DJY Mavic Air: any good?

Nigelpickin said:
Yep, I’ve had a good re read of side by side specs and were I coming into the store for the first time, I’d go for the Air.
It does have range limitations but that would not be an issue to me or most others and it has better sensors which is a plus.

It doesn’t shoot in 24fps at 4K tho’ which is a shame as that’s a lovely setting for late afternoon smooth dolly shots but on balance I’ve changed my mind!

If/when I kill my Mavic Pro, id give it some serious thought...
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Oh dear
This is just like the Mavic vs Phantom 4 Pro last year.
I was thinking that the Mavic Pro was the way to go.
Now I will have to do some more reading/video watching.
I AM at that point you mention so maybe its time to switch.
The range of the Air might be similar to the old Phantom 3 and that wasn't a problem.
But...... The Pro does do the job (apart from floating that is)
 
Hurricane said:
Oh dear
This is just like the Mavic vs Phantom 4 Pro last year.
I was thinking that the Mavic Pro was the way to go.
Now I will have to do some more reading/video watching.
I AM at that point you mention so maybe its time to switch.
The range of the Air might be similar to the old Phantom 3 and that wasn't a problem.
But...... The Pro does do the job (apart from floating that is)
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But not to overlook the rucksack portability of the Pro compared to the pocket-ability of the Air
 
NormanB said:
But not to overlook the rucksack portability of the Pro compared to the pocket-ability of the Air
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I've just found out that the Air only connects with the DJI Goggles using an HDMI cable.
Probably because the extra range radio isn't included in the Air - and thats what the Goggles use.
Thats a bit of a shame because the Mavic incorporates a direct down link from the aircraft to the goggles.
I bought some of the goggles early on but I only managed to use them a couple of times myself.
It is really great to see the view as though you were actually on board.
All you do is launch the drone in the usual way and then just slip the goggles on when it is flying.
The download connection between the Mavic Pro and the Goggles is completely independent of the main controller.
If you run into a problem or need to land it, you can just remove the Goggles and fly it as usual.

Over the water, I flew the drone, essentially, keeping it i sight but a friend wore the goggles whilst I was flying.
This is the only legal way of doing it.
I was going to do some more flying using the goggles but I didn't get the chance.

I guess there will be some comments on this feature but it really is great.

So, on balance, it is still the Pro - but..........
 
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I have been intending to replace my Mavic Pro which I lost last summer after I crashed it flying backwards into a cliff in Ischia. So as I was about to order another Pro, DJI released the Air. So I went ahead and ordered one of those little beauties, being attracted to their portability when traveling. But then I thought 'what the heck', and I have gone ahead and bought another Mavic Pro as well The rationale being, it negates the need to carry my drone backwards and forwards to the boat, rather to keep one permanently on board. I then can use its smaller brother when travelling around elsewhere. This time however I will remember to make sure they are insured!

Supposedly, according to a drone 'guru' on YouTube, DJI will likely bring out a new version of the Pro later this year.
 
I have loads of drones (or quadcopters as they were initially called) and I have been flying RC planes for years. I bought the DJI Spark a few weeks ago and am blown away with how good it is. I should be collecting my DJI Mavic Air today if all does well.

If any of you buy these and have not flown before just take your time and learn them at home overland for several flights before you go over water. They are incredibly reliable if you do things right. Always buy the controller however as this is by far the best way to fly them. Abide by the law also especially when people are around

Have fun

Dennis
 
MapisM said:
K, am I right in understanding that the Air in on par with the Pro ref. image quality?
I'm asking because reduced range aside, the Air seems a no brainer...
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Apologies, P, for the delayed reply.

Tbh, i haven’t yet studied the specs in close enough detail, or seen enough youtube vids to form an educated opinion, but I’d expect the quality to be on par with the Pro, if not better. It is newer after all.

My main worry was the range, but looking at the specs now, that shouldn’t be a big issue with the remote controller.

Second worry was the small size and that it would be blown about by the wind. That would seem logical, but at the same time, it also has smaller surface area and thus less resistance to the wind, if that makes sense. So difficult to tell whether there is any meaningful difference in real life.

You are right, it does seem a very appealing piece of kit.

I need to watch some more youtube vids...
 
My little Spark is very good in the wind. I think the size compensates.

Will have a couple of flights with the Mavic Air tomorrow.

Remember to take off the gimbal cover
 
MapisM said:
I googled for it, I guess it's the 501 you're talking about, not 105, right?
Anyhow, that's indeed interesting, thanks for the pointer.
A good example of how often you can get 80% of the result with 20% of the cost!
At first glance, the major difference vs. the more sophisticated stuff seems to be the lack of gimbal stabilization.
How smooth/stable are the clips that you get out of it?

In the meantime, I also came across the GoPro Karma, which looks another interesting alternative to the Mavic Air.
It's bigger and similarly expensive, but the fact that it's built around the Hero 5/6 gives the nice flexibility of using also the standalone camera for u/w shooting etc.
And if it would hit the water, at least the camera itself could be recovered... :rolleyes:
Did anyone have a chance to try, or at least hear about, this Karma thing and its pros/cons vs. the Mavic?
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I have a Karma and used it this summer. I chose Karma because it gives you a complete set that includes a drone, a proper gimball and a GoPro Hero, with which you can record in the air, while swimming, in the water, take out the gimball and continue recording at boat, at shore, etc. And the idea worked very well. I cannot compare with others as I don't know much about them. But the video quality is incredible, thanks to GoPro Hero. Also, I like robust equipment, especially at sea. So I prefer flying a drone with a dedicated controller rather than my cell phone. The remote control of Karma lets you fly your drone with high precision.

One minus side is the interference with wifi sources around. We crashed it once while flying it around our home (no damages). The reason was wifi interference. However we didn't have any problems at sea, as there were very few wifi sources around.

Even though technically the battery lets you fly for 15 minutes, the real healthy flight time is around 8-10 minutes. After that you yourself rush it back to the boat because you can't rely an "automatic landing" as the boat is normally moving all the time. By the way, 10 minutes is quite enough for capturing good videos.

The drone flies fast and strong against winds as it is a big and heavy one. Seamen will better understand when I say if Mavic is a 40 footer at 2 meter waves, Karma is a 70 footer. The propellers also never go into the scene no matter how sudden moves you make in the air.

We flew it max 1000-1200 meters away. Further than that, the view at the controller screen gets blurry. But before that you start to get worried when your USD 1500 becomes a very small dot in the skies. Normally some people treat drones as "consumables" and it is true that you get nicer videos when you begin to risk your drone. But I don't know how many of us can do that. May be insurance packs may help.

I enclose two videos that I made with the Karma set. Especially on the first one you may see the multi usage of the set (in the air and in the sea).



As I said, I am not in a position to say which drone is better. But I find MapisM's considerations about Karma correct. I have gone through the same route and decided on Karma. Up until now, I am happy with my choice.
 
Stunning locations as is the boat, well filmed too! :encouragement:

The image quality does seem very good. It seems to do a very good job with the always difficult boat-against-dark-water -shots.
 
scubaman said:
Stunning locations as is the boat, well filmed too! :encouragement:

The image quality does seem very good. It seems to do a very good job with the always difficult boat-against-dark-water -shots.
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Thanks for the encouragement Scubaman! Still the work is far far away from your pro-levels clips, but we try our best :)

With your experience, you have a different eye in catching pluses/minuses of the camera, just like mentioning about difficult light balance situations. I don't have such experience. However I think that combination of a high quality camera (GoPro Hero 5/6) and a good mechanical 3D gimbal (in most small sized drones the gimbal is driven by servos electronically) gives Karma a good advantage in bringing out high quality picturing. All in all, I feel like, with more solid hardware (camera, 3D gimbal, proper remote), Karma is more closer to the pro side. But if all these add up only 5-10% higher picturing quality with a price tag that is 40-50% higher, then it is always debatable about which one to buy.

This is not a "mine is the best" type of input. It is a real user's review who utilizes the kit for the same purposes (boat/leisure filming). I just want to take the OP's attention that, it may still be good to have the Karma on the list.
 
Eren said:
Thanks for the encouragement Scubaman! Still the work is far far away from your pro-levels clips, but we try our best :)

With your experience, you have a different eye in catching pluses/minuses of the camera, just like mentioning about difficult light balance situations. I don't have such experience. However I think that combination of a high quality camera (GoPro Hero 5/6) and a good mechanical 3D gimbal (in most small sized drones the gimbal is driven by servos electronically) gives Karma a good advantage in bringing out high quality picturing. All in all, I feel like, with more solid hardware (camera, 3D gimbal, proper remote), Karma is more closer to the pro side. But if all these add up only 5-10% higher picturing quality with a price tag that is 40-50% higher, then it is always debatable about which one to buy.

This is not a "mine is the best" type of input. It is a real user's review who utilizes the kit for the same purposes (boat/leisure filming). I just want to take the OP's attention that, it may still be good to have the Karma on the list.
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Don'y knock yourself.
Those clips are great.

For me, it is all about that artistic element that I don't have.
I work hard to get images like this but I fail to make them really great.
It has been the same with all my photography - I love the technical bit (post processing and Photoshop etc) but getting good results needs that artistic element.
You either have it - or you don't - I don't but there are several posters on here that do had the vision (you included).
 
Eren said:
This is not a "mine is the best" type of input. It is a real user's review who utilizes the kit for the same purposes (boat/leisure filming).
I just want to take the OP's attention that, it may still be good to have the Karma on the list.
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Understood and appreciated, thanks a lot.
Indeed, you observations match the thoughts which I expressed in post #17 very nicely.
And having a chance to grab at 1k$ a full Karma combo, with the Hero6 black all accessories, makes it attractive (in man math terms, as usually...! :rolleyes:)

My only concern is that after buying it in the US, it's easy to guess that I would struggle to get any support once back here, in case of any problems.
How would you rate the construction quality and reliability of the Karma package?
I mean, their cameras have a decent reputation, but what about the drone itself, the detachable gimbal, and the remote?
Thanks again!

PS: very nice videos too, congratulations.
While I agree with you that some of the latest production from scubaman (or henryf, as another example) have a somewhat more "pro" touch, yours are also beautiful indeed! :encouragement:
 
MapisM said:
How would you rate the construction quality and reliability of the Karma package?
I mean, their cameras have a decent reputation, but what about the drone itself, the detachable gimbal, and the remote?
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The drone itself, the remote and the gimbal are all very solid. Detachable parts (camera, gimbal, battery) are all attached and released reliably. You have one single case where you have all your needs for shooting videos in the air or at shore. That is tidy. The kit comes with spare blades. The battery charges in around 45 minutes.

In our first flights we had problems with wifi interference. Then there was a software update which solved the issue. With another software update, "follow me" feature was gained. I was a bit surprised with this, I thought that they would make it a feature for selling their next generation drone. They did let the old purchasers enjoy this feature. So I liked their attitude. You can easily utilize pre-programmed "circle around", "fly away", "fly by the side" functions at the remote during shooting.

I forgot to mention one important minus for the Karma. Karma doesn't have obstacle sensors, while many rivals do have. So during "follow me" function, the drone literally flies blind. However, this is not a major minus for us as boaters, because there aren't many obstacles at sea, unless you do "follow me" footage in between sailing boats with high masts. It would be difficult if we were mainly downhill bikers who ride at the forest.

I am not sure about the after sales support issue. Drone users are usually frequent travelers. I would expect that they had a flexible system for that. Should be checked.
 
Worth noting (can't see it being mentioned) that the Karma has been discontinued; you might be able to get a well priced unit but not sure if there will be much in the way of future software updates etc
 
Thanks, but actually Nigelpickin did mention it in post #13.
Of course it's a factor to consider, but after all, I recently bought a boat built by one of the yards which didn't survive the global crisis... :rolleyes:
 
Interesting discussion on the pros and cons of drones.

Which reminded me that I have my annual subscription to the British model flying association to pay when I get back from hols.

The main reason for joining last year is for 3rd party liability insurance when I fly my DJI phantom. From memory it costs around £35 annually, for £25 million cover.

https://bmfa.org/Insurance/Insurance-FAQs

If forumites don't use the BMFA insurance whose do you use? (Or not?)

Interesting bit regarding first person view flying on their website.

https://bmfa.org/Info/Model-Flying-Types/First-Person-View-FPV
 
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