Okay, I need opinions on MA2 SC!

Tomcat16 · Sep 29, 2020

I bought my MA2 a couple of months ago, sprang for the Fly More combo.
Now the DJI Smart Controller is MA2 Compatible, should I sell one of the kids and buy the SC? Just so you don't think I'm cruel it would be one of the smaller, uglier kids.

I would like to hear your honest opinion.
Are they worth the $750.00 (sorry just threw up in my mouth a little) bucks.

Thank you in advance.

Phantomrain.org · Sep 29, 2020

Tomcat16 said:
I bought my MA2 a couple of months ago, sprang for the Fly More combo.
Now the DJI Smart Controller is MA2 Compatible, should I sell one of the kids and buy the SC? Just so you don't think I'm cruel it would be one of the smaller, uglier kids.

I would like to hear your honest opinion.
Are they worth the $750.00 (sorry just threw up in my mouth abut) bucks.

Thank you in advance.

The Answer is if you have 2 or more drones that can take advantage of it than YES .
You can split cost and sell both controllers from the other drones. No brainer.

Most of us that have the Smart Controller have it for fast get up and go and so we can keep our phones to record and take calls.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain and Float on water.

boblui · Sep 29, 2020

The processing power of the SC is rather low as can be seen from the jerky video feed demonstrated below. Quite a lot of problems have been reported including WiFi connection, software crashing and etc. Definitely not worth the high price. It's only advantage is that it has got a cooling fan inside so the screen wont get dim due to high temperature. I sold mine just after 2 months of use. Happy with my stock RC + iphone 11 pro

Thomas B · Sep 29, 2020

Or a CS

Macinfo · Sep 29, 2020

I think that its way overpriced, considering that reportedly, it's been included at extra cost bundled for Pro's at a seemingly significant reduction in price, I am assuming these bundles removed the original remote for the SC, but only added a couple hundred or so to the cost of the bundle..

Hopefully a new generation of the SC will become available soon with more power, and a more reasonable price to start with... Which of course might frost current owners, but it's not the first time a new generation of a product would cost less than the original.

Thomas B · Sep 29, 2020

Macinfo said:
I think that its way overpriced, considering that reportedly, it's been included at extra cost bundled for Pro's at a seemingly significant reduction in price, I am assuming these bundles removed the original remote for the SC, but only added a couple hundred or so to the cost of the bundle..

Hopefully a new generation of the SC will become available soon with more power, and a more reasonable price to start with... Which of course might frost current owners, but it's not the first time a new generation of a product would cost less than the original.

And a bigger screen!

lannes · Sep 29, 2020

Thomas B said:
Or a CS

Noooooooo !!!! CS doesn't work with DJI Fly, the OP has a MA2

lannes · Sep 29, 2020

At the moment the Smart Controller is compatible with the MP2 Pro/Zoom, P4P V2.0 and the MA2

All of these drones use the Ocusync 2.0 transmission system.
The longevity of the SC will depend on how many future DJI drones will use Ocusync 2.0.
If the MP3 is released with Ocusync 3.0, it's probably not a good investment.

The trade off with the brighter SC screen is the screen size is only 5.5in, some text is awfully small.

Now if they made a 8in SC that would be quite interesting

Macinfo · Sep 29, 2020

lannes said:
At the moment the Smart Controller is compatible with the MP2 Pro/Zoom, P4P V2.0 and the MA2

All of these drones use the Ocusync 2.0 transmission system.
The longevity of the SC will depend on how many future DJI drones will use Ocusync 2.0.
If the MP3 is released with Ocusync 3.0, it's probably not a good investment.

The trade off with the brighter SC screen is the screen size is only 5.5in, some text is awfully small.

Now if they made a 8in SC that would be quite interesting

A bigger screen along with added power, would be a good upgrade.. While 8" might be pushing it, 6" or 6.5" would be good...

Course, there is no current evidence that I am aware of that DJI is making a new generation SC, it seems on the surface, that it would be a good investment for DJI to upgrade it. The current generation is probably getting CPU and maybe memory starved. But you never know until rumors or an announcement appears,..

Phantomrain.org · Sep 29, 2020

This is where the Smart Controller shines:''

Not once has the smart Controller ever crashed on me on the app. , the entire time we flew the Mavic 2 in some Harsh Weather, its abilities to handle the Rain and Snow is outstanding as well as flying in extreme cold temps.

Hooking up to a large screen is really easy. Use it all the time to check for good video and pictures. We use the Large TV and you can use a Camera Monitor if you have one with your Camera.

The only thing we dont use is the Live Stream and Sharing Photos to much.

There is no faster way of getting up in the Air for Search and Rescue or just catching the timing of the events.

This works really well.

Now you can do some of it with your phone but the Smart Controller offer the lease hassle and offer convenience which has a Price.

THE CYBORG · Sep 30, 2020

Phantomrain.org said:
The Answer is if you have 2 or more drones that can take advantage of it than YES .
You can split cost and sell both controllers from the other drones. No brainer.

Most of us that have the Smart Controller have it for fast get up and go and so we can keep our phones to record and take calls.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain and Float on water.

I jumped the gun, at first glance I thought that was going to read if you have two or more kids sell one

Deleted member 114292 · Sep 30, 2020

I like using the SC. to me it was worth it.
- Compute power - 6 core processor roughly equivalent to a Mini 5. Runs dronelink fine where a Mini 4 can not.
- Display - Brighter than most phones and bright enough. No normal display will hold up in full sunlight, but with SC you don't need deep shade - just a little.
-Display Size - my vision is not that great but I have no problem with it. If it was much bigger then you would either have short battery life or need a bigger battery - it would cost more and y'all'd be whining "It's too heavy" As it is it fits nicely in your hands, a bigger display would change that.
-Price - I purchased mine with my M2P and while some of you seem to think you get a better price you forgot that you are not getting the standard RC which for the M2P runs 400.00 new so that is not true.
-Convenience - Very nice to just grab and fly - only one battery to worry about, no loose cables or holder a bracket. And it has good battery life.
-Occusync 3.0 or whatever - It's a protocol and a firmware upgrade can add it. When the internet switched over to TLS 1.3 and ECC certs did you need a new computer?

For me the only downside has been that some third party apps don't run on it (but the ones you most likely need do), and that DJI can't seem to do a proper update procedure for it . Most likely it does not have the latest security patches, but since I never load questionable app on it and do not do any financial transaction or even crusie the web, not an issue for me.

Just make sure you only buy this strap - it's amazing the thing just sits level. Pricey? Yes but worth it:

Amazon.com: Roboterwerk Shoulder Strap for Smart Controller for DJI Mavic 2 (Horizontal Suspension), Accessories for DJI Smart Controller, Lanyard Equipment: Toys & Games

www.amazon.com

Macinfo · Sep 30, 2020

My last 2 cents on the SC... it seems like a very good self contained controller.. No one is going to convince me that its worth the cost of a new drone kit.. I can see why some really like it that have the $$ to burn on one....

If and when DJI sees fit to make a better one with a larger screen perhaps for a more reasonable price, I'd consider one..

However flying with a 8" tablet works great that can be found for less than 1/2 the cost.. the only real advantage as I see it is saving the minute of setup time to install the tablet on the controller and connect the cable.. The extra brightness I am sure is nice, but as long as I can find ways to see the tablet screen effectively, its not a big deal.

THE CYBORG · Sep 30, 2020

Got to agree with Done I posted it’s the must have accessory for the SC My Post,

Deleted member 114292 · Sep 30, 2020

Macinfo said:
My last 2 cents on the SC... it seems like a very good self contained controller.. No one is going to convince me that its worth the cost of a new drone kit.. I can see why some really like it that have the $$ to burn on one....

If and when DJI sees fit to make a better one with a larger screen perhaps for a more reasonable price, I'd consider one..

However flying with a 8" tablet works great that can be found for less than 1/2 the cost.. the only real advantage as I see it is saving the minute of setup time to install the tablet on the controller and connect the cable.. The extra brightness I am sure is nice, but as long as I can find ways to see the tablet screen effectively, its not a big deal.

Is a Ferrari worth it? Not to me but at least I can afford an SC.
As for your price calculation Mini 5 = 400 (no gps) + M2P RC = 400.00 so it's really not more expensive.
Plus it can fly 3 different drones, upping its value and convenience.

Airmaxx23 · Sep 30, 2020

An anti-glare screen protector makes a huge difference in the Sun. I have an 8 inch tablet that I use on bright, sunny days without any issues. If the SC had at least a 7" screen I'd get one but for $750 I can't justify it when going to a smaller screen than my phone.

THE CYBORG · Sep 30, 2020

I have a tempered glass anti-glare protector on my SC, more because I didn't want to smash it than stop glare but it does both so it’s a win win.

Robrink · Sep 30, 2020

THE CYBORG said:
I have a tempered glass anti-glare protector on my SC, more because I didn't want to smash it than stop glare but it does both so it’s a win win.

Which anti glass protector do you recommend?

Thanks

Macinfo · Sep 30, 2020

Done said:
Is a Ferrari worth it? Not to me but at least I can afford an SC.
As for your price calculation Mini 5 = 400 (no gps) + M2P RC = 400.00 so it's really not more expensive.
Plus it can fly 3 different drones, upping its value and convenience.

I am glad you are willing to pay $800 for just a controller.. I do not plan on owning a fleet of drones, if I did, and they could all be managed with one controller and I could afford the $3000 or so for the other drones, I probably would not have any issue buying an SC.. Perhaps for you and the minority of pilots that own and fly multiple drones, its a good deal... Its just not for everyone.... have a great day (if its not too windy or raining)

Crashdummytest · Sep 30, 2020

Tomcat16 said:
I bought my MA2 a couple of months ago, sprang for the Fly More combo.
Now the DJI Smart Controller is MA2 Compatible, should I sell one of the kids and buy the SC? Just so you don't think I'm cruel it would be one of the smaller, uglier kids.

I would like to hear your honest opinion.
Are they worth the $750.00 (sorry just threw up in my mouth abut) bucks.

Thank you in advance.

Sell the kid to medical science!
The MA2 is just great with the SC - it's one of the greatest firmware updates of all time, in my view.
Even If I only had the MA2 I would definitively get the SC asap. When you have it you will understand why: no cable hassle, no tablet/phone fiddling for flying, HDMI out makes it possible to use an external display such as FPV goggles, fast startup even if you need to switch between Mavics, and more. The SC has, for a somebody like myself, so many features that it is a must-have item. Espcially useful if you have a mavic 2 as well as an MA2 but if you can afford it its a no-brainer.