I'm wondering if simply waiting for BH Photo or Adorama to get the upcoming Mavic 4 Pro in stock would be smarter than gambling with US Customs. Thoughts?
how to buy the Mavic 4 Pro
- Thread starter akdrone
- Start date
I don't see any reason the newest drones in 2025 will launch any different than the last few in 2024 meaning there will be hit or miss customs issues with shipments coming from China. Lucky for me as of recent, I have a personal 6-month freeze on buying new DJI drones and for some the more advanced and top of the line drones, it's a one year wait.....for various reasons. Therefore I won't have to face these issues directly as long as they don't get worse.
B&H will never get drones on day 1 until they rate. Even Amazon as the top reseller has to "wait." B&H is my go-to because they have a "tax free" option and they have the ability to offer custom packages (i.e. Mavic with a smart controller) that DJI may not come with. High-end drones should be at the top of our list for 3 or 4 years so to me, there are many benefits to waiting including software updates, compatibility, and pricing. I can easily enjoy the Mavic 3 Pro for another year and I consider 2025 the year of the DJI FPV drone which I plan to fill with improving NEO/Avata2 [manual] flying. Most of us FPV flyers know that when you start in on FPV, it kinda dominates your fleet and often relegates your camera drone flying to 10% or less so I'm good. The Air 3 series has taught me that new O4, advanced RTH, LIDAR, etc. are great....but they can wait.
If at any point I get the strange feeling that something drastic is going to happen (increased tariffs, total ban, etc) then hopefully I can respond quickly but there's a lot of pros to waiting for others to review the new products and work out the bugs. Unfortunately if you depend on B&H or Adorama, it is possible they "never" their allocation which would force you to deal with a known source like DJI directly. Again, personally I would wait. Things are just too unpredictable to commit such a large sum of money IMO.
B&H will never get drones on day 1 until they rate. Even Amazon as the top reseller has to "wait." B&H is my go-to because they have a "tax free" option and they have the ability to offer custom packages (i.e. Mavic with a smart controller) that DJI may not come with. High-end drones should be at the top of our list for 3 or 4 years so to me, there are many benefits to waiting including software updates, compatibility, and pricing. I can easily enjoy the Mavic 3 Pro for another year and I consider 2025 the year of the DJI FPV drone which I plan to fill with improving NEO/Avata2 [manual] flying. Most of us FPV flyers know that when you start in on FPV, it kinda dominates your fleet and often relegates your camera drone flying to 10% or less so I'm good. The Air 3 series has taught me that new O4, advanced RTH, LIDAR, etc. are great....but they can wait.
If at any point I get the strange feeling that something drastic is going to happen (increased tariffs, total ban, etc) then hopefully I can respond quickly but there's a lot of pros to waiting for others to review the new products and work out the bugs. Unfortunately if you depend on B&H or Adorama, it is possible they "never" their allocation which would force you to deal with a known source like DJI directly. Again, personally I would wait. Things are just too unpredictable to commit such a large sum of money IMO.
Jim Martin
Well-Known Member
I plan to pick up a 4 pro shortly after they come out. I'll watch and see what issues/successes others have, and then roll the dice and see what happens. If it gets held up in customs, I'll just get a refund and try a different method. Even if it takes a few tries, I figure I'll get it eventually.
It's always better to order from a reliable DJI vendor in the U.S. who states they already have the item in stock in the U.S., ready to ship, as it has then already cleared US Customs. Don't be so eager to get one first. The first units are always riddled with bugs and incomplete features that take roughly 6 months to work out. Remember, the early adopters are the real Beta testers.
I don't mind waiting after DJI announces a new drone. I wait 10, 15 even 20 minutes before ordering.
rgarjr
Well-Known Member
I don't care about the price, I just want to know about the specs and particularly LIDAR and the increase in safety it adds. The addition or lack of LIDAR will be a real big deal to me. The reason I might wait would be reports on the sharpness of the 6x tele. I'm not super happy about it being 6x instead of 7x. Super long battery life is another big deal to me. I currently have 6 batteries for my Mav3 Pro and during any given day I am constantly charging one in the three bay charger and when I'm driving from one spot to another I'm charging a second in the Mav3 itself, trying to keep ahead of my filming which I'm almost always able to do. If I get backed up then I grab my Mini 4 Pro or Avata 2 and film with them if the subject allows it but longer battery life would be super good. I'd sell my Mav 3 (keep the Mav 3 Pro) if I get the Mav 4 Pro....
I suspect the 6x telephoto is to keep the digital zoom to 2x on the smaller 3x telephoto sensor, before it switches over in Explore mode. 7x telephoto is kind of an odd number. It is really bad on the Mavic 3 when switching from 4x digital on the main camera to the 7x optical telephoto. That's where the Mavic 3 Pro shines. It minimizes that huge gap by inserting the optical 3x telephoto camera.
bkushner
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I have a pre-order in for the creator version but am well aware that it may not ever happen. I will wait till the tariff stupidity is figured out before ordering from DJI. the biggest downside I see is the lack of ProRes. Unbelievable. That will cost DJI a LOT of sales from pros that rely on ProRes. Now it's just a waiting game but I'm still happy with my Mavic 3 Pro so I can sweat it out.
bkushner
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They took away the pro and gave me the 360 novelty gimbal
Yeah, the lack of ProRes is a major problem and when that news leaked I basically lost all interest in the machine. The only marginal improvements for video are another strike. A true shame- had really high hopes for the M4C.
As an aside, in retrospect, this makes the M3C and M3PC even more valuable since they might end up being the only Mavic machines that ever offer ProRes. Similarly, the OG M3C might now go down as the smallest, lightest drone with the longest flight time that supports ProRes. I certainly won't be selling either of mine given this current DJI roadmap. They are now worth their weight in gold.
As an aside, in retrospect, this makes the M3C and M3PC even more valuable since they might end up being the only Mavic machines that ever offer ProRes. Similarly, the OG M3C might now go down as the smallest, lightest drone with the longest flight time that supports ProRes. I certainly won't be selling either of mine given this current DJI roadmap. They are now worth their weight in gold.
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