Is the Mavic Air really that good? A photographer's opinion.

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I've just watched the Mavic Air launch on screen.

I'm an experienced professional, with three of my six titles being coffee-table books. Two are filled with top-quality wildlife and natural landscape images. Whereas I'm not keen on the label of "adventure photographer", I've worked in countries such as Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Bangladesh, and Nepal - plus more common destinations such as Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, India, Australia, and the US - always in remote locations. And you can add five films from years ago (Ethiopia, South Africa x2, Australia, plus the UK).

Today's presentation was slick and well done (with the exception of the "landscape" props which were tacky). And it could have been slightly better if the main presenter had put on an Obi-wan Kenobi cloak/hood for his demonstration of mind/hand control of the drone on stage.

Importantly, this drone is another step forward in technology.

But would someone like myself realistically choose this new drone? "No" is my considered answer, simply because the images/video it can produce are a step backwards when compared to the P4P's capability. We waited until the P4P was released and road-tested before adding a drone as a work tool.

Yes, it's compact. And in a very few situations this would be a decisive factor. But in most situations, the P4P's size and weight is small/light enough. Major film crews carry enormous amounts of equipment, and smaller operators are not shy of packing whatever is necessary to get the job done. I work closely with my fantastic wife. A tough head ranger in the Scottish Highlands affectionately called her "Pack Horse" because of what she was carrying - which included a heavy Manfrotto tripod, two camera bodies, and a big Nikon wildlife lens. Strap on an additional backpack to the front of her body containing the P4P and she wouldn't complain.

When it comes to still images and film, quality matters. The bar is set high and you only accept lower in certain circumstances, such as for inclusion in a here-today-gone-tomorrow news story. I doubt too many Limited Edition Prints will be made and sold, for example, from using a Mavic Air.

I appreciate that many on this forum are drone enthusiasts and I don't want to be offensive in any way. But today's launch featured a young adventure photographer as a selling point. Whereas this was a good marketing ploy, it will be viewed somewhat sceptically by experienced professionals like myself (with the few exceptions as noted above). The P4P is already relative small in size and light in weight compared to other drones able to offer quality output. Why would we want to go backwards?
 
Your statement is true being a professional. Except nothing less than the best. I wish I could. Lol There is a big market for the Mavic Air that is going to be filled as they will love the photos. DJI is also destroying the competition. It’s about money.
 
I got snowed at first with their Marketing claim of "36MP Spherical Photos" and thinking it was a 36MP camera only to find it was still 12MP in the fine print elsewhere. Someone in Marketing sat around for a few days with that ad "36MP Spherical" assertion.

Same for their claim of the Super 35mm sensor in their first intro of the X7 camera which they showed in a drawing to be larger than a Full Frame sensor and later retracted it. Marketing spew is really something one needs to view carefully with DJI. Then came the I2 overall speed reduction too. It all sounds good, but the reality is often different.
 
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There is a drawback - in fact, a danger - of the smaller size. We worry, a lot, on our 30,700 acre nature reserve of our Drone Ranger being attacked by eagles. We have five eagle species, including the two biggest in Africa: the martial eagle and black eagle - both of which regularly pluck ducks and geese from the sky, not to mention bigger prey from the ground. Probably most or nearly all forum members have watched video of drones easily taken by a martial or wedged-tail eagle. But if we were a smaller size.....think Mavic Air.....then the many more lesser-sized birds of prey would become a threat. And these are more numerous. Not something that would be mentioned in a sales pitch.....

Furthermore, the "adventure photographer" should know that the chance of arrest in foreign lands is real, ever-present, and on the increase. Drones attract enough negative attention as it is and encourage risk-taking. The 24-hour news stations rarely report on those who get into trouble with overseas authorities, or even within their own country. I had to extricate a female colleague from a police station in Addis Ababa during my second time in Ethiopia, for example, who was doing nothing more than walking around a market with a pocket-sized camera in her hand. I thankfully got her released within a couple of hours, but many are less fortunate. Adventure is not always as advertised.
 
A first time buyer may consider the Air, but for serious photography you need a P4P or an Inspire.
The Air is inferior to the Mavic pro in 2 very important areas, Wifi not occusync, and much shorter battery life. The price is too close to the MP.
I have an MP and a P4, my next purchase will be the P5, not the Mavic2.
Image quality from the MP can be very good, but you have to work at it, testing all settings,ND filters ,using dlog etc.
 
There is a drawback - in fact, a danger - of the smaller size. We worry, a lot, on our 30,700 acre nature reserve of our Drone Ranger being attacked by eagles. We have five eagle species, including the two biggest in Africa: the martial eagle and black eagle - both of which regularly pluck ducks and geese from the sky, not to mention bigger prey from the ground. Probably most or nearly all forum members have watched video of drones easily taken by a martial or wedged-tail eagle. But if we were a smaller size.....think Mavic Air.....then the many more lesser-sized birds of prey would become a threat. And these are more numerous. Not something that would be mentioned in a sales pitch.....

Furthermore, the "adventure photographer" should know that the chance of arrest in foreign lands is real, ever-present, and on the increase. Drones attract enough negative attention as it is and encourage risk-taking. The 24-hour news stations rarely report on those who get into trouble with overseas authorities, or even within their own country. I had to extricate a female colleague from a police station in Addis Ababa during my second time in Ethiopia, for example, who was doing nothing more than walking around a market with a pocket-sized camera in her hand. I thankfully got her released within a couple of hours, but many are less fortunate. Adventure is not always as advertised.
Agree. I have visited Ecuador,Nepal, and Peru recently, no way would I take a drone with me.
 
We should have a up-to-date wiki or something somewhere as the rules seems to change on a daily basis around the world. Navigating both rules and practices is close to impossible in many countries/regions.
Rules about drones are relatively straightforward and just a starting point for the "adventurer". It's the cultural sensitivities in some countries which are a much bigger threat to a visitor's freedom - and, without wanting to overly generalise, the "cultural sensitivity" of many tourists/visitors is next to zero. The simple act of attempting to take, or actually taking, a photograph in certain societies can show massive ignorance or insensitivity to local beliefs and laws. People frequently live in a "bubble world" and are "shocked" when that bubble bursts to find themselves in serious trouble. But ignorance is never an excuse in the eyes of the law - and rightly so, as it would be used every time as a "defence".
 
Rules about drones are relatively straightforward and just a starting point for the "adventurer". It's the cultural sensitivities in some countries which are a much bigger threat to a visitor's freedom - and, without wanting to overly generalise, the "cultural sensitivity" of many tourists/visitors is next to zero. The simple act of attempting to take, or actually taking, a photograph in certain societies can show massive ignorance or insensitivity to local beliefs and laws. People frequently live in a "bubble world" and are "shocked" when that bubble bursts to find themselves in serious trouble. But ignorance is never an excuse in the eyes of the law - and rightly so, as it would be used every time as a "defence".
One should think so, but have a look at the regulations in Thailand last two weeks, the ongoing changes in Iceland or even the rules in my hometown (oslo) and this certainly is not straight forward or static.

I just set up a wiki and will see if I can get it live in a few days.
 
U guys simply rule. First place I came to get the skinny on the thing, not disappointed. Great thread-The knowledge in here is awesome ty! Stick with what I have to for now. Have a safe1
 
Just using a camera in many places such as Nepal and Bhutan, requires great care, some of the people feel you are stealing their inner self, OK not in Kathmandu etc, but up in the mountains, I always ask , if there are locals involved in the shot, some ask for money, OK, they are not offended, but others are.
Using drones you need to be very considerate, any concerns, do not fly.
 
Mavic Air = Spark Pro! But it seems that Mavic Air will do a lot better while flying in tight spots. That’s the only feature I’d love to have for my Mavic Pro.
 
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The modern world is full of hype and slick marketing, fuelling the "I want more" mentality. Many get sucked in.

But perhaps the real opportunity here is for more drone users to increase their appreciation of what we already have available to use. In our case, it's the amazing P4P+. The real questions should be "How can we use this existing technology better and better?" and "Can we use it for a better or higher purpose?", not speculating what and when will the next model be released.

A James Bond movie was titled "Tomorrow never comes" and the danger of being swept along with the "dream of more" is that we fail to really appreciate and make best use of the now.

One of my closest colleagues described the P4P+ as a "brain in the sky" when he first saw it in action. When I was making films 26 years ago, in the pre-digital days of tape, today's technology was beyond what I then imagined was possible.

I'm not too bothered about a P5, P5 Pro, or whatever. It or they will come. But what I'd really like to urgently see is more of us pushing the limits of using what we currently have. And that boils down to how we use our brains or minds. A Phantom or Mavic drone is simply a tool. And it's driven by our imagination every bit as by a battery.
 
Ill be waiting on the phantom 5...until then I’m still shaking my head regarding the 12mp Mavic Air...12mp!!! Comon dji you’ve just made another hobby craft. That’s me done.
What are everyone’s thoughts?
 
Ill be waiting on the phantom 5...until then I’m still shaking my head regarding the 12mp Mavic Air...12mp!!! Comon dji you’ve just made another hobby craft. That’s me done.
What are everyone’s thoughts?

What if there is no Phantom 5?

Have you researched their higher tier products?
They make more than hobby drones.
 
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I am grateful for all the input from this forum... very knowledgeable folks with tons of experience.

That being said... my P3SE is less than a month old to me... and with the release of the Mavic Air, I was intrigued to say the least. Lots of great technology in it but, After reading the posts on comparisons, I feel content again... thank you all!

I am gonna sit back, enjoy my P3SE for a while and see what comes next in the Phantom series... if there will be one...

I have room to grow...
 
I totally agree, I also am a professional photographer/filmmaker and for me image quality is #1 in priority. I use an inspire 2 and p4p and would never want to step below those, and while I can see this mavic being the only choice sometimes, I will pass. It would work great for many others of course. Just the fact we have so much to choose from is a gift indeed.
 
Depends which drone you have, if you have a phantom 4 it’s not really worth it.... but pretty much anything else is just worse
 
I've just watched the Mavic Air launch on screen.

I'm an experienced professional, with three of my six titles being coffee-table books. Two are filled with top-quality wildlife and natural landscape images. Whereas I'm not keen on the label of "adventure photographer", I've worked in countries such as Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Bangladesh, and Nepal - plus more common destinations such as Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, India, Australia, and the US - always in remote locations. And you can add five films from years ago (Ethiopia, South Africa x2, Australia, plus the UK).

Today's presentation was slick and well done (with the exception of the "landscape" props which were tacky). And it could have been slightly better if the main presenter had put on an Obi-wan Kenobi cloak/hood for his demonstration of mind/hand control of the drone on stage.

Importantly, this drone is another step forward in technology.

But would someone like myself realistically choose this new drone? "No" is my considered answer, simply because the images/video it can produce are a step backwards when compared to the P4P's capability. We waited until the P4P was released and road-tested before adding a drone as a work tool.

Yes, it's compact. And in a very few situations this would be a decisive factor. But in most situations, the P4P's size and weight is small/light enough. Major film crews carry enormous amounts of equipment, and smaller operators are not shy of packing whatever is necessary to get the job done. I work closely with my fantastic wife. A tough head ranger in the Scottish Highlands affectionately called her "Pack Horse" because of what she was carrying - which included a heavy Manfrotto tripod, two camera bodies, and a big Nikon wildlife lens. Strap on an additional backpack to the front of her body containing the P4P and she wouldn't complain.

When it comes to still images and film, quality matters. The bar is set high and you only accept lower in certain circumstances, such as for inclusion in a here-today-gone-tomorrow news story. I doubt too many Limited Edition Prints will be made and sold, for example, from using a Mavic Air.

I appreciate that many on this forum are drone enthusiasts and I don't want to be offensive in any way. But today's launch featured a young adventure photographer as a selling point. Whereas this was a good marketing ploy, it will be viewed somewhat sceptically by experienced professionals like myself (with the few exceptions as noted above). The P4P is already relative small in size and light in weight compared to other drones able to offer quality output. Why would we want to go backwards?
Tallyho good chap, I would most certainly have to agree with you. For a perspicacious adventurer like yourself, the quality of the image from the air would never be suitable to a fine coffee table book.
 
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