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Transitioning from a Spark to a Mavic Air
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ChrisJG
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Currently have 85 flights with my Spark, but need a drone with a longer battery / flight time than the little Spark. Think I’ve settled on an Air.
What advice would you have for people making the switch please? Those of you who moved from a Spark to an Air is it straightforward and intuitive to fly the Air?
Thanks in advance.
Chris
2019-3-12
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Hi there, thank you for reaching out and we really admire you being interested in using the DJI Products. We can wait for the best recommendation from our experienced and valued members here. Best Regards! Cheers!
2019-3-12
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hallmark007
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Transition is pretty easy, you should expect better signal with MavAir, big difference when changing from spark to MavAir you will find is the shear speed difference, so take your time in S mode.

It’s really a big upgrade with 4K video recording cinelike mode, all the auto modes are great better AT , tap to fly etc, coming from spark you will appreciate the longer battery life, I would advise getting combo if it’s feasible.

Although I have a few drones MavAir remains one of my favorites has a great camera best gimbal ofall dji drones.
It’s a little bit noisy but there are some new props on the market that should lower the sound.

Good luck fly safe .
2019-3-12
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I've actually flown Mavic Air before I've flown the Spark. You should experience a similar/familiar experience between both. Be always aware of the mode you are in GPS, OPTI, or ATTI as a general advice.
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ChrisJG
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hallmark007 Posted at 3-12 14:52
Transition is pretty easy, you should expect better signal with MavAir, big difference when changing from spark to MavAir you will find is the shear speed difference, so take your time in S mode.

It’s really a big upgrade with 4K video recording cinelike mode, all the auto modes are great better AT , tap to fly etc, coming from spark you will appreciate the longer battery life, I would advise getting combo if it’s feasible.

Thank you, that’s great to hear.  Usually only fly in S mode on the way back from my shooting positions. How are landscape shaped panoramic photos shot, in the same way as the Spark? The image quality looks better, although both shoot at 12MB I think?
Thank you.
2019-3-12
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ChrisJG
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circuitbird Posted at 3-12 14:59
I've actually flown Mavic Air before I've flown the Spark. You should experience a similar/familiar experience between both. Be always aware of the mode you are in GPS, OPTI, or ATTI as a general advice.

Thank you, am usually in GPS mode, just a few minutes in Atti mode.
2019-3-12
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hallmark007
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ChrisJG Posted at 3-12 15:00
Thank you, that’s great to hear.  Usually only fly in S mode on the way back from my shooting positions. How are landscape shaped panoramic photos shot, in the same way as the Spark? The image quality looks better, although both shoot at 12MB I think?
Thank you.

The big difference when shooting stills panoramas or AEB exposure is you can now shoot in raw, your files will contain much higher dynamic range so you can achieve really good results in post.

Panos are similar in both Spark and Mavic Air.
2019-3-12
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ChrisJG
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hallmark007 Posted at 3-12 15:33
The big difference when shooting stills panoramas or AEB exposure is you can now shoot in raw, your files will contain much higher dynamic range so you can achieve really good results in post.

Panos are similar in both Spark and Mavic Air.

Thank you, Raw explains why the stills look so much better.
2019-3-12
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HereForTheBeer
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if you want my advice....  i recommend mavic 2 zoom as a huge upgrade, way better range and signal quality, waaay better battery life.. the zoom capability is awesome sauce and wealth of prosumer features.. ya expensive but completely worth it..   

dont get me wrong, mavic air is a fantastic drone, i love mine, but i think if you are coming from spark to mavic air its not as substantial of an upgrade and if you are bored of spark may get bored of mavic air.. it is basically a spark pro in many ways.. still stuck with Wifi, though better is still limiting factor, battery life real world flying i find 16-18 minutes bedding on quality of battery/use habits and weather..  if you are comign from nothing or an older dji drone, mavic air is freaking awesome....
2019-3-12
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Aurelian Irimia
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I have changed this month from Spark to Air and I want to say that it is a new experience and a great improvement. Better flight time, better video quality, better handling and much better connection. With the spark at 250m and began to notice cuts of connection and interference but with the Mavic in 500m all perfect, connection 100% stable. I have not checked its maximum reach because in Europe the limit is 500m but I am very sure that it can be much more than 500m without problems. And the truth is that to my style of recording I do not need more distance, 500m is more than enough for me.
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2019-3-13
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小仙女的星巴克
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After Flying MA, you will never want to fly Spark anymore. Flying Spark is like flying a toy drone.
2019-3-13
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Charissa
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Air is awesome. Still fly mine, and to me, it is more "fun" to fly than my MP2. Agree with the Mavic 2 Zoom though. If you could stretch to there, that is what I personally would go for.
2019-3-13
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kovat53
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I owned Spark for about one year. When Mavic Air came out I bought it, and didn't regret. Mavic Air is way better. Probably you are aware  of  the main differences, so I wouldn't discuss it. One you should consider, it is really noisy.  If you had a bit more cash I suggest  to buy Mavic 2 Pro or Zoom. These are on top in consumer category.
2019-3-13
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Aurelian Irimia
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kovat53 Posted at 3-13 06:00
I owned Spark for about one year. When Mavic Air came out I bought it, and didn't regret. Mavic Air is way better. Probably you are aware  of  the main differences, so I wouldn't discuss it. One you should consider, it is really noisy.  If you had a bit more cash I suggest  to buy Mavic 2 Pro or Zoom. These are on top in consumer category.

A bit more cash? I would say that much more cash, double the cash. It's the Mavic 2 Pro twice as good. I do not think so...
2019-3-13
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KlooGee
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I think the Mavic Air is a fantastic drone and is a step up from the Spark in nearly every way.  However, if you are upgrading for battery life, don't expect a dramatic difference in this area.  Your experience will vary depending upon climate, altitude, and flying style, but I would estimate I generally get about 3 minutes more flight time out of my Mavic Air compared to my Spark.  

In regards to the experience of moving from the Spark to the Air, it is extremely similar flying it, just a little faster.
2019-3-13
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HereForTheBeer Posted at 3-12 17:02
if you want my advice....  i recommend mavic 2 zoom as a huge upgrade, way better range and signal quality, waaay better battery life.. the zoom capability is awesome sauce and wealth of prosumer features.. ya expensive but completely worth it..   

dont get me wrong, mavic air is a fantastic drone, i love mine, but i think if you are coming from spark to mavic air its not as substantial of an upgrade and if you are bored of spark may get bored of mavic air.. it is basically a spark pro in many ways.. still stuck with Wifi, though better is still limiting factor, battery life real world flying i find 16-18 minutes bedding on quality of battery/use habits and weather..  if you are comign from nothing or an older dji drone, mavic air is freaking awesome....

Thank you the Mavic 2 is too much ££'s for me - it's in the realms of an Ethos eyepiece for my Telescope!!
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Chris
2019-3-13
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ChrisJG
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Aurelian Irimia Posted at 3-13 04:12
I have changed this month from Spark to Air and I want to say that it is a new experience and a great improvement. Better flight time, better video quality, better handling and much better connection. With the spark at 250m and began to notice cuts of connection and interference but with the Mavic in 500m all perfect, connection 100% stable. I have not checked its maximum reach because in Europe the limit is 500m but I am very sure that it can be much more than 500m without problems. And the truth is that to my style of recording I do not need more distance, 500m is more than enough for me.

Thank you, that's useful information and a decent kit bag you have for your drone too.
Chris
2019-3-13
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ChrisJG
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Charissa Posted at 3-13 05:23
Air is awesome. Still fly mine, and to me, it is more "fun" to fly than my MP2. Agree with the Mavic 2 Zoom though. If you could stretch to there, that is what I personally would go for.

Thank you, the "fun" element is important too.
Chris
2019-3-13
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ChrisJG
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kovat53 Posted at 3-13 06:00
I owned Spark for about one year. When Mavic Air came out I bought it, and didn't regret. Mavic Air is way better. Probably you are aware  of  the main differences, so I wouldn't discuss it. One you should consider, it is really noisy.  If you had a bit more cash I suggest  to buy Mavic 2 Pro or Zoom. These are on top in consumer category.

Thank you, I have seen some of the differences, but didn't know it was much noisier. Even the Spark is a noisy little thing.
Chris
2019-3-13
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ChrisJG
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KlooGee Posted at 3-13 06:43
I think the Mavic Air is a fantastic drone and is a step up from the Spark in nearly every way.  However, if you are upgrading for battery life, don't expect a dramatic difference in this area.  Your experience will vary depending upon climate, altitude, and flying style, but I would estimate I generally get about 3 minutes more flight time out of my Mavic Air compared to my Spark.  

In regards to the experience of moving from the Spark to the Air, it is extremely similar flying it, just a little faster.

Thank you, I get about 11/12 minutes from my nearly 1 year old batteries with the Spark, so to replace them or put the ££ towards an Air..
Similar flying experience is what I'm looking for I think.
Chris
2019-3-13
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HereForTheBeer
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Aurelian Irimia Posted at 3-13 06:33
A bit more cash? I would say that much more cash, double the cash. It's the Mavic 2 Pro twice as good. I do not think so...[view_image][view_image]

mavic 2 zoom is $1100-$1200 (us) from amazon...  i think zoom makes most sense for most people...    $1200 its only $200 more than mavic air flymore
2019-3-13
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HereForTheBeer Posted at 3-13 11:50
mavic 2 zoom is $1100-$1200 (us) from amazon...  i think zoom makes most sense for most people...    $1200 its only $200 more than mavic air flymore

Yes but you would have much more flying time if you get the MavAir combo, but if your comparing with M2Z combo add a further $350 , so comparing apples with apples big difference in price . And you basically have the same camera .
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HereForTheBeer Posted at 3-13 11:50
mavic 2 zoom is $1100-$1200 (us) from amazon...  i think zoom makes most sense for most people...    $1200 its only $200 more than mavic air flymore

Luck you for living in the US. But you have to talk about the price of Fly More Combo, because you can not do much just with the drone, the controller and one battery. As you can see, in Europe the price reaches about $ 1845. Now it depends on where our friend lives, in Europe or US.
2019-3-13
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HereForTheBeer
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hallmark007 Posted at 3-13 12:01
Yes but you would have much more flying time if you get the MavAir combo, but if your comparing with M2Z combo add a further $350 , so comparing apples with apples big difference in price . And you basically have the same camera .

but you dont have to swap batteries to get that runtime on mavic 2.     as i see it still worth it as long as the pricing is what we have here in the US.. in europe ya not even worth it  if its over $1200 range...
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HereForTheBeer
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Aurelian Irimia Posted at 3-13 12:03
Luck you for living in the US. But you have to talk about the price of Fly More Combo, because you can not do much just with the drone, the controller and one battery. As you can see, in Europe the price reaches about $ 1845. Now it depends on where our friend lives, in Europe or US.[view_image]

that's for the fly more package... base model is better i think right now..  
mavic air to get same battery life as 1 charge of mavic 2 ...is about 2 mavic air batteries worth...  
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hallmark007
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HereForTheBeer Posted at 3-13 12:08
but you dont have to swap batteries to get that runtime on mavic 2.     as i see it still worth it as long as the pricing is what we have here in the US.. in europe ya not even worth it  if its over $1200 range...

Having a drone that you can only fly for 24 minutes for me anyways is a complete waste of time, I think it’s fine to get a MavAir get used to it enjoy it and by the time your fed up with it, there will be new drones around and M2 price will be a lot lower, just my opinion.
2019-3-13
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HereForTheBeer
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hallmark007 Posted at 3-13 12:20
Having a drone that you can only fly for 24 minutes for me anyways is a complete waste of time, I think it’s fine to get a MavAir get used to it enjoy it and by the time your fed up with it, there will be new drones around and M2 price will be a lot lower, just my opinion.

isn't the flight time comparable to mavic pro?    if it is then i like that flight time it gets you can get a couple burst usages out of one charge or explore way further and wider than mavic air..

im not disagreeing with you, makes sense to hold out a bit more.... but at same time... if you can get a base mavic 2 zoom for $200 more than a fly more bundle of mavair..totally worth it. grab a $30 car charger to supplement you if your travel alot    if its $300-$400 more then not worth it..wait get mavic air and enjoy it
2019-3-13
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HereForTheBeer Posted at 3-13 12:38
isn't the flight time comparable to mavic pro?    if it is then i like that flight time it gets you can get a couple burst usages out of one charge or explore way further and wider than mavic air..

im not disagreeing with you, makes sense to hold out a bit more.... but at same time... if you can get a base mavic 2 zoom for $200 more than a fly more bundle of mavair..totally worth it. grab a $30 car charger to supplement you if your travel alot    if its $300-$400 more then not worth it..wait get mavic air and enjoy it

A lot of people use these drones for filiming photography one battery doesn’t make any sense IMO .
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hallmark007 Posted at 3-13 12:49
A lot of people use these drones for filiming photography one battery doesn’t make any sense IMO .

true, but at same time, very annoying swapping batteries all the time too.. that's what i hated about the spark...   mavic air is a lot better about that bit still on the verge of potentially annoying.
2019-3-13
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Very straightforward. Very similar drones only the Air does so much more
2019-3-13
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HereForTheBeer Posted at 3-13 11:50
mavic 2 zoom is $1100-$1200 (us) from amazon...  i think zoom makes most sense for most people...    $1200 its only $200 more than mavic air flymore

You have to compare fly more combo with fly more combo.
2019-3-14
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HereForTheBeer Posted at 3-13 11:50
mavic 2 zoom is $1100-$1200 (us) from amazon...  i think zoom makes most sense for most people...    $1200 its only $200 more than mavic air flymore

You have to compare fly more combo with fly more combo.
2019-3-14
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Aurelian Irimia Posted at 3-14 00:30
You have to compare fly more combo with fly more combo.

nah, not really..   see when i get my mavic 2, im planning on getting base model, maybe if price is right, a spare battery and i been buying flymore kits since beginning of my drone flying with DJi so...

i really thought about this alot, probably way too much tbh... here's how i see it: if my friend came to me and asked me mavic air fly more or mavic 2 zoom base model, what should he or she get .. not as first drone but as their higher end luxury drone.     i think trade off of fewer batteries is worth the insane signal quality, range, zoom functionality, and single charge battery life...        mavic 2 gives you about 10 minutes more flight time over mavic air, occusync 2 is amazing, just works anywhere really, urban environment full of interference flying around backside of a building without so much as a hiccup and crisp image still... something enhanced wifi of mavic air can only dream of.. then add to that real world zoom capabilities and stabilizations kill the camera of mavic air..  not saying mavic air camera isnt stellar, it is but mavic 2 zoom camera is just much better in less ideal conditions..  

not hating on mavic air, spoecially now you can buy lower noise props from master airscrew..it is an amazing drone, i have a few complaints yea, but i can find those in anything.. my issue how much better mavic 2 is over the mavic air.. vs how much better mavic air is over the spark..   mavic air is more of a spark 2,0 pro edition with an essense of mavic.  where as i feel true mavic is uncomprimised... infact thats kinda target DJi was aiming for.. put a phantom 4 into a folding body for transport, for the most part they achived this, sure was soem comprises, but they ddint feel compromising.     and as owner of mavic air i feel as if mavic air is afrtifically comprimised a bit too much to fit into a specific target market..wifi vs occusync, no digital zoom, and features are little limited for what it could have been.

2019-3-15
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HereForTheBeer Posted at 3-15 12:41
nah, not really..   see when i get my mavic 2, im planning on getting base model, maybe if price is right, a spare battery and i been buying flymore kits since beginning of my drone flying with DJi so...

i really thought about this alot, probably way too much tbh... here's how i see it: if my friend came to me and asked me mavic air fly more or mavic 2 zoom base model, what should he or she get .. not as first drone but as their higher end luxury drone.     i think trade off of fewer batteries is worth the insane signal quality, range, zoom functionality, and single charge battery life...        mavic 2 gives you about 10 minutes more flight time over mavic air, occusync 2 is amazing, just works anywhere really, urban environment full of interference flying around backside of a building without so much as a hiccup and crisp image still... something enhanced wifi of mavic air can only dream of.. then add to that real world zoom capabilities and stabilizations kill the camera of mavic air..  not saying mavic air camera isnt stellar, it is but mavic 2 zoom camera is just much better in less ideal conditions..  

There is no doubt that the Mavic 2 is better drone than the Mavic Air, but not by much. The video quality is the same, the camera is exactly the same, the only difference is the optical zoom of the Mavic 2, the connection, in Europe at least, you will not notice much the difference because the maximum legal distance is 500m and with the Mavic Air I personally have not had interference problems up to this distance. For me, the Mavic 2 Zoom is a better drone, but not much better. As you say that the Mavic Air is like a Spark 2.0 Pro, I say that the Mavic 2 Zoom is a Mavic Air Plus and nothing else.
2019-3-15
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HereForTheBeer Posted at 3-15 12:41
nah, not really..   see when i get my mavic 2, im planning on getting base model, maybe if price is right, a spare battery and i been buying flymore kits since beginning of my drone flying with DJi so...

i really thought about this alot, probably way too much tbh... here's how i see it: if my friend came to me and asked me mavic air fly more or mavic 2 zoom base model, what should he or she get .. not as first drone but as their higher end luxury drone.     i think trade off of fewer batteries is worth the insane signal quality, range, zoom functionality, and single charge battery life...        mavic 2 gives you about 10 minutes more flight time over mavic air, occusync 2 is amazing, just works anywhere really, urban environment full of interference flying around backside of a building without so much as a hiccup and crisp image still... something enhanced wifi of mavic air can only dream of.. then add to that real world zoom capabilities and stabilizations kill the camera of mavic air..  not saying mavic air camera isnt stellar, it is but mavic 2 zoom camera is just much better in less ideal conditions..  

As someone who owns a phantom4 I can tell you this drone is not any better than Mavic Air , Maybe you mean P4Pro.
2019-3-15
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hallmark007 Posted at 3-15 13:18
As someone who owns a phantom4 I can tell you this drone is not any better than Mavic Air , Maybe you mean P4Pro.

thats what i mean, i assume P4P when i say phantom 4..
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Aurelian Irimia Posted at 3-15 13:16
There is no doubt that the Mavic 2 is better drone than the Mavic Air, but not by much. The video quality is the same, the camera is exactly the same, the only difference is the optical zoom of the Mavic 2, the connection, in Europe at least, you will not notice much the difference because the maximum legal distance is 500m and with the Mavic Air I personally have not had interference problems up to this distance. For me, the Mavic 2 Zoom is a better drone, but not much better. As you say that the Mavic Air is like a Spark 2.0 Pro, I say that the Mavic 2 Zoom is a Mavic Air Plus and nothing else.

well im glad you love your mavic air so much and working out for you so well    but i will have to disagree entirely and completely.  
2019-3-15
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HereForTheBeer Posted at 3-15 13:25
thats what i mean, i assume P4P when i say phantom 4..

Yes I thought so, but two very different craft .
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HereForTheBeer Posted at 3-15 13:28
well im glad you love your mavic air so much and working out for you so well    but i will have to disagree entirely and completely.

I respect your decision, enjoy your Mavic 2. At the end of the day, we are here to enjoy our hobby and our drones, we are not here to sell one drone or another. I have really enjoyed my Spark too, and I have also made money with it in many projects.
2019-3-16
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hallmark007 Posted at 3-12 14:52
Transition is pretty easy, you should expect better signal with MavAir, big difference when changing from spark to MavAir you will find is the shear speed difference, so take your time in S mode.

It’s really a big upgrade with 4K video recording cinelike mode, all the auto modes are great better AT , tap to fly etc, coming from spark you will appreciate the longer battery life, I would advise getting combo if it’s feasible.

Thanks for the information and advice, I've just reset my DJI Spark for a new owner; placed an order today for a Mavic Air, which I'll hopefully collect next weekend!
2019-3-18
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