Crazy to buy the smallest package?

[kave]

In my country the Mavic 4 Pro can be had for the following prices:
Mavic 4 with RC2 2500€
1 extra battery
Mavic 4 Fly more combo 3150€
Mavic 4 Creators combo 4180€
I intend to use the Drone for Photo work mainly so I don't think I will ever need all three batteries.
I consider just buying the standard config an extra battery instead for about 210€. Is this crazy?

It seems that to be able to charge quickly I need the 240W Power adapter, can this charge just one battery quick or do I need the parallel charging hub as well?
It seems no package comes with the fast charger?

 

[AeroJ]

I don't know why you imagine that photo work won't require 3 batteries - you would be glad you had them if you went that way, but not as pleased as you would be with the creative combo that means it doesn't matter if you forget the SD card !

And of course the fly-more combo (and creator bundle) do come with a multi-battery charger, which helps explain the cost difference a bit more. So I think I would go for the Fly-more set unless I really felt I needed the RC Pro 2, which really is mad to buy separately !.

 

[Johnmcl7]

Which country are you in?

Looking at the UK packages the creator combo comes with the 240w charger.

DJI list the charging times here:

Aircraft Battery Charging Guide

It goes without saying that your drone's lithium-ion battery is essential for flight. We trust that the first thing you did when you got your new drone is read the official manual provided. But in case you need a refresher, we’ve provided this battery charging guide for your quick convenience...

support.dji.com

Charging time

Using the DJI Mavic 240W Power Adapter to charge 1 battery: Approx. 51 minutes.
Using the DJI Mavic 240W Power Adapter to charge 3 batteries: Approx. 90 minutes (200 V to 240 V input) or 110 minutes (100 V to 127 V input).
Using the DJI 100W USB-C Power Adapter to charge 1 battery: Approx. 80 minutes.
Charging via the aircraft (65W max charging power): Approx. 115 minutes.

I'm not 100% on this but I think you'd need the charging hub to charge one battery quickly using the 240w charger?

Looking at UK prices, it's £580 to upgrade from the base package to the fly more package while it would be £180 for an extra battery, £260 for an extra battery and the charging hub or £380 for the extra battery, charging hub and 240W adapter.

Working out the maths of the fly more pack, if you bought it separately you'd pay £360 (two batteries), £80 (four pairs of props), £220 (shoulder bag) and £80 (charging hub) which is a grand total of £660. So it's not a huge saving going with the fly more pack especially if you're not wanting the shoulder bag.

In short, no I don't think you're crazy to buy the parts you need. Even if you do decide to add another battery later you're not going to be out of pocket, if the fly more pack was a lot cheaper and you were getting the extras for a similar price to the base drone plus battery plus hub I might think differently. I've not bought a Mavic 4 yet but I'd probably take a similar approach to you, I bought just one battery extra with my original Mavic and only bought the fly more pack for the Mavic 2 because the prices went up but I managed to get it at the old price. With the Mavic 4 batteries lasting a good bit longer than the Mavic 2 batteries one extra battery would be fine (especially since it can more easily charged on the go over USB-C) and even if I picked up another one later on I'm not losing out financially.

 

[GadgetGuy]

If you can afford it, the Creator Combo will give you the most satisfying experience. The fully customizable RC Pro 2 is a joy to use with a much brighter screen and better range/signal stability, and its 30 second deployment with Dynamic Home Point, and the 512GB SSD will allow for faster shooting and recovery time because of the faster write speed on the 512GB over the 64GB regular version. It will also hold its resale value better because it is the most sought after configuration, and rarer.

 

[tstr14]

It depends on your budget and specific needs, which we have no way of knowing. If you are serious about photography though, are you willing to miss a shot because you ran out of battery power? At a minimum, I would recommend the fly more package.

 

[BlairAir]

I have been doing this a while (since 2019) - and it ALWAYS pays to buy as much kit as you possible can at once. The value of Fly More is less a value than it once was, but still, add the price of batteries bought afterwards alone and its apparent. DJI has taken to removing ND Filter Sets (the 4 Pro has the added problem of last minute removal of E-ND Filter. If you can, get the Creator Combo - it is a steal compared to the Mavic 3 Cine it replaces. Seek out the best price, and choose which kidney you never liked that much. Good luck!

PS Having more batteries isn't only about flight times. Cycling a single battery through every flight will accelerate it's lifespan dramatically, Having three reduces the number of cycles by 66%, potentially taking you years to reach end of useful lifetime of the batteries.

 

[Nanny Ogg]

If you are traveling to remote areas for your photography, you definitely want spare charged-up batteries.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I don't know why you imagine that photo work won't require 3 batteries.

There are sometimes I wish I had 6 batteries, Especially on a road trip or hike

 

[skycam509]

I've never regretted buying the upgrade on anything. Have you ever said, "I wish I'd bought the next lower trim level on my car and had a $20 lower payment"?

I bought the RC Pro 2 controller to use with my Mini 4 Pro, and it's worth every penny. It would be very beneficial for you in framing your shots in bright sunlight, not to mention the extra range and super quick deployment.

 

[rv Jackson]

I don't know why you imagine that photo work won't require 3 batteries - you would be glad you had them if you went that way, but not as pleased as you would be with the creative combo that means it doesn't matter if you forget the SD card !

And of course the fly-more combo (and creator bundle) do come with a multi-battery charger, which helps explain the cost difference a bit more. So I think I would go for the Fly-more set unless I really felt I needed the RC Pro 2, which really is mad to buy separately !.

Generally I can get by with 3 batteries, but I can imagine one day might need and other 2 or 3 for my business.

 

[monchan]

I am mainly a photography person and there is no way I could get by with only one. Fly more combo is great if you can afford it. Seems everyone thinks the same. But in the it`s what you can afford. Hope you enjoy what ever you get.

 

[Felix le Chat]

I have been doing this a while (since 2019) - and it ALWAYS pays to buy as much kit as you possible can at once. The value of Fly More is less a value than it once was, but still, add the price of batteries bought afterwards alone and its apparent. DJI has taken to removing ND Filter Sets (the 4 Pro has the added problem of last minute removal of E-ND Filter. If you can, get the Creator Combo - it is a steal compared to the Mavic 3 Cine it replaces. Seek out the best price, and choose which kidney you never liked that much. Good luck!

PS Having more batteries isn't only about flight times. Cycling a single battery through every flight will accelerate it's lifespan dramatically, Having three reduces the number of cycles by 66%, potentially taking you years to reach end of useful lifetime of the batteries.

Agree completely. Three IFB's cycled means 3X the per-battery lifespan, 3X less strain on each unit.

It also means that each battery has a chance to cool down completely and recover before you try recharging (if you have the 12 volt in-car charger, or if you use the vehicle USB-C ports).

Fly-more combo gives best bang for buck.