Mavic 2 or Skydio 2, that is the question.

[IShouldBeWorking]

The Verge has their official Skydio 2 review up today. Covers a lot of things we’ve been discussing. The experience seems very different from flying a Mavic.

Skydio 2 review: a drone that flies itself

In the end, they say it does some amazing things but that they’re not quite sure who it’s intended for. Still, it’s great to see someone out there swinging for the fences. What do you all think?

 

[paulatkin73]

not quite sure who it’s intended for

funny, it was my exact initial feeling about it. it is definitely not intended for me - that much i do already know.
will see what new autel will end up being.

 

[Scouts]

Skydio 2 VS Mavic 2 Motion Tracking | Not What I Expected

Did we confuse the Skydio 2?

 

[parkgt]

If I could only have one it would be the M2P.

 

[starhopper]

Seen it, was initially impressed by it - but no thanks. Saw the OriginalOdobo review of it posted a few days ago.....

It's not foldable, has no landing legs, must charge battery in the drone (no external charging option), must remove battery to get to SD card if you forget to install it (thus having to turn off drone, remove battery, install card, and restart drone). Also, it seems more targeted to people who want a lot of selfie videos vs those of us who like to fly over things and take video/pics. It's an easy decision for me to keep my M2P and MM

 

[MGVision]

Nice nice nice.

 

[Endeavor]

Depends do you want a drone for just follow me or one that can do great video, run litchi missions and more? I just picked up an Autel EVO and it does not compete with the MP2 or zoom

 

[MGVision]

Depends do you want a drone for just follow me or one that can do great video, run litchi missions and more? I just picked up an Autel EVO and it does not compete with the MP2 or zoom

In which aspects evo cant compete with m2p or zoom?

 

[VideoHotRod]

The answer to the question is a M2P AND a S2!

THIS!

I don't have the Mavic 2 Pro, but I have the Mavic Pro as my main right now. A Skydio 2 would make a great backup / primary, adaptable to the situation.

I'm personally looking at the Skydio 2 thanks to the camera. The higher dynamic range, better signal to noise ratio, great color response, and 60 FPS really make it work for me. I do a lot of both high/far flights and very up-close and personal flights. The Mavic Pro is great for both, but better suited to the high/far flights. I'd feel much more comfortable with the Skydio doing my up-close flights, which is where I need that detail the camera gives it anyway. I use the Mavic Pro for my real estate photo jobs, and they are cool with the 12 MP camera. The Skydio 2 is a major step up in quality at much less than a Mavic 2 Pro is right now.

But with that in mind, my intent is to procure the Skydio 2 next, and then the Mavic 2 Pro or maybe the Mavic 3 Pro. I plan on having the Skydio 2 and the best Mavic I own as my primaries, and having my current Mavic Pro as my backup. As they say, 2 is 1 and 1 is none. Right now, I have none.

One thing we need to keep in mind is that YouTube compresses the heck out of any video posted there. Due to this, resolution comparisons will never show the truth.

 

[sar104]

THIS!

I don't have the Mavic 2 Pro, but I have the Mavic Pro as my main right now. A Skydio 2 would make a great backup / primary, adaptable to the situation.

I'm personally looking at the Skydio 2 thanks to the camera. The higher dynamic range, better signal to noise ratio, great color response, and 60 FPS really make it work for me. I do a lot of both high/far flights and very up-close and personal flights. The Mavic Pro is great for both, but better suited to the high/far flights. I'd feel much more comfortable with the Skydio doing my up-close flights, which is where I need that detail the camera gives it anyway. I use the Mavic Pro for my real estate photo jobs, and they are cool with the 12 MP camera. The Skydio 2 is a major step up in quality at much less than a Mavic 2 Pro is right now.

But with that in mind, my intent is to procure the Skydio 2 next, and then the Mavic 2 Pro or maybe the Mavic 3 Pro. I plan on having the Skydio 2 and the best Mavic I own as my primaries, and having my current Mavic Pro as my backup. As they say, 2 is 1 and 1 is none. Right now, I have none.

One thing we need to keep in mind is that YouTube compresses the heck out of any video posted there. Due to this, resolution comparisons will never show the truth.

What do you mean by "high/far flights"?

 

[VideoHotRod]

What do you mean by "high/far flights"?

About half of my normal workload are flights at 400' AGL and sometimes more than 1500' away. Not high and far by some standards, but certainly not the type of work that the Skydio 2 seems to target.

 

[parkgt]

THIS!

The Skydio 2 is a major step up in quality at much less than a Mavic 2 Pro is right now.

I think if you look carefully at the discounted prices of the M2P against the fully loaded S2 you will find that the M2P is actually cheaper.

So much more 3rd party support for the DJI.

Up close shouldn't be an issue in you have VLOS and know how to fly, the M2P has decent obstacle avoidance for manual flying.

 

[VideoHotRod]

I think if you look carefully at the discounted prices of the M2P against the fully loaded S2 you will find that the M2P is actually cheaper.

So much more 3rd party support for the DJI.

Up close shouldn't be an issue in you have VLOS and know how to fly, the M2P has decent obstacle avoidance for manual flying.

My research has found that the M2P is about $500 more than the Skydio 2 for an equal package that fits my needs. The cheapest places for both are their own manufacturer websites. Anywhere else has a bunch of add-ons that I don't need. I've found no discounted prices of either. Most places are jacking up the prices as neither drone is currently shipping. Perhaps the M2P will be discounted after the release of the Mavic 3, but as of now, they are more expensive.

I'm not getting rid of my Mavic Pro, which will do fine with the current crop of 3rd party apps that I use. I know that DroneDeploy supports Skydio 2, but I don't plan on using the Skydio 2 for that type of work. I have plenty of third party hardware and software for my Mavic Pro that I can use for things where certain hardware is needed.

While the close up action on the Mavic Pro 2 is fine (I've flown a few of them, I just don't own one yet), it seems to be very different from the Skydio 2. In the videos where people are being tracked by both drones, the M2P wants to follow the person from behind, while the Skydio 2 wants to track them from the side. But the real reason I like the Skydio 2 for close up work is that it has better color response, better dynamic range, and much better signal to noise ratio. So far, I really like the look of the video that has been coming from the Skydio 2. The M2P seems to get great photos for real estate, which will be nice when I get that.

My goal is both. But at this moment, Skydio 2 seems to be my next one.

Remember, the correct number of drones a drone pilot should own is n+1, with n being the number of drones the pilot currently owns.

 

[sar104]

My research has found that the M2P is about $500 more than the Skydio 2 for an equal package that fits my needs. The cheapest places for both are their own manufacturer websites. Anywhere else has a bunch of add-ons that I don't need. I've found no discounted prices of either. Most places are jacking up the prices as neither drone is currently shipping. Perhaps the M2P will be discounted after the release of the Mavic 3, but as of now, they are more expensive.

I'm not getting rid of my Mavic Pro, which will do fine with the current crop of 3rd party apps that I use. I know that DroneDeploy supports Skydio 2, but I don't plan on using the Skydio 2 for that type of work. I have plenty of third party hardware and software for my Mavic Pro that I can use for things where certain hardware is needed.

While the close up action on the Mavic Pro 2 is fine (I've flown a few of them, I just don't own one yet), it seems to be very different from the Skydio 2. In the videos where people are being tracked by both drones, the M2P wants to follow the person from behind, while the Skydio 2 wants to track them from the side. But the real reason I like the Skydio 2 for close up work is that it has better color response, better dynamic range, and much better signal to noise ratio. So far, I really like the look of the video that has been coming from the Skydio 2. The M2P seems to get great photos for real estate, which will be nice when I get that.

My goal is both. But at this moment, Skydio 2 seems to be my next one.

Remember, the correct number of drones a drone pilot should own is n+1, with n being the number of drones the pilot currently owns.

Do you have any data or evidence to support the assertion that the Skydio "better color response, better dynamic range, and much better signal to noise ratio"?

 

[VideoHotRod]

Do you have any data or evidence to support the assertion that the Skydio "better color response, better dynamic range, and much better signal to noise ratio"?

Yes. Found in this thread, and other places: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/images/2019/10/image-quality-report.pdf. Granted, it's only one, but I've seen several other reviews that really praised the video portion of the Skydio 2 camera, mostly for the lack of noise. Noise is a huge problem when it comes to video compression, so the less to begin with, the better.

 

[sar104]

Yes. Found in this thread, and other places: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/images/2019/10/image-quality-report.pdf. Granted, it's only one, but I've seen several other reviews that really praised the video portion of the Skydio 2 camera, mostly for the lack of noise. Noise is a huge problem when it comes to video compression, so the less to begin with, the better.

That testing appears to have been entirely with jpeg images, so almost completely pointless.

 

[VideoHotRod]

That testing appears to have been entirely with jpeg images, so almost completely pointless.

Cool. I'll do my own research, then.

 

[sar104]

Cool. I'll do my own research, then.

If you do then I'd be very interested to see the results. I'm currently looking for alternative high-resolution platforms that qualify for US government use, which obviously DJI equipment doesn't.

 

[Camino Ken]

Yes. Found in this thread, and other places: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/images/2019/10/image-quality-report.pdf. Granted, it's only one, but I've seen several other reviews that really praised the video portion of the Skydio 2 camera, mostly for the lack of noise. Noise is a huge problem when it comes to video compression, so the less to begin with, the better.

I find it interesting that in this test they found a better SNR on the Zoom and the Air compared to the Pro. It seems completely backward unless I’m missing something.

 

[sar104]

I find it interesting that in this test they found a better SNR on the Zoom and the Air compared to the Pro. It seems completely backward unless I’m missing something.

Yes - it's clearly incorrect.