In a previous thread (newbie question about mavic 2 pro controllers) I really wanted the BT-300 smart glasses but struggled with controller compatibility. I ended up scrapping the BT-300 idea and purchased an M2P with smart controller. I got a bundle deal through amazon.com.
the package arrived in two days without issues. someone advised me to read the books before trying to fly and then read them again several times. this is most certainly wise advice. What he really meant was download the manuals and read them since no such books are included. I spent a day reading and watching YT videos in preparation. the first flight was uneventful but then things got interesting. when faced with a 'good news bad news' situation i prefer the bad news first so here goes:
The Bad News
All of the advertised pieces were in the shipment except for the thing that lets you use a Mavic battery to charge other components. It just wasn't in the FlyMore kit. My truck has a power inverter so the missing component was more of an irritant than a showstopper. The showstopper was the inability of the M2P to show a level horizon. I just could not pan around and have the horizon remain level. I did some research and was pretty much shocked to see how many other people had the same problem. I was mad at myself for having missed this in my pre-purchase due diligence. I tried all of the recommendations; updated the firmware, made sure the gimbal was in FOLLOW mode, calibrated the gimbal, calibrated the IMU, manually adjusted the gimal while in flight to align with the horizon. Nothing produced permanent results. I could align the horizon while pointing in a certain direction but after a single 360 pan the horizon was tilted again. The tilt was pronounced and very distracting. Just about every thread/video i came across concluded that the aircraft in question was defective and should be returned. I contacted the seller and their advice was to contact DJI and have the M2P replaced under warranty and that way I didn't have to return the entire package. That made sense to me.
I called DJI to see about returning the aircraft for a replacement since I was within the 15-day limit. The person I spoke with accused me of making hard landings and made sure I understood that if hard landings had occurred the aircraft would not be replaced and that they had ways to tell if hard landings had occurred. I was guilty until proven innocent. I continue to be very unsatisfied with DJI support about this. I hung up on the guy and returned the entire package to the seller via amazon. I'm currently looking for a different seller. I don't have an issue with the seller but I'm kinda nervous about getting another bad unit since the problem seems so prevalent.
Whatever manuals are included are printed in a 2-point font which requires a magnifying glass. I was surprised that the Quick Start guide is about a quarter-inch think until i realized that the first 3 pages are in english and the rest are in many many different languages.
The Good News
The aircraft flies like a dream... very easy to handle and control. Very stable. I was amazed at how much quieter it was compared to my P3S. The setup was a breeze and you can be flying in just a couple of minutes. The propellers are much easier to install and you don't have to remove them to store the aircraft. The photos and videos I captured are far better than what the P3S can produce, and rightly so. I made a dozen or so flights, almost all of which were to see if I could correct the tilted horizon issue. I was looking forward to exploring the different flight modes and the camera options (aperture, shutter speed, formats) but never quite got the chance.
The aircraft is much easier to transport from gig to gig. It's small when folded which makes for less stuff to lug around.
The batteries for the M2P and the SC seem to last quite a while. I know they last longer than those for the P3S and you can really get more done on a per-flight basis. They also seem to charge faster. Getting the Fly More kit and having 3 batteries is a luxury.
I instantly liked the smart controller and since I'm back to the P3S until I can get another M2P I really miss it. I had no problems seeing it in bright sunlight. To be fair, it has a significant learning curve so like the man said, read the manuals and read them again. I've seen a fair number of complaints about the lack of documentation and I agree with this 100%. The information is available but you really have to dig for it.
Lessons Learned
Don't be in a hurry to buy one; do your homework on both the aircraft and the seller. This is most likely obvious but I sure missed the tilted horizon issue. To be fair I really don't have any issue with the seller.
Allow yourself sufficient time to read the manuals and practice with the different options. I actually wrote a list of what I wanted to accomplish for each flight and forced myself to stick to it.
Keep a record of the time and date when you activate the aircraft for warranty purposes. When I called DJI the person I spoke with cited different 15-day period ending dates during our conversation and told me the period started when the package was received. He demanded that I send him a copy of my invoice as proof. That just stunned me. I received my package on a Tuesday but didn't active the aircraft until the following Saturday when I had time to devote to setup and initial flight.
Conclusion
All things considered, the M2P and SC were the right choice for me. If anyone has any recommendations about sellers to consider or avoid I'm interested in hearing them. I'm ready to get another M2P that I can use productively.
the package arrived in two days without issues. someone advised me to read the books before trying to fly and then read them again several times. this is most certainly wise advice. What he really meant was download the manuals and read them since no such books are included. I spent a day reading and watching YT videos in preparation. the first flight was uneventful but then things got interesting. when faced with a 'good news bad news' situation i prefer the bad news first so here goes:
The Bad News
All of the advertised pieces were in the shipment except for the thing that lets you use a Mavic battery to charge other components. It just wasn't in the FlyMore kit. My truck has a power inverter so the missing component was more of an irritant than a showstopper. The showstopper was the inability of the M2P to show a level horizon. I just could not pan around and have the horizon remain level. I did some research and was pretty much shocked to see how many other people had the same problem. I was mad at myself for having missed this in my pre-purchase due diligence. I tried all of the recommendations; updated the firmware, made sure the gimbal was in FOLLOW mode, calibrated the gimbal, calibrated the IMU, manually adjusted the gimal while in flight to align with the horizon. Nothing produced permanent results. I could align the horizon while pointing in a certain direction but after a single 360 pan the horizon was tilted again. The tilt was pronounced and very distracting. Just about every thread/video i came across concluded that the aircraft in question was defective and should be returned. I contacted the seller and their advice was to contact DJI and have the M2P replaced under warranty and that way I didn't have to return the entire package. That made sense to me.
I called DJI to see about returning the aircraft for a replacement since I was within the 15-day limit. The person I spoke with accused me of making hard landings and made sure I understood that if hard landings had occurred the aircraft would not be replaced and that they had ways to tell if hard landings had occurred. I was guilty until proven innocent. I continue to be very unsatisfied with DJI support about this. I hung up on the guy and returned the entire package to the seller via amazon. I'm currently looking for a different seller. I don't have an issue with the seller but I'm kinda nervous about getting another bad unit since the problem seems so prevalent.
Whatever manuals are included are printed in a 2-point font which requires a magnifying glass. I was surprised that the Quick Start guide is about a quarter-inch think until i realized that the first 3 pages are in english and the rest are in many many different languages.
The Good News
The aircraft flies like a dream... very easy to handle and control. Very stable. I was amazed at how much quieter it was compared to my P3S. The setup was a breeze and you can be flying in just a couple of minutes. The propellers are much easier to install and you don't have to remove them to store the aircraft. The photos and videos I captured are far better than what the P3S can produce, and rightly so. I made a dozen or so flights, almost all of which were to see if I could correct the tilted horizon issue. I was looking forward to exploring the different flight modes and the camera options (aperture, shutter speed, formats) but never quite got the chance.
The aircraft is much easier to transport from gig to gig. It's small when folded which makes for less stuff to lug around.
The batteries for the M2P and the SC seem to last quite a while. I know they last longer than those for the P3S and you can really get more done on a per-flight basis. They also seem to charge faster. Getting the Fly More kit and having 3 batteries is a luxury.
I instantly liked the smart controller and since I'm back to the P3S until I can get another M2P I really miss it. I had no problems seeing it in bright sunlight. To be fair, it has a significant learning curve so like the man said, read the manuals and read them again. I've seen a fair number of complaints about the lack of documentation and I agree with this 100%. The information is available but you really have to dig for it.
Lessons Learned
Don't be in a hurry to buy one; do your homework on both the aircraft and the seller. This is most likely obvious but I sure missed the tilted horizon issue. To be fair I really don't have any issue with the seller.
Allow yourself sufficient time to read the manuals and practice with the different options. I actually wrote a list of what I wanted to accomplish for each flight and forced myself to stick to it.
Keep a record of the time and date when you activate the aircraft for warranty purposes. When I called DJI the person I spoke with cited different 15-day period ending dates during our conversation and told me the period started when the package was received. He demanded that I send him a copy of my invoice as proof. That just stunned me. I received my package on a Tuesday but didn't active the aircraft until the following Saturday when I had time to devote to setup and initial flight.
Conclusion
All things considered, the M2P and SC were the right choice for me. If anyone has any recommendations about sellers to consider or avoid I'm interested in hearing them. I'm ready to get another M2P that I can use productively.
