I'm new to drones, but I'm very experienced with photography and nomad travel life
If I can offer random advice without knowing any details of your work, I would definitely not switch to FF! While Sony FF has impressive statistics to pixel peep at, how exactly will that enhance your creativity as an artist? You say MFT is limiting...how?
Switching to FF is a huge weight penalty, and really a Sony lens is no lighter than DSLR gear. Plus, do you really want to be processing giant MP files on the road? There is a storage and processing time/power cost ... And let's face is, most travelers are not printing big, we are listing to IG/FB/etc.
That being said, I've never been a fan of the
M4/3 specs. I am a Fuji man. I think APS-C is the sweet spot for travel. Fuji has a very unique niche, in that they make excellent top quality lenses in APS-C size, with significant size, weight and cost benefits. They design for serious photographers, with all manual controls on the bodies. I travel with a VERY light camera kit, and do not feel any limitations creatively. You have better wide options than
M4/3 and bokeh close to FF.
Back to the Air.
You say you don't plan to fly far or out if site. No way. This fly within sight is something people argue about on forums. That thing is so small up in the air, its impossible to see! I've talked to other real world pilots out there, and they laugh at always keeping it in sight. You are flying on the screen not by sight. Even when I know where it is and I'm looking for it, its super hard to see! Yes, you can choose to accept that your range will be limited as a trade off for the size and weight. That's what I am doing. But if I also may consider a
Pro2 if it were to come out. I'd have to so the math and see how much larger a bag I would have to carry. And I still might choose the Air for the size. Its really quite small and convenient! Its a super super tough decision, I'm probably not helping lol.
There is another thing that I thought of. Its been written about in this forum, and that is the need to calibrate the Air all the time. Search for it. Again, some people are affected and some not. For me, whenever I move more than 20 or 50 miles, I MUST recalibrate before flying. This step is easy and takes 30 seconds. If there is no interference. But. There is almost always interference! So then I have to run around all over the place, burning battery time, looking for a place with no metal and no wires, doing this ridiculous twirling dance with a drone over my head. Believe me, the Balinese are looking at me like WTF is this while guy doing?! So, it appears that the Pro does not need to do this. I asked the Pro guy on the volcano about it and he said he doesn't have to do it...
Thanks thats a very useful reply.
That is concerning. It's strange, as some people have had experiences similar to yours, yet many seem to be fine with it. It's a really hard decision to make, as I'm desperately trying to save space and weight.
I've had my rucksack checked on Air Asia flights, and my bag can get to nearly 15kg with lenses and everything. I am also a musician and take various audio devices, interfaces etc. It all adds up quickly. I currently work with Lumix MFT gear, but I have 3 or 4 lenses I travel with. I'm soon going to move to Sony full frame though, as I feel limited with the MFT gear. So thats more weight.
I was very close to ordering the Air, but now might have to think again. Amazon.co.uk have been great with returns for things in the past, but I wonder if they would do a return on a drone? Then I could test it at least and see how I feel about it. Although as you say, Asian wifi spaces might be worse.
I personally dont plan to fly that far away, not really out of sight, but still its terrible if you lose signal. I havent used a drone before, but I thought if it lost signal and was running out of batteries it will RTH like you said? Is there a risk of this not happening due to Wifi issues?
I'm surprised DJI are selling something that so many people have issues with. Thanks again