Mavic Air or Mavic Pro Platinum...or Mavic 2 Pro

[Cdcolt]

Twood20,

There are a few comments about noise and the MA has been proven to be slightly louder than the larger drones due mainly to smaller higher reving props. However, at 30 - 40 ft up the noise is much, much less than at eye level and at 100’ barely perceptable.

 

[twood20]

Well I bought the Mavic Air Fly More Combo. Bought from Best Buy...had $100 in rewards certificate so brought the cost to $850 after tax. Charging batteries as I type this. Next purchase is ND Filters, signal reflectors, landing gear extensions, landing pad(probably). Any suggestions or recommendations on brands and/or specific filters to get. I live in SoCal desert and during the summer it's super bright. This time of year it's still bright but not like looking directly into the sun bright as it is in the summer.

 

[dannybgoode]

I went with PolarPro filters. Not cheap but I’ve suffered enough cheap nd filters in terrestrial photography so went with some decent.

Had my MA for for batteries yesterday in high winds and it behaved impeccably- that thing is so much fun

 

[twood20]

I went with PolarPro filters. Not cheap but I’ve suffered enough cheap nd filters in terrestrial photography so went with some decent.

Had my MA for for batteries yesterday in high winds and it behaved impeccably- that thing is so much fun

I noticed the PolarPro filters are on the pricey side of things. Would you be able to elaborate and educate on what makes a filter "cheap" and maybe why it would be worth "investing" in pricier filters?

 

[dannybgoode]

Two potential issues with cheap ND filters. Firstly some are quite heavy and can cause gimbal calibration issues / overloads. Note due to the lack of QC some from a batch are fine and some aren’t.

Secondly is image quality. Anything you put in the way of the light path to the sensor is going to affect IQ.

I find cheap filters add an unpleasant colour cast and are sometimes not the density they claim. I tested the PolarPro out yesterday and they where great and did seem pretty neutral. Will post some pics / footage once I’ve had chance to process.

 

[twood20]

Two potential issues with cheap ND filters. Firstly some are quite heavy and can cause gimbal calibration issues / overloads. Note due to the lack of QC some from a batch are fine and some aren’t.

Secondly is image quality. Anything you put in the way of the light path to the sensor is going to affect IQ.

I find cheap filters add an unpleasant colour cast and are sometimes not the density they claim. I tested the PolarPro out yesterday and they where great and did seem pretty neutral. Will post some pics / footage once I’ve had chance to process.

All good points. Thanks for the input.