Poll: Are you going to buy a Spark?

[AlanTheBeast]

I am really on the fence about this. I suspect a 10 minute flight time,

Mass/Wh suggests 16 minutes max. And that's what DJI claim too.

 

[deansta]

Pass

 

[Dukatu]

Mass/Wh suggests 16 minutes max. And that's what DJI claim too.

Sure, but likely 10 before if starts beeping at you.

 

[AlanTheBeast]

Sure, but likely 10 before if starts beeping at you.

TomsTech YouTube got a useful 15 minutes during his tests. You set the beep point as you see fit. Given that this drone is meant to be used within a few hundred metres most of the time, a liberal alarm point is okay. For those who must fly further a conservative return time is a must.

 

[regdawg]

It'll be more discrete than a mavic.....but the battery life and folding arms have me on th fence. For the price I expected a little more. For a few hundred more you can just get a mavic.

 

[Johnmcl7]

I bought the Mavic as my first drone this year although if I didn't have it, I'd be seriously considering the Spark as a cheaper starting point for a drone that still looks very functional. As it stands though I don't see much use for it alongside the Mavic particularly for the relatively high price.

John

 

[newnan3]

Ive had a few racing quads that were about the size of this Spark and they were a blast to fly. A smaller, quieter, fun colored drone can be less intimidating to the drone-fearing public.

I think the non-folding arms are a good thing too. More robust and simpler design = less to go wrong.

If I didnt have so much invested in racing drones I'd strongly consider one.

 

[newnan3]

I would not even consider owning it without a RC tho

 

[Boog0822]

Keeping the Mavic with no plans for a Spark.

 

[Robbyg]

I think it's a great little drone for the person who is into selfies and is heavily into social media, unfortunately IMHO that is where the practicality ends.

If you own a Mavic and do any kind of serious flying you hit into a value for $$ issue with the Spark. For each Mavic battery you have you will need two for the spark.

Mavic Flymore $1300 (3 Batteries included)

Spark Flymore $700 (2 Batteries included)
The extra 4 batteries to give you the same flight time is another $200. Car battery charge possibly another $50,

So $1300 vs $950

Is the $350 savings worth it considering all the other limitations of the Spark? Not for me but I guess there are a lot of people who will want one and many others who will buy one for their kids at Christmas time.

Rob

 

[Yragorn]

I would of bought it if it was exempted from the current Canadian laws, but it is not due to its weight (Canada law applies to 250g to 35kg, Spark is 300g)

 

[stafvh]

I agree about the fact that it does not have foldable arms like the Mavic. That would have made it 100% as far as Im concerned. I think most of us here are gadget geeks too, so youre not alone.

Foldable arms, a better flying autonomy, and last but not least, a remote incorporated in the basic price ( 600€).

 

[stafvh]

This is why I got one. We're constantly crashing our Mavics and I feel like the Spark will hold up better / be a good backup on a shoot in case both Mavics are broken.

The gimbal of the Spark seems to be less fragile...hopefully Mavick II will have a more solid version as well

 

[regdawg]

But if any if you had to choose between the mavic or spark....which one?

 

[jimbug]

Wanted the latest technology of 3D sensors, gesture control, pano, wireless charging, microUSB charging, and smallest size DJI drone. Mavic Pro doesn't have any of these things and costs twice as much. WTF!

Bring on the Spark and it's 1080 camera, who needs 4K for sharing on the internet? Not me!

 

[FatherXmas]

I won't be getting one because no folding arms and the crippled EU range. It's also missing DNG output which is kind of a big deal.

I was very close to ordering one. No DNG? I may have to hold off, I don't see any reason for DJI to do that. Maybe it will change? I can't imagine it would be very difficult to add that capability.

 

[Budmancan]

Just trying to get an idea of how many of us are going to get one. I intend to have a few (dozen) for spare parts purposes. This poll may be a little bit premature, but if the Spark lives up to your expectations, would you sell you Mav and keep the Spark?

Definitely. I have 2 Mavics so I will sell one.

 

[regdawg]

I think I'd rather get the goggles for the same price just about.

 

[srinath27]

For traveling overseas, say Europe, would you recommend a spark or a mavic?

def spark for Europe travel, esp milan and venice. I tried mavic and it caused some attention, had to talk with patrol officers

 

[m0j0]

But if any if you had to choose between the mavic or spark....which one?

Mavic - The Spark looks amazing but I would buy the Mavic Pro Fly More again if faced with the decison of choosing between the two. IMO the Mavic is a fully capable bird along the same line as the Phantom series. It is much more portable though with the tradeoff being a little image quality. The Spark is not the same. It is limited in a number of ways and is intended for a different audience. This is not to say that it better or worse... just different.

I will say that some of the new features are pretty impressive.