Newbie - Air or Pro for first buy?

hamstergraphics · Mar 21, 2018

Haha, moron checking in here.... Had no issues with shaking (Live in Ontario, has been cold since I bought it)

I can't compare it to another drone as I'm a newbie, but I like my piece of junk. Especially since I can fit it into my large pocket of my winter jacket...

ftttu · Mar 22, 2018

MiniPalourde said:
The Mavic Air arguably has a better gimbal because it is more sturdy but not a better camera. The Mavic Air camera can be great for the Instagram but that's pretty much it.

Have you read both birds' specs? Have you watched many several videos of high quality Mavic Air footage on youtube/vimeo/etc? The Mavic Air's camera is more capable than the Pro's, therefore...it is better at least in my book. Better HDR, 100 Mbps video capture, 1080p @ 120 fps and maybe more. Again, to me, the MA has a better camera. Also, focusing the camera is completely a non-issue.

MiniPalourde · Mar 22, 2018

ftttu said:
Have you read both birds' specs? Have you watched many several videos of high quality Mavic Air footage on youtube/vimeo/etc? The Mavic Air's camera is more capable than the Pro's, therefore...it is better at least in my book. Better HDR, 100 Mbps video capture, 1080p @ 120 fps and maybe more. Again, to me, the MA has a better camera. Also, focusing the camera is completely a non-issue.

Yes, I have. And I have flown the MA several times. The MA camera is quite simply awful in my opinion. HDR and 120 fps are both awful anyways so we won't use that.

ftttu · Mar 22, 2018

MiniPalourde said:
Yes, I have. And I have flown the MA several times. The MA camera is quite simply awful in my opinion. HDR and 120 fps are both awful anyways so we won't use that.

The camera's performance in all truth is relative, but for the OP's desire for a drone for beach, family vacations, and the like, the Mavic Air's camera could even be considered overkill. 1080 looks good, and it looks real good upscaled to 4k. If you are saying the Mavic Air isn't a PhaseOne, Hasselblad, etc, I'm on board with that.

rob2000gt · Mar 22, 2018

The air scares me because of the range. Half of what the mavic has so with obstructions only half which could be bad.

JoostGT3 · Mar 23, 2018

rob2000gt said:
The air scares me because of the range. Half of what the mavic has so with obstructions only half which could be bad.

It's basically the only thing holding me back from buying it...

rob2000gt · Mar 23, 2018

JoostGT3 said:
It's basically the only thing holding me back from buying it...

I already have issues with the mavic and city range.

HYRYSC · Mar 23, 2018

I have never had any issues with any obstructions. I recently took the Air on a hike with me (the reason that I went with Air instead of Pro) and I took plenty of pictures inside an old abandoned 4 story stone house. I flew inside it from the top to the bottom and the Air stayed locked on.

If you want the Pro, go that way, but anyone who poo poo's on the Air just want to justify something.

51 Drones · Mar 24, 2018

Huge Bama Fan said:
A lot of videos showing the air shaking while hovering if it was cold until the motors warmed up. May be nothing to it

zorr0 · Mar 24, 2018

Cl1nt71 said:
Hello. Im new to the group and ready to purchase my first "real" drone, previously only playing with the cheap ones in the yard. Looking for recommendations on the Air or the Pro. Looking at reviews online the biggest concerns I see are connection issues/drops with the Air, and read about focus issues on the Pro. Are these valid issues? I don't plan on doing anything extreme with it, just looking for using at beach, vacations, etc. I live in area with quite a lot of trees. My first thought was the Air, but I'm a bit worried about losing connection due to the WiFi link. Am I better to go with the Pro? Thanks

Clint

PRO!! Its the most versatile drone out there. I also have a Bebop2, which is not a mavic, but a good little machine to learn on. I wasnt rich enuff to start out with a 1000.00 toy. And crash into something or have it fly away. I had two 100 buck drones do just that. But at the other end of the cost spectrum...you pay for what you get. Ive never had a Mavic lose signal. I had one crash, my fault. Cut it too close going thru some branches. Learned a lot about Gimbals..after that. Yeas, Mavic Pro. Ive herd a lotta wierd stuff about the air.

Aerial West · Mar 24, 2018

Cl1nt71 said:
Hello. Im new to the group and ready to purchase my first "real" drone, previously only playing with the cheap ones in the yard. Looking for recommendations on the Air or the Pro. Looking at reviews online the biggest concerns I see are connection issues/drops with the Air, and read about focus issues on the Pro. Are these valid issues? I don't plan on doing anything extreme with it, just looking for using at beach, vacations, etc. I live in area with quite a lot of trees. My first thought was the Air, but I'm a bit worried about losing connection due to the WiFi link. Am I better to go with the Pro? Thanks

Clint

Most of the "focus issues" with the mavic pro were not actually issues. DJI made focus "tap screen to focus" on the Mavic Pro, and vloggers didn't know this. They didnt read the manual either... thus a bunch of focus problems were immediately reported. Then people learned that they changed the focus feature.. but the posts are still around, confusing people.

Wipster · Mar 24, 2018

Cl1nt71 said:
Hello. Im new to the group and ready to purchase my first "real" drone, previously only playing with the cheap ones in the yard. Looking for recommendations on the Air or the Pro. Looking at reviews online the biggest concerns I see are connection issues/drops with the Air, and read about focus issues on the Pro. Are these valid issues? I don't plan on doing anything extreme with it, just looking for using at beach, vacations, etc. I live in area with quite a lot of trees. My first thought was the Air, but I'm a bit worried about losing connection due to the WiFi link. Am I better to go with the Pro? Thanks

Clint

Either mavic platinum or wait a month or two to see if mavic2 comes out

Skymax · Mar 24, 2018

The Pro is not new but is well-tested and most issues have had time to be sorted, plus the knowledge base is huge. The Air is new and its issues are still being discovered.
There are many aspects to the decision but for me the most important Two are that the MPP has almost twice the flight time of the Air and is very quiet so I can use it in public places where I could not use a screaming Air without annoying people nearby and attracting a lot of attention to myself.

zorr0 · Mar 24, 2018

MiniPalourde said:
He's right though.

I think loco was referring to his caustic reply to well meaning members who were giving him well thought out acvice that had nothing to do with "opinions". He didnt want any advice, he wanted someone to "cosign" his hasty decision. I dont think anyone here is gonna badmouth a DJI product. But if I add up a tally of pros and cons on youtube........well we can all count.

ykwarks · Mar 24, 2018

i fly both and love them both. i live in the city and the air does seem to have some issues with connectivity in time to time so i fly the pro more, but when i go to the beach or travel somewhere, i would take the air.
i recommend the air in your situation simply because it’s more portable, less expensive and has newer tech. also being that it’s your first drone, rear sensors and fixed focus with more flight modes will be helpful. you will definitely need spare batteries though.
they’re both great drones it all depends on your preference.

ykwarks · Mar 24, 2018

the shaking in cold was fixed after the fw update

Shield2160 · Mar 25, 2018

As for me I own both. And I find uses for each one of them. I also think they’re both great birds. As you’re a newbie I think the air would be easier for you to use. It has a lot of built-in Automatic flight modes As well as additional sensors that the pro does not have. Not to mention you’ll save $200. But like everybody else said it’s a personal choice. Do your research do your homework then make a choice either way you can’t go wrong

Kevjones777 · Mar 25, 2018

I suppose if you bought a Mavic Air you would recommend that drone, if you bought a Mavic Pro you would recommend that drone etc etc. I have not flown a Mavic Pro so I could neither recommend it or "dis" it. I can tell you however that my Mavic Air does what the developers say. It does not lose connection, it does not stutter, it does not do things by itself, it does not just fly away, it does not shake, it does what the book says..... pretty weird hey.

Cl1nt71 · Mar 25, 2018

Thanks for all of the great information and thoughts. I'm leaning towards the Pro mainly due to the occusync. The thought of all of the signal drops possible with the Air kinda freaks me out.

MikeMauk · Apr 15, 2018

Aerial West said:
Most of the "focus issues" with the mavic pro were not actually issues. DJI made focus "tap screen to focus" on the Mavic Pro, and vloggers didn't know this. They didnt read the manual either... thus a bunch of focus problems were immediately reported. Then people learned that they changed the focus feature.. but the posts are still around, confusing people.

thanks for that information.