Mooney
lvl.3
United States
Offline
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While I've been less than enthusiastic with DJI's customer service, I reluctantley admit the Mavic has been nothing less than impressive.
Since the Mavic arrived on my doorstep its only been idle when the battery is charging or my head hits the pillow (exagguration, but flying a lot). This drone has logged air miles over the ocean, in the mountains, at the lake, filmed a parade, hot air balloon event, moto cross race, real estate/ranch brochure footage, inspected a radio tower for an engineer, took an aerial photo of corn maze for the boy scouts . . . today we'll be filming a vineyard's turning leaf color for the owner.
This Mavic has been run through the ringer, cold, hot, dark, light, close, far, high, low, windy, foggy . . . so far I haven't found anything or any reason not to say this is one of the best drones on the market. We still have the Inspire 1 Pro and haven't pulled it out of the case since the Mavic arrived. Sure the Inspire has amazing Z5 camera, but the 4k Mavic has been more than what's been needed in most of these shoots.
I hand fly, so I can't speak to the effectiveness of all the autopilot sequences, don't use/need them. However this drone is a DREAM to fly, response to control input, maneuverability, nimbleness, stability, endurance, portability, readiness, dispatch reliability, noise level, wind resistance, flight range and photo quality are EPIC for a 1k drone.
4k at 60fps would be nice addition, however for a 1k drone it's hard not to be amazed by the capabilities built into this portable package.
A couple of unique notes; We have a large 13,000 sqft hanger at the airport we use to do some filming. The Mavic boots up to ATTI as the hanger blocks the GPS and takes off with visual sensors and IMU calibration. When we fly near the windows the Mavic will get a GPS lock, fire off an alarm after recognizing it's flying within a no-fly zone, then sequence and trigger it's auto landing sequence. I'm able to overide the controlls, however it's alarm constantly sounds and will prepare to land anytime there's neutral input on controls. I can't fault the Mavic, we're less than 200 feet from an active runway and certainly in a dangerous area if we weren't indoors. I do however wish we could silence the alarm, it's doing it's job, but a little too well. Again . . . this is a very unique situation and not something most would take issue.
Second . . . as many of you know this drone sits close to the ground so dust/debris are potential issues with camera for take off/landing. We consistantly use the hood of the truck as the heliport. Calibration needs to be done away from the metal, then we place it on hood for departure. No issue's with care and maintenance of camera.
Lastley . . . Unlike heavier drones like Inspire the downwash from blade thrust is substantialy reduced. This allows us to get shots lower, without dirt, leaves and debris being thrown into the shot. Just another benefit of having a lighter platform.
In conclusion the Mavic in a short time has become a fantastic work tool, profound toy and is our drone of choice for a Gods Eye view of the Blue Marble.
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