Which Mavic should I get for my 1st drone?

GoBigGuy · Jan 23, 2018

Hi All,

So before today's DJI event I was all set on getting the Mavic Pro Platinum and the reasons being I liked the longer flight time of 30 mins, super quiet and the FOV at 78.8. What I wasn't happy about was the lack of rear sensors since this is my 1st drone figure the more the better.

Now the Mavic Air has been officially announced I do like the fact it has the sensors in the back and I think the pano features would be fun to have and of course the cheaper price is nice as well.

I'm planning on buying my drone by the end of the month and I really don't want to get something that I want to upgrade in a year so this is a long term purchase.

Do you think the longer flying time of the Mavic Pro Platinum out weighs the new features of the Mavic Air?

Thanks for your feedback!

FuzLogix · Jan 23, 2018

Mavic Pro Platinum.

GoBigGuy · Jan 23, 2018

What reasons does the MPP beat the Air?

FuzLogix said:
Mavic Pro Platinum.

BD0G · Jan 23, 2018

Occusync for connection between drone and controller (Mavic Air is WiFi connection). Potentially better camera (jury is still out). Greater number of people have flown and do fly the Mavic Pro and sorted out its shortcomings. More accessories. Remote Controller with a visual display.

lannes · Jan 23, 2018

GoBigGuy said:
What reasons does the MPP beat the Air?

Flight time, ISO 3200 in video, C4k video resolution, 7km range, Occusync and probably flight stability.

In real life the conditions the 9 minutes of extra flight time is significant

Anthony Viscomi · Jan 23, 2018

Keyword...."1st drone". I would get the drone that has the most safety features, which at this time is the Mavic Air

BD0G · Jan 23, 2018

@Anthony Viscomi - Wish we were closer so I could test fly your new Mavic Air when it arrives! I would love to fly and uncrashable drone ! LOL

Mavic Pro has a much larger knowledge base as well. The new Air is unproven and un established.

With practice you can fly the Mavic Pro safely in many conditions. Operative phase is "with practice"

Mossiback · Jan 23, 2018

Mavic Pro/Platinum. Longer flight time, more range, and display on remote controller. Remember that DJI's listed specs are under perfect conditions and your experience will probably be less.

Given my experiences with DJI's software, not having a readout on the RC is probably the top reason why I would not get an Air. If you loose sight of the smaller Air and the app crashes or your phone dies it looks like your only option is to press RTH and hope you set it up properly and it works. Perhaps that is why it has a shorter range; it makes it less likely you will fly out of sight.

DougAles · Jan 23, 2018

Honestly, if this will be your 1st drone, I would recommend something more economical then any of the DJI drones.

Perhaps a Syma X5C at about $50 from Wal*Mart.

Get some experience, see if you like it, get some mistakes out of the way, build some muscle memory. Then, after you feel you have mastered the starter drone you will be able to make a more experienced decision on your next drone.

FuzLogix · Jan 23, 2018

Mossiback said:
Given my experiences with DJI's software, having a readout on the RC is probably the top reason why I would not get an Air. If you loose sight of the smaller Air and the app crashes or your phone dies it looks like your only option is to press RTH and hope you set it up properly and it works.
View attachment 29312

This is so true, I've had the app die multple times on my phone, even had the power fail on my phone - each time I replied on the screen remote to know what was going on and if my Mavic was coming back to me or not.

For this reason alone it makes the Mavic Pro seem a small price increase for much bigger benefits!

BD0G · Jan 23, 2018

Or another starter drone that has many positive reviews is the Eachine e58

19 Bucks on eBay! Cant go wrong with that price point

Eachine E58 WIFI FPV 2MP Wide Angle Camera Foldable RC Drone Quadcopter RTF | eBay

Hostar · Jan 23, 2018

GoBigGuy said:
What reasons does the MPP beat the Air?

noise for one and occusync for another.

Anthony Viscomi · Jan 23, 2018

BD0G said:
@Anthony Viscomi - Wish we were closer so I could test fly your new Mavic Air when it arrives! I would love to fly and uncrashable drone ! LOL

Mavic Pro has a much larger knowledge base as well. The new Air is unproven and un established.

With practice you can fly the Mavic Pro safely in many conditions. Operative phase is "with practice"

Feel free to fly me out to Lake Tahoe

microlinux · Jan 23, 2018

GoBigGuy said:
Now the Mavic Air has been officially announced I do like the fact it has the sensors in the back and I think the pano features would be fun to have and of course the cheaper price is nice as well

The rear sensors might be nice, but they're an "oh ****" feature, not something to implicitly rely on. For OA to work properly, several conditions need to be met. I wouldn't factor them as a key decision point, they're a "nice to have" if the rest of the drone is a fit for you.

Depends on what you want to use the drone for, but there's a good chance you'll spend much of your time flying with OA off. I can count on one hand the number of times I've used it over the course of many flights. If I had no hands, I could count the times it saved me from some disaster.