro, and Spark. The file is attached. Now that I am looking at the Air, almost pulling the trigger to buy, a few key specifications are turn offs.

1) Missing Courselock and Homelock. I find them useful--I can pan and look around without having to focus on orientation. Point of interest also seems to be missing, but I presume it is replaced with something comparable?

2) The Air has a f/2.8 aperture compared to the MP's f/2.2 aperture.

3) Under Operating Voltage, did anyone notice that Android is 1400mA while iOS is 750mA?

Lastly, does the extra ~5 minutes of MP fly time over the Air provide that sweet spot (disposable airtime, if you like), where one can feel free to explore more?

Thanks.

DefaultIT · Jan 23, 2018

I will be interested to see reports of real world useable flight time.

Where are you seeing no course-lock? I wouldn't have guessed that was a hardware-specific thing

Anthony Viscomi · Jan 23, 2018

snovvman said:
Lastly, does the extra ~5 minutes of MP fly time over the Air provide that sweet spot (disposable airtime, if you like), where one can feel free to explore more?

That truly depends on how you intend on using it. If you notice how they (DJI) market the Spark & Air they're aiming for hikers/outdoor types that just want to capture a quick moment.

BD0G · Jan 23, 2018

Does'nt the Mavic Air use DJIGO4 app like the rest of the lineup? If so then the Course Lock and Home Lock modes "shoud be" under Intelligent Flight Modes .

snovvman · Jan 23, 2018

DefaultIT said:
I will be interested to see reports of real world useable flight time.

Where are you seeing no course-lock? I wouldn't have guessed that was a hardware-specific thing

The no course-lock is from DJI's site. When I compared MP and MA's flight modes, course/home lock was not listed under available flight modes.

Anthony Viscomi said:
That truly depends on how you intend on using it. If you notice how they (DJI) market the Spark & Air they're aiming for hikers/outdoor types that just want to capture a quick moment.

Very insightful comment. It makes sense.

BD0G said:
Does'nt the Mavic Air use DJIGO4 app like the rest of the lineup? If so then the Course Lock and Home Lock modes "shoud be" under Intelligent Flight Modes .

See my comments above regarding the info on DJI's site, not listing those modes.

I believe at least some of the flight modes are determined by device model and controlled by the app. The DJIGO4 app provides the flight modes based on the drone it is connected to. I say this because for the Spark, there is no course/home lock using the stock DJIGO4 app. However, when I use the modified DJIGO4 apk (which unlocks the course/home lock, among other things), I can use home/course lock with the Spark. I have tested it and it works.