Mavic Pro features vs. Mavic Air?

[KiterTodd]

I searched around and didn't see a post yet comparing the functionality between our Mavics and the new Air. (But I fully expect someone will slap my hand and point me to 27 threads which already exist on this topic.)

Looks like a great new craft which I suppose will replace the Spark, as it is very similar but with much improved features. I'm a bit confused by their product line which is starting to have a lot of overlap. My guess is that the Mavic 2 will come out shortly at a higher price than the Mavic Platinum (which will be discontinued) and that'll spread things out a bit.

So, my prediction is we see the little Micro TELLO drone, the AIR, the MAVIC2, PHANTOM, etc... But who knows. DJI is blanketing the market in drones.

Back on topic, this thing looks like a more capable drone than the Mavic in all features except flight time. ?
Curious to hear what you think. I suspect most people here will wait and see what the Mavic2 comes out with before jumping on the AIR, unless the smaller size is too good to pas up!

 

[msinger]

Some comparison videos are starting to pop up on YouTube. Here are a few:

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[netfolks2000]

I searched around and didn't see a post yet comparing the functionality between our Mavics and the new Air. (But I fully expect someone will slap my hand and point me to 27 threads which already exist on this topic.)

Looks like a great new craft which I suppose will replace the Spark, as it is very similar but with much improved features. I'm a bit confused by their product line which is starting to have a lot of overlap. My guess is that the Mavic 2 will come out shortly at a higher price than the Mavic Platinum (which will be discontinued) and that'll spread things out a bit.

So, my prediction is we see the little Micro TELLO drone, the AIR, the MAVIC2, PHANTOM, etc... But who knows. DJI is blanketing the market in drones.

Back on topic, this thing looks like a more capable drone than the Mavic in all features except flight time. ?
Curious to hear what you think. I suspect most people here will wait and see what the Mavic2 comes out with before jumping on the AIR, unless the smaller size is too good to pas up!

One more difference, which most won't think about: When flying a Mavic Pro/Platinum and losing the app on the phone or if the phone dies, with the current Mavic controller there is a way to return the drone if the app stays down or while it stays down. You just look at the distance on the controller display, move the drone in a direction showing distance going down and you can bring her home manually. With the Mavic Air controller there is no display on which to do that. You must hover until you get the app back. There is, of course, still dependence and confidence in RTH working properly. But you can not monitor it at all on the Air if the app is down.

 

[Anthony Viscomi]

One more difference, which most won't think about: When flying a Mavic Pro/Platinum and losing the app on the phone or if the phone dies, with the current Mavic controller there is a way to return the drone if the app stays down or while it stays down. You just look at the distance on the controller display, move the drone in a direction showing distance going down and you can bring her home manually. With the Mavic Air controller there is no display on which to do that. You must hover until you get the app back. There is, of course, still dependence and confidence in RTH working properly. But you can not monitor it at all on the Air if the app is down.

DJI left room open for a new Mavic Air Professional RC on sale for $199

 

[KiterTodd]

Haven’t watched the comparison videos yet, but looking forward to it. Thanks.

Anyone have thoughts on what DJI’s product roadmap really is?

They are just blanketing the market such that new owners will be confused but also, intentionally, they leaving no gaps for competition to exploit. From a cost standpoint, when you take into account refurb prices, default kits and FlyMore combos the price vs. specs comparisons are getting mind boggling.

I think for me, I still like the long flight time and longer range of the MP. But a tinier very capable Air is tempting for travel.

 

[Mitch]

Can the early reviews really be trusted for an honest opinion? My guess is that they all received the early release because they are in good graces with DJI. So, if they disliked the new product would they really tell us? Otherwise they'd likely never get another prerelease and never be invited to a DJI event again. I'm not saying Toms Tech Time is not truthful or any for that matter. Just raising the question/thought.

 

[WilliamG]

Can the early reviews really be trusted for an honest review? My guess is that they all received the early release because they are in good graces with DJI. So, if they disliked the new product would they really tell us? Otherwise they'd likely never get another prerelease and never be invited to a DJI event again. I'm not saying Toms Tech Time is not truthful or any for that matter. Just raising the question/thought.

Absolutely that happens. Intentionally or not, there's a tendency to shill for a company that keeps sending you free products. Otherwise there would be zero interest in the company sending you its products.

 

[msinger]

Maybe hang in there and wait for others who paid for their drones to review it.

 

[scott rand]

Can the early reviews really be trusted for an honest opinion? My guess is that they all received the early release because they are in good graces with DJI. So, if they disliked the new product would they really tell us? Otherwise they'd likely never get another prerelease and never be invited to a DJI event again. I'm not saying Toms Tech Time is not truthful or any for that matter. Just raising the question/thought.

Tom’s Tech Time does some of the best, unbiased reviews in my opinion, haven’t been able to watch his Mavic Air review yet, but it’ll be the first one I watch.

 

[Fixaldo]

Tom’s Tech Time does some of the best, unbiased reviews in my opinion, haven’t been able to watch his Mavic Air review yet, but it’ll be the first one I watch.

Agree that he makes a lot of good reviews, but I believe he is coloured by the company on this one. He brags about 8gig of internal memory like it is a holy grail for drones…You can kind of tell that he doesn’t buy his own words fully. And I don’t blame him, but he could have been more critical.

let’s do the math. 100mbit equals to about 12.5mb per second. That’s about 750mb for 1 min. that gives you about 10min of footage. Hardly something to brag about. 16gig+ would make sense though. And he knows that.

The mavic Air with its pricing is a clever business model from DJI. This will give them additional 999$ from everyone that owns a phantom 4pro and a bunch of mavic pro owners. Most irritating is that I will probably buy this one purely because of the bitrate, and grinch when the mavic pro 2 comes out later on.

 

[netfolks2000]

Tom’s Tech Time does some of the best, unbiased reviews in my opinion, haven’t been able to watch his Mavic Air review yet, but it’ll be the first one I watch.

Many better reviews will be coming out as soon as they start shipping. I was very disappointed in the fly time.
For me, the Tello is a good one to try, have fun at home when it's windy or raining.
The best future drone will come with its own display on the controller.

 

[Mitch]

Tom’s Tech Time does some of the best, unbiased reviews in my opinion, haven’t been able to watch his Mavic Air review yet, but it’ll be the first one I watch.

I too enjoy and value Toms Tech Time. Though it may not have come across that way raised in my thoughts.

 

[Pointbob]

Any idea what max altitude on mavic air?

 

[twitchyzero]

does anyone actually find 60Mbps significantly limiting? it's sucha tiny sensor anyways..

 

[Fixaldo]

does anyone actually find 60Mbps significantly limiting? it's sucha tiny sensor anyways..

The almost 70% increase in bitrate makes a big difference. Not only by numbers but immediate visually. GOP flicker decreased dramatically and you will get more information in the shadows and highlight. Overall a more rich and vibrant image.

For me… The mavic pro will now be obsolete when it comes to a small drone capturing video. The problem is that we are now dealing with less airtime (18-21min) and weaker radio transmission. In addition, presumably, a drone that is weaker in high wind conditions. The last one remain to be seen.

IMO, DJI should do a firmware update on the mavic pro.. Increasing the bitrate to the same levels. These drones should not be in competition with each other IMO. Even if they did pump up the bitrate on the mavic pro they still sell a bunch of AIR. There is a marked for both.

 

[Divine_Madcat]

IMO, DJI should do a firmware update on the mavic pro.. Increasing the bitrate to the same levels. These drones should not be in competition with each other IMO. Even if they did pump up the bitrate on the mavic pro they still sell a bunch of AIR. There is a marked for both.

Just because the camera is the same, doesn't mean the supporting hardware (CPU, memory, etc) is the same, or capable of doing it. As you say, that is a 70% bump in bitrate, and requires more than just the camera to support it. Not to mention - even if the CPU is the same or better than the air, it is arguably doing more work (better quality streaming)m and again, may not have the grunt to do it.

 

[Fixaldo]

Just because the camera is the same, doesn't mean the supporting hardware (CPU, memory, etc) is the same, or capable of doing it. As you say, that is a 70% bump in bitrate, and requires more than just the camera to support it. Not to mention - even if the CPU is the same or better than the air, it is arguably doing more work (better quality streaming)m and again, may not have the grunt to do it.

Maybe I sounded naive.

Of course there is a lot more to it than just a camera. It’s also possible that it can’t be done for some reason. But let me clarify that I do have experience changing codec algorithms and bitrate with other systems/cameras, and in most cases you can stretch it pretty far and make it stable. It’s a very slim possibility that the hardware in Mavic Pro is maxed out, or even close to that. Im talking about a simple bitrate update, with presumable minimal changes to the algorithm for stability reason. Not rewrite everything up to Mavic Air standard. This would however make a big difference to the IQ, there is not much doubt about that.

I don’t know what you mean with (better quality stream). If you are talking about the amount of data written to the SD card? Than I’m quite confident that is not much of a problem.

And no, I am not about to hack the Mavic Pro, I would rather see that DJI do this proper. It’s a flying machine that can fall down from the sky…

 

[Divine_Madcat]

Maybe I sounded naive.

Of course there is a lot more to it than just a camera. It’s also possible that it can’t be done for some reason. But let me clarify that I do have experience changing codec algorithms and bitrate with other systems/cameras, and in most cases you can stretch it pretty far and make it stable. It’s a very slim possibility that the hardware in Mavic Pro is maxed out, or even close to that. Im talking about a simple bitrate update, with presumable minimal changes to the algorithm for stability reason. Not rewrite everything up to Mavic Air standard. This would however make a big difference to the IQ, there is not much doubt about that.

I don’t know what you mean with (better quality stream). If you are talking about the amount of data written to the SD card? Than I’m quite confident that is not much of a problem.

And no, I am not about to hack the Mavic Pro, I would rather see that DJI do this proper. It’s a flying machine that can fall down from the sky…

So, you can change the codec algorithms, but that wont get you far if the hardware codec (i said CPU, but being more specific here) cannot support over 60Mbps, then you are kinda up a creek. Reading other threads here, it sounds like the hardware is indeed capped at 60, which would suggest why we have not seen any improvement over time.

As for streaming - i was referring to the video downlink (sent to the smart device). In good conditions, it can send 1080p (IIRC), which is a significant amount of data to move itself.

 

[LivinLarge]

I have not seen this mentioned in the reviews, but the lens on the Mavic Air is only f/2.8 vs f/2.2 on the Mavic Pro, so it has less light gathering ability, slower shutter speeds, more noise in low light. It is more wide angle which may be a good thing depending on your needs.

 

[Captain fantastic]

Hi everyone, new first timer here. Wondering if the new firmware update added the asteroid and boomerang quick shot modes to the mavic pro too. Too windy here to even attempt taking off to find out. Anybody tried?