Recently, I was sucked into the world of drones after watching a Mavic Air video, and seeing how amazing it looked. After doing much reaserch, I have want either a pro or air.
I am currently thinking that I should buy a Pro.
It has a longer battery life, better range, and a better remote. I can also find it for cheaper than the air online because the air is so new. Regarding the air, I would say the 2 main advantages are the size and the camera. As far as size, the Pro is as portable as I would need it to be (I think). Regarding the camera, after watching side by side comparisans, I think the Air is better, but not by much. The Pro footage still looks great to me. Also, I do not need this for a profesional use. It seems to me that the better choice FOR ME is clearly the pro, but recently, almost every review has praised the Air and claiming that head to head, it is a huge improvment over the pro. I was wondering if anyone else could help me out with this, as I dont have enough money to buy both (clearly).

Thanks in Advance!

For me the OcuSync with the MP is MUCH better than the Air WiFi.  So better range and better battery life like you said.  Very portable as well.  As far as the camera's both very similar with the Air having just a slight edge.  So if you want better battery life and more reliable signal and distance the MP is the clear winner.  

SparksBird Posted at 2018-5-2 18:03
For me the OcuSync with the MP is MUCH better than the Air WiFi.  So better range and better battery life like you said.  Very portable as well.  As far as the camera's both very similar with the Air having just a slight edge.  So if you want better battery life and more reliable signal and distance the MP is the clear winner.

Thanks for the advice, have you had any problems with the focus on the MP?

Zephyr54 Posted at 2018-5-2 18:06
Thanks for the advice, have you had any problems with the focus on the MP?

The camera of the Mavic Pro you can set in automatic or manual focus, there are many more filming options on the Pro compared to the Mavic Air.

I wouldn't necessarily say the Air has a better camera, especially if you consider the Mavic Pro can shoot 4K in cinematic 4096x2160p versus the Air can only shoot in UHD 4K 3840x2160p.

You guys are really making me feel more confident in my choice, although, it seems that everyone on YouTube bought into the MA hype. I still think it is a good drone, but for some people, it is not the better option in my opinion. The one last thing I have seen is that people like the MA's backwards sensors, and think the build quality is better, especially with the gimbal. Any thoughts?  

Zephyr54 Posted at 2018-5-2 18:18
You guys are really making me feel more confident in my choice, although, it seems that everyone on YouTube bought into the MA hype. I still think it is a good drone, but for some people, it is not the better option in my opinion. The one last thing I have seen is that people like the MA's backwards sensors, and think the build quality is better, especially with the gimbal. Any thoughts?

Actually, both of the Mavic pro and Mavic air are great drones, personally, the Mavic air is more portable.

DJI Diana Posted at 2018-5-2 18:25
Actually, both of the Mavic pro and Mavic air are great drones, personally, the Mavic air is more portable.

I'm sure they are both great drones, but portability is not a major factor for me, and I would be loosing flight time and signal strength. At the moment, I think MP is small enough for me. Also, I much prefer MP's sound over MA's sound, but that could just be me. Thanks for your help!

For owning the Pro it is the best, if you have the Pro you have good distance which the Air cannot give but both have Pros on it. SO since you also want to use it professionally maybe the Air would be the choice but depending where you are will not get the stability like the Pro

I own the Mavic Air and just got the DJI Goggles.  They are great with the Air, but they do so much more with the Pro.  If they interest you as an additional tool, I recommend getting the Pro.  Otherwise, I love the Air and have had no issues with it.  It does shoot 4K at 100Mbps and the pro is limited to 60Mbps (I believe).  It really is a toss-up between them.  You need to determine what are the most important things you are wanting and see which one checks more boxes.  Both are awesome drones.

Zephyr, sounds like you have already made your decision, and that’s cool - the Pro is a great drone.

I had the pleasure of depleting 4 batteries using one this morning, and it was great. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and was very impressed with it. I do prefer the Air that I bought, mainly for the size of the device - i can fit my whole Air kit in a small backpack, with enough room left over for other stuff (this is important to me when hiking etc). That said, the Pro is still very portable. With VLOS being the legal requirement in my country, the extra range isn’t a selling point. As it is, i’ve had my Air to 3.5km, which is more than enough for me. The 6 minutes extra flight time also doesn’t sway me - an extra battery or two is no big deal.

There may be some confirmation bias creeping in here, but a decent go with the Pro reinforced my decision to go with the Air instead. In saying that though, like i said earlier, the Pro is a great machine - i personally think that you would be happy with either.

Zephyr54 Posted at 2018-5-2 18:29
I'm sure they are both great drones, but portability is not a major factor for me, and I would be loosing flight time and signal strength. At the moment, I think MP is small enough for me. Also, I much prefer MP's sound over MA's sound, but that could just be me. Thanks for your help!

You are welcome. Appreciate your support to DJI products, you will enjoy it, happy flying.

@Zephyr54
I bought a Mavic Air last year and I'm very happy.
When I saw the Air presentation I thought: WTF! Waited for years and now three drones come out in short sequence (Pro, Spark, air).
Last month I went to DJI store in Milan, saw and touched the Mavic Air (Spark already not judged at the level of mavic last year).

I did not like the M.Air. OK it's much portable, but feels much more like a toy, comepared to the M.Pro. Also the remote control with
display although it doubles many information, it's build much better!! All this and other things made me feel ok with my past decision
to go for the M.Pro.
Air seems to me another brick for drone newcomers, but as said the impression was not as good as the M.Pro.

Go, touch, feel, try and decide.
Happy flying!!!

It’s easier to find place to take off and land Air. And the backward sensor also useful when video with backward flying. Air is batter for smaller place.

Shooting low with objects around APAS is really helpful. It check object far before and turn smoothly. You may not aware Air turns to avoid the object in front on the video.

Being a user of Mavic Pro for more than 1 year, I would recommend the Air over the Pro. Mavic Pro was a great drone (and still is)  for its time and I had a very good time with it.

The greater distance that Mavic Pro provides is not a huge point  from a practical point of view. In most countries it is illegal to fly that far, and even if you decide to not follow the local laws, it would be very risky to fly that thing so far away. You may do it a few times, but does it worth to buy an older drone for the very few times that you will need a greater distance?

If you know upfront that you will most of the time fly in a very big distances, then go for it otherwise think about the Air. From my experience, I believe that flying in great distances maximize the risk of loosing your drone. It takes more battery juice to travel far and then return back and if any high winds are present it takes even more battery, maximizing your risk for a forced landing due to battery.   

Ofcourse, the better signaling system of Pro (Occusync) can promise more hassle free time, without disconnects etc, maybe flying within a city, but if you fly wisely these hassles would not happen with the Air. All it takes is that you need to  know your drone's capabilities and not push out of its limits.

I personally don't like the Pro's camera/gimbal lock mechanism. It is a two piece mechanism that needs special attention when attaching it. You get a feeling that gimbal is a very fragile and easy to break.      
Definately the Air's gimbal/lock system is an one piece and seems more sturdy, as it should be. It's even designed in that way to get maximum protection from the side plastics of the drone's body. Definately you can see a lot of design improvement in the Air.  

After using the Mavic Pro for 1 year, I personally prefer to have a smaller drone that can fit in a small laptop backpack leaving space for my accessories. Because it's not only the drone, you will have the remote and eventually more batteries and the charger.  When Mavic Pro was introduced everybody used to compare it with the Phantom (which had this awful big boxy cases) and said how cool Mavic Pro was. And it was true. Today, we have to compare the size with Air and Air is a clear winner in this space.

The screen on the remote is good to have, but not a deal breaker for me. Since we all connect our phones, you get all the readings from the phone. I never look at it when flying.   

Regarding the difference in battery life, I do know that in reality the battery is always lesser than what companies advertise in their websites. And that's pretty much reasonable, as we don't fly in optimum situations where companies do their tests.

The bigger battery life in Pro, is much needed when you fly in greater ranges and you need a lot of flight time to fly far away and be able to return safely. If you are not in that mood, then you will cover your need for additional flying with a second or third battery.

(Disclaimer: I haven't used the Air, so please make a good research on how the Air performs in real life before making your buy decision. My experience is totally on my own Mavic Pro and the Air as I have seen it online)

Also, keep in mind that Mavic Pro is out since September 2016. According to rumors spreading, DJI will soon release Pro's successor. Everybody expects  a better camera and the Air's smart features along with anyting new that we haven't see so far. If you can wait a few months and because these are expensive toys, I would suggest to wait a little bit until Mavic 2 is announced.

What ever you decide, you can't go wrong though.

Happy flying!

I can fly Air around 15 min most time land with over 20% battery remain. The carry bag and charge hub support 4 batteries. So you can have over an hour Air time with everything in one small bag just around a KG.

Zephyr54 Posted at 2018-5-2 18:29
I'm sure they are both great drones, but portability is not a major factor for me, and I would be loosing flight time and signal strength. At the moment, I think MP is small enough for me. Also, I much prefer MP's sound over MA's sound, but that could just be me. Thanks for your help!

If portability is not a problem, and you need for professional use, your on the wrong forum you should check out P4Pro or inspire range.

If these are out of your price range then MPP would be your next choice.

There is no better portable drone out there at the moment than MavAir.

Short answer, go with the mavic Pro.

I too had the same decision to make and after lots of thought and reviews and youtue videos I went for the Mavic Pro Platinum. The biggest thing that made up my mind was the reduced noise of the platinum. I remembered flying a Phantom 3 years ago and the noise was too much and i know that is one small complaint of many Air users.
For my needs the Camera on the Pro was good enough and I personally think it looks better.
Either way im sure you will be happy with your choice.

Also remember that OcuSync  is not just great for longer distance flights but also gives you peace of mind knowing you have a stronger connection in VLOS flights and flights where there might be lots of interference .

Far_North Posted at 2018-5-3 05:40
Also remember that OcuSync  is not just great for longer distance flights but also gives you peace of mind knowing you have a stronger connection in VLOS flights and flights where there might be lots of interference .

Without a doubt.  Having the Pro it is crazy where I can send the drone and still have signal thanks to the OcuSync.  Many times I thought how do I still have connection.  I can garantuee if using WiFi the case would not be the same.  

Pro all the way over the air. No comparison in my book. And I have both.

Own both, no question the camera is better on the Air - 60p works and at 2.7k!! Unlike on the Pro, Air has more detail, less moire - banding and artifacts, better colour, FAR better gimbal setup, the Pro is sharper however. Range on the Air is great, well over 3km for me, never any issues, even 1-2km in built-up areas, no problems. The Pro is however much quieter!!

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-5-3 03:48
If portability is not a problem, and you need for professional use, your on the wrong forum you should check out P4Pro or inspire range.

If these are out of your price range then MPP would be your next choice.

You may have mis-read, but I said that I did not need it for professional use.

Thanks for all of the help! It really is awesome to get advice from people who own the drones!

Whichever Mavic you go for you won't be disappointed, both are exceptional drones.  

No offense, but it's always amazes me, how somebody can even considering to buying an older drone. I don't think MA is another series of drones, I think it's MP's successor. Seriously, 4km vs 7km, does it really matter? After few flights you will be flying in VLOS. Why would somebody require to show same information twice (at controller and phone)? 21 vs 29 minutes is that a big difference  if you consider size of the drone? It's annoying to hear these complaints from all these reviews doesn't make sense to me. If you can have MP for much lower price, then you go for it- I wouldn't buy MP, I don't like that exposed gimbal and all problems connected with it. Cheers

There is absolutely nothing wrong the the pro series. Ultimately only the OP can decide his priorities. I just got my air and am still amazed on how small it is, coming from a P3 and P4. Ultimately if I only had the one drone I'd probably have gone with the MPP - quieter, less interference, most of the kinks are ironed out. But as I take it travelling the air is that much easier to carry around with all the other stuff I want to carry.

If not need a drone urgently wait for few months to see Pro 2 to make your decision. Even Pro and Air will further drop the price in that time.

Just after I buy Spark the Air come out. You may not want that happen.

Axeli Posted at 2018-5-3 16:17
No offense, but it's always amazes me, how somebody can even considering to buying an older drone. I don't think MA is another series of drones, I think it's MP's successor. Seriously, 4km vs 7km, does it really matter? After few flights you will be flying in VLOS. Why would somebody require to show same information twice (at controller and phone)? 21 vs 29 minutes is that a big difference  if you consider size of the drone? It's annoying to hear these complaints from all these reviews  doesn't make sense to me. If you can have MP for much lower price, then you go for it- I wouldn't buy MP, I don't like that exposed gimbal and all problems connected with it. Cheers

You make some good points, and agree with you partially. I disagree with some of your points based of reading some other comments.

1. 4km vs 7km is a difference. even if I dint go out of my VLOS, i still would want to know i had the most reliable signal out there.
2. Your sort of right about the controller, but it is a nice little feature to have.
3. 21 vs 29 (or 17 vs 25 more likely) is a pretty big difference. More than %25 extra flight time can help a lot I have heard. It seems much more convenient to have 8 or so extra minutes per battery.
4. The size on the air is smaller, but as I mentioned, the MP is small enough for me (I think)
5. The exposed gimbal is really bad, and I much prefer the gimbal design and camera of the MA. This being said, I personally think that there are a lot of positives to owning this "older drone."
I guess I can not see all of the hype around the MA for me personally, and I think i would have to give up some nice features to get new ones that I would not need as much.

Thanks for your thoughts on the Air, I will keep it in mind!

GDL Posted at 2018-5-3 17:55
If not need a drone urgently wait for few months to see Pro 2 to make your decision. Even Pro and Air will further drop the price in that time.

Just after I buy Spark the Air come out. You may not want that happen.

I know, and I am really conflicted. I do not know exactly when MP2 will come out, but i have heard not until the fall. This would make me miss summer using a drone, and where I live, It would not be so enjoyable to fly in the winter.

You bring up a good point about the MP price dropping then, but i cant Imagine it dropping more than $100, and for missing it all summer, I would need more than that.

There is also no way that I could afford MP2, if it came out around $1,100 -$1,300. That is too much for me, even though I am sure the camera will have a MASSIVE upgrade.

Sorry about the mis-timing of your purchase, and I hope I will not be too unlucky.

Thanks for your opinion!

Mavic Pro all the way for me. I own a Spark and Mavic Pro. A work colleague brought his Mavic Air into work one day and we did a side by side comparison. As mentioned above, the camera on the MA is better than on the MP. However, that was one of the only pluses for the MA (apart from price). The Ocu-synch is what clinches it in this one. I know that with my Spark I have a very very limited range (The reason I retired it and got an MP) and my work colleague was amazed at the distance I could get with the MP.

Just my humble opinion.

I must say I am quite disappointed with Spark’s range and photo quality. But it’s not completely useless even I got Air. Take off and land on hand allow it use on place not possible to land. Charge 3 batteries just need and hour. Also can be recharged by power banks. It’s much handy for quick photo and selfie on difficult location.
The best drone is depend on how you use it and where to use it. Cost also a major factor as the preferred Pro 2 may too expensive for many people.

I have the Air and I'm really happy with it.

I've had 1km flight with solid connection and that's plenty for me, I'm sure it'd go a lot further but it's extremely rare I'd need to go more than say 500m away normally so not fussed.

The size and weight for packing into my MTB bag was the main feature I cared about.  It sounds like you're not too fussed about the size of the Air vs Pro, and with the Pro available in some places for same cost as the Air, I think that in your shoes I'd probably chose the Pro, and get it now so you can enjoy it over summer.

Zephyr54 Posted at 2018-5-3 15:31
You may have mis-read, but I said that I did not need it for professional use.

Humbled apologies , so for me it’s a toss up. Good luck.

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-5-4 00:49
Humbled apologies , so for me it’s a toss up. Good luck.

Thanks!         

I recently bought a Pro. It had more to do with price though; with my educators discount and the sale a couple of weeks ago, I got a Pro + an extra battery for $9 more than the Air.

The Pro is my first "real" drone. I've had several sub-$100 drone toys. It's a BIG step up. I'm having an absolute blast flying and learning with it. The flight time is incredible and the footage amazing. As far as portability/size goes, the Pro packs up into a very small carrying case. Yes, I'm sure the Air packs up smaller, but the Pro is very portable.

I'm sure you won't be disappointed with either.

I ended up getting a refurbishes Mavic Pro from DJI on ebay for $650, which i thought was a good deal. It should be here in one week!


Thanks for all of your responses!

GLJones Posted at 2018-5-2 20:46
I own the Mavic Air and just got the DJI Goggles.  They are great with the Air, but they do so much more with the Pro.  If they interest you as an additional tool, I recommend getting the Pro.  Otherwise, I love the Air and have had no issues with it.  It does shoot 4K at 100Mbps and the pro is limited to 60Mbps (I believe).  It really is a toss-up between them.  You need to determine what are the most important things you are wanting and see which one checks more boxes.  Both are awesome drones.

Very well said.  check the boxes.

Just got it today, and it looks great!