My friend bought the Karma since he argue that the GoPro has a better picture quality and that you can upgrade the GoPro when a new generation hit the market. The was thinking that the Mavic has the follow me function (Karma does not, yet) and that Dji has produced drones for years an has a pretty good reputation. If I go for Dji, how would you rate the Mavic vs Phantom 4 when it comes to how easy they are to fly? And if you bought the Mavic instead of the Karma how did your thoughts go? Im into windsurfing and windsurfing on Iceand it would realy be awesome to have som follow me drone action this winter.

Not many on this forum have flown Mavic so all you can go on are previous reviews, it is said that Mavic handles as well as P4 and I own a P4 and it handles great is very easy to fly, Mavic has many new features that P4 hasn't got you can read plenty about those, Mavic v Karma well again who really knows we have only seen the reviews which can be biased, so your thinking that DJI make the best drones is correct also Mavic has so many more features than Karma regarding flying its streets ahead, regarding camera the camera on P4 is a great camera and most of reviews say Mavic camera is almost the same, yes it's an advantage being able to change camera with Karma , but I think you still have an inferior drone,
Hope this helps.

I strongly disagree with the statement "GoPro has a better picture quality".   The GoPro cameras have nasty fisheye distortion that bends the horizon.  Correcting this distortion drastically reduces the image quality.  DJI's OcuSync video transmission system offers 4 mile / 6.5km range.  The Karma has a 1/4 of that range at best.  DJI's control app lets you adjust the camera settings in flight.  Karma... not so much.

Fulgerite Posted at 2016-10-9 02:56
I strongly disagree with the statement "GoPro has a better picture quality".   The GoPro cameras hav ...

I totally agree with you, plus they are saying that the Phantom 4 has better picture quality I believe both have good quality camera, plus the reason why the went with 28mm on the mavic instead of the 20mm to the phantom one it was because of the rotor blades showing up in the image which is a big annoying.. But the sensor is the same... I think the rest of the specs are the same except for the FOV which is different.

Fulgerite Posted at 2016-10-8 08:56
I strongly disagree with the statement "GoPro has a better picture quality".   The GoPro cameras hav ...

Gopro 5 has Linear FOV.  
Range Mavic 4.3 miles vs Karma 1.86 miles.

Gopro is years into action cams and features. 4k 30fps, 720p 240fps.
Karma is a larger not as expensive drone AND also the $300 hand held stabilizer + Gopro 5 addon + future cam upgrade.

DJI is years into drones and seems years ahead of Karma in drone features. 4k 30fps, 720p 120fps
Mavic Pro seems like a far superior smaller drone with a few less camera features and looks like no cam upgrade.

Karma vs Mavic quality still has little side by side reviews but 4k quality I imagine will only be slightly in favor of Gopro 5 *IF* at all until Gopro 6 comes out.

@OP You are planning to use the follow me feature while windsurfing? Battery is 27 mins, 21 in normal flight. Less in windy conditions (windsurfing). I wonder what the follow me tracking will be like for windsurfing.

D&G Posted at 2016-10-9 11:51
Gopro 5 has Linear FOV.  
Range Mavic 4.3 miles vs Karma 1.86 miles.

Windsurfer should not be mistaken as a wind assisted paddle board. It is a method of increasing the transmission range of your controller using high tech components in it's purest form, down to sticky back plastic and silver foil on the cheap!

watuse Posted at 2016-10-9 11:08
I totally agree with you, plus they are saying that the Phantom 4 has better picture quality I bel ...

Im not sure its that reason for the 28mm but it certainly will help with the blades.

D&G Posted at 2016-10-9 03:51
Gopro 5 has Linear FOV.  
Range Mavic 4.3 miles vs Karma 1.86 miles.

The GoPro Hero5 Black still has a fisheye lens.  They just added an in-camera profile to electronically de-warp the image.  (Which looses quality vs a true rectilinear lens design.)  The DJI cameras have rectilinear lenses.

I will say the GoPro Hero5 Black probably has higher recording bandwidth.  

It's a tough call.  I would say the Mavic probably flies better and tracks better.  But the Hero5 Black may have better image...  It may not.

I will say the compact folding design of the Mavic is very appealing.   The detachable camera & stabilizer handle is a  nice  gimmick for the Karma kit.  Personally I use a Sony a6300 and a Beholder stabilizer when I want quality hand held shots.  (Or an iPhone 7 in a pinch.)

  

Thanks guys for great input, I will skip the water sessions and go for follow me sessions on ice to start with. Here’s some iceboarding shots from last winter, would be awesome to be able to do some follow me drone shots around the race track. I will go for DJI and probably for the Mavic. Regarding windy conditions, would you go for Mavic or Phantom 4?  

  

I would have to say the gopro karma

D&G Posted at 2016-10-9 03:51
Gopro 5 has Linear FOV.  
Range Mavic 4.3 miles vs Karma 1.86 miles.

There is no way the Karma is even getting close to 1.86 miles. Try half a mile, if you're lucky. It's the same tech as the 3DR Solo...which is frankly, a joke.

ctonyperry@gmai Posted at 2016-10-18 11:09
There is no way the Karma is even getting close to 1.86 miles. Try half a mile, if you're lucky. It ...

Surely Gopro Tested the Karma drone if they listed 1.86 miles on the spec page.

I was just listing the Spec page info. Thanks for the info, I will be interested to see what happens.

Mavic is 7km.  Karma is 1km.
Karma was first listed as 1km, but recently for some black magic reason GoPro has somehow pressed DELETE & replaced it with a 3.  I suppose in a few months after people wonder where their precious Karma went, GoPro will issue the following statement:  "Sorry, we needed to somehow sell some Karmas.  But enjoy the new drone anyhow!"

you guys didn't mention any of Karma pros

INUJlpLValk5 Posted at 2016-10-19 04:22
Thanks guys for great input, I will skip the water sessions and go for follow me sessions on ice t ...

I won't buy gopro karma because it's simply too heavy.
karma drone (no battery, no gimbal, no camera) 1006g,
battery 545g, stabilizer 230g. The total of weight of karma (battery, stabilizer, h5b) is 1898g (4.18lb).

dji mavic (battery, gimbal, camera), 734g (1.62lb).

z7BdJFqOQUAg Posted at 2016-10-19 12:52
you guys didn't mention any of Karma pros

Maybe after Karma is available someone will find one?

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-10-18 21:07
Maybe after Karma is available someone will find one?

Hello better Camera!,removbal stabilizer!, and most importantlybetter customer service

z7BdJFqOQUAg Posted at 2016-10-19 13:21
Hello better Camera!,removbal stabilizer!, and most importantlybetter customer service

Enjoy your fantasy

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-10-18 21:22
Enjoy your fantasy

Fantasy! ok you too

z7BdJFqOQUAg Posted at 2016-10-19 13:32
Fantasy! ok you too

Every reviewer out there can see that the Karma is dead in the water.
It's a heavy wifi drone with a camera with a fisheye lens.
It took Gopro 2 years to bring it out and it's not up to Phantom 3 level technology.
Along comes Mavic with a smaller, lighter drone that's gone beyond Phantom 4 technology and the game is over for Gopro before they got off the ground.
Just look at a review or two.
Try here for a revelation.: http://petapixel.com/2016/09/28/ ... drones-specs-stack/
or here:  http://www.imaging-resource.com/ ... dji-mavic-pro-drone

It's embarrassing for Gopro to be whipped so comprehensively.
Enjoy your Karma if you really want one but don't expect to see a lot of them out flying.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-10-18 21:44
Every reviewer out there can see that the Karma is dead in the water.
It's a heavy wifi drone with  ...

actually I have ph3 and p4 and parrot disco  planning to buy KARMA and unfortunately I'm waiting for Mavic

z7BdJFqOQUAg Posted at 2016-10-18 21:51
actually I have ph3 and p4 and parrot disco  planning to buy KARMA and unfortunately I'm waiting f ...

I'm just discussing the point that Karma does have cool things about it

just sad to see what DJI is doing to thier customers. dont get me wrong I'm impressed with thier drones but they have an awful after sale service. also look at what their doing to their pre-orders.

Whether or not the camera is better is a moot point because the Karma gimbal has some serious problems. There is an official GoPro Karma video on Youtube, shot in London, that shows tilted horizon and rolling shutter distortion. GoPro phoned in the engineering of the Karma and they should be embarrassed. Even the 2 year old 3DR Solo and Blade and Yuneec drones don't have that problem. That's not even getting into the fact that the Karma has none of the cool automated features, is a lot bigger/harder to pack, has less flight time and significantly less range.

Look at it this way. The Karma 2 is about on par with the Phantom 2 Vision...yet it has fewer automated features.

Any clue if Dji is planning on having a Drone with a detachable camera?
For me it's the only thing missing in Mavic Pro.
Regards

jsaragoca Posted at 2017-3-15 01:48
Any clue if Dji is planning on having a Drone with a detachable camera?
For me it's the only thing missing in Mavic Pro.
Regards

Highly doubt they will ever do that (referring to a detachable camera that can be completely standalone).
They already have the Inspire/Matric with removable Camera/Gimbal which can then be connected to the Osmo series for handheld use.

My reasoning to the above is that the cameras are getting much more powerful each time, and the processing power of the cameras are being build into the drone (Inspire 2), which keeps the size/weight of the actual camera/gimbal down.

they do make provision for much larger DSLR cameras, but that's a mission and a half

Just my opinion

I'd love to see a user-replaceable camera on the Mavic but I don't expect that it's coming any time soon. You'd have to have a line of cameras that are tiny, light and that would be gimbal-compatible in some way with the Mavic.

I was also torn between the Mavic and the Karma, not only because of the general camera quality, but also due to the fact that with the Karma you actually get a camera and a gimbal which you can use independently of the drone. But then again the Mavic offers a lot more functionality when it comes to flying so I really didn't know what to do (or buy). In the end I chose the luxury option: Mavic Pro Fly More Combo, Garmin VIRB Ultra 30, DJI Osmo Mobile. No regrets so far

Gopro is dead in the water and on the verge of a Chinese takeover, the new owners will be revealed shortly and VERY familiar to everyone here  lol

This video by Iphonedo helped me make my decision.  

Its honestly not really a competition. The karma has terrible reviews and offers maybe 10% of the functionality of the mavic.

The mavic:
weighs less
folds up to be much smaller
has a significantly higher flight time
significantly longer range
no-distortion camera
obstacle avoidance
active tracking (super useful for what you want to do)
sensors and cameras to lock into place without GPS
a better controller
better control software
substantially better return to home and battery return autonomy