Should I buy a Mavic now or wait?

Michael Thames

Michael Thames

Carbonite Member
Been thinking about what drone to get. Phantom 4 pro has a better camera, but the Mavic I can take to Thailand with me and it actually comes in under the weight limit there. Will there be a Mavic II with a updated better camera coming out soon? Seems thats the way things are going. Night and day difference in the images coming from there Mavic and Phantom Pro 4. I don't know if I can live with the image of the Mavic, or have I been watching too many critical reviews of the image. Are you guys happy with the image?
 
I'd be interested to hear others' thoughts about this, too.

My own 2 cents is there will ALWAYS be an upgrade coming up, as we all know. Can you live with the images now, is the question. The Mavic is definitely the quad to get for travel...it's very subtle and won't attract as much attention in the bag. The flying looks good, too...but it works the batteries harder because it'll take more power and control to maintain track and position in similar conditions to the Phantom 4 Pro (since it's lighter). The 1" sensor on the Pro is obviously a better camera. I look forward to others' opinions and experiences. Good luck, Michael, with the decision and the travel.
 
Michael Thames said:
Been thinking about what drone to get.
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Is this for personal work, shooting stock footage, or potential commercial work ?

From what I've seen so far the Mavic is good enough if you've got a good story to go with your footage. ( i.e. content always trumps technique )
 
I DO prefer the 28mm FoV of the Mavic's camera over the P4 Pro's 24mm FoV...I think it might be better for crane-type shots when you don't need that GoPro look.
 
TheDingo said:
Is this for personal work, shooting stock footage, or potential commercial work ?

From what I've seen so far the Mavic is good enough if you've got a good story to go with your footage. ( i.e. content always trumps technique )
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All of the above. I'm pretty much sold on the size so I'll get a Mavic, either this one or hold out for a new Mavic pro II. Was just wondering about DJI's pattern of new models.
 
David_Manning said:
I'd be interested to hear others' thoughts about this, too.

My own 2 cents is there will ALWAYS be an upgrade coming up, as we all know. Can you live with the images now, is the question. The Mavic is definitely the quad to get for travel...it's very subtle and won't attract as much attention in the bag. The flying looks good, too...but it works the batteries harder because it'll take more power and control to maintain track and position in similar conditions to the Phantom 4 Pro (since it's lighter). The 1" sensor on the Pro is obviously a better camera. I look forward to others' opinions and experiences. Good luck, Michael, with the decision and the travel.
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Thanks David, you too! Hopefully I'll be moving to Thailand within the next year. Traveling with a large drone is a pain. I'll definitely get the Mavic, but I'm not in a big hurry so I can wait it out. Was wondering if people in the drone world have heard any rumors.
 
I had a Phantom 3 Pro and had real good intentions for using it a lot - however it was just too darn big to carry around and I ended up never using it.

The Mavic looks like a winner (especially when folded, it doesn't shout DRONE! so easy to travel with), the Spark even more so - if you're happy with 1080p30.

I'm looking now again for a drone, the only think holding me back from the Spark is the very limited battery life, but from the sample footage it looks good, in terms of value I think the Mavic ticks all the right boxes. As to DJI releasing a new MKii, who knows, yeah it was initially shipping in Oct'16, but there were months and months of delays getting stock and I presume its still selling well, so can't see anything new this side of the holiday period - but thats just a guess.
 
TheTrickster said:
I had a Phantom 3 Pro and had real good intentions for using it a lot - however it was just too darn big to carry around and I ended up never using it.

The Mavic looks like a winner (especially when folded, it doesn't shout DRONE! so easy to travel with), the Spark even more so - if you're happy with 1080p30.

I'm looking now again for a drone, the only think holding me back from the Spark is the very limited battery life, but from the sample footage it looks good, in terms of value I think the Mavic ticks all the right boxes. As to DJI releasing a new MKii, who knows, yeah it was initially shipping in Oct'16, but there were months and months of delays getting stock and I presume its still selling well, so can't see anything new this side of the holiday period - but thats just a guess.
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Thanks! Yea, was just checking the waters before I buy, seeing if there were any DJI rumors floating around. Like clockwork as soon as I buy something within a few months they come out with an MKII version of something.

Was looking again at the Phantom Pro 4, love the image and for $200-$500 more it's a non issue. Just cant see myself traveling with a Phantom Pro 4. For a $1000 bucks investment I guess waiting for another 6 to 8 months for a Mavic Pro II isn't that big a deal, or by that time DJI might have something completely different. Definitely don't want the Spark, which if you buy a controller is getting up there in price too.
 
You might consider a refurbished Phantom 3 to get practice flying the stupid thing, Newegg has the Standard for $350 (2.7k camera) which would make a decent trainer at this price. I'm still thinking about this and knowing that a Mavic is more along the lines of what I want due to so many of the reasons you want the same. I think Newegg had the 4k P3 refurbished at a decent price as well, but not sure it is worth the money if you are just going to use it to learn/hone your flying skills. There are a huge number of other quads with cameras out there, but they are all going to fly differently and most of them the camera is going to suck.

And that said, some of the stuff I want to try would require the latest, greatest Inspire or something faster... Not likely to happen anytime soon unless I decide to make this a business, even the latest Phantom is probably beyond what I'm willing to shell out for the hobby use that I intend to use it with.
 
Greg_E said:
You might consider a refurbished Phantom 3 to get practice flying the stupid thing, Newegg has the Standard for $350 (2.7k camera) which would make a decent trainer at this price. I'm still thinking about this and knowing that a Mavic is more along the lines of what I want due to so many of the reasons you want the same. I think Newegg had the 4k P3 refurbished at a decent price as well, but not sure it is worth the money if you are just going to use it to learn/hone your flying skills. There are a huge number of other quads with cameras out there, but they are all going to fly differently and most of them the camera is going to suck.

And that said, some of the stuff I want to try would require the latest, greatest Inspire or something faster... Not likely to happen anytime soon unless I decide to make this a business, even the latest Phantom is probably beyond what I'm willing to shell out for the hobby use that I intend to use it with.
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Greg, that is very tempting, and my wife won't divorce me. By the time I learn to fly it, the Mavic Pro II will come out. I've never flown a drone before, and I need one like a hole in the head..... but they look like so much fun I cant stand it! Once you have one I'm sure there are many uses for them, and things evolve.

I've considered studying for the part 107 pilot certificate in my spare time. The test doesn't look that hard, and those who take it have a 92% success rate. My son told me here in Santa Fe there is only one certified drone pilot, according to his friend the one certified drone pilot.

Hum.... I might just get that 4K P3. Thanks again for the info.
 
Been watching reviews of the P4 and Mavic all morning....... pretty hard to live with that soft image of the Mavic, it's 4K but looks like 720. Cant do it!
 
I haven't been looking too much at the video yet, maybe it is a miss as well. I know the Spark is not great, really just a selfie device like so many other cheap quads.
 
Is anyone concerned with the problems reported with the Mavic? Or have these issues been resolved now? Seems like a few videos on early lemons and some later ones too, lack of quality control trying to get them out before the GoPro Karma. I'm back to getting a Mavic based on they are quieter than the p4 pro, and of course smaller, and will bite the bullet when it comes to the image quality.
 
As someone said in some other thread, when you need just 10 seconds of drone shot, the impact of the air shot will outweigh some concerns about resolution. For 10 seconds the viewer is just drinking in the view before having time to analyze too much. I don't have a Mavic but I've been thinking about it, mainly because it packs small enough to always have it with me. Of course if someone wants to specialize in drone footage, you just get the best you can afford and never mind what I said.
 
Has anyone else got these adds on their Facebook pages? This happened before with the Canon C100. I click on the add it takes me to B&H but the price of the Mavic is $999.00.

 
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