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Mavic Pro The Right Choice?

Hoffman1030

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Hello all,

New to the forum, as well as to the world of drones in general. Just looking to get some inside information from those more experienced than myself.

I'm interested in getting my first drone in the next few weeks. Not familiar at all with flying drones, but have been heavily researching rules, regulations, operating procedures, etc for the time being, so I would like to think that when the time comes, I'll be ready enough to begin using one without many issues (Growing up on console gaming also counts for something, right?).

I've been researching the different drones out there, and I eventually narrowed myself down to the three models that it seems a fair majority of others have had to decide on: Spark, Mavic Air, or Mavic Pro.

As of the time of this post, I've done more research, and based on my preferences (Decent battery life/flight time, reliable connections all the way around, portability), I've narrowed down further to either the Mavic Air or Pro. I think I'm set on the Mavic Pro at this point, I just have a few concerns I would like to gain some insight on before pulling the trigger on one.

-I'm not very familiar with the way the drone syncs to the controller, controller to phone, etc. But from my research, Ocusync with the Mavic Pro is a much more reliable connection system than just the WiFi connection with the Mavic Air. Is this correct? Is there a huge difference in connection quality?

-I love the idea of takeoff/landing with the palm, but I can assure that I will mainly be using the RC for flights. Is the palm takeoff/landing something I'm just being needlessly attracted to, given the knowledge that outside of that, I'd mainly be using the RC?

-I mainly intend to use the drone for things such as short videos and pictures (Example: Going on a trip next month to visit some of the filming locations of The Walking Dead, would be great to get some nice pictures of said locations). The Mavic Pro's battery life is appealing to me for this, as I don't have to be super worried about not having enough battery life/flight time to catch some nice photos. As I understand, while said to have a time of about 27 minutes, real world time is more around 21-25 minutes. That being the case, I would assume with a given time of about 21 minutes on the Mavic Air, real world is most likely going to be around 14-18, is that close (I understand the lack of information due to it just coming out).

-Am I too late to the game here, or is it safe to say that I could get some good life out of a new Mavic Pro? I understand that eventually they will stop being supported in favor of a newer unit such as the Mavic Air, I'm just hoping to not buy a Mavic Pro and then have it be obsolete a week later.

Can anybody provide any good reasons why I should consider the Mavic Air over the Mavic Pro, or am I settling on the best choice? From a lot of what I've seen, the Mavic Pro is a great drone, and while I love the design/looks of the Mavic Air, I'm having a hard time finding any real reasons not to just get the Mavic Pro, especially considering how close in price they are to each other.

Looking forward to any information and opinions provided, thanks!
 
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The Mavic Pro has been out for a lot longer obviously, most of the bugs have been worked out, and there is more community support for it right now. The Air hasn’t come out yet, and will possibly have some growing pains for a bit. Personally for the money, I think the Pro is a better value. In fact, you can get a certified refurbished Mavic Pro through the DJI site, for the same price as an Air.
 
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The Mavic Pro has been out for a lot longer obviously, most of the bugs have been worked out, and there is more community support for it right now. The Air hasn’t come out yet, and will possibly have some growing pains for a bit. Personally for the money, I think the Pro is a better value. In fact, you can get a certified refurbished Mavic Pro through the DJI site, for the same price as an Air.

That is actually one thing I was concerned about as well, and heavily considering. I'm not usually a big fan of purchasing brand new tech, be it a phone, gaming system, drone, etc. I prefer to let the bugs get worked out first! Knowing that the Mavic Pro is an established device with a lot more support options available is much more comforting than having the shiniest, newest toy on the block.
 
MP seems superior to Air in many segments.


Looking at the price of both ... ?? .. that's an easy decision imho!

Agreed in both aspects, hence why I mentioned I think I'm pretty set on the MP. For the same price as the Air FM package, I can get a basic MP, extra battery, and 64gb microSD. Might be less material, but kinda seems like a bit better of a deal to me, if that makes any sense.
 
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You won’t regret getting the MP. The MP is a great size, has great battery life, and great range. In my opinion, smaller isn’t always better.
 
If you’ve never flown a drone before at all, I would highly recommend just throwing down maybe 50 US on Amazon and get yourself a cheap quad or even a little helicopter to start out with. You’re going to crash whatever you fly first. It might as well be five or ten of these little cheap things before you buy something over 500 bucks. That’s what I did and I’m very happy I did. I had experienced fly always and crashes and just about every stupid mistake you can imagine before my Mavic ever found me. My two cents. Good luck either way.
 
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If you’ve never flown a drone before at all, I would highly recommend just throwing down maybe 50 US on Amazon and get yourself a cheap quad or even a little helicopter to start out with. You’re going to crash whatever you fly first. It might as well be five or ten of these little cheap things before you buy something over 500 bucks. That’s what I did and I’m very happy I did. I had experienced fly always and crashes and just about every stupid mistake you can imagine before my Mavic ever found me. My two cents. Good luck either way.
What he says.

Maybe one or two cheap drones is enough. The small light airframes will usually not even break if you hit something. But you'll be amazed how easy your toy done is taken by the wind and gone forever, unless you know how to keep it close using the control sticks. Loose a few of those toys first before getting a drone that flies 4miles far and costs around a grand.
 
yes, MP is better for range, battery and maybe under a windy day but I'm really interested in the 100mbit of the AIR....a good plus
 
If you’ve never flown a drone before at all, I would highly recommend just throwing down maybe 50 US on Amazon and get yourself a cheap quad or even a little helicopter to start out with. You’re going to crash whatever you fly first. It might as well be five or ten of these little cheap things before you buy something over 500 bucks. That’s what I did and I’m very happy I did. I had experienced fly always and crashes and just about every stupid mistake you can imagine before my Mavic ever found me. My two cents. Good luck either way.

I think I would be ok starting out, as I don't intend to do much (if any) big distance flying, and intend to do a lot of close to home practice before using it for any good shots down the road. That being said though, I wouldn't mind maybe purchasing a cheaper drone to practice with first, as you mentioned, in addition to purchasing the Mavic Pro, and just keeping the MP stabled at home until I feel comfortable enough to use it.

Would you have any good recommendations on a cheap starter drone, or is it something where at the lower end of the price range, they're all virtually equal quality?
 
I think I would be ok starting out, as I don't intend to do much (if any) big distance flying, and intend to do a lot of close to home practice before using it for any good shots down the road. That being said though, I wouldn't mind maybe purchasing a cheaper drone to practice with first, as you mentioned, in addition to purchasing the Mavic Pro, and just keeping the MP stabled at home until I feel comfortable enough to use it.

Would you have any good recommendations on a cheap starter drone, or is it something where at the lower end of the price range, they're all virtually equal quality?
If you’re good at gaming, the Magic will not be a feel learning curve for you. The rules, regulations and real world incidences are, to me, far more involved. The Magic is easy to fly right from the start, and yes, you may have a close call or even accident where you break a blade, but if you’re careful you should be ok. I didn’t try a cheap as education. I just dove right in and it’s been amazing!
 
If you’re good at gaming, the Magic will not be a feel learning curve for you. The rules, regulations and real world incidences are, to me, far more involved. The Magic is easy to fly right from the start, and yes, you may have a close call or even accident where you break a blade, but if you’re careful you should be ok. I didn’t try a cheap as education. I just dove right in and it’s been amazing!

Sorry about the typos! Meant Mavic, of course...
 
I think that for you, the most complicated thing is not whether you fly a MP or Air, but whether you can fly a drone at that place the manner you want it.
You have to think like a film maker: From where to where should it fly, what should be seen? Does it endanger anybody doing this? Are there any obstacles in the flight?
I am using the MP, but I never used all battery power, only 15 min.
Since many people feel endangered seeing a drone, be quick.
 
By planning the flight jobs like this and asking people before flying, I never had any crashes or quarrels.
 
If you’re good at gaming, the Magic will not be a feel learning curve for you. The rules, regulations and real world incidences are, to me, far more involved. The Magic is easy to fly right from the start, and yes, you may have a close call or even accident where you break a blade, but if you’re careful you should be ok. I didn’t try a cheap as education. I just dove right in and it’s been amazing!

As a 90's child, I've been playing console games since I was a kid. Sega Genesis, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Xbox, Playstation, etc. I would say I put at least 10 or so hours a week into my Xbox One, so physical controls are something I'm pretty comfortable with lol. That's actually part of what drew me to the MP. I would prefer physical controls over on-screen controls. I like the tactile feedback of a real controller. Touch screen is great, but sometimes it's just not the same.

I've been doing my best to research all local and national rules/regulations, seems to me as though it's fairly straightforward. Keep it below a certain mark, keep VLOS, he aware of NFZs, TFRs and other flight restrictions. Don't fly it like a jerk, and fly safely.

Sorry about the typos! Meant Mavic, of course...

No worries, I knew what you meant. My phone likes to pull up Magic Pro every time I try to search anything related to Mavic Pro haha.

I think that for you, the most complicated thing is not whether you fly a MP or Air, but whether you can fly a drone at that place the manner you want it.
You have to think like a film maker: From where to where should it fly, what should be seen? Does it endanger anybody doing this? Are there any obstacles in the flight?
I am using the MP, but I never used all battery power, only 15 min.
Since many people feel endangered seeing a drone, be quick.

Appreciate the response, definitely a different line of thought than some of the other posts here.

I've absolutely made sure to consider the circumstances of where I would be using it on my trip. Mostly going to be abandoned properties with no people in the immediate area (Some houses a couple of streets away, but there is plenty of safe airspace to avoid them entirely). For reference, I'll embed a link to another drone user's video below of one place I'm considering getting shots of below.

I agree with some people feeling skeptical or endangered around drones, and I intend to just do short flights for a few quick pictures, maybe 1-2 minute videos at a time.

The Walking Dead - Terminus Drone Video
 
In the end, my opinion to the choice MP or AIR: by the short control range, I consider the AIR only as an upgrade from Spark, not as a downgrade from MP. What drone is most usefull in practice?
I think that the long RC distance of 7 km is important in wide nature, e.g. a valley, where you securely fly your drone even up to a mountain. It is also appreciated as a security feature, because sometimes at short distances there are trees or buildings or rocks covering the signal when the drone gets behind. Interestingly, I never had a problem using RC when the drone goes behind the clock tower of a small church or behind a big tree.
 
Buying a small toy before a serious drone is a good idea but just to understand the movement and directions.
Mavic pro is a perfect drone to start with, is way more simple to use than a small toy, simply because it remains still waiting your input. With small toys you need to adjust commands every seconds.....
You could start with the air, conceptually are identical
 
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