Why the Mav 4 Pro is a big deal to me

[akdrone]

I gave up on DLog after using it for on the Mav3 standard lens and struggling with going back and forth between it and DLog M on the two tele lenses. On my first day of shooting some moose in a lake with ripples and reflections along with swans on a nest ….with my Mav4 Pro… being able to select all of those clips together and applying a DLog LUT to all of them at once and seeing all the bright swan feathers still in range with nothing blown out was just a joy. Shooting swans, as I love to do was such a struggle. I had to shoot at -2 or darker in DLog M in order to get the white feathers exposed with any detail - not blown out, and then recover the shadows in post. It was such a chore. Circle around a swan and the reflected light changes and one side is blown out and the other is fine. Grrrrr. I stopped shooting DLog with the normal lens because matching that to the DLogM was a pain. Full DLog in all three lenses lets me shoot at or close to 0EV for pete sake. The shadows and bright white feathers are all recovered. What a huge, huge improvement for the tele lenses. Winter scenes with bright snow which I live with for most of the year will be a joy. The three hour battery life is fantastic. Oh..wait…that was a dream. Nevermind. But the battery life is noticeably better and the big screen....for my 73 year old eyes...what a treat. I often shoot from withing my car, watching out through the windshield. It's more comfortable at -30F for some reason. I tested the Mav4 yesterday and in conditions that caused my Mav3 Pro to give me orange RC connection bars showing on the screen, the Mav4 continues to show me 4 solid white bars...without the antenna even being folded out! Buying a Mav 4 is, today, a huge gamble. Regardless of the lack of Care Refresh, even if you are willing to pay for repairs as I am, a replacement from DJI may not even make it through customs but I'm super happy with this drone after just a few flights. Highly recommended for anyone willing and able to take the gamble - and it is that.

 

[MikeReidPhotography]

I took the gamble, and agree its worth it

(Also fly from inside the car, seat heaters and all)

 

[Wreckhunter]

I gave up on DLog after using it for on the Mav3 standard lens and struggling with going back and forth between it and DLog M on the two tele lenses. On my first day of shooting some moose in a lake with ripples and reflections along with swans on a nest ….with my Mav4 Pro… being able to select all of those clips together and applying a DLog LUT to all of them at once and seeing all the bright swan feathers still in range with nothing blown out was just a joy. Shooting swans, as I love to do was such a struggle. I had to shoot at -2 or darker in DLog M in order to get the white feathers exposed with any detail - not blown out, and then recover the shadows in post. It was such a chore. Circle around a swan and the reflected light changes and one side is blown out and the other is fine. Grrrrr. I stopped shooting DLog with the normal lens because matching that to the DLogM was a pain. Full DLog in all three lenses lets me shoot at or close to 0EV for pete sake. The shadows and bright white feathers are all recovered. What a huge, huge improvement for the tele lenses. Winter scenes with bright snow which I live with for most of the year will be a joy. The three hour battery life is fantastic. Oh..wait…that was a dream. Nevermind. But the battery life is noticeably better and the big screen....for my 73 year old eyes...what a treat. I often shoot from withing my car, watching out through the windshield. It's more comfortable at -30F for some reason. I tested the Mav4 yesterday and in conditions that caused my Mav3 Pro to give me orange RC connection bars showing on the screen, the Mav4 continues to show me 4 solid white bars...without the antenna even being folded out! Buying a Mav 4 is, today, a huge gamble. Regardless of the lack of Care Refresh, even if you are willing to pay for repairs as I am, a replacement from DJI may not even make it through customs but I'm super happy with this drone after just a few flights. Highly recommended for anyone willing and able to take the gamble - and it is that.

As great as it looks,too much of a risk for me.If not available in the US then forget about it.

 

[akdrone]

As great as it looks,too much of a risk for me.If not available in the US then forget about it.

totally understand that perspective!

 

[1gratefulflyingdawg]

I gave up on DLog after using it for on the Mav3 standard lens and struggling with going back and forth between it and DLog M on the two tele lenses. On my first day of shooting some moose in a lake with ripples and reflections along with swans on a nest ….with my Mav4 Pro… being able to select all of those clips together and applying a DLog LUT to all of them at once and seeing all the bright swan feathers still in range with nothing blown out was just a joy. Shooting swans, as I love to do was such a struggle. I had to shoot at -2 or darker in DLog M in order to get the white feathers exposed with any detail - not blown out, and then recover the shadows in post. It was such a chore. Circle around a swan and the reflected light changes and one side is blown out and the other is fine. Grrrrr. I stopped shooting DLog with the normal lens because matching that to the DLogM was a pain. Full DLog in all three lenses lets me shoot at or close to 0EV for pete sake. The shadows and bright white feathers are all recovered. What a huge, huge improvement for the tele lenses. Winter scenes with bright snow which I live with for most of the year will be a joy. The three hour battery life is fantastic. Oh..wait…that was a dream. Nevermind. But the battery life is noticeably better and the big screen....for my 73 year old eyes...what a treat. I often shoot from withing my car, watching out through the windshield. It's more comfortable at -30F for some reason. I tested the Mav4 yesterday and in conditions that caused my Mav3 Pro to give me orange RC connection bars showing on the screen, the Mav4 continues to show me 4 solid white bars...without the antenna even being folded out! Buying a Mav 4 is, today, a huge gamble. Regardless of the lack of Care Refresh, even if you are willing to pay for repairs as I am, a replacement from DJI may not even make it through customs but I'm super happy with this drone after just a few flights. Highly recommended for anyone willing and able to take the gamble - and it is that.

Always great when a plan comes together. Congratulations

 

[GadgetGuy]

As great as it looks,too much of a risk for me.If not available in the US then forget about it.

It is "available" in the US when Adorama has it in stock. Just sold out on Friday on the Creator Combo. Next shipment expected in August. Full 1 year DJI Limited Warranty service included, facilitated by DJI USA by sourcing stock from DJI Canada.

 

[bkushner]

It is "available" in the US when Adorama has it in stock. Just sold out on Friday on the Creator Combo. Next shipment expected in August. Full 1 year DJI Limited Warranty service included, facilitated by DJI USA by sourcing stock from DJI Canada.

Why no care refresh then?

 

[GadgetGuy]

Why no care refresh then?

Because the "underground railroad" facilitation by DJI USA sourcing refurbs from DJI Canada doesn’t have enough capacity to handle all pilot mistakes under Care Refresh, but will be used for DJI's limited and rare mistakes under its 1 Year Limited Warranty, and for all paid repairs.

We all know DJI doesn’t repair drones. They assess them, and then create a repair invoice, which is either comped under warranty or billed to the customer. Either way, the customer gets a new refurb replacement. Those are now sourced by DJI USA from DJI Canada entirely at their expense, and then shipped free to the customer in the U.S..

 

[akdrone]

It is "available" in the US when Adorama has it in stock. Just sold out on Friday on the Creator Combo. Next shipment expected in August. Full 1 year DJI Limited Warranty service included, facilitated by DJI USA by sourcing stock from DJI Canada.

My Adorama Mav4 Pro Creator Combo was meant for the market in Ireland....

 

[tstr14]

My Adorama Mav4 Pro Creator Combo was meant for the market in Ireland....

Which in essence makes it a grey market drone. I don't mean that in a bad way, just that I suspected both Adorama and B&H were dipping their toes in the grey market area - as they have been known to do in the past with camera equipment.

 

[akdrone]

Which in essence makes it a grey market drone. I don't mean that in a bad way, just that I suspected both Adorama and B&H were dipping their toes in the grey market area - as they have been known to do in the past with camera equipment.

Absolutely. It's the definition of grey market stuff. This is not new. Over a year ago I got a RC Pro controller from Amazon's DJI store. I thought (as many do) that meant it was sold by DJI but of course that's not the case. 3 weeks short of a year later I had a problem with it and learned via DJI that it was meant for the Chinese market and had no warranty for my issue. Amazingly Amazon took it back (one time only they said for such a return). I didn't get ALL my money back but most of it and by then it was available via DJI. If DJI starts selling Mav 4 next week, listen for a big "Doh!" from Alaska. I have State Farm coverage on it for a major disaster and I'm willing to pay for a repair. The big issue is just getting the repair through customs at this point.

 

[GadgetGuy]

My Adorama Mav4 Pro Creator Combo was meant for the market in Ireland....

How did you come to that conclusion?
Have you called DJI USA in Cerritos, CA, to find out if your CC drone serial number is on their list of supported drones, for which they will facilitate warranty service in the U.S., by sourcing Refurbs from DJI Canada?
Phone is (818) 235-0789.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Which in essence makes it a grey market drone. I don't mean that in a bad way, just that I suspected both Adorama and B&H were dipping their toes in the grey market area - as they have been known to do in the past with camera equipment.

There was never a doubt that Adorama's Mavic 4 Pro stock was sourced internationally as a gray market item, and not through DJI USA. However, Adorama advertises the 1 year DJI Limited Warranty as included with purchase under "What's in the box?" When I asked Adorama what do I do when DJI USA says they won't cover it because DJI isn’t selling them in the U.S., Adorama reassured me it had a DJI warranty and gave me DJI USA's phone number to call to verify the coverage with DJI USA. I called, and DJI USA asked me for the serial number, which I obviously didn’t yet know, as it was in transit. However, they said they are facilitating the 1 year DJI warranty in the U.S. for those serial numbers on their list and for all DJI Canada sourced drones. Hopefully, we never find out otherwise.

 

[Starz]

How did you come to that conclusion?

Contact DJI with a serial number. They can provide county of origin for original sale.
You don’t need possession of the product to acquire this kind of information, just the serial number.