The Air 2 is out of my price range for now. So between the Mavic Pro and the Mavic Air what is the better buy? I'm torn between the two after watching many reviews of both... I have a Mavic Mini and want to step up with RAW photo ability and 4k video. I want to take professional looking photos and videos.

I like that the Pro is much quieter. Longer battery life also. But in terms of pics/video quality what is better? Any help appreciated.

Out of those two I'd go for the Air 1

A J Posted at 8-5 13:51
Out of those two I'd go for the Air 1

Why is that exactly? Do you have both, I would love to hear your opinion... Thanks

22340179 Posted at 8-5 14:00
Why is that exactly? Do you have both, I would love to hear your opinion... Thanks

I had both.

The MA is more potable, has a higher bit rate, far less buggy and therefore more reliable, not as old, vastly superior gimbal, great features and gave an all round better quality image (most importantly).

The MP was an awesome drone though and revolutionised the drone market back in 2016. You'll get a vastly superior range over the MA, a longer flight time, quieter motors (the MA is very loud) and some features the MA doesn't have. It all depends on what is important for your needs. I personally preferred the MA but many would disagree.

A J Posted at 8-5 14:04
I had both.

The MA is more potable, has a higher bit rate, far less buggy and therefore more reliable, not as old, vastly superior gimbal, great features and gave an all round better quality image (most importantly).

I totally agree. Lots of people complain about the noise, but i have never had any problems with that. The other complaint about the mavic air is range. It realy depends where you live; if you live in an area with high interference you may not get very good range with the MA. That being said, i have seen a video where people have gotten over 5 kilometers with the mavic air in low interference areas. The mavic air has the same transmission system as the mavic mini, so if you have major range problems with the mavic mini, you might want to go for the mavic pro. I personally haven't had any range problems with the mavic air and would definitely recommend it. The MA also has internal storage incase you forget your sd card, which the MP does not.

Any help appreciated.
Look at DJI's comparison tool
https://www.dji.com/au/products/comparison-consumer-drones?site=brandsite&from=nav
Just select which models you want to campare and the features for each are shown side by side.

Particularly note the flight time for the Air.

Hello there. Thank you for reaching out and these information you have shared. The DJI Mavic Pro and the DJI Mavic Air are two amazing consumer drones created by DJI. In addition, I will post a link where in you can compare both the DJI Mavic Pro to the DJI Mavic Air and to other DJI consumer drones as well ( https://www.dji.com/products/com ... ndsite&from=nav ). Thank you for choosing DJI and please stay safe always.

Maple2 Posted at 8-5 16:27
I totally agree. Lots of people complain about the noise, but i have never had any problems with that. The other complaint about the mavic air is range. It realy depends where you live; if you live in an area with high interference you may not get very good range with the MA. That being said, i have seen a video where people have gotten over 5 kilometers with the mavic air in low interference areas. The mavic air has the same transmission system as the mavic mini, so if you have major range problems with the mavic mini, you might want to go for the mavic pro. I personally haven't had any range problems with the mavic air and would definitely recommend it. The MA also has internal storage incase you forget your sd card, which the MP does not.

I mainly fly in rural areas so range was also not a problem for me too with the MA - often exceeding a mile with no signal issues. Flight times were constantly around 15-17 minutes so with four batteries I typically got over an hour in the air which is enough for casual use. And as many drone pilots will tell you, 10 minutes feels like half an hour when you're flying a drone. Whilst the advertised flight time of the MP was 28 minutes I rarely exceeded 22.

I did find the noise from the motors quite annoying and recall being able to hear the MA before I could even see it lol - unfortunately that won't be found in any comparison table nor will the gimbal on the Mavic Pro suddenly calibrating itself in flight without any input from me leading to my needing to land early on several occasions. Not to mention the off set gimbal turning the horizons into a seesaw on the MP - so it's good to get a first person opinion based on experience with the drones in question. Both had their pro's and con's.

One thing I forget to mention - if you can get your hands on the Mavic Pro Platinum that would be the one I would choose. It was A LOT quieter than the other two, I never experienced any glitches, had a more stable horizon than the MP and an even longer flight time whilst offering everything the original MP had. You should find a good deal on the Platinum too. That was my favourite drone before the Mavic 2 series. You'll notice a bigger difference between the MPP and Mini than the MA and Mini.

A J Posted at 8-5 22:49
One thing I forget to mention - if you can get your hands on the Mavic Pro Platinum that would be the one I would choose. It was A LOT quieter than the other two, I never experienced any glitches, had a more stable horizon than the MP and an even longer flight time whilst offering everything the original MP had. You should find a good deal on the Platinum too. That was my favourite drone before the Mavic 2 series. You'll notice a bigger difference between the MPP and Mini than the MA and Mini.

Yes I think I am leaning towards the mavic pro platinum. The quieter flight, longer battery and occusync I think are worth it. I like how the air has a few extra features like panos and some things like boomerang etc. though and the higher video frame rate.

22340179 Posted at 8-6 00:09
Yes I think I am leaning towards the mavic pro platinum. The quieter flight, longer battery and occusync I think are worth it. I like how the air has a few extra features like panos and some things like boomerang etc. though and the higher video frame rate.

It's a tough one! Be sure to make the right decision - nothing worse than buyers remorse.

22340179 Posted at 8-6 00:09
Yes I think I am leaning towards the mavic pro platinum. The quieter flight, longer battery and occusync I think are worth it. I like how the air has a few extra features like panos and some things like boomerang etc. though and the higher video frame rate.

If you have the mavic mini and also want another drone (MA or MP) i think personally i would sell the mini and get a mavic air 2, as i think i would want 1 really good drone instead of 2 slightly older drones, but thats just my opinion.

Maple2 Posted at 8-6 08:27
If you have the mavic mini and also want another drone (MA or MP) i think personally i would sell the mini and get a mavic air 2, as i think i would want 1 really good drone instead of 2 slightly older drones, but thats just my opinion.

Another sensible option indeed. The MA2 is yet another step up on so many levels. Sell the Mini and buy the MA2 base kit with a second battery. The OP won't know whether he is coming or going with these options

Maple2 Posted at 8-6 08:27
If you have the mavic mini and also want another drone (MA or MP) i think personally i would sell the mini and get a mavic air 2, as i think i would want 1 really good drone instead of 2 slightly older drones, but thats just my opinion.

Yeah you might be right. I love my mini. I always figured it would have a place in my life with travel etc. They are also introducing drone registration here in the foreseeable future in Australia and the mini sits under the weight restriction. But I guess going out daily to the beach or whatever there really wouldn't be much point in having two drones with me. Perhaps I should sell the mini and put the extra money towards the Air 2. My mini is in excellent condition so selling wouldn't be an issue... hmm i'll have to think about it.

Have you decided which one to buy yet?

Mavic Pro Platinum

A J Posted at 8-9 01:17
Have you decided which one to buy yet?

I think I’m gonna grab the air 2. I’ll have to sell my mini to get the extra money for it but I think it’s worth getting the more recent drone. It takes a really nice shot and video.

22340179 Posted at 8-9 03:05
I think I’m gonna grab the air 2. I’ll have to sell my mini to get the extra money for it but I think it’s worth getting the more recent drone. It takes a really nice shot and video.

I agree - excellent decision. The Mini is handy for its weight class but honestly, I've flown the Mavic Air 2 how I like and never had a run in with anyone. It is the best drone out of the four mentioned IMO though I've never owned the Mini but have flown it.

A J Posted at 8-9 03:10
I agree - excellent decision. The Mini is handy for its weight class but honestly, I've flown the Mavic Air 2 how I like and never had a run in with anyone. It is the best drone out of the four mentioned IMO though I've never owned the Mini but have flown it.

The mini is great, for what it is I can't fault it. I would love to keep it but I doubt I would fly it much if I had the Air 2 anyway.

22340179 Posted at 8-9 14:09
The mini is great, for what it is I can't fault it. I would love to keep it but I doubt I would fly it much if I had the Air 2 anyway.

I've owned multiple drones at the same time before now and you'll tend to fly one far more than the others then they start collecting dust and you end selling them anyway. It is much easier to maintain just the one - all the firmware updates, battery charging and storing etc etc Though some have a fleet to choose from - it all depends on how in to it you are and why you fly. If you get the MA2 as a casual flyer there would be hardly any need to fly the MM other than for the fun of it

A J Posted at 8-9 14:16
I've owned multiple drones at the same time before now and you'll tend to fly one far more than the others then they start collecting dust and you end selling them anyway. It is much easier to maintain just the one - all the firmware updates, battery charging and storing etc etc Though some have a fleet to choose from - it all depends on how in to it you are and why you fly. If you get the MA2 as a casual flyer there would be hardly any need to fly the MM other than for the fun of it

Yes exactly. And the batteries need to be looked after. I just can't see myself flying the mini over the air anyway. I wanted to keep the mini for travel but with this pandemic and no end in sight there isn't much point really.

22340179 Posted at 8-9 14:18
Yes exactly. And the batteries need to be looked after. I just can't see myself flying the mini over the air anyway. I wanted to keep the mini for travel but with this pandemic and no end in sight there isn't much point really.

And to be honest the MA2 is hardly an Inspire - it has a 570g take off weight - thats about the same as just ONE of the batteries I had to carry for my Inspire 1 - that suitcase was around 10KG... The shoulder bag that fits the MA2 fly more combo is about the same as a lunch box - very portable. I can not think of anywhere that I would fly the Mini and not be prepared to fly the MA2. It is also a travel drone for sure.

A J Posted at 8-9 14:32
And to be honest the MA2 is hardly an Inspire - it has a 570g take off weight - thats about the same as just ONE of the batteries I had to carry for my Inspire 1 - that suitcase was around 10KG... The shoulder bag that fits the MA2 fly more combo is about the same as a lunch box - very portable. I can not think of anywhere that I would fly the Mini and not be prepared to fly the MA2. It is also a travel drone for sure.

Haha, yeah for sure. It's a lot lighter than the MP2 also. It seems like a great drone I watched a lot of videos over the weekend to make my mind up. The image and video quality looks brilliant. I was a bit worried about the quality from the MP so I think i'm making the right decision. Just have to hide the receipt from my wife... lol

22340179 Posted at 8-9 14:38
Haha, yeah for sure. It's a lot lighter than the MP2 also. It seems like a great drone I watched a lot of videos over the weekend to make my mind up. The image and video quality looks brilliant. I was a bit worried about the quality from the MP so I think i'm making the right decision. Just have to hide the receipt from my wife... lol

The image quality between the original MP and MA2 is noticeably better. Bigger sensor, double the video bit rate, better processor, HDR video, 4K60, 1080p240, SmartPhoto, 48mp, 8K hyper lapse etc etc - the camera is a massive upgrade as is the gimbal.