couple of concerns with the Mavic.........

Ed Oz · Nov 12, 2016

I don't see your review as bashing at all. Several folks who read this forum, myself included, see photography as the primary goal of our drones. My first thought with the Mavic was - less weight is gonna equal less stable photography in wind, very common where I fly. To others that is not an issue at all. Thanks for offering another voice and opinion...

J v P · Nov 14, 2016

YouTube user DRONE VALLEY also speaks of some of your issues with fitting the phone. Also he figured out how to easily use a tablet with the TX.

ajg_kestrel_PFAW · Nov 14, 2016

J v P said:
YouTube user DRONE VALLEY also speaks of some of your issues with fitting the phone. Also he figured out how to easily use a tablet with the TX.

Very useful - thanks!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Romi · Nov 14, 2016

hidaven said:
Updated my comments above. Camera issues were as a result of a corrupt firmware. its now on par with the P series. Flicker from the props is worse than the P series lets hope theres a shade fix soon. The gimbal tolerance is too small and the cameras back hits the metal bracket that acts as a failsafe. Startup sequence needs to be slowed down to avoid it throwing error codes. I haven't returned it yet and will wait on potential remedies as I like you all like the portability and do indeed give it a 95 out of 100 but that 5% kills my professional work unless theres a work around (mainly the flicker due to the props being too close to the camera) I have the Phantoms 3, 4, inspire and the Mavic has more flicker than the other 3 due to the proximity. P.S. Haven't posted many aerial shots due to liability. I have a friend on the west coast who got nabbed by officials from a posted photo of his that violated a city ordinance. Not that I do that now, but in the past before all the hoopla, I was indeed in several wonderful places that are now off limits : ((( Also changed the title of this post to reflect my current views. PS, lets also hope theres a fix regarding these arms as no cell phone with a slim case fits. They should have left that area wider to support various thicknesses and given various sized shims to accommodate cases IMO.

nscaler2 · Nov 14, 2016

hidaven said:
First, this is based on 30 years as a Pro photographer and RC hobbiest for the same 30 years.

1. The props are too close to the camera resulting in severe interference on the video anywhere near direct sunlight. Not talking head on either.

No fix for that so for me its a return.

2. Gimbal clearance from the metal failsafe bracket is too close to the gimbal throwing failure codes. That fix will require honing down or removal of the bracket.

3. The phone attachment is not a good solution at all taking numerous attempts to secure the USB plug correctly, I actually ended up bending my phones

female port. My guess is that you insert the phone first and try pluging it in once the phone is set.

4. The arms that hold the phone are too tight. Not fun having to remove your slim phone case everytime you want to fly. larger gaps and adhesive shims was the ticket.

5. My professional opinion is that this camera is not as good as the phantom series as it sits today. I know all about the focus niggles and even so, The P3 was a better image

hands down.

Im hanging on to my P3 and Inspire for professional work and believe that aside from the cool transformer fold up design, that smaller is not better in this case.

I have both the P3 and Inspire and rave about them constantly, I just think that there needs to be more of a consideration as opposed to size in this case.

davenphoto.com

I have done this with a different brand of drone, however the principle should work with any drone. To remove prop shadow, use an ND filter of appropriate value to allow you to manually set your shutter speed to double the frame rate you are shooting at. This will allow smooth pans without as much jitter. The neat side effect of all this is that it slows down shutter speed enough that prop shadows are blurred to the point that they become invisible.

ManniAT · Nov 14, 2016

Is this tablet in the video an "ipad mini 2"? (sorry I'm not very familiar with apple products)
I'm asking because "ipad mini 2" is available at a good price here - and it's pretty big...
So (from my point of view) a nice option if it fits in the RC

Crusader · Nov 14, 2016

ManniAT said:
Is this tablet in the video an "ipad mini 2"? (sorry I'm not very familiar with apple products)
I'm asking because "ipad mini 2" is available at a good price here - and it's pretty big...
So (from my point of view) a nice option if it fits in the RC

Hi,
Ipad mini 2 fits like a glove, ipad mini 4 has a more loose fit.

ManniAT · Nov 14, 2016

Crusader said:
Hi,
Ipad mini 2 fits like a glove, ipad mini 4 has a more loose fit.

Thank you for the fast answer

A short follow up question: is there anything negative using an ipad mini 2 (SW problems, missing capabilities...)?

Sent from my SM-G935F using MavicPilots mobile app

Crusader · Nov 15, 2016

ManniAT said:
Thank you for the fast answer

A short follow up question: is there anything negative using an ipad mini 2 (SW problems, missing capabilities...)?

Sent from my SM-G935F using MavicPilots mobile app

Nope, no negatives i know of.

The only thing you need to ask yourself is do i want the wifi or the gps version of the mini 2.

Wysiwyg · Nov 15, 2016

hidaven said:
PS, lets also hope theres a fix regarding these arms as no cell phone with a slim case fits. They should have left that area wider to support various thicknesses and given various sized shims to accommodate cases IMO.

Agree that the first thing to go on that controller will probably be the arms. Having said that, I've had no problems whatsoever installing an iPhone 7+ with a slim case into those slots. But with my geriatric eyesight I chose to insert an iPad Mini instead and even that works (albeit without a case).

Pablo · Nov 15, 2016

Would an after market lens hood help with the prop flicker? I used to have one with my P3, but haven't seen any available for the Mavic yet.

Crusader · Nov 15, 2016

Pablo said:
Would an after market lens hood help with the prop flicker? I used to have one with my P3, but haven't seen any available for the Mavic yet.

Us a (quallity) ND filter to elimenate prop flicker.

hidaven · Nov 15, 2016

The iPad mini 4 is brighter with an anti reflective screen. But now you're taking away from the portability a little. A bright phone and some small cinimizer FPV glasses would work as a great pair. But it looks like DJI has other plans with those lunch box sized goggles we have seen.....

Kilrah · Nov 15, 2016

hidaven said:
The other issues still stand. Not bashing it as a fun portable toy, but for any semi serious photo work the props are too close to the camera causing too much flicker for my taste. The P3 is much better in this regard.

Funny, I'd say the exact opposite. It's very easy to get the props in the actual shot with a P, while it's pretty much impossible with the Mavic even at the fastest sport speed. Never saw a single "glare flicker" in 2 hours of flight either.

My phone fits perfectly fine.

DrPeppar · Nov 15, 2016

Oh I have. Mine has been in the air everyday for a week now. I mostly see them in the morning and evening shots.

Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

hidaven · Nov 15, 2016

Let's hope some quality ND filters come out to negate some of this. Funny, you see the props more I'm the Phantom yet the effects are more noticeable in the Magic.

hidaven · Nov 15, 2016

Just to clarify, with the P yes the props were always in the way when moving forward. My issue is with the sunlight passing through the props causing a flicker on the video. That and the ghosting/ lens flare are my 2 biggest hurdles at this point.