first impressions of the Air vs the Mavic....

[Anthony Viscomi]

because im a tinkerer at heart, I took the landing gear off and was happy to find that the antenna wire is actually not a wire, its a metal contact panel, so when you flip out and back the antenna legs, it slides across a metal contact panel, so theres no bending or moving of an antenna wire.

Good job! Also, well engineered on DJI's behalf.

 

[droneworx]

Good job! Also, well engineered on DJI's behalf.

im always concerned about the weak points, which are usually the moving parts. When I first got my mavic, I made a point of opening and closing it as little as possible because those articulating arms concerned me on longevity. But after over a year, they are still pretty tight and have little extraneous movement. I do feel that these antenna arms can break easier, not the arm itself, but the color panel on the top of the it where they put the white, red, or black color pieces. The color panel just snaps in and ive already found myself almost pulling it off not grabbing the arm all the way and separating the color panel from the antenna arm.

 

[terradriller]

There is a couple videos out there looking at the DB rating vs. the Mavic. I'll have to see if I can find them again. General consensus though seems to be that Decibal wise the Air is a bit louder but the area that really makes it stand out is the pitch of the noise coming from the props which seems to be at a much higher frequency, presumably from the smaller motors and props. Its the one thing that has me personally on the fence about the air. I want something small and non intrusive and if the noise calls people to look up into the sky and stare then I don't know if it will fit my needs.

Edit, here is one of them:

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If it's less noticeable that would be a plus. Thanks I'll check for some utube video

 

[droneworx]

If it's less noticeable that would be a plus. Thanks I'll check for some utube video

its not less noticeable. im working on trying to capture what I experienced. But the higher pitch of the Air makes it more noticeable at eye level and at higher altitudes. Im used my Pro being 300 feet up and not being able to hear it (or being drowned out by community noise), the Air at 300 feet and some distance out was still quite noticeable because of that pitch.

 

[terradriller]

its not less noticeable. im working on trying to capture what I experienced. But the higher pitch of the Air makes it more noticeable at eye level and at higher altitudes. Im used my Pro being 300 feet up and not being able to hear it (or being drowned out by community noise), the Air at 300 feet and some distance out was still quite noticeable because of that pitch.

Interesting how the pitch amplifies the sound

 

[MichiganMavic]

what store you at??!

The store is @ Madison Heights,Mi location. I was just there yesterday...
I like their 30 day no fuss return policy. I did read that Costco has a 90 Day return?
Thongbong, are you in Mi?

 

[thongbong]

The store is @ Madison Heights,Mi location. I was just there yesterday...
I like their 30 day no fuss return policy. I did read that Costco has a 90 Day return?
Thongbong, are you in Mi?

gah, no I'm in MN... I checked my local Microcenter online, didn't see any MA's in stock yet.

 

[Classic flyer]

I finally got around to unboxing it this morning, haven't flown it yet, but first impressions.

View attachment 30007

This is just MY OPINION of someone who has flown drones since the Phantom 2 with a separate GoPro..nothing flight related on this, just looks and appearances.

Gimbal is much better on the Air, it feels more stable, it doesnt feel like its going to break everytime I look at it like the Mavic. The clamp is also much improved on the Air, the 2 piece thing on the Mavic was a PITA.
The Air is more stylish, it just looks better, it has this nice matte finish with silver and it looks like it was designed with looks in mind. The Mavic has a 1980's Mercedes front end look to it, definitely form following function.
It is TINY!, I cannot express that enough, it is really small, even pictures dont do it justice till you hold it and it feels like it wouldn't even work as a paperweight, im reserving how this affects my personal flight performance in wind when I actually get to flying it.

Folding on the Air is a task at best. The Mavic because of the folding props, is a piece of cake to fold up, it all folds in and blends nicely. I found myself struggling with folding up the air because the props would get caught on something, having to remember to fold and unfold the antenna is something we haven't done on devices in 10 years, so it seems like a step backwards. If you dont fold them up it wont fold down, the props will be bent up against them. I have been folding and unfolding all morning, and I have yet to get it right the first time out. Either a prop is bent somewhere, or a leg is pushing against a prop. However, with that said, the legs feel stiffer and the folding mechanism feels tighter than the Mavic, maybe thats just age, or the length of the arms which are obviously smaller.

I like the controller on the Mavic, I like the screen, if you lost video, or if you wanted some quick data on flight performance, exposure, battery life, it was nice having it on the controller and having the video on full screen. Although having the removable sticks on the air's controller is cool, now I dont need a seperate case just for the controller.

Again, these are just my opinion.

Flight and Video next

Very nice and professional review...thanx

 

[mtnstream]

MA videos look solid, range appears ok but still pictures
with infinity focus look soft. There’s evidence turning up
from various owners stating same, anyone noticed ?

Could this be FW or defective optics on some units?

 

[LivinLarge]

MA videos look solid, range appears ok but still pictures
with infinity focus look soft. There’s evidence turning up
from various owners stating same, anyone noticed ?

Could this be FW or defective optics on some units?

I see it in videos as well. I expect the lens is focused for some middle distance. Subjects very close or very far are not going to be tack sharp. I am not seeing any Jpg images posted.

 

[Fried Toast]

>"Folding on the Air is a task at best. "

Agree. It's a pain in the butt. My second go-around at folding it up, I got the feeling that things could get broken if one was in a hurry and didn't have the legs and props in the perfect position when sliding it all together. I think we're going to get reports of broken props eventually due to this. The Pro definitely wins the foldability contest easily on this one.

The gimbal cover - nice! Much, much better than the Mavic Pro stock version. Better than the P4 gimbal holder as well. Solid and easy to remove/replace.

 

[Panhead55]

I did receive a shipment of Mavic Air's yesterday at the Drone Store I work at. We unboxed one and charged it up to use as a demo. First impressions are that it is much smaller. The finish on outer shell is nice and shiny like a new car. We received several in Red and while I though who would want a red drone it actually is pretty nice. It was pretty windy outside yesterday so we put on the prop guards and flew it inside the store. I do like the way the camera is more protected than on the Mavic Pro.. Folding the drone back up to put it back in the case was a bit difficult as the props catch. Someone else mentioned the same first impression. On the flight. It was noisy. I would say as noisy as the Mavic Pro without the "quiet props". Camera was very stable and video was as expected from the 4K 12MP camera. I saw no difference in video or still photo quality. Flight time indoors was about 17 minutes without any wind or cold air. I'm sure that would decrease with outside conditions. I did not have an opportunity to test the various flight modes due to the high winds. I'm sure I could have flown it outside but did not want to chance it on its maiden flight. More later.

 

[Classic flyer]

I did receive a shipment of Mavic Air's yesterday at the Drone Store I work at. We unboxed one and charged it up to use as a demo. First impressions are that it is much smaller. The finish on outer shell is nice and shiny like a new car. We received several in Red and while I though who would want a red drone it actually is pretty nice. It was pretty windy outside yesterday so we put on the prop guards and flew it inside the store. I do like the way the camera is more protected than on the Mavic Pro.. Folding the drone back up to put it back in the case was a bit difficult as the props catch. Someone else mentioned the same first impression. On the flight. It was noisy. I would say as noisy as the Mavic Pro without the "quiet props". Camera was very stable and video was as expected from the 4K 12MP camera. I saw no difference in video or still photo quality. Flight time indoors was about 17 minutes without any wind or cold air. I'm sure that would decrease with outside conditions. I did not have an opportunity to test the various flight modes due to the high winds. I'm sure I could have flown it outside but did not want to chance it on its maiden flight. More later.

Although it's pretty and shiny, like a new car, that dosent mean it's going to be the best drone in the fleet...we all know that "PRETTY" sells...just saying