Hello,Let me state my expectations:

I liked the Spark, especially its price tag, but Mavic Air comes as an interesting alternative. However, I am still struggling:

* for less money I get "combo" and extra battery
* Main purpose is shooting travel videos; I am aspiring amateur know the 101 of photography and filmmaking
* I don't care much about 4K - still think it's a gimmick ;)
* I value link quality and stability over the range: at least now, I don't think I'll be flying more than 500m-ish away.

I care about picture quality (film), and found some Spark videos on YouTube - which for me look great enough. I know that Spark is missing color profiles and advanced controls, but:

1. Is that true with postprocessing, color correction I could get great videos out of spark? To impress ordinary people, not pro filmmakers. Should I expect the striking advantage of MA videos over Sparks?
2. How much practically is advertised flying time vs real? With Spark I could get 2x16minutes and, 21 minutes with MA.

With no drone in the bag and looking at my first one with a spare grand hanging around the Mavic Air seems to be the best choice.

I would get the Mavic Air Fly more combo.
You get about € 100,- sale when you add all the items compared to a separate buy.
Think about your framerates. Spark can only do 30fps. That is not too good if you live in &aposAL' area ann want to combine with other camera's that shoot 25 / 50 fps.
Plus the Air will get you in the air longer per battery.
In practice I return at 30 / 25% so  that means you would get about 10 minutes out of a Spark battery, where Air will get you about 5 minutes MORE.
That is a lot of time to get the right shot  or change settings if you need to.

BUT, the Spark is a nice drone also and a great way to find out if a drone is what you 'need'

Oh, and the best way to get good footage is by making good footage.
Post processing will not give you good footage. It can make for a very bad end result though.
Spark and Air will both give great footage if operated properly
It's not the camera that takes the picture, it is the photographer. (same goes for video)

Couldn't agree more with the importance of photographer  ;)
Thanks for the remark on not using all battery in flight: I forgot about leaving a margin.
The motivation of this question comes from a fact, that spec-wise Spark camera is inferior to Mavic Airs:
* 2-axis gimbal - but I read it misses yaw stabilization, and drone itself is pretty stable on that axis
* no slo-mo and fixed 30fps: well, I can live with that.
* And finally less (almost none) picture controls - is a chance that compensating that in post won't ruin the material?

Hi, there. I would recommend users read the specs of spark and mavic carefully before purchasing. Here is the link for your reference: https://www.dji.com/products/com ... ndsite&from=nav Thanks for your support.

There are things in the MA fly more combo that you don't want or are unnecessary . I my opinion it is a better buy to by the basic combo and buy an extra battery later

Dennis

Also. I bought the Spark and three weeks later out came the Mavic Air. The spark is good as is the Mavic Air. The camera capabilities of the Spark are fine for most people. The extra flight time of the Mavic Air is in my view very useful however. Either way you will not regret buying either

Dennis in the UK

For watching TV, yeah 4K does seem like a bit much. Even someone with really good eyesight can't see a difference when sitting at a reasonable distance.

Here is why you shouldn't use that same logic for recording video:
When you record at 4k, you have the option of zooming in without losing quality if your end result is going to be 1080p. Even though hardware stabilization has gotten really good, you can occasionally end up with a clip that could use some software stabilization. This can especially be the case with the Spark since it does not have a 3 axis gimbal. What if you end up with something showing in your video that you would like to crop out? With 4k, you have a little bit of resizing to work with that will not lower the end result quality.

There's this interesting vertigo effect you can do by zooming in on a subject while you move the drone away from the subject. You can do this with 1080p, but the video quality difference will be noticeable as you zoom in using editing software.

Then there's all the other camera setting choices not available on the Spark. You'll be able to do slow motion video, 24fps if you prefer that, and the new quick shots are really nice.

Panorama seem to shoot quicker on the Mavic Air. You get a little more flight time than the Spark, but not as much as the Mavic Pro, or Pro Platinum.

I have a Spark and I don't intend to sell it although I just purchased the Mavic Air, but if I was looking at buying just one now and had the money for the Mavic Air, that is what I would get.

Thank you for all responses. I had a bit easier decision, since Spark was intended as a birthday gift (big round number but I could fill the gap up to fancier model. And I also liked the foldable design and convenient carrying case so finally ordered Mavic Air (not combo). I also think that higher power output of radio (as specs say) will result with better (stable) connection on short distance I intend to fly on.

Now it's good time to learn the rules of airspace - it is worth noting, that Polish authorities started a campaign "Fly smart" promoting responsible drone flying https://lataj.pro/

iTomek Posted at 2018-2-4 05:58
Thank you for all responses. I had a bit easier decision, since Spark was intended as a birthday gift (big round number  but I could fill the gap up to fancier model. And I also liked the foldable design and convenient carrying case so finally ordered Mavic Air (not combo). I also think that higher power output of radio (as specs say) will result with better (stable) connection on short distance I intend to fly on.

Now it's good time to learn the rules of airspace - it is worth noting, that Polish authorities started a campaign "Fly smart" promoting responsible drone flying https://lataj.pro/

Good choice lad you won't regret it

Agreed the Mavic Air is a better choice with the pricing today.  Connection stability is much better on Air, and I've had both drones.  

Your chose right there old boy