Mavic pro or phantom 4

[RACCOON EGGS]

I can't seem to decide if I want the mavic pro or the phantom 4. They both seem great. What are the pros and cons to both? I would be doing recreation flying.
Thanks!

 

[Jayfdee]

I have both. The deciding factor for me is portability, which the Mavic wins hands down.
I feel more confident with the P4 due to its size,I think it will be better in wind, but the Mavic is now nearly always my first choice.
If you travel a lot then go for the Mavic, if you take your gear in the car and size is not an issue, then the P4. Both are great.

 

[RACCOON EGGS]

What about camera quality and durability?

 

[Jayfdee]

The camera seems very delicate on the Mavic, but the video quality is excellent, 1080P at 60 fps has some quality problems, but all other settings very good, I shoot 4K all the time, I use ND filters, on the Mavic these are tricky to fit especially as the camera is so small, but on the P4 they screw on very easily. Very hard to see any difference in video quality.
The field of view is slightly less on the Mavic, some people prefer this rather than too wide an angle of view, I hardly notice it.
Hand catching on the Mavic is not for me, but very easy on the Phantom.
A significant point to consider is the noise, the Mavic is very quiet and people will hardly notice it, the P4 is a big noisy beast and will attract attention.
Ultimately it is your personal decision, but these points may add to your decision process.
Please post your decision and your first flight experience, good luck.

 

[RACCOON EGGS]

In terms of crashing, what is more durable. I want to weigh all the possibilities

 

[b0nes8604]

In terms of crashing, what is more durable. I want to weigh all the possibilities

I crashed my P4 a few week ago in a heavy wooded area and didn't find it due to it being dark out. I had to wait till the next day to look for it and it rained almost the entire night. Found it the next day completely soaking wet. Took it apart entirely and dried all the components and let it sit for 48 hours. After I put everything back together it worked 100% flawlessly. The P4 is hands down my favorite drone I've ever flown. My father has a Mavic Pro and I do like it for its portability but that's really the only thing it has over the P4. I also travel frequently and take my P4 on several plane rides and never had any issues. Buy the Polar Pro backpack case and you'll be all set.

 

[tcope]

Most differences are easy to see. Size. I think the P4 is just slightly more stable than the Mavic but not much as the Mavic is still very stable. Not much of a difference. The camera on the P4 is just slightly better. It does have a slightly wider field of view. Personally, I think it's better in lower light. Durability on crash is up in the air. Depends on type of crash and how hard. I'd say the legs on the Phantom might protect it a little better but the camera is still exposed and the Mavic the camera is in tight with the body.

Personally, I'd go with the Mavic over the P4 right now. Portability is a huge difference and everything else is minor.

 

[Kcgunesq]

Unless I am out of date on the specs, the p4 advanced and pro have a sensor that is roughly twice the size of the mavic's, but less than double the pixels. So all other things being equal, a sensor with more, larger photo sites should produce better pictures.

Sensor size was the deciding factor for me.