Is the Mavic Pro your first drone?

ricphoto · Oct 23, 2016

First for me too...been watching from the edges intrigued but not quite ready to pull the trigger till seeing the Mavic

bbkett · Oct 23, 2016

I have a cheap quad similar to a Syma X5C that I've been flying around, but the Mavic is gonna be my first real drone.

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Russ · Oct 23, 2016

2nd for me. I bought a wltoys V303 just as an experiment, pulled it all apart made some chamges upgraded the body, bought the gimbal, did the source wire diode upgrade, changed the holes on the gimbal carrier to get rid of the legs in the shots added FPV, blah blah blah and just thought I want one that works straight out the box. it was good during the learning stages but its not what i need. Was going to get an Inspire but decided upon the mavic to start with and maybe upgrade later on after the Inspire 2 has been released

Jazx83 · Oct 24, 2016

CactusJackSlade said:
I hope newbies will follow through with the proper FAA registration and some common sense.... when in doubt of any situation don't fly, meaning whether its the flying conditions or possibly legal issues. Keep this hobby in the clear as best you can TU

This is my first drone. I am amazed by how much info is out there in regards to the hobby on the internet. Conversely, how traditional hobby shops don't offer any real advice to users or have any accessories for drones. It's almost like they are living in the past. I get more info from BestBuy on drones and accessories and I would have thought hobby shops would be the experts...

I am learning every day on things like I need to be legal if I want to fly in fields that other RC planes, gliders, and copter fly in.

I live in Long Island, NY and I was just checking one state park near where I live and I need multiple permits that require a flight test to obtain and well as joining the AMA. To be honest this type of regulations make the barrier to entry to be legal very high and I would fear that would keep people away from the legal places to fly.

I am glad I joined the AMA since it is offering some type of insurance. But I think it's funny that most areas you are allowed to fly in or clubs you may want to join require a membership to a private association. It's kinda like saying if you want to drive in my parking lot then you must be a member of AAA...

Dirty Bird · Oct 24, 2016

An AMA membership requirement at private RC fields is common. It usually requires a membership with the RC club as well. This is an additional expense. The beauty of a quadcopter is, unlike a fixed-wing aircraft that require a runway to take off & land, you can take off from virtually anywhere. Flying a quad at a regular RC field isn't much fun. Fixed-wing birds fly ovals &, unless the field is accommodating to quads & helis, you are usually expected to do the same. I only flew my Phantom at the RC field a couple times before it became utterly boring. The good thing is its easy to find a place to fly your quad. Schools after hours or weekends are a good place.

ThreeGs · Oct 24, 2016

Dirty Bird said:
Schools after hours or weekends are a good place.

That's my go-to location for getting some flight time and building comfort level.
I do try to avoid athletic fields where games are playing or practice is going on.

Jazx83 · Oct 24, 2016

Dirty Bird said:
An AMA membership requirement at private RC fields is common. It usually requires a membership with the RC club as well. This is an additional expense. The beauty of a quadcopter is, unlike a fixed-wing aircraft that requires a runway to take off & land, you can take off from virtually anywhere. Flying a quad at a regular RC field isn't much fun. Fixed-wing birds fly ovals &, unless the field is accommodating to quads & helis, you are usually expected to do the same. I only flew my Phantom at the RC field a couple times before it became utterly boring. The good thing is its easy to find a place to fly your quad. Schools after hours or weekends are a good place.

I figured as much and I live across from a school I will be planning on flying from. I was thinking of only using the RC fields to practice so then I can just start deploying the Mavic wherever I feel fit. I live within many airports and in fact, the field is within 4 miles of an airport. I wonder if I was flying at that RC field if I would still be required to contact the tower of the nearby airport.

Leonardo · Oct 24, 2016

The company I work for bought a p4 and I used it for work a lot, and sometimes took it home and used it for personal use, but yes the mavic is my first drone, bought with dronenerds and waiting to get it!!

MavicPro · Oct 24, 2016

I live in a pretty small town between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. There is 2 hours of desert between my city and Las Vegas so I have basically unlimited territory to fly in. I've never realized how beautiful the desert was until I got my Phantom 4

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capnzoog · Oct 24, 2016

My first DJI drone.

I started with a micro drone 1 cell battery hubsan X4 H107 for $50. A lot of fun, and really good way to learn to be a quad pilot. TBH despite all the auto-this and avoidance that, I think it would be crazy to start on $1000 drone and expect nothing bad ever to happen. I've crashed this little dude a number of times but repairs are cheap and easy and it was great training. Still fun to fly.

Then I upgraded to a Hubsan X5 H501S which has GPS and RTH and the like for $300. Unfortunately the first firmware sucked, and lack of gimbal meant crappy video.

I'd been watching the flying camera market and the P4 Advanced looked interesting, but the camera wasn't quite up to the spec that I wanted ( I typically shoot 4k video on a NX1). I have a pretty well equipped post-production studio and have invested in a 4k workflow for other things, and while the camera wasn't a huge upgrade, the portability was, and so I ordered the mavic.

My intended use of the Mavic Pro is to replace crane shots on indie productions, and also to generate footage for my music videos, such as this.

capnzoog · Oct 24, 2016

MavicPro said:
I live in a pretty small town between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. There is 2 hours of desert between my city and Las Vegas so I have basically unlimited territory to fly in. I've never realized how beautiful the desert was until I got my Phantom 4

post a link to some videos please, I'd love to see them. The desert can be spectacular, I just did a trip to Sedona, AZ and it was amazeballs

capnzoog · Oct 24, 2016

josiahv said:
Would folks recommend a complete drone newb purchasing an inexpensive "trainer" quadcopter to practice with before the Mavic arrives?

I would.

Something like https://www.amazon.com/Hubsan-H107-Micro-Copter-2-4GHZ/dp/B009M1PO7W and a few hours flying it is cheap insurance.

uxodas · Oct 24, 2016

Mavic will be my sixth. Bought three syma drones in increasing size, to learn the controls, then got a P3A, and a P3S. My biggest problem was size and portability with the phantoms

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JimA · Oct 25, 2016

The Mavic will be my first "real" drone. When I saw this announced, I felt it was finally time to make the leap, I've always been fascinated by the technology, arial photography & videography and flying in general. Did some research and bought the Syma XC-5 ($40!) a few weeks ago as a trainer. I LOVE this thing. It is easy and fun to fly, but as you run through the paces, you realize how foolish it would be to take your first flight with a $1K drone no matter how much automation it has.

https://amzn.com/B00MNG37C2

Be sure to get extra batteries.

yongming · Oct 25, 2016

Technically it will be 2nd drone. My first drone was syma one which is very low price and it has been gone away when I tried to fly it at first time and then i tried to find it with my girl friend for a hour near my house. Lol

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NullMind · Oct 25, 2016

It is my first ever drone, for a few years now I have been wanting to get a drone, but the size and lack of ease to use always made me go away, the small drones were not that great on the video quality and the big ones were too cumbersome.

I will venture a guess that the Mavic will be the first drone for allot of people, it just ticks all the boxes for people who just want to have some fun, while not compromising on quality.

Guitarzan · Oct 25, 2016

Yes, if I get a Mavic, it will be my first drone.

Snow Bird 1 · Oct 25, 2016

Yes, will be my first drone - soooo happy I am not alone - thought people would think me nuts to go for the Mavic as first one!

Rhino · Oct 25, 2016

It is my first Drone. Total Newbie ..... I too was going to purchase the P4 and did all my research but had the one niggle that was this size of the P4 in terms of portability. I was doing some last minute research on the day of the launch of the Mavic and also I am glad that timing was in my favour...... I am waiting for delivery and hope it gets here before all the autumn leaves drop.