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Which one should i buy? Mavic Air or Mavic Pro [First Gen] ?
3009 19 2018-12-12
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TechVoyager
First Officer
Flight distance : 170030 ft
India
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Hello Friends,

I am planning to sell my Mavic Air and buy the first gen Mavic Pro, but i am really confused whether this is a right decission or not.
The primary reason why i thought of selling MA, is its wifi network - because of the wifi network, i always tend to be nervous state and not at all confident while flying my drone, because its range is very less and also the communication tends to break frequently which creates panick.
While, the Mavic pro, due to its Occusync is rock solid in terms of commn. Atleast with this drone, i feel i can fly it without worrying much of the network disruption.

Yes, i agree that MA is much more advanced with its camera, bitrate, obstacle avoidance sensors, portability etc...but what is the use of all this when you cant fly it confidently and always worried about it, whether after take-off it will return to you safely or not.

Atleast with MP, i will be tension-free and also its battery backup is also good. But MA is the newer version, got more features, so i am confused.

Please provide your valuable suggestions and advices, so that i can take the right decission..

Thanks.
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2018-12-12
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Suren
Captain
Flight distance : 13395489 ft
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South Africa
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i sold the Pro to buy the Zoom, never regretted range is much better then the First Gen Pro.
2018-12-13
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Ridg
First Officer
Flight distance : 232306 ft
United Kingdom
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You need to provide more information; what's your priority?

range
image quality
flight time
portability
2018-12-13
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M2Wair
Captain
Flight distance : 1192231 ft
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Ireland
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For range the Mavic Pro is your best option. That said not had an issue with range on my air as I never fly further than 300m (legal distance here)
2018-12-13
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Charissa
Captain
Flight distance : 689334 ft
South Africa
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If I have to choose, I would go for the Zoom. Newer technology, super stable, and a same, but upgraded camera from the Air.
Have to say, the MA gave me grey hairs, and I was always worried when it lost connection with the phone, etc, but at one stage, I just threw it up in the air, and flew it without worrying.
That was how and when I realized that the problem was me worrying to much, not the Air and its capabilities.
Even if it lost connection, it RTH. Now, I just enjoy it. Even with the connections and video lag and freezes, the Mavic Air comes back, and take good video.
Just relax, enjoy and play around with it. Not all warnings will get the bird to fall out of the sky.
2018-12-13
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Alex B.
Captain
Flight distance : 21105262 ft

Spain
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Get the pro, in my opinion only apart from a little worse camera, the pro is much better than the mavic air in every single other way!
I also was thinking to get the mavic air or the mavic pro to add to my spark and my q500,
I decided to get the pro and I’m very happy with the decision.
Ocusync is amazing! Especially in boost 1.5 watt

Flysafely
Alex
2018-12-13
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MavSpa_user
Captain
Flight distance : 73209 ft
Netherlands
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I agree with Alex. Also you can adjust flight parameters, even fast as the zoom and MP2. And with the right software (https://nolimitdronez.com/) you can do everything you like
2018-12-13
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TechVoyager
First Officer
Flight distance : 170030 ft
India
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Charissa Posted at 12-13 02:50
If I have to choose, I would go for the Zoom. Newer technology, super stable, and a same, but upgraded camera from the Air.
Have to say, the MA gave me grey hairs, and I was always worried when it lost connection with the phone, etc, but at one stage, I just threw it up in the air, and flew it without worrying.
That was how and when I realized that the problem was me worrying to much, not the Air and its capabilities.

Already lost one MA and don't want to lose the 2nd replacement MA as well... you can understand my concern.
2018-12-13
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saviour
First Officer
Flight distance : 604203 ft
Germany
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TechVoyager Posted at 12-13 03:55
Already lost one MA and don't want to lose the 2nd replacement MA as well... you can understand my concern.

If I remember correctly, you lost your drone because you were flying at wind speeds of 70 km/h, which was 100% your fault and not the drones. A MP or M2P won't help there, they just can't fight such winds and come back when their highest RTH speed is way below those 70 km/h.
2018-12-13
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DJI Gamora
Administrator

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Hi TechVoyager, thank you for bringing this query to us. I understand you are puzzled between the Mavic Air and the Mavic Pro (1st gen). For more information, kindly visit this link for consumer drones comparison. Kindly reach us again if you have any concerns. Thank you.
2018-12-13
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Aardvark
Captain
Flight distance : 384432 ft
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United Kingdom
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I've ticked the Mavic Pro box because it offers good value for the money at the moment.
It also has some very good and unique features when compared to the Mavic Air, some of which are:-

Camera rotates 90 degrees for true portrait mode, the Mavic Pro & Platinum are the only two in the DJI line up that can achieve this. Which may be desirable in panoramic shots for example.

The Mavic Pro can use Occusync to communicate with display device cabled to RC while simultaneously using two controllers and two sets of goggles wirelessly if desired  (set up as a primary/secondary working)

Mavic Pro Occusync has better range than the extended wifi of the Air.

Mavic Pro has better battery life than the Air.

Mavic Pro is quieter than the Air, and the Mavic Pro platinum even quieter as well as even better battery life.

The primary advantage the Air has is the ability to save the video at 100 Mb/s as opposed to the Mavic Pros 60 Mb/s. I suspect it would be difficult to set them apart in terms of video or imaging quality.

In terms of portability, there's likely not going to be much difference. My Mavic Pro is in a 13x12x4 1/2 inch custom case, which holds aircraft, controller, two spare batteries, ND filters, tablet holder for my iPad Pro 9.7, leads, spare props, memory cards. Everything I need to go out into the wilds.

Edit:- And there are propelor cages available for the Mavic Pro, for inside shot, and working closer to people, although the aircraft is noisier due to slightly shorter props used.
2018-12-13
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Charissa
Captain
Flight distance : 689334 ft
South Africa
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TechVoyager Posted at 12-13 03:55
Already lost one MA and don't want to lose the 2nd replacement MA as well... you can understand my concern.

Understand fully. Problem is, was it the fault of the Mavic Air, or pilot error, when you lost it?  Would you have been able to get the drone back, if it was a Mavic Pro for example.....?

If I already have the Mavic Air, personally, I would get use to flying it, test and practice and make sure that I know when and where to fly and be in control and safe with the drone.

Imagine you sell your Air (would get a lot less than what you bought it for), buy a more expensive drone, but you lose it anyway, because you are not fully comfortable with flying it. None of the new technology would safely bring a drone back, if excessive winds blow it off a mountain.
So maybe the biggest question would be: How experienced are you with drone flying, and can you safely get the drone back, any drone, once you get in trouble.
2018-12-13
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Woe
Captain
Flight distance : 4129268 ft
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United States
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I agree with Alex Go with the Pro
2018-12-13
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maihem.rc
First Officer
Flight distance : 2076335 ft
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United States
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TechVoyager, not to gang up on you in any way but Charissa makes an excellent point...you need more experience just flying.  This is not in any way meant to be a dig or an insult toward you, I used to completely panic while flying my P2V+ and the Spark, only time in the air building trust in whatever you are flying will take off that edge.  I finally got past it after 4 months (105 flights) with the Spark and flying it every chance I had.  Accept that you are going to crash, accept that you may have just trashed that $1,000.00 or so that you will never get back...and then look at the screen, orient yourself, switch it to sport mode, and figure out how to get your drone back home.  Do some tests for your own sanity, take flight with a fresh battery, go way out where you just barely have visual and shut off the controller to see what it does when it loses signal.  Ok, maybe do some closer in tests with shutting off the controller initially to build your confidence.
I would hang on to your MA for travel, I just took mine to Greece and it was the perfect travel drone.  Buy a cheaper Spark and fly it with an iPad mini 4...I had problems with the Spark on the Android platform that went away once I got the mini 4.  Pay attention to wind conditions, be aware of your signal strength and initially don't push it until you are more trusting of what to expect. Don't be afraid to crash it, I cannot tell you how many times I ran into stuff with the spark and I never broke anything but a few props.  Not to say that you should intentionally run it into things but I have put it in trees several times, ran into a dock once (got lucky it landed on the dock and not in the water), totally freaked out when it went to return to home while I was videoing someone surfing behind a boat (all I had to do was look at the screen to cancel RTH, but I could do nothing but panic in that moment), and I lost it in the wind after getting past the leeward side of an islands protection from a 20-22 mph wind (just had to put it in sport mode and trust the screen).  After you build up confidence in just flying, then get something bigger or better.
2018-12-13
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TechVoyager
First Officer
Flight distance : 170030 ft
India
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maihem.rc Posted at 12-13 06:34
TechVoyager, not to gang up on you in any way but Charissa makes an excellent point...you need more experience just flying.  This is not in any way meant to be a dig or an insult toward you, I used to completely panic while flying my P2V+ and the Spark, only time in the air building trust in whatever you are flying will take off that edge.  I finally got past it after 4 months (105 flights) with the Spark and flying it every chance I had.  Accept that you are going to crash, accept that you may have just trashed that $1,000.00 or so that you will never get back...and then look at the screen, orient yourself, switch it to sport mode, and figure out how to get your drone back home.  Do some tests for your own sanity, take flight with a fresh battery, go way out where you just barely have visual and shut off the controller to see what it does when it loses signal.  Ok, maybe do some closer in tests with shutting off the controller initially to build your confidence.
I would hang on to your MA for travel, I just took mine to Greece and it was the perfect travel drone.  Buy a cheaper Spark and fly it with an iPad mini 4...I had problems with the Spark on the Android platform that went away once I got the mini 4.  Pay attention to wind conditions, be aware of your signal strength and initially don't push it until you are more trusting of what to expect. Don't be afraid to crash it, I cannot tell you how many times I ran into stuff with the spark and I never broke anything but a few props.  Not to say that you should intentionally run it into things but I have put it in trees several times, ran into a dock once (got lucky it landed on the dock and not in the water), totally freaked out when it went to return to home while I was videoing someone surfing behind a boat (all I had to do was look at the screen to cancel RTH, but I could do nothing but panic in that moment), and I lost it in the wind after getting past the leeward side of an islands protection from a 20-22 mph wind (just had to put it in sport mode and trust the screen).  After you build up confidence in just flying, then get something bigger or better.

Thanks for the wonderful advice and sharing your thoughts and experiences.. I am taking all the comments in a positive way. Thanks everyone for the help and suggestions.
2018-12-13
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TechVoyager
First Officer
Flight distance : 170030 ft
India
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I am gonna stick to my Mavic Air
2018-12-13
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TedBob
First Officer
Flight distance : 1743622 ft
Sweden
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I have had both at the same time, and I have sold the Mavic Pro to keep only the Mavic Air.

Video quality, colours and details are much better on the Mavic Air. In comparison, the Mavic Pro videos look washed out.

Also, the Mavic Pro gimbal was not staying horizontal all the time, and autofocus is annoying.

Mavic Air is also a lot more portable, and easy to hand launch or land.

Mavic Pro has better range, and is quieter, but also a lot more visible in the sky. In FCC mode, the Mavic Air range is appropriate.

The biggest issue I have with the Mavic Air is its noise, but great apart from that.
2018-12-15
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Hani
Captain
Flight distance : 1392995 ft
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United States
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I would suggest the Mavic 2 Zoom, but you need to practice more. I use an app called UAV Forecast and I set the altitude to 120m to give an estimate of the wind speed and gusts at that altitude. I myself wouldn't fly Mavic 2 at high wind speed exceeding 30kmh although I am sure it can handle up to 38kmh; safe than sorry, you know

Wish you all the best
2018-12-17
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gyrex
Second Officer
Flight distance : 7454275 ft
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Vanuatu
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If you care about image/video quality, then the Mavic air is miles ahead of the Mavic Pro v1. Deep dive tests on theavic air optics and sensor even show the air is better than the Mavic 2 Pro in many tests. The downsides of the air are battery capacity and range but range isn't usually an issue for me.
2018-12-17
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MAIRDA
lvl.3
United States
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I would avoid the Mavic Air... it will not calibrate compass on certain locations... and it won't even fly, let alone other problems you may encounter regarding your original question of weak transmission.
2018-12-18
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