Replacement/upgrade path from Mavic Pro 1

[FlyingFilmmaker]

I recently had a takeoff crash that broke the ribbon cable on the gimbal of my M1P. I could send it in for repair or try to fix it myself, or just sell this one on eBay for repair and get another drone.

I am starting to think about simply selling out all my MP gear and getting something else because the compression and noise reduction are pretty terrible on the MP. Makes 4K pretty much unusable at times.

Anyway, the options I see are:

#1 Fix MP. I really like the drone but the camera quality is really not great and gimbal ribbon tends to break on crash.

#2 Sell MP and up (or down?) grade to:
Mavic Air. Cheaper than MP and better camera, but the range is terrible
Mavic Mini 2. Cheaper, better camera, but tiny, and no active track, obstacle avoidance etc.
Mavic 2 Pro. A lot more expensive, not really within budget right now, but it's the drone I eventually want to get. Great flight characteristics, awesome camera, just great drone.
Mavic Air 2. Somewhat more expensive, better camera, good range, but missing some big things of the 2 Pro like 10 bit, D-LOG, 4K crop, etc.
Something else I'm not thinking of.

What are you all's thoughts on what the best upgrade path would be? Should I just fix the MP and deal with the camera, or upgrae to something else? What do you think would be the best drone to upgrade to if I decide to upgrade?

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

I recently had a takeoff crash that broke the ribbon cable on the gimbal of my M1P. I could send it in for repair or try to fix it myself, or just sell this one on eBay for repair and get another drone.

I am starting to think about simply selling out all my MP gear and getting something else because the compression and noise reduction are pretty terrible on the MP. Makes 4K pretty much unusable at times.

Anyway, the options I see are:

#1 Fix MP. I really like the drone but the camera quality is really not great and gimbal ribbon tends to break on crash.

#2 Sell MP and up (or down?) grade to:
Mavic Air. Cheaper than MP and better camera, but the range is terrible
Mavic Mini 2. Cheaper, better camera, but tiny, and no active track, obstacle avoidance etc.
Mavic 2 Pro. A lot more expensive, not really within budget right now, but it's the drone I eventually want to get. Great flight characteristics, awesome camera, just great drone.
Mavic Air 2. Somewhat more expensive, better camera, good range, but missing some big things of the 2 Pro like 10 bit, D-LOG, 4K crop, etc.
Something else I'm not thinking of.

What are you all's thoughts on what the best upgrade path would be? Should I just fix the MP and deal with the camera, or upgrae to something else? What do you think would be the best drone to upgrade to if I decide to upgrade?

I just upgraded from my MPP to the Mavic 2 Pro. It's what I've always wanted too. My first impressions with the M2P is that it is far far better than the Mavic 1. The Ocusync 2 is outstanding, extremely stable for close proximity flying, can perform maneuvers that the M1 can never do proficiently, has an outstanding waypoint capability, and there is a lot more. I'm still learning it's capabilities and have not yet "pressed all the buttons".

I know it's a lot more expensive, but you get what you pay for. The next best alternative is to move up to the Mavic Air 2. Although I don't have one, It's a less expensive move to a great drone.

Lastly, if you're so inclined, keep what you got and wait for the mythical M3. But then that would certainly be more money.

Happy decision making!

 

[FlyingFilmmaker]

I just upgraded from my MPP to the Mavic 2 Pro. It's what I've always wanted too. My first impressions with the M2P is that it is far far better than the Mavic 1. The Ocusync 2 is outstanding, extremely stable for close proximity flying, can perform maneuvers that the M1 can never do proficiently, has an outstanding waypoint capability, and there is a lot more. I'm still learning it's capabilities and have not yet "pressed all the buttons".

I know it's a lot more expensive, but you get what you pay for. The next best alternative is to move up to the Mavic Air 2. Although I don't have one, It's a less expensive move to a great drone.

Lastly, if you're so inclined, keep what you got and wait for the mythical M3. But then that would certainly be more money.

Happy decision making!

Thanks for the experience and input!

I've decided I'm just going to repair the M1P for now. Then probably upgrade to the 2 Pro in a few months when I start doing paid drone work. The MA2 is pretty tempting, but I think the better sensor and other things on the M2P are worth the extra. I'm not too inclined to wait for the M3, but I wouldn't mind if DJI did release it as it will drive the 2 Pro prices down. ?

 

[DanMan32]

If you don't need a 1" sensor and all the bells/whistles that go with it, also consider the M2Z.
Same AC body and flight features as the M2P, only the camera is different and the M2Z is a few hundred dollars less than the M2P and you get continuous 2x optical and an additional 2x digital in 1080p@30fps. Only the MA2 has a camera with a bit bigger sensor. Granted it is an 8k sensor.