Mavic air honest photographer's review and why I am getting rid of it

[Sav]

Mainly goggles use and longer flight time.

Lots of things have changed since that post, I got rid of the Mavic Air and replaced it with a Parrot Anafi for those <500gr needs since it has an even significantly better camera especially for photos, and also got a Mavic 2 Zoom.

I considered the Anafi but no image stabilisation in 4k was my reason not to get it.
The m2 is out of my price range and I can’t justify it for holidays and a hobby if it wasn’t so expensive that is what I would of bought.

 

[Wacker2611]

Well, I bought a Zoom (which I love) with the express intention of flogging my Air to help finance it. In the end, I love that little Air so much I just couldn’t part with it (we’ve had such good times together). There’s tons of things I like about the Air still, and the range is just not a problem - anyone who says it is has never flown one or has got a lemon. The camera is just fine for day to day use and can produce stunning results.

 

[Sav]

Yer the M2 is the way to go if you have the cash or reasoning to justify the purchase.
The MA fly More Combo is in my price but still can’t decide, I was also looking at the Autel Evo which gets good reviews and is more similar to the M2

 

[dannybgoode]

Well, I bought a Zoom (which I love) with the express intention of flogging my Air to help finance it. In the end, I love that little Air so much I just couldn’t part with it (we’ve had such good times together). There’s tons of things I like about the Air still, and the range is just not a problem - anyone who says it is has never flown one or has got a lemon. The camera is just fine for day to day use and can produce stunning results.

My Air is going nowhere for the same reason. It’s just such a fun and in a a brilliantly small package.

 

[mjbok]

Yer the M2 is the way to go if you have the cash or reasoning to justify the purchase.
The MA fly More Combo is in my price but still can’t decide, I was also looking at the Autel Evo which gets good reviews and is more similar to the M2

I have both. Both have plusses and minuses. If I had to pick one, I'd go with the Evo. Have never had any weird issues with the Evo, but have had magnetic interference, calibration issues, disconnects, etc. with the Air.

Both are good drones, but I fly the Evo a ton more than the Air. All other things being equal (they're not), the battery on the Evo is significantly better. Flying 3 batteries in a session I get close to an hour with the Evo, but less than 40 minutes with the Air.

 

[Sav]

I have both. Both have plusses and minuses. If I had to pick one, I'd go with the Evo. Have never had any weird issues with the Evo, but have had magnetic interference, calibration issues, disconnects, etc. with the Air.

Both are good drones, but I fly the Evo a ton more than the Air. All other things being equal (they're not), the battery on the Evo is significantly better. Flying 3 batteries in a session I get close to an hour with the Evo, but less than 40 minutes with the Air.

Thanks for the reply what is your thoughts on camera and gimbal between them?

 

[mjbok]

Thanks for the reply what is your thoughts on camera and gimbal between them?

The one thing where the Evo dominates is the ability to quickly adjust auto camera settings and (more importantly to me) to take pictures while shooting video. It does take pictures with the video settings, but still it is a feature I use a lot.

The pictures and the video on both are really good, but I think the Evo takes better, and the bitrate on the Evo is better IIRC.

The one thing where the Air is an order of magnitude better is in fine control movements. On the Air you can adjust all of the sensitivity easily, whereas with the Evo you can adjust the pitch speed easily, but the Yaw control doesn't have the fine adjustable levels that the Air does. I often end up overcorrecting on rotation. I usually am flying missions and it is much harder to pivot the Evo just so compared to the Air.

 

[Sav]

The one thing where the Evo dominates is the ability to quickly adjust auto camera settings and (more importantly to me) to take pictures while shooting video. It does take pictures with the video settings, but still it is a feature I use a lot.

The pictures and the video on both are really good, but I think the Evo takes better, and the bitrate on the Evo is better IIRC.

The one thing where the Air is an order of magnitude better is in fine control movements. On the Air you can adjust all of the sensitivity easily, whereas with the Evo you can adjust the pitch speed easily, but the Yaw control doesn't have the fine adjustable levels that the Air does. I often end up overcorrecting on rotation. I usually am flying missions and it is much harder to pivot the Evo just so compared to the Air.

I still can’t decide on air or Evo . I think I have watched to many reviews.

 

[angell]

I am more used to read the posts of others than participating myself, today is different!

Having failed (once again) to fly this morning because of the updates, I decided to write this review, review that has been in my mind for quite a long time now… It is not a full coverage review, but more of a list of what's really annoying with this drone. You can find plenty of marvelous positive reviews on the net to moderate mine!
DISCLAIMER: I don’t pretend to be an expert in drone flying, the following statements might be wrong, as I don’t totally master the drone nor the software (I might have missed some options…). However, being generally speaking ‘’tech-savvy'' I think it is an honest review and that, at least, I tried to do my best, please don’t send me hate messages!

I qualify myself as a serious amateur photographer: it is not my main activity but I do sell photo for advertisement or stock, mainly in the travel and adventure industry. I do own professional level photography equipment and the Mavic air was supposed to be a great addition to my kit. I must be honest and say that I bought the Magic air mainly to do aerial photography, as I am not into videography. But I certainly enjoyed the possibility of filming as well.

The magic air is my first drone: after having contemplated the possibility of doing aerial photography for a long time, I took my decision after the announcement of the Mavic air: after having read a lot on internet about it, it seemed that it was THE perfect drone for me: foldable, easy to operate, image quality seemed to be good enough.

I had not tried it myself before, nor any other model or brand: The Mavic air was my first drone experience, and I have since tried the Mavic pro.

Knowing that I paid less than 1000 $, I didn’t expect a professional grade product, and that most of my following comments would be addressed if only I had more money to spend, but I think that most of my bad experience comes from the software rather than the hardware.
Maybe I am dreaming, and I should only pay more to get what I want…

Although it is an amazing piece of technology, as a photographer, and after 3 months of use, I want to get rid of it as soon as possible, and here are the reasons why:


Camera controls (for photographer):

- Being a DSLR user, I am used to have all my controls available at the fingertips, so I can change the settings without leaving my eye from the viewfinder. With the air, changing settings is a pain in the a**…

On the mavic air, we have two ‘’fn’’ keys that we can personnalise. I would have preferred to have only one, and have an aperture or shutter-speed wheel instead, like on the mavicpro remote.
Of course you can change the settings on the app, which means not looking at your drone anymore, and try to hit the right spot on your tiny screen with your big finger (of course I could use an iPad, and the problem wouldn’t be one anymore…).

I know that the mavic pro has more controls like this, and that DJI needed to cut costs in order to sell it at the price I was able to buy it, but it is really a pain...

- Automatic controls: I wish I could have different modes, like on a DSLR : Aperture priority, speed priority, program mode.
For now, the air offers us a fully manual mode, and a full auto mode. The problem of the full auto mode is that sometimes it will raise the ISO (knowing that above 100 ISO, you would start to see noise a lot), or slow down shutter-speed to the point that your image will be blurry… There is no way (as far as I know) of choosing to have the fixed iso and change only the speed, or the other way around.

- Of course I would have loved to have control of the aperture as well…

- As I said, I didn’t bought the drone with video in mind. However, I very often shifty to the video mode, and I would have loved that the software would have separate settings options. I explain myself:
Say I am shooting photography with certain settings and I see something that I want to film: I hit the record button, the app switches to video mode and I am able to record. I can change my settings in the menu (ISO, shutter speed…).
When I am done with video, I go back to photography mode, but I need to change again my settings, because it is now the settings I used for video that are on… Meaning I need to go back to the settings again… If I need to switch from one mode to another several times, I would love that the app keeps different settings in memory: one set for photo, the other set for video.


Suggestions:
- Shutter-speed controlled by the wheel (like on the pro), with real-time visual return, like on modern electronic viewfinders.
- Semi automatic modes based on the Program mode of DSLR.
- Automatic mode with fixed ISO
- Separated set of settings for photo and video


Connexion problems:

- Very often it takes forever to connect the mavic to the controller, I don’t know why… By the time it is connected, in third of the battery is gone.
- Connexion is very unstable…During a flight in semi urban area, I will have several connexion issues during a battery worth of flying time.
- I have had one very frustrating experience, where the drone would fly away and disappear, with a lost connexion, to the point that after trying everything, I started packing my things, sobbing to the loss of my new drone… when It magically reappeared! Returned home easily (thanks DJI for this amazing feature!). I only wished I had some informations from the controller or the app...


Updates: THIS IS THE MAIN POINT OF FRUSTRATION FOR ME!
First of all I would like to say that I find it very reassuring to see that DJi continues to update it’s products and tries to resolves all the small bugs that we are experiencing : it means that they really care about it!
I live in this parts of the world where internet connection is a nightmare (we are talking about 175kb/s at its best…)

So every now and then, when I want to fly my drone, I prepare everything, unfold my drone, connect it to the controller, and then… Nothing! Because I need to update this or that…

It means:
- I cannot fly right away
- I need to spend 3 full Drone batteries in order install do the updates
- I need to use some of the battery of the controller (I don’t know why I cannot download the update without being connected to the controller and the drone running up? Every time the drones shuts down, the remote starts ringing, and the updates stops…)
This means that because of my internet speed, I am not able to do the updates correctly. (The drone runs out of it’s 3 batteries before I can manage to download the update!)
- I need to drain my phone battery. Knowing that when my phone’s battery will be under 50%, the app will refuse to download the update.

It means that before the updates are finished:
- I have lost an entire day worth of shooting (because my internet download speed is almost inexistant)
- Even if I had some more time available, I don’t have anymore battery on my devices to fly

At the end of the day, I have experienced these issues almost every time I wanted to fly… Which is very frustrating!

Meaning that since march 2018, I have managed to fly only 7 times!

Basically I bought a drone that is only capable of updating itself, nothing else… I would have saved money in buying a ‘’useless box’’ instead!

This means I cannot use my drone on any serious project in which I need to be sure I can fly!

Suggestion:
The app could send us a ‘’popup’’ message whenever an update is available: like this, we can update everything having to wait 3 hours, or maybe we could receive an email, stating that next time we want to fly, we wonM’t be able unless we do the update before! AS for now, every time I want to fly is more of a gamble…
The update could be downloaded automatically in the background, the app just ‘’popping up’’ when the download is finished and the update ready to be installed. Like this, even if the update takes 3 weeks to download because of internet speed, I can still use my drone! (It would mean allowing the drone to flight without the last update as well, which is not the case at the moment: no update, no flight!).

Small other things:

- Remote controller sounds and ‘’Bips’’: could we just have the opportunity to turn it off? Or maybe just turn down the volume? I know it is here to make us aware that we are running out of battery, or returning home, or maybe something else that we don’t know, but once we are aware of it, it is very annoying to have to endure it until the drone has landed…. Of course I could do a ‘’mechanical’’ and definitive operation with a heated needle, but we are in 2018, and a small

- Focus: as a photographer It is very frustrating not to have any control over the focus… I know the pro have a focus selection possibility, and that the air is cheaper… but still, in the end, images from the air are never sharp: not an issue in video, but definitely a No go for photo…


- Ok, this one is maybe a stretch, but is there not any way to have a variable ND/PL filter that we could manage from the app? (either physical or not…), using a rotating PL filter on a drone is almost a bad joke…

In the end, the mavic air is a great technology packed product, with a lot of fussy options and auto modes that are great for videographers, but I feel that we don’t event have the basic stuff needed for photography…

Of course my experience is very bad because of my internet connexion, in which DJI cannot do anything, except allowing me to do the updates at any other time than the time I decide to fly….

Overaal these little things ruined my experience with the drone, to the point that I am now reluctant to even think of turning it on...
After a fewweeks without using it, I prepared everything today, got ready to fly, and once again I wasn't able to...

Right now: my 3 batteries, my phone and the controller are charging, and the update was a failure (because of ''no more juice'' to perform it!).
Why don't you just allow me to fly with the old firwmare?
It has been a very frustrating and disappointing experience overall....

I have several drones .The phantom 4 pro was my first and I still have it . Then the mavic pro came out so i bought it to .I loved It . Then The mavic air came out and I got hooked on the Marketing of the drone .So I bought one . It was and still is a huge disappointment. Its just part of my fleet now . I use it for high risk missions lol !

 

[mjbok]

I still can’t decide on air or Evo . I think I have watched to many reviews.

Purely on image you can't go wrong with either. For being able to fly when you want where you want the Evo wins. For 3rd party accessories, the Air wins. For customer service/support, the Evo. For price, the Air. For flight time, the Evo. For orbits, the Air.

If someone (the wife for example) said "you have to sell all your drones and can only keep one" I would go with the Evo without hesitation. I've never had any disconnects with it and I love the way it flies (except for the lack of a easily adjustable Yaw rate). That doesn't mean the Air isn't a really good drone. It is.

With the sales going on right now the price points are close between the Evo and the Air taking into account you really need the fly more package or extra batteries. Three is kind of the sweet spot and you get two extras if you order an Evo now. If you're buying just the drone the cost difference (200+ dollars) makes it harder to go with the Evo based on cost alone. However the battery time is not good on the Air and one battery just isn't enough, especially if you're travelling to where you fly.

Whenever I fly I always fly multiple batteries. For example, last Sunday I flew 4 batteries across two drones. I flew two Evo and two Karma. I highly suggest against the Karma, but I have it so I might as well use it. Doing that I got the coverage I wanted for where I was. It would have been different if I took my Air because 2 Evo batteries is about the same as 3 Air batteries.

 

[Sav]

Purely on image you can't go wrong with either. For being able to fly when you want where you want the Evo wins. For 3rd party accessories, the Air wins. For customer service/support, the Evo. For price, the Air. For flight time, the Evo. For orbits, the Air.

If someone (the wife for example) said "you have to sell all your drones and can only keep one" I would go with the Evo without hesitation. I've never had any disconnects with it and I love the way it flies (except for the lack of a easily adjustable Yaw rate). That doesn't mean the Air isn't a really good drone. It is.

With the sales going on right now the price points are close between the Evo and the Air taking into account you really need the fly more package or extra batteries. Three is kind of the sweet spot and you get two extras if you order an Evo now. If you're buying just the drone the cost difference (200+ dollars) makes it harder to go with the Evo based on cost alone. However the battery time is not good on the Air and one battery just isn't enough, especially if you're travelling to where you fly.

Whenever I fly I always fly multiple batteries. For example, last Sunday I flew 4 batteries across two drones. I flew two Evo and two Karma. I highly suggest against the Karma, but I have it so I might as well use it. Doing that I got the coverage I wanted for where I was. It would have been different if I took my Air because 2 Evo batteries is about the same as 3 Air batteries.

Thanks for your thoughts, most reviews do show image quality very similar. Do you find you have to do much in post editing?
In the explorer app can you make videos in it like the go ?
In terms of price the Evo is $1499 with 1 extra battery and bag, MA is $1449 in the fly More Package. I’m leaning towards the evo atm , since reading a lot of people having compass calibration problems , connection issues with the MA and having to do it after just changing a battery, as well as fly always not sure if that is user error on that .
Most of my flying is remote areas but may do some city shots on holidays.
I like on the evo you can lock the speed while flying to get nice smooth shots, air you can to but only one speed.
This will be my only drone as I sold my p34k to fund the new one.

 

[mjbok]

Thanks for your thoughts, most reviews do show image quality very similar. Do you find you have to do much in post editing?
In the explorer app can you make videos in it like the go ?
In terms of price the Evo is $1499 with 1 extra battery and bag, MA is $1449 in the fly More Package. I’m leaning towards the evo atm , since reading a lot of people having compass calibration problems , connection issues with the MA and having to do it after just changing a battery, as well as fly always not sure if that is user error on that .
Most of my flying is remote areas but may do some city shots on holidays.
I like on the evo you can lock the speed while flying to get nice smooth shots, air you can to but only one speed.
This will be my only drone as I sold my p34k to fund the new one.

Is that Canadian dollars? Right now (as in literally at this minute) the Evo with two extra batteries, extra props and a bag is 1000 bucks at Best Buy and you get a 100 dollar gift card. You can get a MA fly more for about 850-900 bucks pretty regularly. Bundle to bundle the one main advantage the MA fly more has is the multi battery charger...but it only charges one battery at a time. It does them sequentially.

I have had some compass issues with the Air, but not as many as some. The explorer app doesn't do anything for video as far as I know. I don't do video changes in the go app either, though. They are close. I like the Evo more, but it is a tinge more expensive.

I was actually going over flight logs today between the Air and the Evo and pretty much all of my Air flights are sub 14 minutes with the longest being 17. Almost all of my Evo flights are 16+ going up to 24. I don't fly until it's dead, but looking at the range flown (which could be other factors as well) all of my Evo flights cover nearly twice the distance as my average Air flights. I fly both drones similarly, so that means it is a battery factor.

 

[Sav]

I’m in Australia so aud which I think is similar to Canada conversion .

 

[Sav]

Is that Canadian dollars? Right now (as in literally at this minute) the Evo with two extra batteries, extra props and a bag is 1000 bucks at Best Buy and you get a 100 dollar gift card. You can get a MA fly more for about 850-900 bucks pretty regularly. Bundle to bundle the one main advantage the MA fly more has is the multi battery charger...but it only charges one battery at a time. It does them sequentially.

I have had some compass issues with the Air, but not as many as some. The explorer app doesn't do anything for video as far as I know. I don't do video changes in the go app either, though. They are close. I like the Evo more, but it is a tinge more expensive.

I was actually going over flight logs today between the Air and the Evo and pretty much all of my Air flights are sub 14 minutes with the longest being 17. Almost all of my Evo flights are 16+ going up to 24. I don't fly until it's dead, but looking at the range flown (which could be other factors as well) all of my Evo flights cover nearly twice the distance as my average Air flights. I fly both drones similarly, so that means it is a battery factor.

What sort of distance do you normally go with them? Do you do any forest flying where your lower than the canopy?

 

[mjbok]

What sort of distance do you normally go with them? Do you do any forest flying where your lower than the canopy?

This is where I would back off of the Evo and suggest a Mavic Pro. If you're doing any serious distance or going out of line of sight an Evo loses a little of its appeal. However the air is worse in this regard from my experience. The Evo can't touch the Accusync range.

 

[Sav]

This is where I would back off of the Evo and suggest a Mavic Pro. If you're doing any serious distance or going out of line of sight an Evo loses a little of its appeal. However the air is worse in this regard from my experience. The Evo can't touch the Accusync range.

Most is 500m-1km away and normally have line of sight. I have some holidays coming up where I might have trees and hills in the way not sure till I get there really . The P3 I used to use never lost signal in my normal flying, a couple weak and interference warning but that’s it.
I had considered the pro but plagued by gimbal issues.

 

[mjbok]

Most is 500m-1km away and normally have line of sight. I have some holidays coming up where I might have trees and hills in the way not sure till I get there really . The P3 I used to use never lost signal in my normal flying, a couple weak and interference warning but that’s it.
I had considered the pro but plagued by gimbal issues.

In that space you shouldn't have issues.

 

[Canuk]

I have two mavic pro’s . These old drones have done very well and have never given me a minute’s trouble with the gimble. It has been a solid platform for me . My yuneec drone has been a disappointment. Terrible range and a delayed picture by about a 1/2 second

 

[mjbok]

I have two mavic pro’s . These old drones have done very well and have never given me a minute’s trouble with the gimble. It has been a solid platform for me . My yuneec drone has been a disappointment. Terrible range and a delayed picture by about a 1/2 second

This is about the Air, not the Pro. Occusync is a big differentiator between the Air and the Pro. Which Yuneec do you have? The range on the H is terrible, but it keeps you legal (LOS). You can easily fly out of LOS with either an Evo or an Air.

 

[Sav]

This is about the Air, not the Pro. Occusync is a big differentiator between the Air and the Pro. Which Yuneec do you have? The range on the H is terrible, but it keeps you legal (LOS). You can easily fly out of LOS with either an Evo or an Air.

Thanks mjbok for your help, I decided to go the mavic zoom got a good deal on one and don’t have to wait for it like the Evo. It also has some features I’m after as well as a good connection, not that the Evo is bad . Hopefully I don’t regret going the DJI route.