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Which one is right for me???

Dozer40

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Hello Everyone. I'm a Newbie. I'll list everything, hopefully, you need to know to help me decide which drone to buy this week. I am a former fashion photographer. I was a pro photographer for 15 years and I know my way around Lightroom and Photoshop pretty well. I am retired from that field now but am wanting to stay active in photography. Today I am wanting to shoot more scenic photography, hence the drone. I want to be able to shoot in aeb mode. I will probably do some video but I don't have a lot of experience in video yet. i do a lot of photography work for my church youth group and other ministries and I think that aerial photography would be a nice addition to what I'm already doing. We are going to a camp, as a whole church, in the coming weeks and the drone would make that trip a lot of fun. I have several friends that are realtors that will want to hire me to take aerial photos of their listings. I am currently a middle School teacher and I think the drone would be fun shooting some of the outdoor sporting events. This is why I want the drone. Here is what my research tells me so far. If I'm wrong let me know.

Mavic Air - Small, fast, short battery life, decent video but ok photos. Three sensors, front, back and bottom for avoiding object. Under $900 for the Fly More Package

Mavic Pro Platinum - Larger body, similar video to Air but less info collected. Good photos. Good battery life. Two sensors, front and bottom, for avoiding objects. Quieter that Air. Fly More package is $1100

Mavic 2 Zoom - Similar body size but more aerodynamic than Mavic Pro Platinum. Better video and better photos with zoom. Same battery life as Platinum. Sensors everywhere and smarter object avoidance. Fly more package is $1628.

Mavic 2 Pro - Hassleblad camera... better videos and photos than the others No Zoom. Other than that, same as the Zoom. Fly more kit - $1878

Here's my dilemma(s)

If I want to go cheap, for what I want is the Platinum better because it is quieter, has longer battery life and takes better still photos? Do I want to go cheaper? The few time I have picked the cheaper investment I've regretted it later (but that was when I was making a living doing it)? If I go more expensive, is the Hassleblad camera worth the extra $250 over the zoom? Should I start with the 2 Zoom or Pro because I've never flown a drone before and the accident avoidance is so much better? The zoom is a stretch financially for me so the pro seems out of my price range... but I could possibly make it work, just don't want to spend $2K on a drone.

Given this information why should I select one over the other? Thank you for your advice.
 
Hello Everyone. I'm a Newbie. I'll list everything, hopefully, you need to know to help me decide which drone to buy this week. I am a former fashion photographer. I was a pro photographer for 15 years and I know my way around Lightroom and Photoshop pretty well. I am retired from that field now but am wanting to stay active in photography. Today I am wanting to shoot more scenic photography, hence the drone. I want to be able to shoot in aeb mode. I will probably do some video but I don't have a lot of experience in video yet. i do a lot of photography work for my church youth group and other ministries and I think that aerial photography would be a nice addition to what I'm already doing. We are going to a camp, as a whole church, in the coming weeks and the drone would make that trip a lot of fun. I have several friends that are realtors that will want to hire me to take aerial photos of their listings. I am currently a middle School teacher and I think the drone would be fun shooting some of the outdoor sporting events. This is why I want the drone. Here is what my research tells me so far. If I'm wrong let me know.

Mavic Air - Small, fast, short battery life, decent video but ok photos. Three sensors, front, back and bottom for avoiding object. Under $900 for the Fly More Package

Mavic Pro Platinum - Larger body, similar video to Air but less info collected. Good photos. Good battery life. Two sensors, front and bottom, for avoiding objects. Quieter that Air. Fly More package is $1100

Mavic 2 Zoom - Similar body size but more aerodynamic than Mavic Pro Platinum. Better video and better photos with zoom. Same battery life as Platinum. Sensors everywhere and smarter object avoidance. Fly more package is $1628.

Mavic 2 Pro - Hassleblad camera... better videos and photos than the others No Zoom. Other than that, same as the Zoom. Fly more kit - $1878

Here's my dilemma(s)

If I want to go cheap, for what I want is the Platinum better because it is quieter, has longer battery life and takes better still photos? Do I want to go cheaper? The few time I have picked the cheaper investment I've regretted it later (but that was when I was making a living doing it)? If I go more expensive, is the Hassleblad camera worth the extra $250 over the zoom? Should I start with the 2 Zoom or Pro because I've never flown a drone before and the accident avoidance is so much better? The zoom is a stretch financially for me so the pro seems out of my price range... but I could possibly make it work, just don't want to spend $2K on a drone.

Given this information why should I select one over the other? Thank you for your advice.
Sounds like the Mavic Pro Platinum is your ticket. The image quality is good it will just take some getting use to not having an adjustable aperture but you’ll manage.

The Mavic Air has as good of a camera but the $200 upgrade is worth it for the Platinum because it’s a better flight platform.

If you really want a good deal find a Mavic Pro OG and put Platinum 8331 props on it.
 
Sounds like the Mavic Pro Platinum is your ticket. The image quality is good it will just take some getting use to not having an adjustable aperture but you’ll manage.

The Mavic Air has as good of a camera but the $200 upgrade is worth it for the Platinum because it’s a better flight platform.

If you really want a good deal find a Mavic Pro OG and put Platinum 8331 props on it.

How would putting the 8331 props on the pro vs Platinum be a good deal?
its all in the ESC's!
 
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How would putting the 8331 props on the pro vs Platinum be a good deal?
its all in the ESC's!
The motors make almost no noise by themself. The noise you hear is the props hitting the air. It’s a great deal compared to the Mavic Air considering it will be less expensive, quieter, have a longer flight time, better range, more reliable, and as adjustable focus.

Mavic Pro OG is going for about $800 right now. Two sets of 8331’s is about $40. So let’s call that $850. $1100 is about 30% more than $850 but the Mavic Pro Platinum has only about 10%-15% more advertised flight time then the OG and with the 8331 props on the OG the noise difference is about 1-2db.

Not a better aircraft but a better deal
 
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Mavic 2 Pro - Hassleblad camera... better videos and photos than the others No Zoom. Other than that, same as the Zoom. Fly more kit - $1878

Nothing else to say !!
 
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Ok. Just wondering. I love my MPP. Why the mavic side ? I would think someone in your shoes would be heading down the phantom side cheap, awesome camera, and stable Don’t get me wrong I love the Mavics but have other ones I like too. If it’s down to the mavic side only. I would think stay to lower end of budget and then see if you like the drone stuff at all. For the most part they hold those value pretty good. Hope that helped ya some.
 
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if it's a write off ( Business Expense) Mavic 2 pro....They tell me Photo quality is Top Notch (which i did)
If you want to see if droning is a trail to see if right for you
Craiglist has plenty of used mavic pro for $500 ( MP owner for over Two yrs)
.
.....cR
..
.
 
If you're going to go with the Mavic 2, the Mavic 2 Zoom gives more versatility than the Mavic 2 Pro. The camera is slightly sharper on the 2 Pro, but as you know a great photographer can take better pictures with an iPhone than a mediocre photographer with a Hasselblad. I have the Zoom and thought I'd made a mistake by not buying the Pro. But after using it, there are several times that I've used the zoom to great effect, not to mention the dolly zoom effect. And I doubt that the difference in sharpness is noticeable to the average viewer. Kind of like buying great audiophile speakers where the human ear really can't tell the difference.
 
if it's a write off ( Business Expense) Mavic 2 pro....They tell me Photo quality is Top Notch (which i did)
If you want to see if droning is a trail to see if right for you
Craiglist has plenty of used mavic pro for $500 ( MP owner for over Two yrs)
.
.....cR
..
.
Thanks for your advice. I decided to go with the 2 pro.
 
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Not sure if you bought it yet, but in your situation, I'd go for the Mavic 2 Pro with the Hasselblad camera. That one has the Largest sensor (1"), and is superior if you take any night shots. It has the best camera for that, of the drones you listed. Second choice would be the Zoom.
 
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