Professional and Detailed Comparison - Air vs. Pro

bytebiz · Mar 9, 2018

For those trying to decide between a Pro and an Air this may be a helpful article, complete with side-by-side real-time video comparisons.

Is the DJI Mavic Air as good as the Mavic Pro? - Newsshooter

sebastianshaw · Jul 8, 2018

This one - DJI Mavic Air vs Mavic Pro - is even better

shane8289 · Jul 8, 2018

I've flown both but the Air is my personal preference since camera is most important to me.

Mike Mas · Jul 9, 2018

Bottom line the Mavic Air is a major step down from the Pro.

DJI manged to take a almost perfect drone and totally screw it up. The falsely market a "new" model in hopes of getting past owners to upgrade thinking they are improving their capability, only to find out it the Air is a major step down, way past then even the Phantom 3. This new machine fits perfectly with their horrible support which is the worst in the industry.

DJI continues to release drones (and everything else) which has problems from the get-go. There is no longer field testing, they slap junk together sell it, and we the test dummies break them and buy extra parts. All us loyal buyers are paying for their mistakes.

Mike

TorChamp · Jul 10, 2018

Major step down in range, step down in flight time and small step up in noise (higher pitch due to smaller propellers ), but the rest is a step UP!
For most people the super compact form factor is important. It can in fact be put in the pocket on my jacket!
The 100mbps coming from the Ambarella H1 chip in 4k30 and 1080/120 is also impressive! Way better than the 60mbps from the Ambarella A9 in the MP.
This means the MA has the HW to support H.265 compression in 4k30 (if power supply can cope with more current drawn). Hopefully DJI will support this in the future.

MrRobville · Jul 11, 2018

The topic has honestly been discussed plenty of times and it always boils down to personal preference. None is better than the other really because a drone is simply not defined by just one aspect, though some sensitive people tend to disagree on that. Get whatever quad fits your needs best.

shane8289 · Jul 11, 2018

MrRobville said:
The topic has honestly been discussed plenty of times and it always boils down to personal preference. None is better than the other really because a drone is simply not defined by just one aspect, though some sensitive people tend to disagree on that. Get whatever quad fits your needs best.

Exactly. For some is range and battery important for others camera therefore the preference. In my case camera so choice is MA.

Let's just all wait few more days and stop this nonsense discussions since new Mavic will most likely have what both Pro and Air have + some more.

aokusman · Jul 11, 2018

I would never have bought the pro but bought the air for size, camera and cost. It’s not meant to replace the pro.

lmel2005 · Jul 11, 2018

These comparisons maybe have some meaning in us only.

For CE territories and all other world, a (fixed focus) flying camera disconnecting in a 150-200m distance, and hopefully returning IF rth works, is not a step UP. .. It's a dangerous camera.

AMRE2ME2 · Jul 11, 2018

I see way more problems with the Pros gimble and connection problems then with the Air. You rarely see anyone having issues with the Air.

sebastianshaw · Jul 11, 2018

AMRE2ME2 said:
I see way more problems with the Pros gimble and connection problems then with the Air. You rarely see anyone having issues with the Air.

What about the range of Air? I've seen plenty of people having the issues there.

AMRE2ME2 · Jul 11, 2018

sebastianshaw said:
What about the range of Air? I've seen plenty of people having the issues there.

By all means, post up your longest flight with your Pro. 99% of Pro owners have never taken their Pros even close to what the range of the Air is. My best is 4632 meters with an Air. That argument doesn't hold water if you're not going to use the extra range of the Pro. What good is it if you never use it.

Official Mavic Air Range Leaderboard!

MrEdCeD · Jul 11, 2018

Mavic air with occusync = perfect drone... But Don't even exist...

CanadaDrone · Jul 11, 2018

AMRE2ME2 said:
By all means, post up your longest flight with your Pro. 99% of Pro owners have never taken their Pros even close to what the range of the Air is. My best is 4632 meters with an Air. That argument doesn't hold water if you're not going to use the extra range of the Pro. What good is it if you never use it.

Official Mavic Air Range Leaderboard!

Just to add to this comment, extreme range is irrelevant for most people anyway because it's illegal to fly beyond line of sight, which is usually no more than a few hundred meters and I have got to believe the amount of users risking flight beyond ~4 KM (the Air's range) is extremely small.

The noise issue is often brought up and in my opinion way overblown. Yes, the Pro is slightly quieter, mostly due to how we perceive pitch. I have flown them both side by side many times now and the reality is that they are both loud - if you can hear one, you can hear the other. Neither are discreet, and both get the exact same amount of attention when taking off or landing in a public place (I witnessed this many times on vacation). So yes it's a small advantage of the Pro, but in practice I can't really see that being a deal breaker. I'd rather have superior image quality, greater portability, and better obstacle avoidance than a slightly quieter drone.

TorChamp · Jul 11, 2018

sebastianshaw said:
What about the range of Air? I've seen plenty of people having the issues there.

Most people in this category has forgotten to latch down the WiFi antennas on the front arms... Then the antennas is in a strong magnetic field in the front motors, and do not work at all. Sometimes it makes sense to read the manual...

CanadaDrone · Jul 11, 2018

TorChamp said:
Most people in this category has forgotten to latch down the WiFi antennas on the front arms... Then the antennas is in a strong magnetic field in the front motors, and do not work at all. Sometimes it makes sense to read the manual...

You also want the controller antennae always to be parallel to each other and at 45 degrees to the remote, or with the flat parts facing the drone (for example for flight directly above you, you would want the antenna pointed straight out with the flat part facing the sky). Just about everyone I have seen in the 'wild' flying a Mavic Air or Pro has no idea how to orient the remote antennae, but it probably doesn't matter much either way unless you are flying out of LoS.

mad monkey · Jul 11, 2018

Ma batteries are cheaper.. It's smaller, lighter.. Has more sensors. More protected gimbal... These are my personal reasons

ChipDjipro · Jul 11, 2018

Personally after buying the inspire nothing else will do.

lmel2005 · Jul 12, 2018

Mavic Air in 5.8g mode (the mode it flies in CE territories), max range is 500m. DJI says this, not me.

In real word, range is less than 300 m. With all antennas unfolded, RC looking ma to the eyes, and pilot's left hand straight up, for more signal.

Nice drone, but for us market only.

Mavic Pro with ocusync have no range issues, regardless of the place it flies.

CanadaDrone · Jul 12, 2018

lmel2005 said:
Mavic Air in 5.8g mode (the mode it flies in CE territories), max range is 500m. DJI says this, not me.

In real word, range is less than 300 m. With all antennas unfolded, RC looking ma to the eyes, and pilot's left hand straight up, for more signal.

With an Android device you should be able to easily get it into FCC mode.