After watching almost every video on YouTube regarding the Spark and following all the nay sayers comments on the forums, I almost cancelled my order and purchased a Mavic. I decided to go ahead and make the puchase as most of the complaints from people...short battery life, range limitations, gesture mode doesn't always work...didn't really apply to how I fly. I had an Autel XStar Premium and it was great flyer...but it and its case were big and heavy. I envisioned using it on my boat to get photos of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland where I am from, but just too akward to lug around. So the Spark seemed like the right bird for me.

Range and Battery life: I typically go up, take photos/video and come down. I have never been more than a quarter of a mile away from my drone and since flights beyond visual line of sight (vision unaided...) are against FAA regulations, I don't need to go the 5 miles the Mavic can go (my profession requires that I be a rule follower ;-). My typical flight is almost always less than 10 minutes so 12-16 minutes of battery life is fine for me. I did buy the flymore combo that came with an extra battery and I ordered another that should arrive next week.

4K vs 1080p: I write this from my Macbook Air that has HD at 720 and it looks awesome. I had 4K on my XStar and it caused streaming issues and storage issues. I do own a 4K TV but most of my posts will be on Facebook and YouTube and 1080p is fine for that.

I have flown almost 4 hours in two days and I am extremely impressed with this unit. It flies as good, if not better than my XStar...which flew great. What I love most about this bird is the size of everything. I can take it on the boat, on vacation...it is just so fricking convienent! The unit is small, the controller is small (doesn't require a neck strap to hold) and all the spare parts seem to fit in the small carrying bag that came with the flymore combo. I really like this drone and glad I purchased it!

Where I would like to see some improvement: More hand gestures...it is fun to do and it impresses the heck out of the neighborhood kids ;-) The only issue I have had is that when you send it away and it stops tracking you, there needs to be a way to wave it back to you that doen't require going into the house to get the remote. I would also like the selfie photos in gestures to be at 12mp instead of the 2mp and I would also like a way to activate video with hand gestures as well. I have had no issues with any of the quick shots and can't wait to try them someplace besides my house.

This is a great drone that is designed to do at least 75% of what most people what a drone to do. If you are looking for a extremely portable drone, this is the one. If you need to fly miles away and stay in the air for hours...this drone is not for you. I think most people, if they are honest with themselves, will end up flying this unit more than their bigger and 'better' drones and in the long run will be extremely happy with their purchase.  I know there are a lot of happy owners out there...time to start hearing from them!

Blue skies!

Nice write up.  I have to agree.  The Spark is perfect for my needs.

I totally agree with you. I'm in Maryland also. I have had a blast with mine. Took it on a hike and it did well in the woods.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Very well put.

For the record there are not FAA "rules" regarding hobby aircraft.  Just confirmed by the Supremes.  That said the "rules" you speak of are suggested by the American Modeler's Assoc. (AMA) and people should follow them as much as possible.

fans88bebfcd Posted at 2017-7-7 17:59
For the record there are not FAA "rules" regarding hobby aircraft.  Just confirmed by the Supremes.  That said the "rules" you speak of are suggested by the American Modeler's Assoc. (AMA) and people should follow them as much as possible.

Don't think that is accurate. A Federal court, not SCOTUS ruled that the FAA cannot make you register your recreational drone. The rules concerning flight are still in force, nothing changed.

Yep, spot on!

Hopefully the people at DJI are following along with what people are saying and will add some more gesture controls.  It can only help them sell more drones, and they need to get out in front of they selfie drone club.  The nice thing about the Spark is it will do selfies, AND it will do some really nice photography!  I'm very happy with my Spark!  I just hope they fix DJI 4 on the Android platform!

Long long time ago in the Dji Land far away, the Dji Go app for Android has never been stable. It crashes here and there because there are too variant of hardware model and android version. Too open a system may be.