I'm Pissed off, but do I have a right to be?

[namja]

The Air is a step down from your Mavic Pro, by about 2 miles and 7 minutes.

100% correct.

But,...The Air is also a 40Mbp/s step UP from the Mavic Pro!

CT ;-)

The biggest difference to me is the form factor. I can carry the MA everywhere all the time (like a cell phone), which really isn't possible with the MP.

When I first bought the MP, I thought it was amazing how portable it was. Now, even before the MA was released, I keep thinking how much of a hassle it is to lug that thing around.

 

[Cliff_622]

I own a P4P, Spark and now an Air as of 10:30am today! I flew at a large park today and I was VERY impressed with the range and video transmission today. It BLOWS AWAY the Spark in distance and quality,...so far. I only tested two flights.

I hear you. You are right, my P4P is crazy and yeah, you will never get me to say that I don't love Lightbridge or Ocusync. The only think I can tell you is that I like the video quality allot,...much more than I liked my Mavic Pro image quality. Yes, the Phantom destroys all of them in clarity and clean dynamic range. I would bet that the Air's WiFi is literally twice as good as you probably think it is. It looks bad on paper but it's real world performance is surprising. (after two flights! lol)

Yes, I will probably sell my P4P and buy the Mavic Pro-II if it has the P4P's sensor and image processor. (I'll keep my Air as a backup)

CT

 

[namja]

No Lightbridge/OcuSync = no interest. WiFi on a drone is for kids IMO. Sorry, that's a big deal to me. It's like buying a car with a 1gal gas tank. You just can go very far.

They say they tuned to for 2.5mi, but DJI has a habit of stretching the truth. I expect it might go 1mi reliably, but that's about it. I hope I'm wrong.

That was my initial thought too, that I needed Occusync. But apparently the WiFi on the MA is much more improved than the WiFi on the Spark. And people have posted plenty of footages from 1.5 miles out that I'm fairly happy confident it will do fine at least up to that. Most people rarely fly farther than 1 mile out anyway (esp with VLOS concerns), so I think the MA should be fine for most. If you routinely fly 2+ miles out, then obviously the MA is not for you. And this was not designed with you in mind. This was designed for the 90% scenario where people keep their drones within a mile or so.

Basically, the MA is portable like the Spark with many of the features from the MP. I thought it was cool how he pulled the MA out of his vest pocket at the DJI announcement. Portability is the most important feature for me, so I'm really tempted to get one. Just sold the MP last month because it wasn't portabile enough, so I got that money waiting to be spent.

 

[dewster]

The Mavic Air is an advanced selfie drone that the Spark should have been. I would wait for Mavic Pro 2 (or whatever DJI will call it) to come out. I’m thinking DJI will unveil their craft around the same time as Autel announces sale of their Evo drone. Then you’ll see people selling their Mavic Pros.

 

[JimmyHillsChin]

I think Spark owners have a right to feel annoyed.

Because of the time between Spark and Air, this just seems like a sure fire way to milk money from those wanting a portable mini drone.

I know technology moves fast but I find it hard to believe that all of this technology that's in the Air wasn't available when they made the Spark given that it was only released 8 months ago.

Or, on the flip side to that, it's hard to believe that DJI had that "Eureka" moment within those 8 months and came up with the idea that they could add rear sensors to a mini drone or that it too could fold up like the Mavic.

Early 2017:
DJI Marketing to billionaire CEO Frank Wang:
"Do you think we could get this Spark selfie drone to fold up so it's mega portable like the Mavic?"

Frank: "Nope. Not possible on such a tiny drone. Release the Spark as it is, people will love it."

8 Months later:
Frank "I've had an idea. We should release a new selfie drone that folds up like the Mavic. I suppose we could have done that with the Spark. Oh well, they'll understand. Kerching!"

 

[Splats]

I think Spark owners have a right to feel annoyed.

Because of the time between Spark and Air, this just seems like a sure fire way to milk money from those wanting a portable mini drone.

I know technology moves fast but I find it hard to believe that all of this technology that's in the Air wasn't available when they made the Spark given that it was only released 8 months ago.

Or, on the flip side to that, it's hard to believe that DJI had that "Eureka" moment within those 8 months and came up with the idea that they could add rear sensors to a mini drone or that it too could fold up like the Mavic.

Early 2017:
DJI Marketing to billionaire CEO Frank Wang:
"Do you think we could get this Spark selfie drone to fold up so it's mega portable like the Mavic?"

Frank: "Nope. Not possible on such a tiny drone. Release the Spark as it is, people will love it."

8 Months later:
Frank "I've had an idea. We should release a new selfie drone that folds up like the Mavic. I suppose we could have done that with the Spark. Oh well, they'll understand. Kerching!"

Totally agree, hopefully it will all work out for me. My Spark is a month old and I've taken a deposit on it; new owner drives up to collect on Sunday and Mavic Air is on its way from China. The MA really is the best of all worlds for me: very portable, excellent video and image quality, decent range and not too big or intrusive (noise notwithstanding) when in flight. The 3-axis gimbal is, for me, by far the most important upgrade over the Spark. I've been really pleased with what I've been able to achieve with the Spark but I've had too many shots ruined with yaw shake. Given it's only a month old, I'd probably have kept the Spark and not upgraded to the MA if the Spark has a 3-axis gimbal.

 

[Viper169th]

I bought the mavic pro after Christmas .... Just like my cell phone unless something spectacular happens this will be my drone for the foreseeable future.... I'll probably upgrade when the range and cam get doubled if the air was priced 699 or less I might have considered it

 

[thongbong]

The Mavic Air is an advanced selfie drone that the Spark should have been. I would wait for Mavic Pro 2 (or whatever DJI will call it) to come out. I’m thinking DJI will unveil their craft around the same time as Autel announces sale of their Evo drone. Then you’ll see people selling their Mavic Pros.

I'm selling my MP now. If you wait until the MP2 comes out, it will depreciate a couple hundred more bucks. Sell sell sell!!

 

[thongbong]

I think Spark owners have a right to feel annoyed.

Because of the time between Spark and Air, this just seems like a sure fire way to milk money from those wanting a portable mini drone.

I know technology moves fast but I find it hard to believe that all of this technology that's in the Air wasn't available when they made the Spark given that it was only released 8 months ago.

Or, on the flip side to that, it's hard to believe that DJI had that "Eureka" moment within those 8 months and came up with the idea that they could add rear sensors to a mini drone or that it too could fold up like the Mavic.

Early 2017:
DJI Marketing to billionaire CEO Frank Wang:
"Do you think we could get this Spark selfie drone to fold up so it's mega portable like the Mavic?"

Frank: "Nope. Not possible on such a tiny drone. Release the Spark as it is, people will love it."

8 Months later:
Frank "I've had an idea. We should release a new selfie drone that folds up like the Mavic. I suppose we could have done that with the Spark. Oh well, they'll understand. Kerching!"

I would be pissed too if I bought the Spark. Although I do see DJI places the Spark at the lowest tier which means they aren't supposed to be competing. The price range being 399 and the MA at 799 is evident. But I do believe technology moves that fast especially with DJI. I've been flying DJI since the P1 and one thing I love about DJI is that they always have RandD going. 4 years ago I spent over $1000 in DJI parts to build a drone. 6 months later they made it all obsolete by introducing the phantom 3 at an even cheaper price. Can I be pissed? Yes. Can I blame them. No. Every 12 months you will see some new innovation come out of DJI.

 

[julius13]

I'm pissed because I see the Mavic Air introduction as classic market manipulation by DJI, and they're pointing the manipulation straight at Mavic owners. Again, this is all my humble opinion, but DJI intentionally made the Air so close in specs and features to the Mavic Pro so Mavic Pro owners will sell their Mavics and purchase the new Air. And if someone is in the market for a new drone, the Air is the logical choice. So DJI captures both the current Mavic Pro owner market AND the new buyer market.

Then, once everyone jumps ship to the Air, I'm sure DJI will strategically introduce the Mavic Pro II or Mavic Air Pro (or whatever they decide to call it) so folks who have a six-month old Air will be tempted to buy the Mavic Pro II.

I realize DJI is in business to make money and all that blah, blah blah. But I feel like DJI has just kicked me and other Mavic Pro owners in the balls (or crotch).

Please understand these are my simple thoughts and observations. Please don't hate on me!

Your thoughts.

Here's the Rub I have with MavicAir. Why can't DJI keep the same controller for the Mavic Pro and Mavic Air? Might seem insignificant to others but IMO more Mavic Pro owners would consider purchasing an Air if they didn't have to shell out another couple hundred bucks for a controller. Perhaps I would think about it, but I'm okay with the Mavic I have. If the camera was even slightly better I'd definitely make a purchase.

 

[floyd]

I'm selling my MP now. If you wait until the MP2 comes out, it will depreciate a couple hundred more bucks. Sell sell sell!!

How much?

 

[joejaxvic123]

How much?

Make sure to deduct the anticipation of the Mavic 2 in the price....

 

[Classic flyer]

I'm keeping my Mavic Pro, I love it.

If and when there is a Mavic Pro 2 or whatever then I may consider purchasing it, until then no.

I'm with you brother...I love my MAVIC PRO and enjoy flying it showing peeps my aireal photos.

 

[MrBigbe]

It's actually not quite so simple. The key thing here is lack of OcuSync. It makes a MASSIVE difference (versus the Spark, in my experience). I think the Mavic Air is a great drone. But it's not quite the Mavic Pro. It's definitely a niggling desire to want one, but yes - you can bet there will be a newer, fancier drone before too long to replace the Mavic Pro.

That's just the way it is. It's very much like Apple. They have different devices that have pros and cons (especially in the laptop world). I mean, for the most part I don't NEED a powerhouse MacBook Pro. I could do just as well on a 12" MacBook which is so light and portable. But the MacBook Pro has the cool TouchBar! And it has lots of USB Type-C ports! But the 12" MacBook has so much portability and great battery life! So then you want both. Poop!

The Mavic Air isn't better or worse than the Mavic Pro. It's certainly different, and there are things that will appeal to people about both.

Fundamentally, the Mavic Pro absolutely - UNQUESTIONABLY - will have better range and solidity of video transfer due to OcuSync. If you live in a city and do some fly-arounds, this will likely be the defining factor. It's not even about 4.3 miles vs 2.5 miles. It's about Wi-Fi flat out is not as good as OcuSync. Wi-Fi can be frustrating even 50 feet away.

If you travel into the great unknown, with little-to-no buildings/interference around, then the Air would do just fine for you.

That said, I still want an Air because I have this nasty tech obsession. But if I'm at home and wanting to fly around, I'm going to always pick the Mavic. It's got better battery life, and it uses an actual radio versus Wi-Fi.

If the Air had OcuSync, I'd be struggling to find (for me) any MAJOR reason to keep the Mavic Pro.

Man I am glad I read this I just got my pro on the 22nd and was so pissed to find out the new drone was coming out on the 23rd. I have been stewing on it hard , so hard in fact that I had no idea that the air is WiFi and not OS. Now I am so relieved that I did not send it back to get the air. I live in the mountains and I had a WiFi drone and lost image or got bad image every time i flew. Totally would not work for what I need it for

 

[MrBigbe]

I got my mavic Pro the day before the mavic air came out. Since I am new to all this I had no idea that a new one was being released and was pissed off that I got the pro instead of the air. But now that I just learned from this thread that it does not have ocusync. I am feeling pretty good about getting the pro. I had a wifI drone and it was so frustrating Too lose the image transmission all the time where I live.

 

[AnzacJack]

a trainer without Atti?
The M Air will minimise actual pilot control even more than the MP already does.

i never said an initial trainer.
Learning this stuff is not just about flying skills. If you think that is all it takes your living in the past. Once my kids have some skills they then need to learn how to interact with the systems. Know what can be done and what are limitations of the various systems flying these things, and how to extract flight logs etc.
Most of the advanced system stuff can be played with on this much cheaper drone.

 

[MrBigbe]

It's really not that much cheaper. I got my Pro brand new fully loaded with three batteries and a crap load of extras. Landing gear extra props backpack Landing Pad LED lights everything. For $1100.00 that's just just a hundred more than the air fly more combo. And the remote appears to be alot better having the LCD screen. I might have been into it if they would have had it at $700 for the fly more

 

[Talley]

People will always measurebate...

...then you got the king dingalings who buy everyone lol

 

[mstrmavic]

I'm pissed because I see the Mavic Air introduction as classic market manipulation by DJI, and they're pointing the manipulation straight at Mavic owners. Again, this is all my humble opinion, but DJI intentionally made the Air so close in specs and features to the Mavic Pro so Mavic Pro owners will sell their Mavics and purchase the new Air. And if someone is in the market for a new drone, the Air is the logical choice. So DJI captures both the current Mavic Pro owner market AND the new buyer market.

Then, once everyone jumps ship to the Air, I'm sure DJI will strategically introduce the Mavic Pro II or Mavic Air Pro (or whatever they decide to call it) so folks who have a six-month old Air will be tempted to buy the Mavic Pro II.

I realize DJI is in business to make money and all that blah, blah blah. But I feel like DJI has just kicked me and other Mavic Pro owners in the balls (or crotch).

Please understand these are my simple thoughts and observations. Please don't hate on me!

Your thoughts.

I'm sorry but I wouldn't trade my Mavic pro, for a box car of Air's. For me I would spend only $200 more & and be a pro owner, Are you kidding me. I kno dji knos there is a market for BOTH. No screen, shorter distance, buy new batteries etc. Plus, just my 2 cents, if you can fly, you don't need any sensors. I like the camera but if your CAREFUL & take your time you won't have any problems with pros camera. So I think we're smarter than you give us credit for, dji knows that too