Those that own Mini: any reason to keep AND get Air 2?

[nencmeister]

Ironically I picked up my Mavic Mini on a small road (social distancing) road trip in the Adirondacks, I had to get videos from the sky it was so beautiful. This was almost two weeks ago. I love the mini, it's fantastic. Doing research on it, I saw the MA2 was coming out and saw review (apparently A LOT of people already have it) I instantly pre-ordered one.

My main reason for switching is the bad connection in Urban settings. If you fly it on the outskirts of a neighborhood, where there is a lot of interference the connection can get very bad. I had a couple of close calls; so my biggest selling point was for Occusync 2.0, which is still run via a mix of 2.4/5ghz WiFi but claims to be some sort of proprietary signal set which tbh I don't understand very much, but if go on youtube you see guys in the middle of big cities able to fly their Mav Pro 2s that has the same OccySync 2.0 with absolute ease.

I really like the Mini, great drone but I know I'm going to regret not upgrading. For myself personally I do not see why I'd own two at once, the other would just be collecting dust.

Also I'm pretty much a gadget and electronic hoarder, my monthly Amex bill would shock most people and I need to stop buying cool crap I see online.

So don't turn in to a hoarder like me, invest in Tesla.

 

[Km5er]

I have the Mini and the Phantom 4. Keeping the mini cause it is small enough to grab and go. The Phantom has to go cause it's form factor is such that when you have it in its case and ready to go....it is about the size of my travel suitcase. I am. looking at the Air 2 as a replacement for the Phantom 4 because it's footprint is smaller and yet it still has some of the features that I would like to have. So I plan to have two. One ...grab and go...one a little larger. However....I really do not trust DJI so am waiting for some people to get their Air 2, see what the boards say about it....watch the youtube videos and see real world comments....and if it looks as good as it appears now....I will most likely order at a time it is so back ordered that I will be mad that I waited!

 

[Fltwrench]

Ironically I picked up my Mavic Mini on a small road (social distancing) road trip in the Adirondacks, I had to get videos from the sky it was so beautiful. This was almost two weeks ago. I love the mini, it's fantastic. Doing research on it, I saw the MA2 was coming out and saw review (apparently A LOT of people already have it) I instantly pre-ordered one.

My main reason for switching is the bad connection in Urban settings. If you fly it on the outskirts of a neighborhood, where there is a lot of interference the connection can get very bad. I had a couple of close calls; so my biggest selling point was for Occusync 2.0, which is still run via a mix of 2.4/5ghz WiFi but claims to be some sort of proprietary signal set which tbh I don't understand very much, but if go on youtube you see guys in the middle of big cities able to fly their Mav Pro 2s that has the same OccySync 2.0 with absolute ease.

I really like the Mini, great drone but I know I'm going to regret not upgrading. For myself personally I do not see why I'd own two at once, the other would just be collecting dust.

Also I'm pretty much a gadget and electronic hoarder, my monthly Amex bill would shock most people and I need to stop buying cool crap I see online.

So don't turn in to a hoarder like me, invest in Tesla.

I went ahead and returned my mini and am getting the Air 2 today...just occusync alone was enough justification for me.

 

[KiloMeater]

That's true in the USA, but in some other countries, the lighter weight drones avoid other regulations as well.

However the upcoming Remote ID rule in the US seems to exempt

I live in Austria , EU.
Anything above the 250 gr limit needs an annual license to fly at a cost of 330€ , almost the cost of mini itself .
The upcoming EU drone regulations will fix that at some point reducing the cost dramatically however it seems that below 250 you may avoid the registration , pilot certifications , uninvolved audience proximity prohibition or some of these at least.
With sales going up and the private information protection frenzy picking up, I gave up my plans to switch with a MA2 and opted for the minimal footprint. I enjoy pictures of nice locations which many times are not isolated so I prefer its regulatory flexibility over MA2's photo taking capabilities (which are what I would buy it for)

 

[SirrRoyston]

I am gonna wait out until July 1st, see what the CAA bring. With the new rules they are stating that MTOM will over rule the "249g no need to register/license" advantage.

The only advantage of owning the mini may be struck off. If this is the case then the mini is gone and the MA2 will be bought.

 

[netfolks2000]

They say the Mini 2 uses the same controller as the MA2. Hmmm. Does that mean, you could buy the MA2 alone and use that controller with both? Guess someone will have to try that. I would imagine you'd have to link it with the aircraft each time if you switched drones. That would be too inconvenient if that was how.

 

[dawgpilot]

They say the Mini 2 uses the same controller as the MA2. Hmmm. Does that mean, you could buy the MA2 alone and use that controller with both? Guess someone will have to try that. I would imagine you'd have to link it with the aircraft each time if you switched drones. That would be too inconvenient if that was how.

I imagine you are correct and the RC will need to be relinked to each drone each time to fly with it.

 

[JohnLietzke]

The speed, distance and range are all separate factors when comparing the MA2 to the Mini.

I fly out aways to shoot in remote areas. The speed getting to the location and distance are not as big of factor on the the MA2 as it has the roughly the same flight time as the Mini. So you are able to get out to the location faster and have more time at that location before returning.

The range and signal strength especially at over mile are much better on the MA2 than the Mini. The Mini 2 and MA2 have the same signal strength and range.

I flew both the MA2 and Mini before buying the MA2. The flight capabilities were what sold me on the MA2. I went to Best Buy yesterday to buy a Mini 2 and the last one was in the hands of a guy in the checkout line. After pondering the impulsive buy I decided not to go to another Best Buy and get the Mini 2. The portability of the Mini series is the selling point for me but the MA2 is not really a challenge to transport.

The MA2 is just more capable and I reflected on my experience with the Mini in wind, the significant speed differences and range of flight. I just prefer the MA2 personally.