Mavic Air vs. Spark

Teacherbytes · Nov 24, 2018

I have a Spark and love flying it. However, is the camera and flight time on the MA worth the extra expense?

大疆御Air · Nov 24, 2018

Totally different experience. After flying the MA , Spark is like a toy drone to me. And never want to fly spark again. After 3 months I sold Spark and no regret.

Jack Daw · Nov 24, 2018

AussieDrone · Nov 24, 2018

Very different drones... Spark is an entry level drone more like a toy to me..MA is a mid level drone that is very capable and super fun to fly.

As a comparison, I come from a Phantom 4. I like flying my MA more than the Phantom 4.

squashpile · Nov 24, 2018

The Air camera is very good. Everything about the Air is better.

thebigbaddan · Nov 24, 2018

Air is a step up from the Spark. But the Pro and Pro 2 are a step up from that... you may want to jump to a Pro if you can afford it. I have an Air and a Pro 2 FWIW. A spark for the kids and then the pro for you is the way to go IMHO.

Shuggins · Nov 25, 2018

I flew a Spark for three months. Got many accessories and I feel like I maxed it out. It's a neat little portable drone with a capable camera. But when I got a MA, things were just on a much different level. The camera on this thing is excellent. The MA is not a little bit better, it's a whole ton better than a Spark.

I still have my Spark and probably won't get rid of it, but it sure sits in the corner a lot since I got the MA. There's no reason to go back, imho.

Teacherbytes · Nov 26, 2018

I had a Mavic Pro until it took a dive into a river at the bottom of a steep ravine. Switched to my Spark to finish my video and found I like flying the smaller drones better than the bigger ones like the Mavic Pro. Seems like I can control the smaller drones better in tight spaces. I couldn’t imagine trying to fly a Phantom.

CanadaDrone · Nov 27, 2018

The Air is a top-tier drone in the "enthusiast" realm, even better than the original Mavic Pro in many ways. The Spark is more than a toy, but very much geared towards having fun rather than getting professional grade footage. If you end up keeping an interest in the hobby, you will reach the limits of the Spark VERY quickly - the same cannot be said for the Air. YMMV of course but it is an enormous upgrade. Also, there isn't as much size difference as you might think due to how compact the Air folds.

kidroc · Nov 30, 2018

The spark is a very very capable drone!! I beg anyone here to find a toy drone that matches the power speed and tech inside a spark!!!!

dannybgoode · Nov 30, 2018

Bang per buck the MA I think is the best drone in the DJI line up. Bloody love mine - it’s just so hugely capable and in such an attractive package. Don’t underestimate what a difference true 3 axis stabilisation makes to the smoothness of the footage also.

Add in its unreal high wind performance (easily copes with 20mph +), better battery, proper controller as standard, much better camera and the MA is where my money would be going.

The Spark is an awesome drone as far as it goes but the MA is awesomer

mjbok · Nov 30, 2018

dannybgoode said:
Bang per buck the MA I think is the best drone in the DJI line up. Bloody love mine - it’s just so hugely capable and in such an attractive package. Don’t underestimate what a difference true 3 axis stabilisation makes to the smoothness of the footage also.

Add in its unreal high wind performance (easily copes with 20mph +), better battery, proper controller as standard, much better camera and the MA is where my money would be going.

The Spark is an awesome drone as far as it goes but the MA is awesomer

To me the Spark is the drone someone that is unsure if they want to get into the hobby and stick with it should start with. It's capable, takes good pics, decent video, but is like an intro serious drone. It's not a garbage $50 drone, but it's not approaching a grand either.

CanadaDrone · Nov 30, 2018

The cheapest "DJI experience" is the DJI/Ryze Tello drone. It's $100 or so and has DJI/Intel tech in it - you don't even need a remote to fly. Camera isn't horrible either and it's a million times better than the actual toy brands commonly found online like Holy Stone, Syma, Blade, Hubsan, etc.

mjbok · Nov 30, 2018

CanadaDrone said:
The cheapest "DJI experience" is the DJI/Ryze Tello drone. It's $100 or so and has DJI/Intel tech in it - you don't even need a remote to fly. Camera isn't horrible either and it's a million times better than the actual toy brands commonly found online like Holy Stone, Syma, Blade, Hubsan, etc.

True, but the Spark has more to it. If I flew a Tello (and nothing before it) the possibilities would seem very limited. Honestly the Spark is "good enough" for 90% of what most people would do and the quality is 100 times that of a Tello. A Spark should have been enough for me. Video is only 1080, but I downgrade all of my 4k footage for streaming anyway. The gimbal is really good, etc. Did I "need" an Air or any of the others? No. I actually got the Spark late in the game because I got it cheap and it is a "I'm upset, but not that upset if something happens to it" drone and it's one my kids can fly while I'm flying the big boys.

CanadaDrone · Nov 30, 2018

mjbok said:
True, but the Spark has more to it. If I flew a Tello (and nothing before it) the possibilities would seem very limited. Honestly the Spark is "good enough" for 90% of what most people would do and the quality is 100 times that of a Tello. A Spark should have been enough for me. Video is only 1080, but I downgrade all of my 4k footage for streaming anyway. The gimbal is really good, etc. Did I "need" an Air or any of the others? No. I actually got the Spark late in the game because I got it cheap and it is a "I'm upset, but not that upset if something happens to it" drone and it's one my kids can fly while I'm flying the big boys.

I was not trying to suggest it was an alternative, all I said was that the Tello is the cheapest possible way to get into the DJI world ($80-100) and it's much better than the "hobby" quads you often see for the same price on Amazon and other similar places. The Spark is better, and at 4 times the price it had better be. As I said earlier, I don't consider the Spark a toy at all, it's a very impressive drone for the price, but it does have some pretty significant limitations beyond basic usage (2 axis gimbal, low bitrate 1080P, range, etc.) If I could get one at a steal of a price I would. You can also modify them to be below 250g so you can fly them virtually anywhere legally.

dannybgoode · Nov 30, 2018

CanadaDrone said:
I was not trying to suggest it was an alternative, all I said was that the Tello is the cheapest possible way to get into the DJI world ($80-100) and it's much better than the "hobby" quads you often see for the same price on Amazon and other similar places. The Spark is better, and at 4 times the price it had better be. As I said earlier, I don't consider the Spark a toy at all, it's a very impressive drone for the price, but it does have some pretty significant limitations beyond basic usage (2 axis gimbal, low bitrate 1080P, range, etc.) If I could get one at a steal of a price I would. You can also modify them to be below 250g so you can fly them virtually anywhere legally.

My little boy wants a drone for Christmas and I’m really tempted by a Tello but Mrs Danny says it’s too expensive.

I agree that it’s miles better than the slightly cheaper options so will have to try and convince her!

CanadaDrone · Nov 30, 2018

dannybgoode said:
My little boy wants a drone for Christmas and I’m really tempted by a Tello but Mrs Danny says it’s too expensive.

I agree that it’s miles better than the slightly cheaper options so will have to try and convince her!

If a Tello ends up being too expensive, I have several cheap drones and these two are the best. They are excellent for indoors or outdoors on a calm day - they even have altitude hold so they are dead simple to fly:

$20 after coupon
https://www.amazon.com/Cheerwing-Co...43600305&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=syma+x20&psc=1

$39
https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Stone-Q...keywords=holy+stone+hs170+altitude+hold&psc=1

Neither have cameras but the controls are identical to the DJI drones and it's a great way to train your muscle memory.

dannybgoode · Nov 30, 2018

CanadaDrone said:
If a Tello ends up being too expensive, I have several cheap drones and these two are the best. They are excellent for indoors or outdoors on a calm day - they even have altitude hold so they are dead simple to fly:

$20 after coupon
https://www.amazon.com/Cheerwing-Co...43600305&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=syma+x20&psc=1

$39
https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Stone-Q...keywords=holy+stone+hs170+altitude+hold&psc=1

Neither have cameras but the controls are identical to the DJI drones and it's a great way to train your muscle memory.

Nice - thank you for the recommendations. Do you think the nearest Holy Stone with camera would still be half decent?

CanadaDrone · Nov 30, 2018

dannybgoode said:
Nice - thank you for the recommendations. Do you think the nearest Holy Stone with camera would still be half decent?

I don't have the version with the camera, but from what I have read (and seen) about them the cameras on those are pretty average to be honest (2MP with cheap lenses and no correction). Enough to have fun with but not really anything more than that. Imagine an old flip cell phone photo - it's like that. I just have the basic ones and fly them around my house or in the yard with no wind. Also from what I can see the camera versions are about the same price as the Tello or more, and at that point I would just get a Tello. The Tello camera isn't amazing either but for the money it's probably as good as it gets - it also has stabilization, albeit electronic. The other drones have no stabilization or gimbal.