Parrot pilot thinking of going for a Mavic 2. Issues with the Mavic 2?

[fuzzybabybunny]

Two months ago I bought my first Parrot Anafi. I've crashed two of them during this time due to no fault of my own and I'm thinking about moving to DJI.

I bought the Anafi because the video quality is very good (better than the Air) and it is half the size of the Mavic Pro, so it's excellent for international travel or even just backpacking around randomly around places.

Before launch I always make sure there is full GPS lock in the drone and the controller. I also make sure the WiFi connection is strong and batteries are fully charged.

Crash 1:

A couple days after a recent firmware update I took off from a long pier. About 20 feet in the air the motors simply shut off. The drone dropped onto some stairs, broke an arm, and then rolled into the ocean.

Crash 2, new drone:

On a newer firmware than the previous one. Out in the middle of nowhere, in places 100 miles away from the nearest civilization the drone will sometimes report "strong wifi interference." This occurs a few minutes after takeoff and the remote video feed cuts off. The drone is often easily only 100 feet away and with an absolutely clear line of sight.

The last time it did this the video feet cut off and the drone automatically returned to home. It flew into a tree on its automatic path and I was only 20 feet away from it as it happened, frantically trying to get it to pull up with the controls, but due to the "strong wifi interference" in the middle of nowhere it didn't respond to control input and crashed, breaking an arm and bending one of the arms of the gimbal falling from 15 feet into dirt.

Thoughts:

The Anafi has been incredibly unreliable for me. Granted, it is being used quite a bit. I've got 64 flights so far but it has been very disconcerting with the kinds of random failures it has had. Every time I take off I wonder if it's going to randomly fall out of the sky or totally lose connection with the controller.

Are these things that I need to worry about with the new DJI Mavic 2?

 

[Starz]

Simple.
NO.

 

[BubbaEric]

The Mavic 2 is no better than the first mavic... I own both of them... and they're the same. I see no difference in flying quality or picture quality myself, except the battery is bigger on the Mavic 2. I would just buy the regular DJI Mavic Pro (for like $899 I think is list price at Best Buy), it's awesome and a good value.

BTW, I have owned 5 drones over the years and have flown a long time, and the Mavic is the best machine I have ever put in the air, hands down. WAY better than Parrot.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Compared to the Anafi, how is the Mavic better / more reliable?

I'm confused how the video quality of the Mavic 2 is the same as the Mavic 1. Isn't the Mavic 2 supposed to use a larger Hasselblad sensor and able to record greater dynamic range and 10-bit color?

 

[Starz]

The Mavic 2 is no better than the first mavic... I own both of them... and they're the same. I see no difference in flying quality or picture quality myself, except the battery is bigger on the Mavic 2. I would just buy the regular DJI Mavic Pro (for like $899 I think is list price at Best Buy), it's awesome and a good value.

BTW, I have owned 5 drones over the years and have flown a long time, and the Mavic is the best machine I have ever put in the air, hands down. WAY better than Parrot.

Disagree.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

How do the Mavics maintain controller connection? Do they use the same frequency as what is used for the video feed? Or does it have some sort of backup frequency just for controller use in case it detects interference on the original frequency? I recently talked to another drone pilot who says he uses the 900MHz frequency for the controller. Has never had any interference or broken connections.

My Parrot on the other hand simply goes unresponsive and becomes a sitting duck - the only sensors it has then is GPS and one proximity sensor aimed downwards. No backup frequencies or anything.

 

[Starz]

Some reading material. Goggle is your friend.Mavic Pro – Specs, Videos, Downloads and FAQ

 

[IShouldBeWorking]

As others mentioned, you can Google specs, but some personal experiences may be helpful to you. I've flown an original DJI Mavic Pro the last couple of years. I've been able to shoot some pretty amazing footage in mountains, deserts and even just down to the neighborhood park. I've never had the Mavic disconnect during a flight. I've never had its video stream stutter and its GPS reception and stability have always been rock solid. Mavic Pros and Mavic 2s use a proprietary connection that DJI calls OccuSync which is much more stable, especially at long distances, than wifi. I've had my Mavic out past a couple of miles away on a clear day and had good, strong signal the whole time. You can look up the thread here on this forum about the long range leader board for guys who are really pushing the Mavic's limits, but the connection is so good that distance is usually limited by battery life, not signal strength. I think you'll be happy with the aircraft stability and connection stability of a Mavic. Good luck!

 

[Starz]

Agreed. As long as you’re not a pixel peeper, the mp1 is a good ac. The mp2 does have some camera advantages and I do think flys a little better.

 

[AeroMirage]

I had an Anafi and returned it after 2 days. It kept disconnecting, sometimes only 50 feet away. Build quality is also very delicate IMHO. The way the RC holds the phone is lousy.
I have a Mavic 2 Pro and love it. It has rock solid connection and is very stable. It is very quiet, but not as quiet at the Anafi.
To me, the Anafi is a toy by comparison. I have had Mavic Pro (Mavic 1) and I feel the Mavic 2 Pro is far better. The build is tight and the camera is miles ahead of the first version.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

*sigh*

I now remember more about why I chose the Anafi in the first place versus any DJI Mavic Pro.

The Anafi charges everything via USB, which vastly simplifies my backpacker lifestyle. I'm always traveling internationally and I now charge everything I own via USB QC 3.0 or USB-PD. GoPro, DSLR, laptop, phone, Anafi.

The thought of the Mavic Pros *requiring* special charging cables really bugs me. A lot. It's bigger and heavier than the Anafi already, but add onto that all the charging crap and the total volume and weight of the package is, what, three times that of the Anafi?

 

[dannybgoode]

Honestly the video quality of the Air is excellent. Have a look on here and on YouTube. I’m not sure I’d say it is better or worse than the Anafi but from what I’ve seen it’s at least very similar.

Ok it still doesn’t charge via USB but it is tiny and so easy to live with. Handles wind brilliantly given its size as well. I’ve had mine up in 25mph winds and it’s rock steady.

I have the M2P also and for out and out enjoyment I still prefer flying the Air. Certainly an option to consider imo.

 

[DanMan32]

Charging a Mavic 1 or 2 battery via USB would take FOREVER, even if it charged using QC 3.0.
The AC charger on the M2 takes 90 minutes delivering 3A @ 17v. QC sends 5, 9 or 12v, depending what the charged device negotiated and only at 2A. Could you see charging only at 24w vs 50w? That 90min would end up being 3 hours.

 

[MBauduin]

My 1st drone was a Parrot AR drone and I had so much fun with it I then went to the Parrot Bebop 1 & Skycontroller 1 while keeping the same Freeflight app. However, after a short while, Bebop batteries were only lasting 5-10 mins and after a few months, the drone began to fall from sky like a rock to the point I no longer wanted to fly it over water. The Anafi wasn't out yet so I decided to go for the DJI Mavic Pro. This was the best move I ever made. Mavic is incredibly reliable as well as its batteries performances, even in cold weather. I did over 200 flights and never crashed. Only one emergency landing because of a too strong wind. The only disconnect problem I got was from the DJI app because of a faulty USB cable between the phone and the RC controller. However the RC controller was still connected and the Return-to-home feature did its job, as always. I can put the Mavic, its controller and 3 extra batteries in the Mavic bag which is not taking more space than my own camera bag. Hope this help!

 

[IShouldBeWorking]

Also, keep in mind that if you consider the Mavic Air, you're stepping back into the world of WiFi communication between the controller and the aircraft. It may still be more solid than your Anafi's connection. But you'll likely have less range than you would with a Mavic Pro or Mavic 2. And either way, you're charging batteries with a separate charger. As explained above, that's just the only way to top off such large batteries in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[ed956]

I had a parrot bebop 2 and made the jump to a Mavic, it is like comparing a formula 1 race with a go kart!

 

[Paul2660]

I have not used the Parrot brand, but have used the MPP and MP2 Pro. The MP2 is a great platform to fly, so far I have not gotten out past 1 mile, but really have no desire to get much past that anyway.

Controller is rock solid, sticks have an excellent feedback and control. Camera has issues, but I am slowly finding ways around some of them.

Battery life is great, and MP2 works with Crystalsky or iPad with no issues so far. My main take away is flight stability, which on the MP2 is excellent. No issues with yawing or pulling to one side during straight flight. I do a lot of flights from remote spots in my state, and will often launch in a very tight area. Have learned to turn off obstacle avoidance in these situations as it makes the landing easier.

I am still putting up with a 06/18 shipped P4 Vr 2.0 that does not have good flight stability, mainly issues around yawing while hovering and straight flight. The MP2 has none of these issues.

For me the noise created by the drone is also a big concern, I can hear my P4 Vr 2.0 out even at 1800 feet, where as the MP2 by 300 feet or so away is hard to hear at all.

Only real disappointment is in the camera, distortion, and edge softness. The files when processed out by the drone as jpgs will not show any of this, but I prefer to do my own post processing. The native MP2 file has considerable distortion, made worse if the camera is pointed up or down. Many of the programs that can read the in camera lens info, will correct it, but at the loss of details due to the amount of correct being applied. Not really expecting DJI to address anything on this so just figuring out ways to handle the issues.

Paul C

 

[ed956]

The Mavic 2 is no better than the first mavic... I own both of them... and they're the same. I see no difference in flying quality or picture quality myself, except the battery is bigger on the Mavic 2. I would just buy the regular DJI Mavic Pro (for like $899 I think is list price at Best Buy), it's awesome and a good value.

BTW, I have owned 5 drones over the years and have flown a long time, and the Mavic is the best machine I have ever put in the air, hands down. WAY better than Parrot.

Really? I had the MP and currently own a MA and an M2P, the M2P is hands down better! Videos, photos, handling, connection, controller, charger, pretty much every aspect!

 

[dazzer71]

Own a mp1 and mp2 and to be honest there is not much in it , yes the camera is better on the mp2 as expected being a bigger sensor but has issues with distortion which i never had with the mp1 , as for performance yes the mp2 is quicker battery life is advertised to be slightly longer but lets not kid ourselves the real time flying time is about the same if your landing with 20 percent battery , the mp2 has more sensors which only work if your using quickshots other than that they are not used only forward and reverse and limit the speed of the bird , yes i love the mp2 but after owning the mp1 from launch i cannot justify the cost of the mp2 its. like apple a slight upgrade on a great platform and looking at the deals they are doing on mp1 plat its the one i would recommend to anyone , the extras on the mp2 ie batteries , are really expensive compared to the mp1 , we all like to justify the money we spend but you pay top dollar for the latest tech thats the way it is bit to say the mp2 is this great leap from the mp1 is simply wrong