Why did you choose Air over Pro?

[ManuCH]

I own both a Mavic Pro and a Mavic Air. The reason why I bought the Air are:

- weight/format (I can carry it anywhere in my backpack)
- once again, weight: drones under 500g have less restrictions in Switzerland
- picture quality

Now that I can make a comparison, I have to say I like them both, but for different reasons. I still think the Pro is *vastly* superior as far as transmission is concerned (Ocusync vs WiFi is a no contest!). Also I find the Air to be more "glitchy" with random error messages popping up that nobody can explain.

If I had to choose one of the two, I'd get the Air because of portability alone. Although my dream drone would be an Air with Ocusync.

 

[GeraldV]

Size, weight, gimbal fragility and camera performance. I did think I would miss the flight information display on the pro controller but its not been an issue at all. I also thought that I would have issues with distance but the laws here insist on visual line of sight within 500m so it also prevent me from breaking the law. (I did take it out on the ocean on a boat and got over 2km away before I lost my nerve and returned it back).

I couldn't be happier with it. It does everything i need it to and has the potential for more.

 

[PhoebeSnow]

I also have both. I like the Air for it's size & auto focus but tend to use the Pro more for it's longer range. On a trip to Costa Rica with cameras, carry ons, and other gear I couldn't take both drones with me but the Mavic Air did all that I wanted it to do despite it's not having the longer range of the Pro.

 

[BJR981S]

trying to decide between the two. There are tons of pros and cons so it’s really a coin flip.
The Occusync vs WiFi could be a big factor. Why did you choose the Air?

I have both. I bought the Air as it is usable indoors (like my sparks) where the Pro is not.

 

[dgd3]

Collision avoidance.

 

[paul1664]

It was a late night impulse purchase after watching the launch event on YouTube. I had my finger over the buy button for a Pro for a week or so beforehand but held off when I heard about the Air.

The size was what tipped it for me. Absolute portability. I have a case that holds just the Air and controller and it goes in my bag everywhere. Range is perfectly fine. Would like more flight time but hey!

The Air feels like it's from the future. The stability, image quality, quickshots and RTH are all pure sorcery. Total confidence that if (when) signal drops out it will reappear overhead a few minutes later.

Having said that... I'll be watching the Mavic 2 launch... with my credit card frozen in a huge block of ice in the freezer so I can't get at it (immediately).

 

[AJ.Bsting]

For me definitely size and portability. Flymore combo provides more than enough flight time.

I lost wifi signal and was disconnected from the RC flying in Canada (PEI). Distance was approx 500 m. I was shaking thought I am going to loose the drone over water.
But it did what it was suppose to do. And returned home automatically. Glad Home point was obtained before take off

 

[JDawg]

Does the size effect stability?

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[drpellypo]

I've just bought an Air. I spent nearly a month watching vids and reviews. I looked at spark, pro and air. For me, the air was an obvious choice because the image quality was better. Simple as that. And as it happened, right when I decided, a refurbished one came up on Scan.co.uk which was £549. I took that as a sign!

 

[stldan]

trying to decide between the two. There are tons of pros and cons so it’s really a coin flip.
The Occusync vs WiFi could be a big factor. Why did you choose the Air?

I’ve owned the Air now about 6 months. Picture and video quality is very very good. Wifi does have its limitations though. It’s extremely portable, stable and handles wind well. Honestly if DJI were to add occusync/lightbridge and make it quieter, it might be a perfect drone. It does sound like a swarm of bees and I can still hear it at 200ft depending on wind and humidity. Battery life at 15 to 20 min, depending on use, could be better but that’s why I have 3.

 

[Mavić_Legenda]

Being they it doesn't have occusync, do you ever have connection issues or issues with losing the drone?

Yes, MA has a modified wifi connection and it does not compare well to occusync. Few lost connections in rural areas within 1km distance. Having said that, occusync isn’t perfect either, I’ve had many lost connections with MA and RTH saving the day, the difference being in the distance that RTH is likely to kick in

 

[Epp1983]

Smaller
More sensors
More robust
Cheaper

 

[Kamal Nor]

The pro name scare the hell out of me so I bought an Air

 

[Rockin2climb]

So I just got my Air a few days ago and it was able to finally fly it yesterday. I purchased the Mavic Air Fly More Combo from Amazon and it came with a couple of extra accessories not usually included with the FMC. They included prop bags for the extra props. When I bought my Pro last year, I also bought extra DJI props separately from DJI and they came with those DJI bags. The MA FMC came with the extra props but not the bags so that's a nice addition. It also came with a landing pad which I already had so nbd there. But they also included some clip on landing gear that can be used in conjunction with the prop guards so that is pretty sweet! Also came with a 2 battery compartment LiPo bag.


A few pros and cons I noticed off the back:

Pro:
- The Red Mavic looks amazing!!! I was really worried that I wasn't going to like the color but was really pleased I went with the red. (It matches my Motorcycle)
- The smart capture mode (flying your Air like Darth Vader) is really cool!!!! I thought this was going to be kinda gimmicky but after playing with it, I could see it coming in handy.
- Asteroid is really sweet!!! It's nice that the app edits it all together for you with all you have to do is press "Go".
- I have a lot more piece of mind with the APAS. I tested it out with a building at work and it seamlessly flew right over it. Also, both the forward and backward facing sensors worked flawlessly.
- I'm glad the they created/included a one piece gimbal cover/lock with the drone. With the MP, DJI includes 2 separate pieces and I had to buy an aftermarket piece separately. Something small, but something to note nonetheless.

Con:
- I can definitely notice the decrease in flight time from my Mavic Pro. It's not a deal breaker, but let's just say that I'm glad I bought the MA FMC; and with my previous Mavic Pro, I was just limited to 2 total batteries.
- It's noticably louder than the pro. I never bought the Mavic Pro low noise props (I will never know in person how quiet the MP could have gotten), but the Pro was definitely quieter and the Air sounds like your typical Drone. Again, not a deal breaker but something to take note of.
- You have to wait some time for your batteries to cool before recharging them. I used both the regular charger and the hub to charge them and was wondering why they weren't charging. I looked at the code for flashing yellow light on the hub in the manual and found out why. Idk if this was a thing or not with my Pro but I thought I remember being able to charge one battery right after I finished flying and swap it out with my extra battery.


All in all, I'm definitely glad I decided to pull the trigger on the Red color because it looks badass and am excited to see where my adventures will bring me! I think the smaller form factor and less weight is going to help on my future trips as all I really need with my for short encounters is the drone and my phone.




(One other thing I wanted to note was how well DJI does of packing everything and labeling what goes where. It is really awesome that they take the time to really engineer their products and think of everything, even if it is the small things.)

 

[Drone on]

trying to decide between the two. There are tons of pros and cons so it’s really a coin flip.
The Occusync vs WiFi could be a big factor. Why did you choose the Air?

If you can wait, air should drop to it's justifiable price of at most $600. I suspect the fly more will be $750, and the base model on sale at $499. Should be after the MP2 release, or in time for the holidays. I suspect DJI has recovered their R&D at the current prices.
However, you will still have to deal with a poor transmission system...wifi
Not sure, but I believe the Phantom 4 Pro V2 moved from the transmission system of lightbridge to occusync.

 

[Jahul]

The main reason for me was the size, but I read so much bad reviews about the wifi connection, it took me several weeks before making my final choice...
I’m glad I went with the Air since the distance to where I fly my drone is way under the limit and never had any connection issues!

 

[MrsTreat]

Not sure why everyone thinks sensors so important. I’ve had my MP for over a year and have never used or needed sensors. I visually avoid obstacles. And I would never rely on sensors because even at 15 mph I’m not sure my MP would stop in time on its own.

 

[scott rand]

Not sure why everyone thinks sensors so important. I’ve had my MP for over a year and have never used or needed sensors. I visually avoid obstacles. And I would never rely on sensors because even at 15 mph I’m not sure my MP would stop in time on its own.

Accidents happen, and maybe not everyone is as good a drone pilot as you (to avoid obstacles). Each person is at their specific drone flying level, and APAS is an incredible feature that gives some people that piece of mind. Flying backwards with that backwards facing sensor is pretty awesome as well. My guess is ALL future DJI drones will have APAS as well as sensors everywhere (360 degree sensors).

 

[thebigbaddan]

Why did you choose the Air?

$500 price difference. That's all.

 

[CanadaDrone]

Not sure why everyone thinks sensors so important. I’ve had my MP for over a year and have never used or needed sensors. I visually avoid obstacles. And I would never rely on sensors because even at 15 mph I’m not sure my MP would stop in time on its own.

I don't think anyone intends to rely on the sensors. I also don't think you can possibly guarantee you will never make a mistake while flying. I know for sure though that at least once my eyes deceived me at a distance and the sensors on the MA saved my drone from going backwards into some branches above a waterfall. If I had a Mavic Pro that would have been a lost/destroyed drone. So I can tell you that sensors are important because they have without a doubt saved me from destroying my drone at least once. I don't think anyone flies around implicitly trusting the sensors, but I certainly would rather have them than not.