After spending 14 days with the MA I've decided to return it and have gone for a MPP for a number of reasons. I did really love the drone, but the MPP has afew features that made me decide to switch. First afew things I really did like about it:
The form factor - This was the main thing I loved the most, it's SO portable and light and very very easy to travel with, everything down the the very nice bundled case and the way the RC packs down to fit nicely in a bag.
The 2.7k 60fps - This is probably the feature I will miss the most that isn't included in the MPP. Being able to achieve smooth 40% video (on a 24fps timeline) is a very nice feature.
The camera in general - I have no doubt the image quality on the MA is superior to the MPP, the 100mb/s bitrate looks gorgeous and takes colour grades very well. The extra protection around the gimbal is also a huge bonus
The extra Quickshots - The boomerang is especially nice - and I hope these will be added to the MP line at some point - although I wouldn't be surprised if these were saved for the MP2.
The rear sensors - These came in very handy afew times, especially in quickshots & POI
The features that I didn't like so much and made me switch:
The Range/Wifi - Being in a CE territory and mainly using it in urban areas I found the range quite disappointing - I would struggle to get over 500m without the video feed becoming laggy which made it very hard to frame a shot, and afew times lost complete connection and RTH trigger around 500m - 600m. I understand however, that for people using it in vast open spaces in FCC areas, this is not an issue.
The battery - While the flight time isn't bad, I was operating from one battery (I had intended to buy more) so the roughly 18 mins I was getting wasn't ideal. The extra 9 mins available on the MPP is quite appealing.
The noise levels - I know this is a debated topic, and alot of people couldn't care less about the noise - however since most of the time I was using it I was in areas that were fairly crowded - I did find it drew some unwanted attention. This doesn't just apply to people either, for example in the video below I was flying above a pond with alot of ducks flying around, I was trying to get some 60fps slow mo & the noise of the drone was quite disturbing and was disrupting to both the ducks and people in the surrounding area.
I haven't actually received the MPP yet - so I can't comment on it yet - but the three main features above I feel make it a better suited drone. The MA is priced at £780 ($1080) over here, and the MPP is £1200 ($1660) on the DJI store. I managed to get a MPP in the Gearbest Chinese NY sale for £690 ($955) so for over £500 off RRP it was a deal I couldn't pass up. And yes I know it's likely a grey import so warranty is tricky, but I guess it's a risk I'm taking.
Anyway overall the MA is a fantastic drone and would recommend it to most people, especially in FCC and travelers who need the smaller foot print. And yes i know the MP2 will probably be out in a month or so and I might regret this, but it will be priced close to double what I paid for the MPP, so I guess I'll have to wait and see.
Anyway here's some of the short amount of footage I got in my short time with it. Sad to see it go!
The form factor - This was the main thing I loved the most, it's SO portable and light and very very easy to travel with, everything down the the very nice bundled case and the way the RC packs down to fit nicely in a bag.
The 2.7k 60fps - This is probably the feature I will miss the most that isn't included in the MPP. Being able to achieve smooth 40% video (on a 24fps timeline) is a very nice feature.
The camera in general - I have no doubt the image quality on the MA is superior to the MPP, the 100mb/s bitrate looks gorgeous and takes colour grades very well. The extra protection around the gimbal is also a huge bonus
The extra Quickshots - The boomerang is especially nice - and I hope these will be added to the MP line at some point - although I wouldn't be surprised if these were saved for the MP2.
The rear sensors - These came in very handy afew times, especially in quickshots & POI
The features that I didn't like so much and made me switch:
The Range/Wifi - Being in a CE territory and mainly using it in urban areas I found the range quite disappointing - I would struggle to get over 500m without the video feed becoming laggy which made it very hard to frame a shot, and afew times lost complete connection and RTH trigger around 500m - 600m. I understand however, that for people using it in vast open spaces in FCC areas, this is not an issue.
The battery - While the flight time isn't bad, I was operating from one battery (I had intended to buy more) so the roughly 18 mins I was getting wasn't ideal. The extra 9 mins available on the MPP is quite appealing.
The noise levels - I know this is a debated topic, and alot of people couldn't care less about the noise - however since most of the time I was using it I was in areas that were fairly crowded - I did find it drew some unwanted attention. This doesn't just apply to people either, for example in the video below I was flying above a pond with alot of ducks flying around, I was trying to get some 60fps slow mo & the noise of the drone was quite disturbing and was disrupting to both the ducks and people in the surrounding area.
I haven't actually received the MPP yet - so I can't comment on it yet - but the three main features above I feel make it a better suited drone. The MA is priced at £780 ($1080) over here, and the MPP is £1200 ($1660) on the DJI store. I managed to get a MPP in the Gearbest Chinese NY sale for £690 ($955) so for over £500 off RRP it was a deal I couldn't pass up. And yes I know it's likely a grey import so warranty is tricky, but I guess it's a risk I'm taking.
Anyway overall the MA is a fantastic drone and would recommend it to most people, especially in FCC and travelers who need the smaller foot print. And yes i know the MP2 will probably be out in a month or so and I might regret this, but it will be priced close to double what I paid for the MPP, so I guess I'll have to wait and see.
Anyway here's some of the short amount of footage I got in my short time with it. Sad to see it go!
