Mavic Air & P3S Owners

[RG1825]

Very specific question here - please delete if it's not relevant enough to get forum space. has anyone upgraded from a P3S to an Air? I was aiming for Mavic Pro, as I have had such bad experience with range on the P3S (CE - in the UK), and was wondering how much better it is, considering it uses wifi as well.

Would rather the more portable air than an MP... but not if range is an issue.

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Range on the MA is much better than the P3S. The MP does have a much better range still though. Also if you use any 3RD party apps the SDK for the MA is not supported yet so you wouldn't be able to use apps like Litchi, Drone Deploy, Etc. Having both the MP and the MA my go-to bird is still the MP.

 

[RG1825]

Range on the MA is much better than the P3S. The MP does have a much better range still though. Also if you use any 3RD party apps the SDK for the MA is not supported yet so you wouldn't be able to use apps like Litchi, Drone Deploy, Etc. Having both the MP and the MA my go-to bird is still the MP.

Thanks! Hadn't realised about Litchi - that's a big deal!

 

[wanderrich]

sorry new here but what is Litchi used for? I looked at the website and it didn't give much info... thanks,

 

[msinger]

sorry new here but what is Litchi used for?

It's an alternative to DJI GO. A lot of people like it for its waypoints functionality.

 

[RG1825]

It's an alternative to DJI GO. A lot of people like it for its waypoints functionality.

Also offers up a cheap way to output to VR goggles (cardboard) for sunny days when screen glare is an issue!

 

[Ian in London]

Very specific question here - please delete if it's not relevant enough to get forum space. has anyone upgraded from a P3S to an Air? I was aiming for Mavic Pro, as I have had such bad experience with range on the P3S (CE - in the UK), and was wondering how much better it is, considering it uses wifi as well.

Would rather the more portable air than an MP... but not if range is an issue.

Hello, I have progressed from a PS3, to a Mavic Pro, and aklso recently got a Mavic Air, so have all three.

I made a direct P3S to Pro comparison video and also more recently a direct Pro to Air comparison video; both on my 'ian in london' YT channel

In a nutshell and IMHO, both the Pro and Air are superb upgrades from the P3S in every aspect. Camera, size and range.
So it will really boil down to the key differences betrween the Pro and the Air for you;
The Air is 2/3 the size and just over half the weight of the Pro, with a remote whose sticks detatch for smaller packing.
The Air's remote lacks the LCD that the Pro offers, so you'll find you'll always wanrt to fly with your phone attached.
The cameras are both very similar, but the Air offers slightly higher framerate options and a higher bitrate. The Air also ha a far better protected gimbal that is less likely to be damaged, and a very easy to fit / remove gimbal clamp, unlike the Pro's.
The Pro has insanely solid range and signal strength way beyond 4,000 metres / yds
The Air can struggle above 1,500 metres / yds or even less in urban environments, but is still way better than the P3S
The Air only has a 21 miniute flight time v the Pro's 28 mins; carry spare batteries and this may not be an issue for you

Hope this helps; my YT channel is in my profile text
Cheers
Ian

 

[RG1825]

Hello, I have progressed from a PS3, to a Mavic Pro, and aklso recently got a Mavic Air, so have all three.

I made a direct P3S to Pro comparison video and also more recently a direct Pro to Air comparison video; both on my 'ian in london' YT channel

In a nutshell and IMHO, both the Pro and Air are superb upgrades from the P3S in every aspect. Camera, size and range.
So it will really boil down to the key differences betrween the Pro and the Air for you;
The Air is 2/3 the size and just over half the weight of the Pro, with a remote whose sticks detatch for smaller packing.
The Air's remote lacks the LCD that the Pro offers, so you'll find you'll always wanrt to fly with your phone attached.
The cameras are both very similar, but the Air offers slightly higher framerate options and a higher bitrate. The Air also ha a far better protected gimbal that is less likely to be damaged, and a very easy to fit / remove gimbal clamp, unlike the Pro's.
The Pro has insanely solid range and signal strength way beyond 4,000 metres / yds
The Air can struggle above 1,500 metres / yds or even less in urban environments, but is still way better than the P3S
The Air only has a 21 miniute flight time v the Pro's 28 mins; carry spare batteries and this may not be an issue for you

Hope this helps; my YT channel is in my profile text
Cheers
Ian

Thanks so much - that’s super helpful to hear it first hand. Had come across your channel whilst researching the air and will give it a subscribe now! Thanks a lot

Edit - turns out I was already subbed

 

[Ian in London]

Thanks so much - that’s super helpful to hear it first hand. Had come across your channel whilst researching the air and will give it a subscribe now! Thanks a lot

Edit - turns out I was already subbed

Glad to help!

 

[dragonmuzz]

Very specific question here - please delete if it's not relevant enough to get forum space. has anyone upgraded from a P3S to an Air? I was aiming for Mavic Pro, as I have had such bad experience with range on the P3S (CE - in the UK), and was wondering how much better it is, considering it uses wifi as well.

Would rather the more portable air than an MP... but not if range is an issue.

lol let me put it this way last weekend my Mavic Air just outranged my phantom 3 ADVANCED!!!!! yup a lightbridge not wifi drone.....i flew from back garden (hi wifi interference into the town 2km away.......my P3A lost signal at did RTH at 1500metres ....my AIr was still going strong at 2000meters when i decided to turn around...ive also got a phantom 4 normal and thus far the Air has beaten or matched both in flying distrance.....I have got it in FCC mode though with i think is a must,im also in UK but its very easy to force FCC mode
my current range is 5km across fields so dont believe the garbage about poor range on the Air.its only limiting factor is its 18mins real world battery life which is more then enough

 

[Travisimo]

If your primary consideration is range and a reliable signal, then I would steer you towards the Mavic Pro OR wait for the Mavic Pro 2 if your budget allows for it. And this is coming from a VERY happy Mavic Air owner. Range is not as much of a consideration for me because I usually fly pretty close, so the Air if perfect for me. And I will say that the Air definitely has a better Wifi connection than the P3S. However, it is also very sensitive to Wifi interference much like the P3S, so you will likely encounter many of the same issues as you have on the P3S.

All that said, the ONLY thing I miss about my P3S is the little bit of extra battery life. But the portability and convenience of the Air more than outweighs that, especially considering you can easily carry a couple of extra batteries with you. Truly, the killer feature of the Mavic Air is its form factor and size, which even the Pro can't match. Obviously the Pro will be MUCH more portable than your P3S, but the Air takes it even a step further, and for my needs, that outweighs the range issue. But for others, range and reliable signal are more important, so the Pro would probably be a better choice.

 

[MrRobville]

Wellsi & Travisimo took the words out of my mouth. I also upgraded from a P3S, and indeed, as much as I wanted a reason to keep my Phantom, there's nothing the P3S could beat the Air with, aside of the purchasing price and perhaps a bit more battery life. I found the air to be even quieter than the P3S, despite the many reports of how loud it supposedly is.
Obviously the size of both the Pro and Air compared to a Phantom is one of the best improvements. To get an idea, just look at my avatar. The air is almost just as big (or small) as one battery for the Phantom.