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

[jason38]

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 agree with you, I cant see what the dji mavic air could do better than a mavic exept for a few options, like camera or back sensors...
I'm also afraid to see (or read) people go buying this new drone, even if they already have a mavic pro...why? It will not give you a lot more than a mavic pro ! I mean, maybe the size could be the best advantage of this new piece of technology , but it seems , as you said, si close from the mavic pro...for me, it can do no difference un a backpack...

But I think DJI just want to show they are still on the market with "innovations" and more and more technology inside.

In my opinion, Its just sell more and more, making advertising and trying to show that THIS drone ils way much better than another, even if its from the same brand!

I'll keep my mavic pro because its doin a really good job and I cant spend so much money every 6months, just to have in my hands something doing the same job (or less accurately) , but in another "skin"...

Maybe lots of people are sick about new technologies, and need always more and more, all the time.... DJI could have targeted this kind of people with their new drone... And Why not?...if people are ready to buy again and again at every " new" product they sale....

 

[Rutland1265]

I'm the same way, I LOVE my P4P with parameter mods. I can't get enough of climbing high mountains and capturing high elevation views, all within 400' of ground of course. My Mavic has the same parameter mods, but it doesn't have as much battery as P4P and it's a little more vulnerable to wind, not to mention the way superior camera on P4P. I don't use my MP as much because of that, but do enjoy it when I'm mountain biking or need a quiet drone, such as capturing animals where the MP can get closer without scaring the animal, really close sometimes. The MP 2X zoom is nice too when recording in 1080. I would have a hard time settling for a new drone that can't be modified for these freedoms, I'm totally spoiled with the extended capabilities of my 4 craft. It's videos like this one I recently captured Hawaii that have me so addicted to high elevation flights.

Great video, most impressive. How high did you fly and was that one flight?

 

[Lake_Flyer]

cant see it replacing the mavic for me, but it is a nice little trainer, especially if i wanted to by 1/2 dozen. I tried a spark but it just isnt what i want in a trainer. Hopefully the air will fill the spot.

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

 

[PaperCrane]

John that video is stunning. Thanks for sharing.

 

[guilhermebjr]

AIR, are not a upgrade, for me, no.. Dont even have auto-focus,use a mavic pro and then test a P4 without auto-focus and then tells wats the diference and if u really wants other drone without autofocus...

 

[Fixaldo]

The almost 70% increase in bitrate pisses me off. They both use the same camera but the Air will give a much better footage. The OP is 100% correct that they are moving towards the mavic pro owners by doing so. It would make so much more sense to stay at 60mbps 4k for the Mavic Air. Even that would be a huge upgrade compare to Spark.

IMO. At this point, the only sensible thing to do is to update the mavic pro to 100mbps with a firmware update. The Phantom 4 pro still have a much better camera and H265 that produce a better image. So no conflict there. I think Mavic Pro users should make a petition for a firmware upgrade..

DJI, I would buy a firmware that gives a bitrate upgrade on the Mavic Pro...That’s good business for you. We don't want to fly a lesser drone...

 

[Divine_Madcat]

Yea they are two different dogs. The things that would make me get an Air are;

1. USB Type C !!!!!
2. Built in memory.
3. Rear avoidance.
4. APAS
5. Smaller size.
6 100 Mbps.
7. Agility/Speed
8. Gesture mode-until the novelty wore off and I got tied of it.

Personally, I'm holding out for the Mavic Pro 2 and I may be alone here but I hope it looks exactly like the Air but bigger with all of it's features plus, a 1" 20 M camera sensor, side sensors, 30+ min flight time and 50-60 mph top speed.

I read your list, and as a current MP owner, found it kinda curious..
1) I know its the future, but its still slow to adapt; right now, i can run to any corner store and buy a micro USB cable if the need arises, but i cant do that so easily with C. I like the omni directional plug, but this is hardly a selling factor

2) Built in memory is "great" until the drone crashes or has a hardware glitch, and your shots and video become unrecoverable. And honestly, in this day and age.. even a good 16GB card is cheap enough, its hard to get excited about 8GB inside

3) Certainly will grant this as a valid like, though i will say i would much prefer side radar, as i rarely fly backwards.

4) Again, nice, but not a game changer.

5) I can respect this for backpacking, where "every Oz is a Lb", and smaller is better. But for daily hauling, the two are close enough in size to not matter at all.

6) This will be big *IF* the camera is good enough to actually improve quality (is the camera really good enough that data is still being actively lost at 60Mbps?). This remains to be seen if it will help.

7) Going by the spec sheets, the air is only a couple Km/h faster, and doesn't appear any more agile (accent/decent) than the MP/MPP

8) Yeah, totally no interest there.


Ironically, your wants for a MP2 ARE very reasonable, and would make me consider an upgrade.But for now, nothing about the Air seems like an upgrade to me, and i certainly have no desire to buy one.

 

[BIGDAVE]

I totally disagree.

As a recent Mavic Pro buyer, I see no reason to "upgrade" to a Mavic Air. If I had the choice of either a few weeks ago, it would have been a difficult decision.

The Mavic Air has a couple of small advantages over the Pro, but also some significant disadvantages. I won't be getting an Air.

I think DJI have seen the popularity of the Mavic among travellers and consumers and the gap there was to the Spark. Small size and portability is a big selling point and the Mavic Air addresses this while including 4K video and plenty of tech.

This is a drone for the buyer who sees the Spark as a bit too basic and the Mavic Pro as a bit too expensive.

I think it will cannibalise Mavic Pro sales, but it won't coax too many existing Mavic Pro owners. It may, however, be the tipping point for many consumers to make the decision to buy a drone. It's also a logical upgrade from the Spark.

good point but the range and the wi fi deal has me scared, ive ordered one but STILL on the fence here. what if you have a fly away? any thing I'm missing here? thanks for listening

 

[Cliff_622]

The almost 70% increase in bitrate pisses me off. They both use the same camera but the Air will give a much better footage. The OP is 100% correct that they are moving towards the mavic pro owners by doing so. It would make so much more sense to stay at 60mbps 4k for the Mavic Air. Even that would be a huge upgrade compare to Spark.

IMO. At this point, the only sensible thing to do is to update the mavic pro to 100mbps with a firmware update. The Phantom 4 pro still have a much better camera and H265 that produce a better image. So no conflict there. I think Mavic Pro users should make a petition for a firmware upgrade..

DJI, I would buy a firmware that gives a bitrate upgrade on the Mavic Pro...That’s good business for you. We don't want to fly a lesser drone...

I do not know this as a fact so I very well could be wrong, but....

The Mavic Pro uses a crappy Ambarella h.264 encoding chip. I believe 60mbp/s is the hardware limitation of the chip itself. I dont think DJI can flash a higher bit rate into it.

To me, this is the biggest problen with the Mavic Pro is this CODEC. I always hated the "mushy" foliage, bushes and trees. It has a way of softening moving details. Look at any of the comparison scenes in Casey's video. (And the South Affrican video) The contrast is different between his two Mavics but you can see that Pro's "mushy" problem in all the trees and bushes.

Yeah,...this Air seems to be screwing the Pro today in many ways. This tells me that DJI are basically finished with the Pro and will have the Pro II ready soon. (Late summer in time for Christmas season)

They HAD to change out that h.264 encoder for this model. There was no way they were going to keep that 60mbps CODEC in the Mavic Air for another 18-24 months. 100mbps was bound to happen.

I think thar if DJI could have increased the Mavic Pro's bit rate, they would have already done in a while ago. Especially on a the Platinum release.

 

[gjmphoto]

Welcome to the world of photographic equipment! I've been buying cameras and lenses for a long time...I sold my mamiya med format equipment to buy my canon 1dx which just has been leapfrogged by the 1dx mark ii. Doesn't obsolete the camera though. It's still just as great a piece of equipment as its always been. Unless you HAVE to have the latest gadget enjoy what you have and upgrade when it really matters in quality or performance. Capitalism is a great thing...it motivates innovation. Don't knock it!

 

[R1Mavic]

Forgive my ignorance, but does the Mavic Pro have Ocusync?

 

[colinfowler]

Forgive my ignorance, but does the Mavic Pro have Ocusync?

yes it does

 

[Fixaldo]

I do not know this as a fact so I very well could be wrong, but....

The Mavic Pro uses a crappy Ambarella h.264 encoding chip. I believe 60mbp/s is the hardware limitation of the chip itself. I dont think DJI can flash a higher bit rate into it.

To me, this is the biggest problen with the Mavic Pro is this CODEC. I always hated the "mushy" foliage, bushes and trees. It has a way of softening moving details. Look at any of the comparison scenes in Casey's video. (And the South Affrican video) The contrast is different between his two Mavics but you can see that Pro's "mushy" problem in all the trees and bushes.

Yeah,...this Air seems to be screwing the Pro today in many ways. This tells me that DJI are basically finished with the Pro and will have the Pro II ready soon. (Late summer in time for Christmas season)

They HAD to change out that h.264 encoder for this model. There was no way they were going to keep that 60mbps CODEC in the Mavic Air for another 18-24 months. 100mbps was bound to happen.

I think thar if DJI could have increased the Mavic Pro's bit rate, they would have already done in a while ago. Especially on a the Platinum release.

Ugh..If this is true… then it’s too bad. I was hoping for something else. Lets cross fingers for an early mavic pro 2 update before we spend 1k on a lesser drone

 

[m0j0]

But... but...



Zing!

Go back to the OP. Never mentioned the spark. Which is why I referenced his comment. Still does not matter. DJI releases new birds all the time. If you are a must have the latest and greatest kind of guy open your pocketbook and buy it. If not, wait until you technology advances enough for you to upgrade. I'll keep my Mavic for the time being. Anyone that has followed DJI knows that they continue to innovate. They want you to buy the new bird. They don't give a rip about resale value of your current platform. You want advancement and upgrades of three year old tech buy Autel... still waiting for that new cam on the XSP.

 

[m0j0]

So the air is wifi? If so no deal!

 

[R1Mavic]

So the air is wifi? If so no deal!

Not at all. I would not let this talk scare you. If anything, buy it, try it and return if not suitable.

 

[Cliff_622]

Ugh..If this is true… then it’s too bad. I was hoping for something else. Lets cross fingers for an early mavic pro 2 update before we spend 1k on a lesser drone

For me, the Air was a perfect choice. I wasnt happy with my Mavic Pro image quality. I sold it and got a P4P and that completely blew me away. I got the Spark as my "high risk" play around toy. Now, my Air will be my 50% main flyer and I'll keep my Spark as my "disposable" toy and use my P4P for only my more serious work.

I think that if I only owned a Mavic Pro, I dont think I would really change it out for an Air...unless I was VERY concerned about image quality and that was my biggest concern. That would be the only reason.

 

[royster]

I think DJI was on the money looking at the market share that they were after, my son, a perfect example. F
lying the spark for couple of months & has "mastered it", his words not mine, but, won't/can't spend the money to upgrade to the Mavic Pro, along comes the DJI Air, & he;s in line to buy it, perfect price point upgrade!

 

[Mavic 57]

I'm the same way, I LOVE my P4P with parameter mods. I can't get enough of climbing high mountains and capturing high elevation views, all within 400' of ground of course. My Mavic has the same parameter mods, but it doesn't have as much battery as P4P and it's a little more vulnerable to wind, not to mention the way superior camera on P4P. I don't use my MP as much because of that, but do enjoy it when I'm mountain biking or need a quiet drone, such as capturing animals where the MP can get closer without scaring the animal, really close sometimes. The MP 2X zoom is nice too when recording in 1080. I would have a hard time settling for a new drone that can't be modified for these freedoms, I'm totally spoiled with the extended capabilities of my 4 craft. It's videos like this one I recently captured Hawaii that have me so addicted to high elevation flights.

Excellent, I enjoyed your video. Great flying skill.

 

[JeffG]

for me (and I love my Mav) it will be a question on the gimbal improvements. Personally I have found the gimbal on the Mav to be it's Achilles heel, with the slow yaw to flat horizon after a shift turn, the fact it looks so fragile going into a rucksack, installing filters on something you think you could easily break, or do you fly with, or without, the gimbal guard. There's also been a fair bit of reporting on gimbal shake etc etc.

So it was interesting to see the Air has gone to a more robust looking gimbal. Is this DJI's admittance that the Mav gimbal is not it's strongest design point?

As many of you have said, I will wait for the Mav 2....unless this is it?! :-(