Now that I have actually used the air a little more... I am extremely disappointed.

[wytnyt]

I never bought the MA for one reason,ill be where theres wifi signal most of the time,ive been heavily considering the P4 obsidian simply for its camera and OA,but decided to wait till the MP2 gets out and then decide,I dont plan on selling any of my drones as to me they each provide different flying experiences

 

[k9x9]

I don’t know why they didn’t add Occusync to the Air, but I’m assuming they couldn’t keep the size or price down if they did.

Yep. According to one DJI rep in an interview I read, the parts needed for both operation and proper heat dissipation with the current tech would have required more space than is available in the Air.

 

[MavicMo]

I have some of the same complaints. I've got a bunch of other DJI drones and am an admitted DJI fan-boy. I like each of my DJI drones as they provide something unique or something that stands out about each that makes them "keepers" for me.

But I have to say after playing with the Mavic Air, I'm finding there is more I dislike about it than like about. It does have a better camera than my Spark and slightly better than my Mavic Pro, but not as good as my Phantom 4...

But I agree with the OP. The Mavic Air has very bad lag. Even compared to my Spark flying from the location, back-to-back. I don't get that bad a lag. And as the OP states, I've only had my Mavic Pro and Spark ask me a couple times since I've owned them to do a CC. With the Mavic Air, it seems every other flight, its asking that I do a CC. Also its the only DJI drone that I've lost connection to and it had to auto-RTH. And this was no further than my Spark. I know as as I have a specific "test pattern" I fly with my drones when I check them out after a firmware upgrade or something that may affect them...

So while I have no regrets buying it, its probably my least favorite of my DJI drones...

I wanted to love the air. I had the Mavic pro as my first drone and thought to myself "if it was just a little smaller with a slightly better camera it would be the perfect drone for me when I travel". When I saw the air was announced I preordered it immediately so that I could use it on my two upcoming trips, Turks & Caicos and Salt Lake City.

Turks & Caicos: Not many wireless signals or cell service there to mess with the wifi connection. The drone worked as intended and I had absolutely no issues with it.

Salt Lake City: I was in the middle of nowhere, outside of the city. Not a building in sight. I was plagued with an extremely laggy video transmission (I even lost video transmission one time which freaked me out. Where was the drone? 2 miles away from me? nope, it was 90 feet above my head), constantly having to calibrate the compass every single time I turned it on, and every single panoramic shot came out with either a blurry background or blurry foreground due to the wind (using automatic camera settings. I usually do manual but wanted to see how well it did on auto). The air just does not handle wind that well at all due to its size.

All in all, I honestly cannot wait for the mavic pro 2 to be announced so I can sell this. The RC signal they use is just years ahead of the wifi signal that is in the Air and Spark and I am extremely disappointed that they decided not to put that technology into the Air. Lets hope the Mavic Pro 2 has a better camera than the 1.

 

[jedburgh01]

I wanted to love the air. I had the Mavic pro as my first drone and thought to myself "if it was just a little smaller with a slightly better camera it would be the perfect drone for me when I travel". When I saw the air was announced I preordered it immediately so that I could use it on my two upcoming trips, Turks & Caicos and Salt Lake City.

Turks & Caicos: Not many wireless signals or cell service there to mess with the wifi connection. The drone worked as intended and I had absolutely no issues with it.

Salt Lake City: I was in the middle of nowhere, outside of the city. Not a building in sight. I was plagued with an extremely laggy video transmission (I even lost video transmission one time which freaked me out. Where was the drone? 2 miles away from me? nope, it was 90 feet above my head), constantly having to calibrate the compass every single time I turned it on, and every single panoramic shot came out with either a blurry background or blurry foreground due to the wind (using automatic camera settings. I usually do manual but wanted to see how well it did on auto). The air just does not handle wind that well at all due to its size.

All in all, I honestly cannot wait for the mavic pro 2 to be announced so I can sell this. The RC signal they use is just years ahead of the wifi signal that is in the Air and Spark and I am extremely disappointed that they decided not to put that technology into the Air. Lets hope the Mavic Pro 2 has a better camera than the 1.

When you lost video signal and wasn't sure where it was, shows how useful the MPs controller information screen is.

 

[jedburgh01]

If you thought the Air was going to be better then the Pro all around, this was your first mistake. Also, the Air is not much smaller than the Pro.

I've not had any issues with signal control. I can easily fly out 2500' in pretty much any location. I've not really pushed it yet.

I've taken many panos (180s and 360s) and they have been stitched together perfectly.

View attachment 32799

Nice pic

 

[Jez275]

I think some people have unrealistic expectations. The Mavic Air is pitched at a slightly different market than the Pro.

For $800 it’s a great quad. Anyone looking for up an upgrade to the Pro just needs to wait for the Pro2 (which will presumably be pitched at a 25%-35% premium price)

 

[jedburgh01]

I wanted to love the air. I had the Mavic pro as my first drone and thought to myself "if it was just a little smaller with a slightly better camera it would be the perfect drone for me when I travel". When I saw the air was announced I preordered it immediately so that I could use it on my two upcoming trips, Turks & Caicos and Salt Lake City.

Turks & Caicos: Not many wireless signals or cell service there to mess with the wifi connection. The drone worked as intended and I had absolutely no issues with it.

Salt Lake City: I was in the middle of nowhere, outside of the city. Not a building in sight. I was plagued with an extremely laggy video transmission (I even lost video transmission one time which freaked me out. Where was the drone? 2 miles away from me? nope, it was 90 feet above my head), constantly having to calibrate the compass every single time I turned it on, and every single panoramic shot came out with either a blurry background or blurry foreground due to the wind (using automatic camera settings. I usually do manual but wanted to see how well it did on auto). The air just does not handle wind that well at all due to its size.

All in all, I honestly cannot wait for the mavic pro 2 to be announced so I can sell this. The RC signal they use is just years ahead of the wifi signal that is in the Air and Spark and I am extremely disappointed that they decided not to put that technology into the Air. Lets hope the Mavic Pro 2 has a better camera than the 1.

I've got a Mavic Pro and when the Air came out I thought exactly the same thing the smaller size would be ideal for me as I'm in a wheelchair and I almost ordered one but I realised it didn't have Occusync and wouldn't be nearly as good as the Mavic Pro

 

[robmacom]

I agree with your Post regarding the positioning of the Air in the model line up as it was always obvious but you are very wrong regarding the above statement.

I didn't see the Air as an upgrade to the Pro I already have; I saw it as a more compact, easier to carry drone for when I am out walking and cycling.

For me, the Air has replaced my Pro. I have not flown the Pro since the arrival of the Air. Why? It does exactly what I thought it would: it can produce images on a par with the Pro and it fits in my cycle shirt back pocket so when I am mountain biking along the coast and along the cliffs, I can quickly take out the drone and take some pictures or video. The Pro, for all its compact size, is just slightly too large for this and demands its own bag. Also, for whatever unknown reason, the Air is attracting less seagull attention - which has been an annoying issue with the Pro for me.

When I am walking with my wife, she is impatient with stopping to take pictures, let alone get a drone ready, so I have to have the drone "ready" to fly all the time in case I see something. The Air is better in my experience for how that works for me.

I appreciate some folks have issues with Wi-Fi vs Occusync but I have had no problems whatsoever. In fact, I believe my Air starts up faster than my Pro and for my use, the signal has always been just as good wherever I have flown it. The only reservation I had was the loss of the RC screen but that has proved to not be an issue at all.

Ultimately, the Air has the same tech as the outgoing Pro where it matters for me along with a more compact body. Therefore it does what a Mavic Pro 2 will not do unless it is the same size as the Air, so I'm not at all intending to get one and I'm very happy with the Air over my "old" Pro.

Great post i agree with you the Air is so portable and takes little time to set up