First time drone owner's thoughts on the Air

[alee]

I've often been by tempted by drones, but the cost vs the limited opportunities to fly (I live in NYC) made it more of a passing fantasy... it was just a lot of money for something that was tough to travel with and would get limited opportunities to get off the ground. Doing the math is a scary exercise sometimes... a $1500 drone I would likely keep for 2 yrs and fly 2x a year is $375 a flight. Or I could book 4 helicopter rides over 2 yrs and get some outstanding aerial footage with some decent cameras and glass... something I've opted to do many times instead.

I came close to buying a Mavic Pro at one point, but resisted - hoping for something a little smaller. The Mavic Air checked all the boxes for my first drone, so I pulled the trigger. It arrived, and I stared at it, unable to fly it anywhere where I live. I waited for my vacation to Singapore which would be a little over a week away to get it off the ground.

So, coming from the mirrorless camera world, I know the gear can get a lot better and it's a rabbit hole of expensive upgrades that come with hobbies like this. But for a first-time drone owner and first-time drone pilot, this is a heck of a kit to start with.

My thoughts on the Mavic Air in no particular order:

• This thing is really easy to fly. DJI's dominance in this industry is self-evident the very first time you fly it. I did read the manual though.
• For a beginner, esp. someone that will have limited flight opportunities, range and flight time are a non-issue. I'm sure that's a controversial statement, but this drone can already go further than I have the skill to handle responsibly. Maybe if you fly once a week, and have a 100+ hrs of recent flight time you may feel different, but for someone that will do less than 10 hrs of flying a year, this is a seriously cool drone where I won't readily exceed it's abilities and be wanting more.
• This thing travels so well. The Mavic Pro is compact, but the Air is so much smaller. The size and convenience make it that much easier to WANT to travel with it. And I think that's important - I've owned too much gear over the years that ended up sitting because it didn't make sense to lug around.
• Wi-Fi is definitely an issue. Your ability to navigate relies on your ability to see what your drone sees, and your ability to stay out of trouble relies on low latency. In signal congested areas, esp. operating in CE mode, you end up in a fairly unsafe mode of flight with periodic video cutouts. It would seem that an antenna mod is almost a must if you deal with any amount of Wi-Fi congestion.
• Picture and video quality are ok... 1/2.3" sensors can only do so much. I've been shooting APS-C and full-frame, so the quality is a major step down from the world I know. Shooting aerial photos from a helicopter using a large sensor camera at night is a joy. The Air will never be "that" camera... but the shots you can get with it will impress those that aren't picky about their pixels, and the vantage points you can get can be fantastic - just have to learn the limits of the sensor.
• Video is overwhelming. Huge amount of respect goes to those who make a living off video production. Getting the footage is one thing, but packaging it in a way that you can share (and that you're happy with) is unbelievably hard. It took over a dozen hours of edit time to trim 2 hrs of footage into 3.5 min, which in reality is probably still way too long. Maybe my standards here are too high for what the output should be, but I was definitely in over my head here.

So here I am at the end of my vacation, unlikely to fly my drone again until I take another vacation this coming summer. I've learned I don't like editing video. Without a doubt, I need to modify the controller to get better antennas.

But in the end, I think I'm going to keep it and take it on a few work trips where I'm going places that are a bit more drone friendly. Definitely keeping it through my summer vacation. It travels so well. Then maybe after all of this, I will need to decide what to do with this thing that I still can't fly all that often, but turned out to be pretty **** cool.

Here's my first 3.5 min video with the Mavic Air:

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Definitely not the ultimate drone, but very newbie friendly with enough performance that makes worth every penny.

 

[breid]

Very nice video! You have a knack for it, don't sell yourself short!!

 

[Fmoots]

Very nice video, and nicely edited, even if you hated doing it!

I actually purchased an Air for travelling to Singapore & Aus in about 3 weeks, but ended up returning it for a mpp due to concerns about the WiFi performance (I believe they are both classed as CE). Not so much range but as you mentioned, quality of video feed, the laggy video feed in urban areas here in the UK made it quite difficult to fly. How did you find the range/quality of video feed in central Singapore?

 

[alee]

I actually purchased an Air for travelling to Singapore & Aus in about 3 weeks, but ended up returning it for a mpp due to concerns about the WiFi performance (I believe they are both classed as CE). Not so much range but as you mentioned, quality of video feed, the laggy video feed in urban areas here in the UK made it quite difficult to fly. How did you find the range/quality of video feed in central Singapore?

In Central Singapore, you might get 300m with the Air if you're lucky before you start getting video drops. Granted stayed on 2.4, and in retrospect I should have tried 5.8. This was launching from the WW2 memorial park. Out by Marina Barrage, I was able to get a lot more range... almost 1000m.

 

[Fmoots]

In Central Singapore, you might get 300m with the Air if you're lucky before you start getting video drops. Granted stayed on 2.4, and in retrospect I should have tried 5.8. This was launching from the WW2 memorial park. Out by Marina Barrage, I was able to get a lot more range... almost 1000m.

Thanks for clarifying. That’s what I was abit worried about, performance here in urban area is about the same, max 500 before video lag/dropout. Out in the open range is great however, sounds like a similar experience. 5.8ghz is limited to 500m according to the specs can, you’d likely receive less interference, but means your abit more range restricted.

 

[alee]

Thanks for clarifying. That’s what I was abit worried about, performance here in urban area is about the same, max 500 before video lag/dropout. Out in the open range is great however, sounds like a similar experience. 5.8ghz is limited to 500m according to the specs can, you’d likely receive less interference, but means your abit more range restricted.

Worth mentioning, I was completely unable to launch around Marina Bay... all sorts of compass errors. There's a ground level parking lot next to Marina Bay Sands mall entrance (west side of the building) next to the Red Dot Design Museum that is good to launch from... just watch out for the trees, and you'll be able to take off from there and then navigate in front of Marina Bay Sands, the Merlion, etc.

 

[mijac]

Awesome video

 

[bytebiz]

I've often been by tempted by drones, but the cost vs the limited opportunities to fly (I live in NYC) made it more of a passing fantasy... it was just a lot of money for something that was tough to travel with and would get limited opportunities to get off the ground. Doing the math is a scary exercise sometimes... a $1500 drone I would likely keep for 2 yrs and fly 2x a year is $375 a flight. Or I could book 4 helicopter rides over 2 yrs and get some outstanding aerial footage with some decent cameras and glass... something I've opted to do many times instead.

I came close to buying a Mavic Pro at one point, but resisted - hoping for something a little smaller. The Mavic Air checked all the boxes for my first drone, so I pulled the trigger. It arrived, and I stared at it, unable to fly it anywhere where I live. I waited for my vacation to Singapore which would be a little over a week away to get it off the ground.

So, coming from the mirrorless camera world, I know the gear can get a lot better and it's a rabbit hole of expensive upgrades that come with hobbies like this. But for a first-time drone owner and first-time drone pilot, this is a heck of a kit to start with.

My thoughts on the Mavic Air in no particular order:

• This thing is really easy to fly. DJI's dominance in this industry is self-evident the very first time you fly it. I did read the manual though.
• For a beginner, esp. someone that will have limited flight opportunities, range and flight time are a non-issue. I'm sure that's a controversial statement, but this drone can already go further than I have the skill to handle responsibly. Maybe if you fly once a week, and have a 100+ hrs of recent flight time you may feel different, but for someone that will do less than 10 hrs of flying a year, this is a seriously cool drone where I won't readily exceed it's abilities and be wanting more.
• This thing travels so well. The Mavic Pro is compact, but the Air is so much smaller. The size and convenience make it that much easier to WANT to travel with it. And I think that's important - I've owned too much gear over the years that ended up sitting because it didn't make sense to lug around.
• Wi-Fi is definitely an issue. Your ability to navigate relies on your ability to see what your drone sees, and your ability to stay out of trouble relies on low latency. In signal congested areas, esp. operating in CE mode, you end up in a fairly unsafe mode of flight with periodic video cutouts. It would seem that an antenna mod is almost a must if you deal with any amount of Wi-Fi congestion.
• Picture and video quality are ok... 1/2.3" sensors can only do so much. I've been shooting APS-C and full-frame, so the quality is a major step down from the world I know. Shooting aerial photos from a helicopter using a large sensor camera at night is a joy. The Air will never be "that" camera... but the shots you can get with it will impress those that aren't picky about their pixels, and the vantage points you can get can be fantastic - just have to learn the limits of the sensor.
• Video is overwhelming. Huge amount of respect goes to those who make a living off video production. Getting the footage is one thing, but packaging it in a way that you can share (and that you're happy with) is unbelievably hard. It took over a dozen hours of edit time to trim 2 hrs of footage into 3.5 min, which in reality is probably still way too long. Maybe my standards here are too high for what the output should be, but I was definitely in over my head here.

So here I am at the end of my vacation, unlikely to fly my drone again until I take another vacation this coming summer. I've learned I don't like editing video. Without a doubt, I need to modify the controller to get better antennas.

But in the end, I think I'm going to keep it and take it on a few work trips where I'm going places that are a bit more drone friendly. Definitely keeping it through my summer vacation. It travels so well. Then maybe after all of this, I will need to decide what to do with this thing that I still can't fly all that often, but turned out to be pretty **** cool.

Here's my first 3.5 min video with the Mavic Air:

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Definitely not the ultimate drone, but very newbie friendly with enough performance that makes worth every penny.

Well said Albert. I can identify with just about everything you said about making this decision - from the cost vs. flights/year, wondering if my photography background would cause me to be dissatisfied with picture/video quality, Mavic Air vs Pro etc.

I just purchased this week so still waiting for my Air to arrive, and even though living out on Long Island puts me in a better position than you in NYC in terms of approved flying venues it looks like it's gonna be tough to find interesting places to fly legally.

But I'm 'all-in' now and looking forward to making the most of this experience hoping to achieve the level of quality I see in your videos and those of others on this forum. But most of all I'm just looking to have some fun combining multiple hobbies as I go

 

[griffinhart]

Well said Albert. I can identify with just about everything you said about making this decision - from the cost vs. flights/year, wondering if my photography background would cause me to be dissatisfied with picture/video quality, Mavic Air vs Pro etc.

Look at it this way... You can absolutely get better quality shots in a booked flight and a better camera, but... That really just limits you to planned shots. Your drone will let you capture those unexpected shots. The Air is small enough that you can bring it with you on a whim. You can't do that with a Helicopter.

 

[bytebiz]

Look at it this way... You can absolutely get better quality shots in a booked flight and a better camera, but... That really just limits you to planned shots. Your drone will let you capture those unexpected shots. The Air is small enough that you can bring it with you on a whim. You can't do that with a Helicopter.

No quibbles with that [emoji106]