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Sell Karma and get Mavic?
2123 28 2017-7-4
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Evan.Smith
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United States
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I own the GoPro Karma drone and I am definetly disappointed. When I began to look into the drone market, I kind of had my eyes focused on the Karma because I was such a believer in GoPro's action camera's that I blindly bought their drone as well. However now that I have had the Karma crash on me due to to manufacturer defect (the new 2017 version--not involved in the recal) I have a bit of traumatic taste in my mouth. Granted that could happen with any drone, but I also have had encounters of Karma hovering into the side of my house like it has no GPS control and I realized the many more features DJI, specifically the Mavic, has. My plan of action is to sell my Karma in some way, either ebay or maybe there's a store that will let me trade in for a mavic (to find out later through research) and then acquire a Mavic. Any comments, suggestions, or viewpoints would be really appreciated!

Main dislikes with Karma:
-Hovers like crazy; untamed
-no sensors for crash avoidance
-no features like active track

Main Likes with Mavic:
-can put floating balls on bottom
-sensors for crash avoidance
-hovers dead still (at least I've heard and seen on youtube)
-lots of DJI features like active track
-SIZE!
-cheaper propellers (haha)


2017-7-4
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dancopter
First Officer
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Mavic is light years ahead of the Karma. You must have considered the Mavic though before you bought the Karma?
2017-7-4
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ephektz
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Flight distance : 94534 ft
United States
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Putting floating balls on the bottom of your Mavic will pretty much negate that dead still hovering (unless there is no wind), decrease your flight time, and unless you intend to actually land on water, probably won't save your Mavic. If your UAV is just falling out of the air, you are gonna have bigger problems than a gentle water landing. However, if you don't fly over water with less than 30 percent battery, you probably won't have issues with wet landings.
2017-7-4
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CharlieFliesDro
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Flight distance : 36148 ft
United States
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The hovering thing was great at one time now  Mine anyway Little less Rock solid
The Loss of signal return home feature Sketchy
The battery Holder Iffy   Gimble ( Big Iffy)
Flight time 27 minute.? I don't go pass 18 minute I just don't do it last time I did that It bit me hard in the ars
.
I like My mavic But it is not without it's own issues,,,, I'm flying along and Lose Yaw.
. like it went into Fix wing Mode.?. Go to land Yaw comes back.?


.
I would wait for Mavic 2.0
hope they fix the short coming of Mavic Pro
.
.
.
2017-7-4
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Jellybean
lvl.3
Flight distance : 578543 ft
United Kingdom
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Get a Mavic they are amazing!

Not had a single problem with mine.
2017-7-4
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isaacchu
lvl.4
Hong Kong
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Karma is a joke. Do you think it has resell value for a crashed drone/rubbish? Every good videos outside said taken by Karma actually shoot by Mavic Pro. Please do not sell that dangerous toy to other people and that will lead to other accidents. Haha..If you don't mind, I offer USD30 + postal fee and you send a whole package (without gopro) to me for home decoration.
2017-7-4
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FPC
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Flight distance : 99242 ft
Italy
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Get the Mavic. It's a no brainer, really, just get it and install the 4.0.5 DJI app which looks to be the only stable version.

THE only reason I would recommend Karma over Mavic is the detachable GoPro, which enables you to basically carry 2 products in one. But since I've already invested in a Drift HD Cam... well, I got a Mavic :-D
2017-7-5
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DroneyMcDronefa
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Flight distance : 11283 ft
United States
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I have a Karma Grip & GPH5B.
I didn't get a karma flight kit...I decided to spend a little more $$$ (for the features of the mavic).
I got my first mavic about 2 weeks ago.
First one had a soft focus on the right side of every picture/video, so I returned it back to Amazon.
The replacement arrived two days ago, 100% in focus!
Get the mavic...... Its quieter, smaller, more flight time, way more features (you know the rest).
2017-7-5
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Mcflying
Second Officer
Flight distance : 243753 ft
Netherlands
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Mavic is a great machine,....HOWEVER,
The gimbal is extreme small and delicate and sensitive.
Just looking at it can make it break.
So you should look after it, like it's a baby.
2017-7-5
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R&L Aerial
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Sell the karma ( if you can) and buy the mavic. Chalk it up to life lesson learned..
2017-7-5
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DocAraxá
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Flight distance : 202283 ft
Brazil
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Hy Evan,

I will tell you what happened to me:
I had an early Parrot that was awful. It was a nightmare to fly with it; I stopped with the hobby for a period and when I decided to return I asked a pilot about Karma. He said “The THING” that made me decide for the Mavic:
Go Pro is a best company on sporting video recording.
DJI is the best on flying.
That is it.
And I’m Brazilian. Here we don’t get all the warranties and consumer services you have there.
So, our decision must be the right one.
Cheers.
2017-7-5
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Lucas775
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Duh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2017-7-5
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Evan.Smith
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United States
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dancopter Posted at 2017-7-4 21:42
Mavic is light years ahead of the Karma. You must have considered the Mavic though before you bought the Karma?

I can't say i gave it a fair chance against the Karma because I had such a blind allegiance to GoPro. Looking back that was my biggest mistake, not considering the mavic.
2017-7-5
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Evan.Smith
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ephektz Posted at 2017-7-4 22:10
Putting floating balls on the bottom of your Mavic will pretty much negate that dead still hovering (unless there is no wind), decrease your flight time, and unless you intend to actually land on water, probably won't save your Mavic. If your UAV is just falling out of the air, you are gonna have bigger problems than a gentle water landing. However, if you don't fly over water with less than 30 percent battery, you probably won't have issues with wet landings.

I use my Karma currently a lot at the Lake and my neighborhood. I like the idea of having the dead still hovering for my neighborhood so the drone doesn't go rogue and crash into a house, and I also like the idea of having those floating balls for if everything went wrong on the lake. Just a peace of mind more than functionality i would think on the floating balls. Thanks for the response!
2017-7-5
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Evan.Smith
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United States
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R&L Aerial  Posted at 2017-7-5 02:07
Sell the karma ( if you can) and buy the mavic. Chalk it up to life lesson learned..

Definitely a life lesson learned, Thanks for your response!
2017-7-5
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Evan.Smith
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DroneyMcDronefa Posted at 2017-7-5 00:44
I have a Karma Grip & GPH5B.
I didn't get a karma flight kit...I decided to spend a little more $$$ (for the features of the mavic).
I got my first mavic about 2 weeks ago.

That's what i should have done.... i also had the hero 5 and gimbal so all I had to buy was the flight kit. I had the extra money and should definitely have Looked into the mavic.
2017-7-5
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PimpDawg
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Obstacle avoidance on the Mavic is a cool marketing trick but it is not to be relied upon and needs much refinement to be effective. There are many instances in which Mavic's have crashed straight into large objects that it does not detect. Beyond that, its a good drone and you'll like it better than the Karma.
2017-7-5
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EastyT
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United States
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There is no way I would purchase a Mavic now unless you own an Apple smartphone.  Android DJI GO4 app is totally unstable for many, many users.  Even the IOS version of GO4 has gotten more unstable over time.  Be very careful not to throw good money after bad.  WAIT.
2017-7-5
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ephektz
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EastyT Posted at 2017-7-5 12:45
There is no way I would purchase a Mavic now unless you own an Apple smartphone.  Android DJI GO4 app is totally unstable for many, many users.  Even the IOS version of GO4 has gotten more unstable over time.  Be very careful not to throw good money after bad.  WAIT.

It has been unreliable for a small minority of very vocal users here. The reviews are terrible on both platforms. Works fine on my iPad, works fine on my Android phone. This forums voice makes up a very small percentage of users. The new Crystal Sky is Android based. YMMV.
2017-7-5
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hallmark007
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If you've had a karma, then you will appreciate how good Mavic really is, from the minute you launch until you land it like a butterfly wearing slippers..
2017-7-5
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EastyT
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ephektz Posted at 2017-7-5 13:00
It has been unreliable for a small minority of very vocal users here. The reviews are terrible on both platforms. Works fine on my iPad, works fine on my Android phone. This forums voice makes up a very small percentage of users. The new Crystal Sky is Android based. YMMV.

I'm sorry, you just can't make the statement that there are very few people with problems.  I tried not to quote statistics as I agree that you can't take the reviews literally, but there is certainly over 5,000 negative reviews on the play store alone.  Believe me, I am jealous of your success and I hope it continues to work well for you.
2017-7-5
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PHL
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Australia
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EastyT Posted at 2017-7-5 12:45
There is no way I would purchase a Mavic now unless you own an Apple smartphone.  Android DJI GO4 app is totally unstable for many, many users.  Even the IOS version of GO4 has gotten more unstable over time.  Be very careful not to throw good money after bad.  WAIT.

Can't say I've had any problem with DJI Go 4 up to and including the current version) on any of my iOS devices (iPhone 7, iPad AIr 2 and iPad Pro 10.5). And I think I've done a decent amount of flying with it.I suspect the problem with Android version is there are so many different versions of hardware out there for Android, and on top of that the different versions of Android (plain Android, vendors' Android, some skinned, some total re-write based on base Android) as well as hacked versions, that it must be difficult to develop for all possible permutations.
Apple is accused of having a closed system, but it makes it easier to predict what to expect. Most of the complains for the iOS app is regarding firmware upgrade (would you seriously upgrade your firmware just before an important trip and not test it, or upgrade in the field? Seriosly?!), sign in or internet connection problems and in one case, the editor.
You can of course use some other software if you don't like DJI Go 4. I'm sure there are options in Android.
2017-7-5
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EastyT
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PHL Posted at 2017-7-5 13:45
Can't say I've had any problem with DJI Go 4 up to and including the current version) on any of my iOS devices (iPhone 7, iPad AIr 2 and iPad Pro 10.5). And I think I've done a decent amount of flying with it.I suspect the problem with Android version is there are so many different versions of hardware out there for Android, and on top of that the different versions of Android (plain Android, vendors' Android, some skinned, some total re-write based on base Android) as well as hacked versions, that it must be difficult to develop for all possible permutations.
Apple is accused of having a closed system, but it makes it easier to predict what to expect. Most of the complains for the iOS app is regarding firmware upgrade (would you seriously upgrade your firmware just before an important trip and not test it, or upgrade in the field? Seriosly?!), sign in or internet connection problems and in one case, the editor.
You can of course use some other software if you don't like DJI Go 4. I'm sure there are options in Android.

I agree with you statements, and the correspond to mine.  If you are to use the Mavic with an IOS device I would be much more inclined to recommend the Mavic.  The causes of the problems with the Android version are moot when it comes to a purchase decision.  I'm just saying that you shouldn't purchase the Mavic with an Android device and bet that DJI is going to eventually get it right as thousands of other developers do.
2017-7-5
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DroneyMcDronefa
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Evan.Smith Posted at 2017-7-5 12:27
That's what i should have done.... i also had the hero 5 and gimbal so all I had to buy was the flight kit. I had the extra money and should definitely have Looked into the mavic.

On my journey...I was set on the karma. I have two young girls (so toys for dad are few and far between no matter the price tag).  Love the heck out of my karma grip and gopro also. I have made many cool edits  of family hikes, snorkeling, MTBing, etc. I thought the same think about the karma until about a week away from ordering. The more youtube videos I watched about  Karma & Mavic. The mavic just fit what I needed. Yeah, the mavic cost a little more....but you get more. The size of it is so neat to throw in a backpack (like a single pocket, not taking up the entire backback)! And truthfully the lack of updates on the karma grip made me wonder how responsive gopro was going to be when it comes to updating Karma. When you make the move over I think you will be very happy.  Now Im actually thinking of getting a removuS1 now that they got the bugs worked out!
2017-7-5
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4wesomeAdam
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CharlieFliesDro Posted at 2017-7-4 22:50
I would wait for Mavic 2.0
hope they fix the short coming of Mavic Pro

Agreed, wait for the Mavic 2.0.

The Mavic is way too problematic IMO.

I don't want floating balls.

I WANT SINKING BALLS.
2017-7-5
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ephektz
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EastyT Posted at 2017-7-5 13:31
I'm sorry, you just can't make the statement that there are very few people with problems.  I tried not to quote statistics as I agree that you can't take the reviews literally, but there is certainly over 5,000 negative reviews on the play store alone.  Believe me, I am jealous of your success and I hope it continues to work well for you.

Putting that number into perspective, though, it's a small amount of users. Android is a vast, fragmented cluster truck of disparate technologies that Google expects their developers to support where there is potential for any one of their numerous iterative updates to break something. On top of that, you have manufacturers who plop their own pile of buggy garbage on top of the OS and call it, "new and advanced features."

I want to be clear that I'm not fanboying. DJI certainly has its issues. Apple has its issues. The numerous companies who release Android phones have their issues. Typically, though, the most vocal crowd is the most displeased. This Android stuff only affects a small amount of their user base.

What DJI needs is some solid competition in this marketplace to kick their butts into high gear.
2017-7-6
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EastyT
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ephektz Posted at 2017-7-6 11:46
Putting that number into perspective, though, it's a small amount of users. Android is a vast, fragmented cluster truck of disparate technologies that Google expects their developers to support where there is potential for any one of their numerous iterative updates to break something. On top of that, you have manufacturers who plop their own pile of buggy garbage on top of the OS and call it, "new and advanced features."

I want to be clear that I'm not fanboying. DJI certainly has its issues. Apple has its issues. The numerous companies who release Android phones have their issues. Typically, though, the most vocal crowd is the most displeased. This Android stuff only affects a small amount of their user base.

In the end, all that really matters is that DJI chose to support the Android platform and now they're stuck with it.  They were certainly highly aware of the pitfalls of supporting the Android platform so don't act like these issues were a surprise.  All I have to say is make it work or give it up.  Many others with much shallower pockets than DJI have managed!  
2017-7-6
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PHL
Captain
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EastyT Posted at 2017-7-6 13:32
In the end, all that really matters is that DJI chose to support the Android platform and now they're stuck with it.  They were certainly highly aware of the pitfalls of supporting the Android platform so don't act like these issues were a surprise.  All I have to say is make it work or give it up.  Many others with much shallower pockets than DJI have managed!

Actually it would be interesting to see how well it works with Chinese Android devices as compared to overseas models. In China, Google services are severely curtailed (no search, GMail or Maps unless through a VPN, as I discovered as I use a dual SIM Android phone for travel), so their version of Android is obviously different. As that may be the largest market, they may be developing for that market, rather than overseas market. Admittedly the Chinese market demographic going for DJI equipment will also be predominantly iOS.
2017-7-6
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Asainz320
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Hi Evan!
You commented on my YouTube video a few days ago and I replied that "yes you should sell the Karma and get Mavic". Just like you Im a big fan and a heavy gopro user, but when I bought the Karma I had looked very well at both the Mavic and the Karma. I decided to go for the Karma at forst because I was coming from a Phantom 2 which didnt have any features at all, so I didnt think I would need all the extra bells and whistles that came with the Mavic.I knew I was not going to keep the Karme from the first second I flew it. The unstable hovering and the poor response of the controls was more than enough to know it was not worth it. The way I saw it was, why would I keep a $1000 drone when my 4 year old Phantom 2 would fly way better. So I returned it (got a free Hero5 for doing so). I then got the Mavic and it has been what I expected from a $1000 and MORE. I am very satisfied with it.
2017-7-6
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