Why am I reading about lots of people having lots of problems with Mavic drones?

[Nosebump]

-A dentist! That explains it! Quit being so down-in-the-mouth (-Sorry, I know you've heard that worn line a billion times).

I'm 71 and have thoroughly enjoyed my Mavic Pro, and with no problems. The drone hasn't mysteriously flown away or dropped out of the sky, and the two (-minor) crashes that I've had were my fault, and remedied with replacement propellers. The enjoyment that I've received has offset any software or firmware upgrade inconveniences, which are usually published to update geo areas or fix some minor flaw. -No big deal

Enjoy the drone. It's a fantastic piece of technology. When you first begin, get it above the trees so that you don't hit anything, or go to some remote field to learn the basics. Forget about the camera and focus on drone control. When you've done that, you can begin to play with the camera. Go to YouTube and watch videos by Ed Richter or Drone Valley. They're crammed full of useful, down to earth advice. Forget "sport" mode! Don't fly backwards where you can accidentally run into stuff (-Sensors don't work in reverse on the Pro) and where control inputs are backwards. Learn one skill at a time, and make it all fun. Get at least one extra battery. Don't do stupid stuff, like "range" tests.

Register your drone! The fines from the FAA are draconian and can run tens of thousands of dollars. Spend the five bucks and register online.

After you've done all of the above, you'll start to accumulate videos. You'll be amazed at how crazy sharp your images will be! Then it'll be time to stitch them together into a presentation. Then you can publishh your videos on YouTube for family and friends. That will require that you become proficient with editing software. I use Resolve 15 (-Google it. The "free" version is more than capable of doing whatever you wish and more). Then you can mix media; put in still shots, or pictures taken with a GoPro, with your drone videos. That'll expand your new cinematic hobby!

So it's a process. -A journey of sorts. Let me attach one of my first videos of my local town. I'm still learning, and have actually progressed past this point. The editing software again was Resolve 15, which has a steep learning curve, but well worth the effort, and easier than using a Sinar view camera with 4x5 plates (-Yes, I've used one of those, along with a 500CM).
Amazon Drive

Good luck with it!

 

[bushie]

Let's have an age competition... I'm 73!

So am I, but will be 74 in January

 

[Happyexpat]

I have to admit to flying fixed wing and helicopters (badly) but I think that flying my Mavic Air is the easiest thing I have done. I set it up, took it off, tested the RTH and off I went. I was quite happy up to 1km away on the second flight over a lake and managed to capture some reasonable basic video straight away.

The problem comes, if you get one, when you start to look through the so called manual from DJI, an appalling difficult to access and limited document. It comes when you start to implement some of the photographic aspects in the menu and in particular when using the follow me / active track mode. This mode is flaky to say the least. However with common sense it’s not an issue.

Overall IMO the DJI range is probably the best for hobby and semi professional users. The top of the range DJI drones are definitely professional and the price reflects that. Basically you get what you pay for!

 

[Flynz]

The Mavic Pro is an extremely sophisticated piece of equipment and a lot are sold. Some will fail and some will be badly handled. As mentioned above you are in the doctors rooms here. Imagine one waiting room for tour whole country. You’d see a few sick people.

Buy from a dedicated DJI shop and get them to take you to a park and give you some lessons. Watch the basic DJI training videos and go for it. Keep you flights and expectations simple and you will have a ball using little of the features and taking no risks. As you get confident you can look up a little more and advance. If you like photography you will get hooked immediately. There are a couple of simple keys. Check RTH maintain visual contact and advance step at a time. They fly straight out of the box.

I have flown 121 flights 76 kilometres and 16 hours. No technology failures (a couple of weird warnings) and only crashed when I was careless and backed onto a tree. These things are fantastic!

 

[MotorPsycho]

If you only observed people in doctor's waiting rooms, you'd be asking: Why are they all sick?

No, I'm not. I look around a doctor's waiting room and can tell why 80% of them are sick, just from their appearance. It's the Western Diet and it is visibly, obviously a toxic addiction.

Oops, that was the example, not the topic.

Just sayin'.

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• MotorPsycho
• Nov 18, 2018

 

[MotorPsycho]

Flying it seemed like a crapshoot.

I am very reluctant to spend $1,300 and continue to endure frustration. Sometimes I think it's a Chinese Communist plot to drive Western capitalists crazy!

Everything is a conspiracy.

Try $2,000 for a M2P, fly more kit and misc.

It's difficult to send a new toy that expensive into harms way. Most of the places I want to send my drone are places where it won't survive if it falls, either too high to survive a fall or over water. In Arizona, I'll be filming desert mountains, where recovery will be difficult, even if the drone survives a mishap.

I'm a newbie, so it's a bit nerve wracking. It's going to take some time before I am more comfortable, regardless of people telling me they are reliable.

I have already had one instance where I lost signal and the M2P went into RTH mode. I let it play out the entire RTH, including landing, to see how well it worked. The M2P returned from 1/2 mile away and landed perhaps 5 inches from where it took off.

I've watched it hover in high wind, when the app was telling me to land the drone.

My confidence is gradually increasing.

 

[Hi-Flyer]

...
I would really like to own a drone, but is anybody actually working to making these things simple and reliable, or are they just more interested in adding moree bells and whistles?

The Mavic 2 is new. As a computer specialist I never buy the first few editions of anything programmable - the idea is for the first purchasers to find and report all the bugs, which are fixed in subsequent editions; fortunately, drones are firmware-updateable via the web.I own a Mavic Air and see no problems with it - apart from limited flight-time per battery, usually about 15 minutes. I recently purchased a Tello because I like the ability to program it. It's not an outdoor machine - a slight wind can move it around. I suggest you view the very many Youtube videos regarding the Mavic Air. Apart from anything else, if you get a drone ensure that it films video in 4k, and stills are DNG. My (brief) experience with DJI (the Mavic people) is that they react to reported problems and where possible issue updates.

 

[Hi-Flyer]

Everything is a conspiracy.

Try $2,000 for a M2P, fly more kit and misc.

It's difficult to send a new toy that expensive into harms way. Most of the places I want to send my drone are places where it won't survive if it falls, either too high to survive a fall or over water. In Arizona, I'll be filming desert mountains, where recovery will be difficult, even if the drone survives a mishap.

I'm a newbie, so it's a bit nerve wracking. It's going to take some time before I am more comfortable, regardless of people telling me they are reliable.

I have already had one instance where I lost signal and the M2P went into RTH mode. I let it play out the entire RTH, including landing, to see how well it worked. The M2P returned from 1/2 mile away and landed perhaps 5 inches from where it took off.

I've watched it hover in high wind, when the app was telling me to land the drone.

My confidence is gradually increasing.

My cardiologist is now on speed-dial.

 

[Classic flyer]

I had a parrot Bebop 2 and lost connection with it and watched it drift off into the lake. Fortunately I had replacement insurance on it, I was able to retrieve it, and got a refurbished one.
Flying it seemed like a crapshoot. There were lots of issues with it and I was actually happy when somebody stole it out of my car.
So it seems like the mavic 2 zoom corrects all the issues I didn't like about the parrot Bebop 2. However reading this forum people are having all sorts of problems with them.
I am very reluctant to spend $1,300 and continue to endure frustration. Sometimes I think it's a Chinese Communist plot to drive Western capitalists crazy!
I would really like to own a drone, but is anybody actually working to making these things simple and reliable, or are they just more interested in adding moree bells and whistles?

Those dang commie ba****ds...bells and whistles = big $...lol...be safe, have a great turkey day

 

[MotorPsycho]

My cardiologist is now on speed-dial.

...part of the intro to the documentary "Forks Over Knives."

I decided that I don't want to help overwork cardiologists, oncologists and other doctors.

Besides, any time I don't spend in a clinic or hospital, I can spend taking arial photographs.

 

[ac0j]

The answer is NO. If you don't research via Youtube and other on-line sources you'll be lost. The Mavic is far more complex than the Parrot so it really needs your attention. I have been building and Flying multirotors ( I refuse to call them drones) since well before DJI even released their first ready built multi rotor. Over time everything has become much more complex and to me much less fun. The last three times I attempted to fly my Mavic I couldn't because of the remote area I was in, no cell service. I still haven't figured why that would keep me from flying but it did.

Now this $1400.00 piece of technology sets on my shelf depreciating every day. Buying it was one of the worse decisions have have made in recent years.

You are doing it wrong, or you have a junker.

Save you money and find something else to do with your time. It won't be long before you won't be able to find a place to fly them anyways. Anyone want to buy a Mavic Pro?

If you pay shipping I'll give you $50 for the worthless pile of junk collecting dust on your failure shelf.

 

[ac0j]

No, I'm not. I look around a doctor's waiting room and can tell why 80% of them are sick, just from their appearance. It's the Western Diet and it is visibly, obviously a toxic addiction.

Oops, that was the example, not the topic.

Just sayin'.

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• MotorPsycho
• Nov 18, 2018

LOL! In the USA, that is how lazy people get to live on disability now. They get preferred parking, Stores provide free mobility scooters for use in the stores, Food allowances, rent allowances, and all kinds of free services. Over eating ones self to disabilty is easier than contracting Parkinsons or removing a couple of limbs.
I remember watching a program about looney tunes in the UK putting their legs in ice water till the tissue died because they wanted to become disabled.

 

[dennyc39]

...

So it seems like the mavic 2 zoom corrects all the issues I didn't like about the parrot Bebop 2. However reading this forum people are having all sorts of problems with them.
I am very reluctant to spend $1,300 and continue to endure frustration. Sometimes I think it's a Chinese Communist plot to drive Western capitalists crazy!

I believe my particular Mavic Pro is extremely reliable, in that it always behaves the way its builders would expect it to. On the other hand, I believe it very important to invest the time to explore everything, and thus to know what to expect. For example, I've never had to use "Find my Drone", so this afternoon I landed the drone in an nearby lot in order to use it, and found out that the app is nearly useless to me because of a limitation of the iPad mini that I use for a display (no GPS).

Another time I flew into dusk, and found out that the "land" button doesn't work in dim light, because it can't see. No surprise, but I'd never thought about it. Solution was to force landing with the joystick, but sometimes I don't think well when panic sets in...

As it did when it immediately entered Return-to-Home and tried to climb into overhanging branches...

and as it did when I grabbed it, and the motors went to full throttle to fight me as I tried to drag it down.

Can you bring it back when the display disconnects, as it occasionally does? A little practice makes it easy.

Can you find everything on the menus quickly if you need to? Practice with screen-capture videos of a few flights. Every icon means something, often something important. Can you work all the camera controls?

Note that there are no drone failures or electronic demons involved with any of this. It is just learning how to think like a drone.

 

[Kazo]

part of my frustration with the parrot Bebop 2 was that the instructions provided with the Drone were very inadequate. I am a 64 year old guy who likes using 4 by 5 view cameras and processing my own film and making my own prints with enlargers in my own dark room. So yeah I'm an analog guy.
However the capabilities that a drone will give me is very seductive, and just as there are many upsides with a beautiful woman, sometimes the frustration just may not be worth it.
Since I have a year or so playing with the parrot Bebop 2 and enduring those frustrations maybe I am beginning to understand the thought processes of drone Developers.
Are the DJI instructions detailed enough and explanatory so as they cover everything and don't assume you know all about drone technology. believe it or not when I was dealing with my parrot Bebop 2 I was confused about the difference of rebooting and downloading upgrades. They never explained it in their instructions. It wasn't made clear until I found out about it on YouTube.

Well, I am past 70, and doesn't matter if you are analog or digital, reading manuals and watching YouTube How-to's will get you going. Bad news is that to really enjoy your footage you will have to learn some post-processing which entirely "digital".

 

[DaVidiot]

It's called "bleeding edge technology" for a reason. And this IS the doctor's waiting room where we hope to get patched up and occasionally vaxxed. We are the beta testers. But we get to have a lot of fun while making awsome pix & vids. Myself, I started with a Phantom 2 and am truly amazed at the pace of development toward the Mavic series. Of course, I've had to learn a few choice swear words just for DJI. But that goes along with learning aerial photography, model aircraft flying, LAWS, battery technology, etc. etc. etc. I'm 70 and this old dog is still learning new tricks with the help of the puppies here. Thanks.

 

[Mossiback]

SO I understand.......
: there is the app
: there is firmware for the drone
: there is firmware for the controller
: there is the "operating system" on the smartphone (I will be using Android)

Is the above correct?

There is also firmware for the batteries. Use DJI Assistant 2 on a computer to manage the updates. Once everything is playing nice with each other you can ignore future updates if you like. I have auto-updating turned off on my tablet so I can decide when or if to update. Have not done so in over a year but I have a Mavic Pro. Since you are getting a M2Z then you should apply updates since DJI is still adding functionality to that model.

But seriously, once you get past the setup the Mavic is an exceptional flying machine.

 

[old man mavic]

hi i have a mavic pro platinum have flown some 5 hours with it never had any problems no crashes and have always done any updates that are requested the mavic is a joy to fly takes great pics and videos and gives me a lot of pleasure to me part of the enjoyment of ownership is keeping my UAV in top condition looking after the batteries and providing me a reason to get out in the fresh air for some mild exercise i am 71 years young and have been flying UAVs for about two years working my way up from smaller ones to the mavic. the point of my reply is to say that anything as high tec as a UAV can have issues at some time but that should not put you off from ownership

 

[DaVidiot]

Checklists, checklists, checklists. Use one for every phase of your work: prep, mission planning, flying, processing.

Ditto! Ditto! Ditto!