Mavic Air: Would you buy it again?

[OldBlueHeron]

The whole Spark plus thing is kinda played out... every quad that is larger and has more features is a Spark plus.

 

[heyengel]

Well... if you get the air, you will have the added advantage that you'll have both. You can choose the Air for the improved camera quality, and the Pro for the supposedly better range... :-/

I tested the image quality of the Mavic Air and had to return it. Because of the fixed lens, it seems to be focused on a specific distance and anything nearer or farther are out of focus and blurry. It also seems to be doing some post processing to make the entire frame sharper which looks good for pixel peeping but this results in a weird unnatural image. The Mavic Pro is tack sharp in the middle and vignettes out and the images look more natural to me.

You can check out this guy's test and see which image you prefer.

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[floyd]

I tested the image quality of the Mavic Air and had to return it. Because of the fixed lens, it seems to be focused on a specific distance and anything nearer or farther are out of focus and blurry. It also seems to be doing some post processing to make the entire frame sharper which looks good for pixel peeping but this results in a weird unnatural image. The Mavic Pro is tack sharp in the middle and vignettes out and the images look more natural to me.

You can check out this guy's test and see which image you prefer.

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Thanks for the youtube link. I watched the video closely. There were times when I thought the Air looked better and times when the Pro looked better. But your comment about the fixed vs. manual focus really made me think. I agree with you. The Air, while its images are wonderful, does have a slight artificial feel as you look outside the center of the image.The Pro, also with wonderful images, does "feel" more natural. Ironically the natural feel comes from the lens' optical limitations/imperfections.

 

[FatherXmas]

I have both. I fly the Air indoors a lot because of the weather. I tried to fly the Pro inside once and will never try that again. Also, I think the Air is a little easier to fly, just a wee bit more stable.

 

[Tom-Air]

On a slightly different subject, given there are red, white and black versions of the Mavic Air, what colour would anyone get and why?

I would go with white and then decal it!

 

[ipcctv]

At this point I wouldn't buy the 1st. I am new and though I've had the drone a week, I've not flown it. Why?? I took all the good advice about watching youtube videos.

Upgrading of firmware was pretty horrible. Then, it wanted me to calibrate the compass. I'd had it suggested the IMU was re-calibrated before 1st flight due to being now in UK, bounced around the world in pallets etc. When I went to recalibrate outside, the RC couldn't find the drone? Then it did, and after 2 minutes dropped the connection. Being a newbie I thought I'd abandon it and charge up the battery to full strength.

Next day, I take it out and same. No connection to drone. Couldn't find it even 20cm away. Then it said the GPS signal was weak. 17 sattelites found. The good advice about checking the RTH point on the map is the latest mute point as I have no map and it seems maps in general is a huge problem. So, I can't even safely take off for the very 1st time. At this point, I'm thinking about returning it as unfit for puspose. The advice I've seen all seems to be uninstall and re-install the app.

I hope I can post later to say it was all my fault, but my son has a spark and he can't connect without trying half a dozen times. He has a new phone with few apps and lots of memory. Samsung S9. It looks to me like flakey formware and software and poor support from DJI.

 

[Flywoody3]

I would buy the air again and especially for a first time pilot. It has much better obstacle avoidance (I’m not a proponent of relying on it though) and is very stable in flight.

+1. I have a M Pro, Spark and M Air (too much GAS on my part). Selling the Pro and the Spark. As I was doing the final firmware updates and one last test flight for each, I've really come to like my Air. Seems like they took all of the good learnings and put them in the Air. Really like the DJI app and the obstacle avoidance along with the compact nature of the unit when stowed.

I think I'll be keeping my Air for a while until the next version comes our with a better camera.

Don

 

[Mr G]

I've had two Mavic Pros and would not buy again. My main complaint is the very fragile gimble and camera mount. Even a small hit on a small branch has brought both down, and to repair that fragile gimble costs around $500. The camera/gimble on the MA is made like the one on the Spark and I don't think I'd have problems with it. Also, the obstacle avoidance on the newer Mavic Air is superior compared to the MP.
I'll admit that I'm not a professional pilot by a long shot, and many of my mistakes were caused by me getting nervous, not prepared for what may come, etc. So I think that for most people, and especially for newbies, I'd highly recommend the MA.
But for those who like their MP I'd never let it off the ground without a good "gimble guard." And if it doesn't come off during flight, it will save you a lot of grief. But that's just my opinion. I'm now waiting for the Mavic Pro two and will then decide which drone I buy. And if I buy the MA I'll get a red one, as this would be easier to find on the ground.