I'm looking at getting my first drone and really like a lot of things about the Mavic.  However, As a beginner should I be starting out with a $1k drone? thinking of the phantom 3 std as a starting point at 1/2 the price of the 4 or mavic

I'm looking to use the drone to get some cool footage for dirt biking in northern NJ and campgrounds I visit in the northeast.  additonaly, my friend just bought a farm that is about 1.5-2 miles down the road from me and I wouldn't mind being able to lauch the drone from my house and fly down to his farm and see what's going on.  Is this realistic in a rural area where I won't have a direct line of sight?

Thanks in advance for helping a newbie out

I would go P3A  over the standard for one huge reason, Lightbridge!
Your flying distance & strength is just so much more uniform with DJI's Lightbridge, no comparison to the standards Wi-Fi. I had the standard until my buddy & I went flying, he flys  the P3P which uses Lightbridge too. I upgraded to the P3A next day!
I meant to add, the Mavic has its positves too, uses the new feed, Oscy something which is the new Lightbridge, Mavic is truly a poratble flying machine, if this is important, P3's take a fairly large case to transport, My son carry;s his Mavic in his lunch bag!!
I haven;t bought a new DJI as of today, thinking the Mavic or the P4advanced, just can;t decide!

This is just my two cents worth,I decided to by a drone this past November. I researched  it and I felt The Mavic Pro was what I wanted. At the time there was a long wait to get one due to backorders,so I decided I did not want to wait and bought a $280 drone from another manufacturer. Being a first time flyer I crashed it numerous times until it broke. I still wanted the Mavic but I now know how easy it is for pilot error or a malfunction to cause your drone to fall out of the sky.So if you have deep pockets and will not get upset when your $1000 bird falls out of the sky by all means go for the Mavic,I went with a refurbished P3S and am having a blast. Whatever you decide you are going to like this hobby. Good Luck.

I agree with Post #2.  I'd get the P3A or P3P.

I'll add to the Phantom 3 Advanced. I'm a newbie and just got mine with an extra battery for $400. There are deals out there.
Now I am going to get an iPad Air 2...and the beat goes on...LOL.

pete m Posted at 2017-4-23 15:36
This is just my two cents worth,I decided to by a drone this past November. I researched  it and I felt The Mavic Pro was what I wanted. At the time there was a long wait to get one due to backorders,so I decided I did not want to wait and bought a $280 drone from another manufacturer. Being a first time flyer I crashed it numerous times until it broke. I still wanted the Mavic but I now know how easy it is for pilot error or a malfunction to cause your drone to fall out of the sky.So if you have deep pockets and will not get upset when your $1000 bird falls out of the sky by all means go for the Mavic,I went with a refurbished P3S and am having a blast. Whatever you decide you are going to like this hobby. Good Luck.

Most likely you fell foul of the huge difference between most multi-rotors out there and the DJI setup. Many of the so-called competing MR's just do not have the same flight characteristics of the DJI. Crashes of Syma's ... Echine's etc. are common place.

As to the Mavic - we have Mavic in our club and it has received a unanimous "Thumbs DOWN" from all who have looked at it, flown it and seen the videos after. The consensus in our club is go for the P3A or P3P ... or if you do not have a P3 already - then the P4. Why that comment ? The P4 takes a different battery and if you are a P3S owner already - buying a P4 can be extra expense replacing batterys.

The Mavic is great for those who want something small and handy ... but for serious work ? Not in our opinion.

Nigel

Nigel your probably right. I notice a huge difference between my old Hubsan 501 and the P3S.