Hi guys,

I am finding it hard to make a decision to which one to buy

Is it worth spending close to $1200 Australian extra for Mavic for my first ever Drone?

Thank you
Henry

It depends - do you have a plan what you're going to do with it or just fun?

You can’t go wrong either way. Both are awesome birds

trust me. i bought a spark first and got used to flying but after a while you will need that extra speed and flying time. ithe spark is a good starter but gets you hooked to flying and you WILL crave for the mavic

I own both (and a few others).  I initially bought the Mavic for it's portability when traveling on my motorcycle, as space is at a minimum on my bike.  Then the Spark came along and it takes up about 50% less space in my saddlebag and serves its purpose well for quick startup and quick shots.

I cant say about Spark as I never used one, but Mavic is a Great bird - Very compact - folded, Great flyer, a Very good camera with 4K (wance You shoot 4K You'll never go back!), and it depends from You country but for me going more than 4-5 km away is a normal flight.

I've never had a Spark... I started with some cheap toy drones, just to learn the elementary flying skills. Spent a lot of hours on YouTube and thought long to buy that Spark because of the price compared to the Mavic. But I have never regretted for a second that my final choice became a Mavic Pro. I do not think you will either.

If I were in your shoes Henry, I would wait till after the 23rd of Jan. Dji may release a new quad somewhere in between the spark and the mavic.  If you don’t want to wait or don’t care about a “new “ quad then I would buy the first generation mavic. If you buy the spark you will be disappointed because it’s more of a toy than anything. I guess the platinum would be ok but for the price you can’t beat the original mavic..

Wait for 23rd January, if nothing better comes than MPP at least you might see price drop.

I have had an MP and now MPP and just recently sold my Spark.  Go with Mavic it won't disappoint you.

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-1-14 07:39
Wait for 23rd January, if nothing better comes than MPP at least you might see price drop.

+1...I've made the mistake of not waiting for new releases in the past and always regretted it.  Mainly because I ended buying both (new & old versions)

Spark is for your garden, Mavic for the outback. I bought the Spark first.... Spark is a funny toy.

Don't forget, what ever you chose you will not lose all that money as they hold a decent after sales value.  Also, I believe that whichever you do choose you will still be looking over your shoulder at the other option that you didn't choose.  Good luck in making the right choice.

When questions like this are put to people who have owned/own both it triggers all types of pro's and con's but honestly, without knowing exactly what you intend to use the drone for/motive for wanting one it's very hard to gauge which one will be better for you. Personally, I prefer the Mavic but you may prefer the Spark. Head to your local DJI reseller and see them first hand and look through the specs of each one carefully to help with your decision.

DJI Tello is going to be an option eventually also.. https://store.dji.com/product/tello

Bob Brown Posted at 2018-1-14 09:53
DJI Tello is going to be an option eventually also.. https://store.dji.com/product/tello

We are talking Spark or Mavic here - you can't be serious about that ehh?
The Tello = a kids toy.

GoldenSun Posted at 2018-1-14 05:28
It depends - do you have a plan what you're going to do with it or just fun?

Just for fun!!

thank you everyone!! will wait until the end of this month and see what if any new releases then..

Consider the framerate of the Spark. That is fixed to 30fps.
Not 100% sure but I believe you are in 25fps area.
If you want to mix footage with other camera's (that are shot in 25fps), that will be an issue.

Other than that I chose the Mavic over Spark for a couple of reasons.
- Flight time (With Mavic it is about 20 minutes before returning to keep a safe margin, that feels rather short when you are making some shots)
- More camera settings (picture profile, resolution etc.)- Better gimbal
- More flight modes (course lock is very nice)
- The Fly More Combo gives you 3 batteries instead of 2

But, if it was not for the lack of 25fps I would have chosen Spark because of the price difference.

Dirty Bird Posted at 2018-1-14 20:52
For me it would be Mavic all the way.  It is the superior bird in every way.

And way more expensive! Unfortunately, that may be the reason... ;)

Henry-M Posted at 2018-1-14 19:49
thank you everyone!! will wait until the end of this month and see what if any new releases then..

Well at least a week - there is something really exciting coming up next week and it might just happen to be exactly what you're looking for!

Dirty Bird Posted at 2018-1-15 06:13
You get what you pay for.  Yugos were inexpensive but...

Sure, but the question is - do you really need it?

I have both the Spark and the Mavic Pro. The Spark isn't even comparable to the Mavic.
Here's why: The Spark has literally half of Everything the Mavic has...(maybe even less)
First of all, the obstacles avoidance max range of spark is only 5 m (16ft) compared to 15 (48ft) of Mavic. Which means it cannot sense obstacles that are far away.. Also the Spark Cannot avoid obstacles if it is further than 100 metres (320 ft) away from your Home Point  which could result in a crash if your RTH is not set high enough. The reason is because Spark Infrared obstacle avoidance sensor's FOV is very narrow so it can only avoid obstacles when flying very slowly (about 9 MPH / 14 KMH) It also cannot avoid obstacles automatically, it just hovers in front of an obstacle unlike the mavic which would move left or right to avoid any obstacles when in automatic flying mode (ActiveTrack / tap fly)
Secondly, the Mavic has twice as many Sensors compared to the spark. Whereas, Spark only a 1 of each which might cause your Spark to fly away if there are interference. These Sensors are Barometer, Accelerometer, gyroscope and most importantly, the Compass
Thirdly Spark cannot auto land as the downward Vision sensor is not 3D (it can only "see" using one camera and an infrared sensor which can only measure distance between the Spark and the ground)
Fourthly, the Mavic's propulsion system is over powered and is very efficient (platinum) while Spark is slightly underpowered which could easily get blown away by a strong wind. It's also as loud as the mavic. I occasionally get the "Max motor Speed" warning with the Spark but have not even once experience this with my mavic. Also, the Mavic is more aerodynamic when flying forward due to the 15° tilt of the front and back motors.
Fifth, the gimbal is only 2 Axis compared to 3 axis on the Mavic. (very noticeable when in photo mode) Furthermore, not only is the camera on the Mavic 4K, it has a Bitrate of 60Mbps compared to 1080p @ 24 Mbps on the spark. You can also change the video resolutions and the framerate for the Mavic which is otherwise not possible on the spark.
Six, the Mavic has ocusync which means it can resist much more interference and doesn't glitch out as the remote controls signals and video signals are separately transmitted (mesh). The Spark just have Wifi technology which is quite prone to interference and sometimes unreliable. Mavic's max range is about 3 KM (1.85 miles) while Spark is only 0.80 KM (0.5 miles) in real world test.
7. The Mavic battery is placed on top which means it is very unlikely it's going to fall out but the Spark's battery is at the bottom which could very likely fall out if not placed properly as it could shake itself out (remember those Sparks that fell out of the sky like a rock....) The Spark can only last 11 minutes on average compared to 20 minutes on the Mavic.
8. As I've said before, the Spark only has one camera at the bottom for the actual VPS
so it's unreliable when there's no GPS (keeps switching to ATTI mode). The Mavic uses both the downward Vision sensor AND the forward vision sensor for VPS (consisting of 4 cameras in total) so even if there isn't GPS, the Mavic just flies like a charm.
9. The remotes on the Mavic has an LCD screen which is extremely helpful when the Dji GO 4 app crashes. You still can see all the important flight telemetry even without a phone.
10. Many Birds are not intimidated by the spark and they can easily knock it out of the sky. Had a close call with a seagull..
Pros of Spark:
10. Gesture Control is really awesome if you want to control it with just your hand to take selfie without any controllers.
11. Spark brings less attention and setup is faster as you don't have to remove the gimbal clamp and cover or unfold the arms.
12. Spark is much lighter and slightly smaller so it's easier to carry even with an additional battery. I bring it with me everywhere I go!

All in all; The spark is not even made to compete with the Mavic, it's an entirely different drone for a different purpose. Furthermore, Spark is 2x cheaper than the Mavic. This was just my opinion about the two drones

Here's how I use both drones: I bring the Spark everywhere all of the time with me for capturing those unexpectedly amazingly beautiful places while I leave the Mavic in the car ready for more professional/clearer/higher quality shots.

There you go, I probably shouldn't have written so long but I felt the need to explain everything since they've lots of differences

I am struggling to see an option coming that will fall in between the mavic and the spark, but it is certainly worth waiting to find out.  I just wonder if the price point on the spark may drop considerably to fit the new Mavic Air in between in terms of costs.

DJT_MVSP Posted at 2018-1-15 08:55
I have both the Spark and the Mavic Pro. The Spark isn't even comparable to the Mavic.
Here's why: The Spark has literally half of Everything the Mavic has...(maybe even less)
First of all, the obstacles avoidance max range of spark is only 5 m (16ft) compared to 15 (48ft) of Mavic. Which means it cannot sense obstacles that are far away.. Also the Spark Cannot avoid obstacles if it is further than 100 metres (320 ft) away from your Home Point  which could result in a crash if your RTH is not set high enough. The reason is because Spark Infrared obstacle avoidance sensor's FOV is very narrow so it can only avoid obstacles when flying very slowly (about 9 MPH / 14 KMH) It also cannot avoid obstacles automatically, it just hovers in front of an obstacle unlike the mavic which would move left or right to avoid any obstacles when in automatic flying mode (ActiveTrack / tap fly)

Some of this is right, some of this is wrong.  I also own both, and I fly the Spark a hell of a lot more then the Mavic.  If your flying just for fun, the Spark will give you far more opportunities then the Mavic. Just my opinion.  

Buy yourself the Mavic and gift your significant other the Spark and then you get to play with all three ;-)

Or you could save the money for taxes, expenses, family members. That's all I have

damoUK Posted at 2018-1-15 09:39
Buy yourself the Mavic and gift your significant other the Spark and then you get to play with all three ;-)

What you did there, I see it.

damoUK Posted at 2018-1-15 09:39
Buy yourself the Mavic and gift your significant other the Spark and then you get to play with all three ;-)

Genius! Love it!

Can't comment from first hand experience about the Spark, as I open a Mavic Pro Platinum.  But have friends with Sparks.  Both birds are excellent and will produce amazing photos and videos.   I went down the Mavice road because of the better video resolution 4K vx 1080p, the 3 axis gimbal vs 2 axis and the biggie  for me being flight time.  The advertised 27-30 minutes worth of flight time is real and achievable depending on wind conditions.  And with the Platinum, the new proposal and improved ESCS on the motors does make it noticeably quieter than the previous Mavic Pro and the Spark.  The other thing for me was that I wanted a complete kit and the Mavic came with a controller which is an extra for the Spark.  Having flown Wi-Fi only drones from phones before, I wanted to be free of the range and possible drop out and fly-away problems that come with that style of control.  The gesture control is cool, but you can also do that with the Mavic and give me a controller with joysticks every time.  But whatever you choose, you will have fn with it.  Just make sure that your chosen phone or tablet (whether iOS or Android) is the most recent and powerful that you can afford.  Some older models may be prone to lag with the DJI Go 4 App.  The only other advice is if you can afford a FlyMore Combo Pack, get one.  The added batteries, carry bag and other goodies make is an excellent deal.  I am in Australia also.  Feel free to PM me if you want more info.  Hope this helps.

A CW Posted at 2018-1-15 12:45
Genius! Love it!

Thanks - I spent half an hour giggling to myself when I came up with that suggesation

damoUK Posted at 2018-1-16 05:05
Thanks - I spent half an hour giggling to myself when I came up with that suggesation

It did make me laugh as tried that myself but my wife hated the Spark so I sold it!

I suggest neither as a first drone.......... Buy a cheap $40-$50 drone with altitude hold and maybe a RTH function is included. LEARN to fly (ATTI) one of those and THEN step up to something more expensive. Too many beginners rely on the features- Obstical avoidance, auto take off, auto land and everything else "auto" - thus making them feel invincable and then crash their new $500-$1000 drone because they didn't learn the basics of drone flight in the first place with an INEXPENSIVE drone.

DJT_MVSP Posted at 2018-1-15 08:55
I have both the Spark and the Mavic Pro. The Spark isn't even comparable to the Mavic.
Here's why: The Spark has literally half of Everything the Mavic has...(maybe even less)
First of all, the obstacles avoidance max range of spark is only 5 m (16ft) compared to 15 (48ft) of Mavic. Which means it cannot sense obstacles that are far away.. Also the Spark Cannot avoid obstacles if it is further than 100 metres (320 ft) away from your Home Point  which could result in a crash if your RTH is not set high enough. The reason is because Spark Infrared obstacle avoidance sensor's FOV is very narrow so it can only avoid obstacles when flying very slowly (about 9 MPH / 14 KMH) It also cannot avoid obstacles automatically, it just hovers in front of an obstacle unlike the mavic which would move left or right to avoid any obstacles when in automatic flying mode (ActiveTrack / tap fly)

I am sold to the Mavic platinum then.. is it worth waiting for newer design?

fansbc87c0df Posted at 2018-1-15 19:25
Can't comment from first hand experience about the Spark, as I open a Mavic Pro Platinum.  But have friends with Sparks.  Both birds are excellent and will produce amazing photos and videos.   I went down the Mavice road because of the better video resolution 4K vx 1080p, the 3 axis gimbal vs 2 axis and the biggie  for me being flight time.  The advertised 27-30 minutes worth of flight time is real and achievable depending on wind conditions.  And with the Platinum, the new proposal and improved ESCS on the motors does make it noticeably quieter than the previous Mavic Pro and the Spark.  The other thing for me was that I wanted a complete kit and the Mavic came with a controller which is an extra for the Spark.  Having flown Wi-Fi only drones from phones before, I wanted to be free of the range and possible drop out and fly-away problems that come with that style of control.  The gesture control is cool, but you can also do that with the Mavic and give me a controller with joysticks every time.  But whatever you choose, you will have fn with it.  Just make sure that your chosen phone or tablet (whether iOS or Android) is the most recent and powerful that you can afford.  Some older models may be prone to lag with the DJI Go 4 App.  The only other advice is if you can afford a FlyMore Combo Pack, get one.  The added batteries, carry bag and other goodies make is an excellent deal.  I am in Australia also.  Feel free to PM me if you want more info.  Hope this helps.

Thank you!!

damoUK Posted at 2018-1-15 09:39
Buy yourself the Mavic and gift your significant other the Spark and then you get to play with all three ;-)

my wife hates anything fly lol

Henry-M Posted at 2018-1-18 19:38
I am sold to the Mavic platinum then.. is it worth waiting for newer design?

If I were you, I would wait for the next DJI drone that would be released next week. If that drone is better, buy it.
And the price of existing DJI drone will drop too

--------------------------------------->   MAVIC PRO

waiting for the new release then::

That's probably a very sound decision.