I know this isnt the most realistic idea, and I haven't received mine yet to fully understand how it operates. But, would it be possible to power up the mavic with the arms folded in and take photos and videos while not flying? Sort of as a stabilized handheld camera when it might not be ideal to launch.

Most other drones are capable of doing this.  My father just showed me how to do this with his P3A on a visit.  I'm pretty sure you could do it on the Mavic.  

Yep, no problem at all.

Gary Mac Posted at 2016-12-1 17:00
Most other drones are capable of doing this.  My father just showed me how to do this with his P3A o ...

yes you can 100% .
Saw a video somewhere think it was in this one .dont have Mavic yet, but feel after almost 6wk reading and youtube up loads and hundreds of forums i have read im almost a experience pilot. ha ha
DJI MAVIC PRO ULTIMATE REVIEW Pt 2: Tips, hacks & your questions ANSWERED

Maybe buy a USB mic that you can attach. Then you can mix the sound after. The DJI drones do not record sound.

Can't find it now but someone tested this on Youtube. Said that it worked but not nearly as well as the Phantom's gimbal.

Chaser720 Posted at 2016-12-1 12:34
Can't find it now but someone tested this on Youtube. Said that it worked but not nearly as well as  ...

Yah, I would never use it as my "go-to" setup, but you can record video without flying.  There is a video of the Inspire 2 being used to make a small movie.  They fly and then hand-catch it, shut down the props and use the drone as the actual camera to do close-ups... then take off again.  Crazy! I might consider doing "something similar" with the Mavic, but I think it would be much easier to just mix some 4K iPhone video, Mavic footage and maybe some GoPro/Camera footage to make my little movies for fun.  

As for audio, you certainly want something to record audio if it is to be a part of the final movie.  MOST camera audio sucks unless you spend some money on mic/mixing.  There are lots of low-cost options that you could use on your phone to capture a little audio if you were doing a tutorial or something.

I saw somewhere either instruction manual or DJI Video that said you should not turn on the mavic with the arms tuck in.  Extend the arms then turn on your Mav.  If I find it again I'll add it here.

Then again, I saw another DJI tutorial in the tutorial section showing them tuning on the Mav, with arms folded to do an IMU calibration. Go figure. Another don't do, do situation.

fansebeed138 Posted at 2016-12-2 06:37
I saw somewhere either instruction manual or DJI Video that said you should not turn on the mavic wi ...

Extend arms before power up if you want to fly. I beleived its something to do with compas who may be off if arms are folded up. But everything else is ok. So if you want to use only cam or calibrate IMU keep arms folded. Just power of and unfold arms before powering it on again for a fly. That is my understanding any way.

fansebeed138 Posted at 2016-12-1 17:37
I saw somewhere either instruction manual or DJI Video that said you should not turn on the mavic wi ...

Yah, that is referring to powering up the blades, but IMU Cal (for example) is specifically done with arms folded.

Buy one of these and you'll be set - http://store.dji.com/product/osmo

Or if you want to goo cheap and use your own gear, get this http://store.dji.com/product/osmo-mobile

I've been using the Osmo Mobile for a few days now. I'm very happy with it.

http://www.newsshooter.com/2016/ ... a-hand-held-gimbal/

For sure possible.
There are even some handles made for this (see link)