choose up to four of the spark's biggest downfalls. this is in NO WAY meant to criticize the spark. I love the spark but was just curious. TO CLARIFY: for long setup time i meant for the first flight

As a Pro Photographer, on a budget 1. No RAW 2. No custom WB 3. Only 11-12 minutes battery limit

for me having a 4k image sensor ,and having it disabled for the sake of image stabilization ,Dji could at least enable 2k in the next firmware upgrade

Really? You want more than the specifications?  

ParksCreativePh Posted at 1-30 16:00
As a Pro Photographer, on a budget 1. No RAW 2. No custom WB 3. Only 11-12 minutes battery limit

But there IS custom WB in Spark camera settings

I need PoI and TapFly Free.P.S. So I think I should buy Mavic 2 Pro

Sparkz71 Posted at 1-31 01:32
Really? You want more than the specifications?  Get a life...................................................................

relax, just trying to have a new hobby, engage with the community and possibly get points so I can buy some accessories. if you are against this then why are you on it? no hate please

Better camera settings 4k 60fps and GPS following and waypoint in the dji go app.
And if DJI could make the spark controller compatible with their flight simulator that would be good.

I wish it had a longer battery life, longer range, better camera ... just like Phantom or new Mavic. Wish I had enough money for one of those. The spark is very cool.

I don't find any of the choices as a downside.   I had to pick one so I chose over 250grams..   I am sure that someone will soon make a quad that is as capable as the spark but weigh und 250 grams.

1. Better compass stability and immunity to interference
2. Cheaper
3. Better battery life
4. Better obstacle avoidance

It’s not a Parrot Anafi
I say this mainly in jest but since my wife gave me an Anafi for my Birthday, just before Xmas, I’ve not touched my Spark, and these are the reasons:

It shoots RAW.
Has 4K
Has HDR.
20Megapixel still images.
180 degree camera tilt - you don’t think you need it till you try it.
A genuine 25 minute flight time.
Waypoint flights, yes it’s pay to play but at the time of purchase this feature was less than $1.
It’s more stable in higher winds.
Setup time is quicker.
The video downlink has significantly less latency and is clearer (using Samsung S7)
It’s so quiet.
No annoying NFZ’s. Every time I use the Spark I have to acknowledge I’m in a restricted area even though this restriction was decommissioned in the 1950’s.
At the time of purchase it was cheaper than the Spark.

It doesn’t have any OA but I had this feature permanently disabled on my Spark anyway.

I expect some pushback from my statements but this is just my experience in the last month. I haven’t given up on the Spark as I’m sure it’ll still get some use. It’s just for all the items the original poster believes are shortcomings the Anafi appears to satisfy.
Regards

Nidge.

Nidge Posted at 2-1 03:16
It’s not a Parrot Anafi
I say this mainly in jest but since my wife gave me an Anafi for my Birthday, just before Xmas, I’ve not touched my Spark, and these are the reasons:

The video quality with compare the spark camera?

Proteous Posted at 1-30 17:25
for me having a 4k image sensor ,and having it disabled for the sake of image stabilization ,Dji could at least enable 2k in the next firmware upgrade

Okay, and who buying mavic air?

In CE area like my city, the fly range is short due to weak signal or interference.

Mine fell out the sky .. that was a pretty big "downfall"

Not reliable. Too many errors mid flight. Compass, GPS, IMU yaw, remote.

The 12 minute flight time is about the biggest drawback to me, but for the small size and portability of the Spark, I'll live with it. The carrying case for the Spark, with the drone, two spare batteries, a spare set of props, the three-slot charger, the AC adapter for the charger, and the controller, is small enough to easily fit in a carry-on bag for airline travel, while leaving enough room in the carry-on for other things as well. It's light enough to slip into a daypack and carry along on a hike, while still more capable than my Phantom 3 Standard that I started out with.

I'd still like to get a Mavic 2 Zoom eventually, for its greater capabilities, but I'm quite pleased with what the Spark can do in a small package.

Hoomi Posted at 2-8 21:38
The 12 minute flight time is about the biggest drawback to me, but for the small size and portability of the Spark, I'll live with it. The carrying case for the Spark, with the drone, two spare batteries, a spare set of props, the three-slot charger, the AC adapter for the charger, and the controller, is small enough to easily fit in a carry-on bag for airline travel, while leaving enough room in the carry-on for other things as well. It's light enough to slip into a daypack and carry along on a hike, while still more capable than my Phantom 3 Standard that I started out with.

I'd still like to get a Mavic 2 Zoom eventually, for its greater capabilities, but I'm quite pleased with what the Spark can do in a small package.

Its a good aircraft, the zoom. I liked the spark and I still would love to fly it more and more but personally I find the mavic air more spritely than the spark, not to mention smaller.

djiuser_5GFSiTOMmcIM Posted at 2-7 22:00
Mine fell out the sky .. that was a pretty big "downfall"

Ow. Sorry.

The marketing is for me the biggest downside. It made the drone appear "foolproof" to fly, when in fact it's easy and intuitive, but does need to be initially flown carefully whilst folks learn. For me it's been the perfect drone to learn with...I'm now contemplating something with better low light performance...

ChrisJG Posted at 2-17 09:08
The marketing is for me the biggest downside. It made the drone appear "foolproof" to fly, when in fact it's easy and intuitive, but does need to be initially flown carefully whilst folks learn. For me it's been the perfect drone to learn with...I'm now contemplating something with better low light performance...

what would that new drone be?

fans6f66f9da Posted at 2-17 10:49
what would that new drone be?

Possibly a Mavic Air. I like and am used to the DJI app and controls. Later this year, I suspect after the joke of a government we have here in the UK have sorted out the sorry mess that is Brexit, they will introduce tests and more stringent regulations to drone pilots. That will I suspect mean a larger number of used drones coming onto the UK market from people who will not bother to register / pass any tests. I’m thinking prices will fall, so a good time to buy.

ChrisJG Posted at 2-17 12:33
Possibly a Mavic Air. I like and am used to the DJI app and controls. Later this year, I suspect after the joke of a government we have here in the UK have sorted out the sorry mess that is Brexit, they will introduce tests and more stringent regulations to drone pilots. That will I suspect mean a larger number of used drones coming onto the UK market from people who will not bother to register / pass any tests. I’m thinking prices will fall, so a good time to buy.

for the regulations, this does not help: https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/ ... sure-ground-flights

fans6f66f9da Posted at 2-17 12:35
for the regulations, this does not help: https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/15/18226077/dubai-airport-drone-closure-ground-flights

oh yes, Sussex Police I think have "given up" on trying to catch whoever / whatever closed Gatwick Airport down for 3 days...WTAF!!!

ChrisJG Posted at 2-17 14:57
oh yes, Sussex Police I think have "given up" on trying to catch whoever / whatever closed Gatwick Airport down for 3 days...WTAF!!!

Did the drone actually exist at Gatwick? I wasnt following this story to closely but the last i heard is that there may have never been a drone...

ajf3103 Posted at 2-18 07:40
Did the drone actually exist at Gatwick? I wasnt following this story to closely but the last i heard is that there may have never been a drone...

Who knows...think a pilot reported seeing something, but three days of closure / delays over Christmas....

I have received a faulty unit out of the box and I have to admit that customer service is pretty bad.

Only 2-axis gimbal. Not a problem when shooting still images, but for video, it's a bit of a problem sometimes. Still love my Spark though!

CasualDronePilot Posted at 5-19 00:17
Only 2-axis gimbal. Not a problem when shooting still images, but for video, it's a bit of a problem sometimes. Still love my Spark though!

This promblem only curved turns during videorecording.
I still flying and recording straight lines.

All the above..  to be fixed in Spark 2

Jakab Gipsz Posted at 5-19 00:53
This promblem only curved turns during videorecording.
I still flying and recording straight lines.

Not only when turning while recording video, if you pan or fly sideways, it can be a problem as well. Usually it helps if it's done really, REALLY slow though.

WiFi transmission/limited range, 11 min flight times, limited redudancy leading to comapss errors and GPS loss in flight, 2 axis gimbal, very glitchy gesture controls

remember it's a spark and for the price it is what it is . some day , in the future they will have all the features we all want in a smaller drone .
fly safe

Nothing wrong with Spark. Custommer service is a shamble, great example of it:

1. For me the biggest downfall is not to be able to controll the camera up and down in RTH !

the bigest downside for me is not being able to  update the flysafe data base app on android or ios, its driving me insane..
https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=192972&extra=page%3D1%26filter%3Dtypeid%26typeid%3D558%26typeid%3D558

I think the biggest downfall is the Spark only has 12-13 minute flight time, would prefer if it could do a solid 15 minutes even though DJI advertises 16 minute flight time, so 15 minute real world? would mean 18 minutes advertised by DJI?

frequent compass issues leading to flyaway. had no flyaway but couple compass errors ended with a crash.

This:
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/store.dji.com