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Air & Pro 4 months on...
1235 21 2018-5-27
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Wellsi
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Hello all
Well after flying both the Pro and Air intensively since February, I've found a few differences that go beyond the hard specs.  So as people are still asking the basic question of 'Air or Pro', I thought I'd make an updated video outlining the obvious and less obvious differences, including what's it's like to fly and my experiences with signal range and loss.
As ever, hope it helps those still torn

Cheers
Ian




2018-5-27
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A CW
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Great vid - totally on point regarding handling wind - the Air is very stable and the gimbal never tilts and it does it's absolute best to maintain it's current airspeed even in 20-30MPH winds - unlike the Pro. I sold my Mavic Pro Platinum yesterday though got £1,100 for it on eBay - I hadn't flown it since I bought the Mavic Air and the MPP was too good to just collect dust in a corner. All set for the MP2 now.  
2018-5-27
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hallmark007
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Good job Wellsi. A very fair comparison and much needed advice regarding difficulties in RTH with sensors on, I think for anyone happy to fly VLOS up to 500 metres , the air is a perfect choice.

Thanks again for all your inputs.
2018-5-27
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Wellsi
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A CW Posted at 2018-5-27 01:45
Great vid - totally on point regarding handling wind - the Air is very stable and the gimbal never tilts and it does it's absolute best to maintain it's current airspeed even in 20-30MPH winds - unlike the Pro. I sold my Mavic Pro Platinum yesterday though got £1,100 for it on eBay - I hadn't flown it since I bought the Mavic Air and the MPP was too good to just collect dust in a corner. All set for the MP2 now.

Thanks for that... Have to say I'm impressed with £1,100 on ebay for your pro platinum!  My basic Pro went for £650.. but that was the basic pack, no extra batteries!

If it wasn't for the occasional signal issues, me and the Air would be the very best of friends!  Ony happens rarely though.  
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Ian
2018-5-27
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Wellsi
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hallmark007 Posted at 2018-5-27 01:48
Good job Wellsi. A very fair comparison and much needed advice regarding difficulties in RTH with sensors on, I think for anyone happy to fly VLOS up to 500 metres , the air is a perfect choice.

Thanks again for all your inputs.

Thanks Hallmark.
Ironically last week near Stonehenge my Air managed 2,000 metres without a single issue. Yet at Frinton last month, I had endless trouble at only 300 metres.  
Cheers as ever!

Ian
2018-5-27
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A CW
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Wellsi Posted at 2018-5-27 02:19
Thanks for that... Have to say I'm impressed with £1,100 on ebay for your pro platinum!  My basic Pro went for £650.. but that was the basic pack, no extra batteries!

If it wasn't for the occasional signal issues, me and the Air would be the very best of friends!  Ony happens rarely though.  

Yeah, my package did include an advanced charging hub, DJI battery power bank adaptor, incase compression case and 3 platinum batteries, DJI's latest ND filter set on top of the basic MPP kit and was in perfect working order. Still not bad given that I had it for 6 months and flew more than 1million feet. Took 40 hours to sell and I had over 100 views in that time too - still very desirable to new buyers.

It was a great drone and so quiet but I prefer the MA for the image quality and straight horizons with a vastly superior gimbal and it's much more fun to fly. It's sad to say but I think the Mavic Pro is on borrowed time now - it's had it's day and that is being reflected in the massive price reductions. It seems stock is being cleared for the next generation which should be out this year. Until then the Mavic Air ticks my boxes very nicely.

I did four back-to-back flights yesterday with the MA in very fast winds up in Hertfordshire and it maintained a dead straight horizon and 15-20MPH air speed in p-mode. Hit 43.1MPH in Sport mode - fastest yet with any Mavic I've owned. I had no signal issues even at 4,060 feet (1.25KM) away from me but the transmission isn't as good as the MPP but that is something I was willing to sacrifice for all of the other upgrades. I get over an hour of flight time with 4 batteries so that is enough in one trip for me.

Great vid Ian and keep up the good work.

Andy

2018-5-27
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Wellsi
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A CW Posted at 2018-5-27 02:49
Yeah, my package did include an advanced charging hub, DJI battery power bank adaptor, incase compression case and 3 platinum batteries, DJI's latest ND filter set on top of the basic MPP kit and was in perfect working order. Still not bad given that I had it for 6 months and flew more than 1million feet. Took 40 hours to sell and I had over 100 views in that time too - still very desirable to new buyers.

It was a great drone and so quiet but I prefer the MA for the image quality and straight horizons with a vastly superior gimbal and it's much more fun to fly. It's sad to say but I think the Mavic Pro is on borrowed time now - it's had it's day and that is being reflected in the massive price reductions. It seems stock is being cleared for the next generation which should be out this year. Until then the Mavic Air ticks my boxes very nicely.

Aha.. that explains the extra pricing...

Glad you weighed it all up and made your decision....  Until the next model comes out...

Ian
2018-5-27
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Montfrooij
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Very good one!
2018-5-27
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A CW
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Wellsi Posted at 2018-5-27 08:09
Aha.. that explains the extra pricing...

Glad you weighed it all up and made your decision....  Until the next model comes out...

Yeah, he got a good deal but a fair price too.
2018-5-27
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Wachtberger
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Excellent comparison that will certainly help future buyers to make a good choice according to their priorities and budget. I still fail to understand why some people here seem to run an artificial competition between the two models. They both have their own right and merit to exist and make many pilots happy. This is my plea for a peaceful co-existance. And not to forget, in maybe only a few months or even less there might be a new model that beats them both. That is called progress in technology... ;-)
2018-5-27
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Wellsi
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Wachtberger Posted at 2018-5-27 13:16
Excellent comparison that will certainly help future buyers to make a good choice according to their priorities and budget. I still fail to understand why some people here seem to run an artificial competition between the two models. They both have their own right and merit to exist and make many pilots happy. This is my plea for a peaceful co-existance. And not to forget, in maybe only a few months or even less there might be a new model that beats them both. That is called progress in technology... ;-)

Thanks Wachtberger.
Yes, my Physics Major brain makes me stick to the facts and not get subjective about these things.  Hopefully highlighting these will help folks out making their minds up.
And here we are, still waiting for that mythical Pro ll    
Ian
2018-5-27
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Henry M.Y.
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Hi Ian,

Great summary on different strengths of the MPP and MA.

I would like to add that DJI had recently released GO4 version 4.2.16 with which MA pilots are given the option to choose between "obstacles avoidance priority" or "velocity priority" in Active Track mode. Another tick on the MA against the MPP.
Henry
2018-5-28
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Wellsi
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Henry M.Y. Posted at 2018-5-28 07:30
Hi Ian,

Great summary on different strengths of the MPP and MA.

Thanks Henry
I would question the wisdom of choosing velocity priority over obstacle avoidance priority!    
But as you saw, I tried it keep it as objective and factual as I could....

Ian
2018-5-28
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Aardvark
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Henry M.Y. Posted at 2018-5-28 07:30
Hi Ian,

Great summary on different strengths of the MPP and MA.

But in 'Obstacle priority or velocity priority' obstacle avoidance is enabled or disabled, so functionally I think that would that be the same as just switching OA on or off, which all the aircraft can do.
2018-5-28
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Henry M.Y.
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Aardvark Posted at 2018-5-28 22:59
But in 'Obstacle priority or velocity priority' obstacle avoidance is enabled or disabled, so functionally I think that would that be the same as just switching OA on or off, which all the aircraft can do.

Hi Aardvark,

Mavic Air's flight algorithm handles headwind differently - by design the Mavic Air will abandon the functioning of Obstacles Avoidance and will tilt more than 15 degree in overcoming strong headwind, even if the Obstacles Avoidance is switched on.Please see this thread.

I think by "priority", DJI is giving the choice on whether or not maintaining the OA (i.e. limiting the aircraft tilt) under high wind (in case of Active Track, with fast moving subject) to the pilot.

Henry
2018-5-29
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eried
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Nice comparison. I missed some of your deep personal experience though. I crashed my mavic pro so I had to decide if an air was good enough, but I decided to order the same pro again. I do not know, it looks better/more aggresive hahaha

PS: You CAN remove the pro remote sticks.
2018-5-29
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Aardvark
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Henry M.Y. Posted at 2018-5-29 07:37
Hi Aardvark,

Mavic Air's flight algorithm handles headwind differently - by design the Mavic Air will abandon the functioning of Obstacles Avoidance and will tilt more than 15 degree in overcoming strong headwind, even if the Obstacles Avoidance is switched on.Please see this thread.


You referred specifically to the new active track functionality in DJI Go V4.2.16.

According to the release note:-

"Users can now switch between Velocity Priority and Obstacle Avoidance priority modes. Please note: Obstacle Avoidance is unavailable in Velocity Priority mode"

Which seems to suggest that in active track mode, the user choses between Obstacle Avoidance priority mode (OA is On and will adjust speed, avoid obstacles); or Velocity Priority mode (OA is off, no auto braking or object avoidance).

So that is the same as choosing OA on or OA off is it not ?

How it handles headwinds is a different matter.
2018-5-29
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Henry M.Y.
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Aardvark Posted at 2018-5-29 08:03
You referred specifically to the new active track functionality in DJI Go V4.2.16.

According to the release note:-

I was focusing on the scenario under Active Track - with OA on the MA is tracking fast moving subject (e.g. boats, bicycles) with speed greater than 8m/s, bearing in mind the MA's effective OA sensing speed will have to be not greater than 8m/s.  In former version of the DJI GO4, there was no max flight speed control in Active Track, the MA would just fly at 8m/s, eventually loosing track on the subject if it were to maintain OA capability. If the pilot were given a function to set a max flightspeed control of greater than 8m/s in previous version of DJI GO4, a warning notice "Attitude is too large. Forward Obstacle Sensing is not functioning." would have popped up while tracking fast moving subjects.

I haven't tried the MA with the DJI GO4 v 4.2.16, but it appeared from the release notes that the MA under Active Track in "Obstacles Avoidance Priority" mode would always have OA (but with limited speed), and that the MA under Active Track in "Velocity Priority" mode would have OA below 8m/s but would automatically abandon OA when tracking subject with speed above 8m/s.

Let us check it out and report back.

Henry
2018-5-29
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Wellsi
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eried Posted at 2018-5-29 07:58
Nice comparison. I missed some of your deep personal experience though. I crashed my mavic pro so I had to decide if an air was good enough, but I decided to order the same pro again. I do not know, it looks better/more aggresive hahaha

PS: You CAN remove the pro remote sticks.

If you're used to a Pro, you may have missed the signal and range if you'd got the Air... All a bit subjective.......
But I'm intrigued; AIR remote sticks unscrew; the Pro's don't. Unless they do now... Can your new Pro's remote sticks unscrew?

Ian
2018-5-29
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Wellsi
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Henry M.Y. Posted at 2018-5-29 08:38
I was focusing on the scenario under Active Track - with OA on the MA is tracking fast moving subject (e.g. boats, bicycles) with speed greater than 8m/s, bearing in mind the MA's effective OA sensing speed will have to be not greater than 8m/s.  In former version of the DJI GO4, there was no max flight speed control in Active Track, the MA would just flow at 8m/s, eventually loosing track on the subject. If a max flight speed control were given to the pilot in previous version of DJI GO4 setting a max flight speed greater than 8m/s, the warning notice "Attitude is too large. Forward Obstacle Sensing is not functioning." would have popped up while tracking fast moving subjects.

I having tried the MA with the DJI GO4 v 4.2.16, but It appeared from the release notes that the MA under Active Track in "Obstacles Avoidance Priority" mode would always have OA (but with limited speed), and that the MA under Active Track in "Velocity Priority" mode would have OA below 8m/s but would automatically abandon OA above 8m/s.

That's interesting to read....  I haven't played with Active Track at all. Keep meaning to get the motorbike out and test it out on that down a country lane.....  But if I@m riding the bike, I won't be looking at my remote + phone screen   

Ian
2018-5-29
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A CW
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Henry M.Y. Posted at 2018-5-29 08:38
I was focusing on the scenario under Active Track - with OA on the MA is tracking fast moving subject (e.g. boats, bicycles) with speed greater than 8m/s, bearing in mind the MA's effective OA sensing speed will have to be not greater than 8m/s.  In former version of the DJI GO4, there was no max flight speed control in Active Track, the MA would just flow at 8m/s, eventually loosing track on the subject. If a max flight speed control were given to the pilot in previous version of DJI GO4 setting a max flight speed greater than 8m/s, the warning notice "Attitude is too large. Forward Obstacle Sensing is not functioning." would have popped up while tracking fast moving subjects.

I having tried the MA with the DJI GO4 v 4.2.16, but It appeared from the release notes that the MA under Active Track in "Obstacles Avoidance Priority" mode would always have OA (but with limited speed), and that the MA under Active Track in "Velocity Priority" mode would have OA below 8m/s but would automatically abandon OA above 8m/s.

That's good info to know. I'll try AT the next time I'm out with the MA
2018-5-29
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eried
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Wellsi Posted at 2018-5-29 10:19
If you're used to a Pro, you may have missed the signal and range if you'd got the Air... All a bit subjective.......
But I'm intrigued; AIR remote sticks unscrew; the Pro's don't. Unless they do now... Can your new Pro's remote sticks unscrew?


No, they don't but they are push fit

https://mavicpilots.com/threads/remote-stick-removal-confirmed.1681/
2018-5-29
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