I hadn't heard about that downside, not great for image quality. I wonder if the much vaunted Master Airscrew quiet blades are any better? Good move, I'll wait to see which way I jump before going that way. It sounds like a bit of preparation and forethought will get you through, and sending £9 to the CAA annually
I winged it, the topic came up at work so I went looking at what the new regs were, decided to have a go without doing any research at all, scored 18/20, mostly all common sense
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh, cat is amongst the electric pigeons.... I missed the £350 Mavic Pro locally, no surprise there. I've found a lightly used clean one boxed with all the bits and a second battery for £450, an hour's drive away, so that's good. OcuSync - check Controller with display - check. It's available, and I've asked for battery readouts and some indication of usage; no reply yet. Enter Mavic Air from left field... Went to see a friend this morning, who says he's upgrading to a Mavic 2 Pro or a yet to be announced new mid size model due out in the New Year (he has spies, apparently). While I was taking to the roofer about the storm damage the other week, he said he now runs a Phantom 3 and a Mavic Air, which he uses to scope out repairs, saving ladder and scaffolding tower action. He spoke v highly of it and hasn't had comms problems or anything. Just then, said friend calls and offers me his Mavic Air Fly More kit for £500. I can't get a handle on which makes most sense for me. Photo quality is important; both have a similar camera and have image controls unlike the Mini. The Pro has a more delicate gimbal, but longer flight time and solidity. The Air has a supposedly tougher camera and is good in the wind. 'Ian in Ldn' on YT was no help, 50/50 depending on your requirements... I am much confuse
I was aiming for a Mavic Air before I dropped on my Mavic Pro - I doubt you'll be disappointed with either of them. They're both good in the wind, and I don't think the Air's flight controller has an exposure wheel, which is easier to adjust on the fly. I could be wrong, but I think that's accurate. I was mildly concerned to see the peak video bitrate for the Mini was 40MB/s, but it is capturing 2.7k and I haven't seen any issues with video samples in the reviews. The Air and Pro cap at 100 and 60 MB/s respectively. The Air is fooking loud, mind you. Well, compared to the Pro, but I don't really think that's a big deal, because it'll likely spend much of it's time half a mile away at 400 feet. It wouldn't put me off buying one. If you're at the £450-£500 price point (the cost of a Mini Fly More bundle), I think the Pro and the Air are bargains; assuming they had the Fly More kit. I'd get a new bag/backpack for them though - the DJI bag in the Fly More kit is very nice, but restrictive. You'll likely get £25-£30 for it on feebay, which is what I did.
DJI Mavis Mini unboxing Instructions are rubish. The triple bay battery charger is a pain to remove the batteries. The device is very well made but very stiff and new and I was afraid to break it. Software and sinking with the remote is ok but not great. Flying is not as I expected. So far I look at the drone and not the camera but my area has too many trees. Low-quality video saves to my phone and HQ video saves to the microSD card. I flew 17 minutes on its first flight and battery was not low so I'm expecting around 25-28 minutes in real use. At first I thought I couldn't go that high but after a second try it went as high as I wanted. Safety features are easy to disable. I recommend buying it in China if possible. This package was £365 in China but sells for £459 here. The nubs on the controller feel a bit cheap, but I read I can upgrade them with DJI Mavic AIR Replacement Control Stick which are aluminum and have a much better feel. Using a phone is a bit of a pain and my Oneplus 7T is a bit of a tight fit. They sell a controller with a screen but it is almost as much as the drone and I don't see it one their UK sight. It may be worth a flight to Shenzhen to buy a drone and gimbal if you are serious about drones and buying a higher tier model.
The Pro guy still hasn't replied; I sent him another message on Gumtree earlier asking about condition and how much use it'd had. The Pro is a hour away between Salisbury & Romsey, so I'm not going out there if I'm not sure it's what I want. It's not a Fly More kit, just a standard kit with an extra battery and a set of ND filters. The Air on the other hand is local, and my friend has left it at work for me to look at again next week while he's away. Apparently he's made up an ND grad filter, as a mutual friend works for Lee Filters and got him a small GoPro one to mod. The Air being 'fooking loud' is a worrry for me, I did think it was noisier the other week when he took it up for a quick spin, that was compared to hearing a Pro Platinum the week before. If I go that way, MAS props will have to be put into play. That said, he told me he's used it a fair bit out & about and only ever been approached by people interested, not moaning minnies. He said that people weren't threatened by a drone that small, and it was great to take out & about being that little. So, still conflicted on choice. They both have pros and cons to them; you're right that neither is going to be a disappointment. It's just that I can't jump into it decisively. Thanks for the initial review @silk186, nice to see your drone has a name! I really like the idea of justifying a quick trip th Shenzhen to get a discounted drone! I can't see it going down well at home though. It's a definite advantage that they have managed a really good flight time out of such a small unit and battery.
Tre, let me be clear, the Air is loud in comparison to a Pro, but not hideously so - it is louder and the pitch of the noise is higher (in my limited experience), which is likely what made more noticeable. However, if you'd never flown anything else, it probably wouldn't occur to you to think was especially noisy. Don't let my comments put you off a possible bargain.
Will you have to register with te CAA if you plan to fly it with the prop guards fitted? Because they'll take the weight beyond the magical 250g limit.
Dave, you're right on the Air, it's perception of the higher pitch that makes it seem noisy. I have been online and looking at all sorts as well as WhatsApping my mentor, who is leading me astray. I have decided that a Pro is the answer, and have possibly found one in Hampshire. I lost it on ebay this afternoon at £546, but the winning bidder dropped out as he thought it was a Mavic 2 Pro...as if! I've said I'll offer £540 for the Fly more kit with ND filters etc. only flown 16 hours. He's not replied yet, that was an hour ago.
I've only flown an original Mavic Pro, and that very briefly, so I can't really comment on any other versions or low-noise props, etc, but from experience I can say that they are quiet drones. Once you get it up to a decent height for photography/videography you're really not going to notice the noise IMO. I used to have a custom-built 6-rotor hex whose all-up flying weight was 1.8kg; let me tell you, that was LOUD. And not 'loud' as in an annoying buzzy noise, 'loud' as in 'Oh jesus christ don't let that thing come anywhere NEAR me!'. All drones are a bit noisy, it's just the nature of the beast. But the Mavic drones are damn quiet in comparison to the competition.
FYI - There's a DJI retail store in Frankfurt's "MyZiel" shopping mall. It's on the lowest level of the mall, opposite the LEGO store, and has a demo/test drive area in the front window, fenced off for customer safety. See https://www.stores-shops.de/neueroeffnungen/store-mit-flugkaefig/ (Just in case your SO wants to do one of those Xmas Market trips that are on all the travel sites right now )
I didn't ask them. I will take them off after I learn to fly properly. Same thing with the camera cover, that comes off as well. I popped into the DJI store in Shenzhen airport, so it could be possible to pick one up during a transfer but don't expect the shop worker to speak much English. I was asked about the English name of the Gimbal but I was pretty tired and couldn't remember what they were called either.
Busy day on the drone front. Get deal on ebay Mavic Pro Fly More Combo - check Pay quickly to get the 5% weekend discount - check Drive 130 mile round trip to test fly and collect drone - check * Small mishap on test. Broke a blade on takeoff, no worries 5 spares in box Come home and do the CAA test quickly - check 19/20, £9 paid, numbers issued Flight at home after the rain passed, firmware updated and batteries charged - check Flew for 15 mins and covered 955m TIL 1.free PC Mavic simulator available from DJI. Downloaded and to be installed on gaming PC. Just needs a USB A to Micro cable to plug remote into PC 2. Mavic Pro FM Combo ' manbag' is a fiddly horrid thing and will be replaced by a Christmas present; probably a Lowepro backpack 3. Remember to charge the remote before going out flying, when it starts beeping, you can't concentrate well as a noob 4. The car charger is invaluable at topping up a battery on the 75 minute drive home down the M3 5. Big learning curve on seeing where the Mavic is and all that stuffs visible in the remote and phone. Seller (PfCO professional videographer) gave 2nd recommendation to iPad Mini4) WiFi iPad is OK, unless you 100% need the detailed maps. You can pre cache them from Google maps. or it will add in map detail later when you get back to base. 6. Lots more to learn on taking nice photos and good looking videos. It came with ND filters, and I will mod an ND grad 7. You MUST take the F* gimbal lock off every time you get the Mavic out to fly. supposedly you can fly with the bubble cover on, but the flare is bad Here endeth the lesson
I'm happy with my Lowepro Droneguard BP250. It holds all I need and it has a deep zipped pocket that can take my XPS 9360. Interesting info on the ipad mini4 - this might get expensive. You can fly with the bubble cover on but you're blocking airflow to the cooling fan behind the gimbal. I don't use it - I bought a PolarPro gimbal lock/lens cover - not as fiddly to fit.
I do like Lowepro, and have a couple of their bags for some of my photo kit. The DG BP 250 looks great. I've found a DG BP 200 for a lot less at £50, but haven't compared sizes. I now have a number of things that are affordable on the Xmas list like MAS blades, a cheeky skin, and a gimbal cover - the standard one is OK, but not as positive as I'd like. It also needs a red tag like on a plane 'remove before flight'! No micro SD card, must attend to that too, may not last to Christmas, unless I can scrounge one from something. I haven't looked extensively, but the refurb ones I've been offered at £150-£170 + vat seem to be fairly well priced. As stated previously, I'd prefer a spage grey one rather than Gold, and maybe 32GB if th efunds allow. Don't mind B grade scuffs, it'll be out in the controller, not wrapped up at home.
My mistake - mine is the BP 200, not the 250. The 250 is much bigger, but I thought it a bit much. Might be obvious, but go for a U3 Micro SD card if you can.
OK, that sounds promising! U3? I think I'll need to buy one, as I don't have any fast ones that I recall. Any suggestions away from the usual Sandisk? BTW, there's a Mavic Pro on ebay in Ryde...
Mine are Sandisk Extreme and Samsung Evo Plus 64GB cards - no complaints so far. iirc the guy in Ryde had it up in the local ads for stupid money for a few weeks.
Thanks for that. Does the new DJI app allow exposure compensation in photo mode? Apart from that, I only ever use auto photo and full auto videos. I've recently sold my Spark, getting £340 back after fees. I bought Spark fly more bundle in the same way, paid same amount of money as standard Spark in UK (without RC) when it came first out. I'll be buying Mavic mini early next year when I visit my in-laws. I'll need to add about £30 to side step into a Mavic Mini. Escape need to register to fly and gain longer flight time.
According to a review I watched recently, you can adjust: exposure compensation, ISO, and shutter speed. EDIT: Can't remember if it was this particular video or one of his other videos on the Mavic Mini...
