Why I'm disappointed in DJI...

[PhantomWetSuits]

Good luck configuring a M200 for $6k. It's much more than that once you add a couple of cameras. But no one is going to fly that type of equipment without hull insurance so it should be upfront investment, not the replacement cost, that is the biggest consideration. As a professional tool for those who need their capabilities, for the price, they are a bargain. Compare to the Indago, for example.

I kind of new the price tag was much more but kept it to the price on the web. So full insurance is what makes the heart not race on those purchases, good to know,

 

[With The Birds]

The only forced update I'm aware of was a year ago when there was a genuinely faulty firmware update for the P3 Standard.
How many people are losing Phantoms due to faulty updates? This is a myth.

There was the P3S issue. There was also the P3 battery firmware issue that was causing in flight shutdown rather than limiting propulsion and the P3P/A issue where RTH would not initiate if signal was lost while flying with certain 3rd party apps and flight modes. I Have managed to survive all glitches and hickups to date although I did almost loose a P3P with signal loss in autopilot and the dodgy firmware release. No such major issue with the P4P. Seemingly DJI are getting better in this respect.

 

[bhartwell]

**Before you go smashing your keyboard down below in the comments, I just want to make it clear that this is just my opinion. You are fine to agree or disagree with me and write your opinion, in fact, I would love to hear your opinion, just don't get angry with what my opinion is. Thanks.**


Back in June of 2017, DJI released the Spark. A small, amazing piece of tech, with all of DJI's signature technology including gesture and hand control, no need for a controller. Then today (January 23rd 2018) DJI announced and released the Mavic Air.

The Mavic Air has some great specs, such as front and back obstacle avoidance, 4K 100mbps, 1080p @ 120fps, 8GB internal storage and much more, but... only 21 min flight time?? I think DJI could have done better with that part.

As @nollzr said in Post #20 of the thread DJI Mavic Air,
"Getting tired of these little toy drones they keep putting out. When will the phantom 5 be released for us that are into the more professional models??"
Now I have agree with him there. DJI has been focusing on the more "consumer" side of the drone world. DJI hasn't released anything for the ones who are in to the professional stuff since 2016, It is now 2018. Again, like @nollzr said about the Phantom 5. So I have to ask, where is DJI going with this?

Another topic I want to mention is prices. In my opinion, even though the spark has some great features, it is too overpriced. It is $500 USD and that is without the controller. There is not much you can do without the controller. Although you can use gesture mode and your smartphone as a controller, you can only get about 100m in distance and 50m in altitude. In order to get the controller you must spend an additional $150 USD. That's a total of $650 USD. Or you can get the fly more combo which will cost you ruffly $850 USD. Whoever thought it would be a great idea to sell the Spark without the controller, that was not a smart move.

Back to the Mavic Air. Ever notice the battery is on the bottom same as the tinny little spark? That means that, just like the spark, if the battery is to ever detach and let go from the drone, the battery as well as the drone is going down in history. Unlike the Mavic Pro, Phantom and Inspire, where if the battery is to ever detach from the drone, at least part of the drone it there to support it and the drone can come in for a safe landing.

Overall, I think I would stick with the Mavic Pro or Phantom 4 for now until DJI gets their act together and comes out with something better.


If I have made a mistake or missed anything please feel free to send me a PM and let me know and I will continue to edit this post.

Share your thoughts below!


**Before you go smashing your keyboard down below in the comments, I just want to make it clear that this is just my opinion. You are fine to agree or disagree with me and write your opinion, in fact, I would love to hear your opinion, just don't get angry with what my opinion is. Thanks.**

As much as I agree with your comments, for DJI the Air is a smart move. Think about it this way, where can they generate the most revenue with the least risk/cost. Relatively cheap, consumer targeted drones cost less to make, less to support and are easily mass produced.

The target audience thinks of this class of drone more as a toy then as a tool, so if it breaks or crashes, they are as likely to buy a new one as send it in for repair. Your average guy playing with his new toy in the park, isn’t trying to get that perfect landscape shot, or find just the right angle to capture just the right moment. So, “high enough” quality video/pictures to look good on a spec sheet is fine. No controller, no problem, the guy in the park isn’t flying more then 50ft away anyway. And those pesky rules, regulations and lawsuits are far less likely to impact your business, when the toys your selling aren’t the “risk” the more professional products represent.

So, I am sure they will bring out a new high end vehicle to replace the older P4 line, eventually. But, I would think the focus in the near term is going to be the small, cheap, good enough, mass market products that make them a lot of cash.

 

[THECaptainKirk]

Addressing your comment about the battery detaching and then the ability to come in for a safe landing...unless I’m reading your post incorrectly there isn’t a multi rotor of any kind that can safely land without power. They literally become bricks in the sky continuing slightly in the direction they were going then gravity brings them hurling into whatever lies below. The outcome is never ideal and rarely safe. Unless you just happen to be flying right over that microcosm or should I say that yet well known swath of rural America that is a fluffy loose pile of goose feathers. Land or crash there and you’re good to go all day long.

I’m glad to see Autel and Walkera expanding their lines. Even if they’re somewhat copycat - competition is always good for the consumer. There’s increasing choices out there. Personally, I love my P4A, but with what I went through in dealing with a warranty repair I pay little to no attention to the in-between models they come out with. And these unoriginal names - Mavic Air? Really? I will always wonder if the marketing team couldn’t get past their own Chinglish; intending to call it the Maverick? Otherwise, why Mavic? Air? They copy Apple’s pricing philosophy, so why not throw Air behind an existing model name. Coming soon the Mavic Air Pro, right?

I’m much more eager to see other companies give DJI some real competition with the Phantom line. They go mostly unchallenged and until they do my hat is off to them for building a magnificent bird for a good price. It’s their service that few can brag about. But without competition they dominate - almost monopolize an entire industry. I don’t blame them for throwing another model in. How about a model above the current or soon to be released P5 in between the Phantom & the Inspire? You heard it first right here...

 

[With The Birds]

Addressing your comment about the battery detaching and then the ability to come in for a safe landing...unless I’m reading your post incorrectly there isn’t a multi rotor of any kind that can safely land without power. They literally become bricks in the sky continuing slightly in the direction they were going then gravity brings them hurling into whatever lies below. The outcome is never ideal and rarely safe. Unless you just happen to be flying right over that microcosm or should I say that yet well known swath of rural America that is a fluffy loose pile of goose feathers. Land or crash there and you’re good to go all day long.

I’m glad to see Autel and Walkera expanding their lines. Even if they’re somewhat copycat - competition is always good for the consumer. There’s increasing choices out there. Personally, I love my P4A, but with what I went through in dealing with a warranty repair I pay little to no attention to the in-between models they come out with. And these unoriginal names - Mavic Air? Really? I will always wonder if the marketing team couldn’t get past their own Chinglish; intending to call it the Maverick? Otherwise, why Mavic? Air? They copy Apple’s pricing philosophy, so why not throw Air behind an existing model name. Coming soon the Mavic Air Pro, right?

I’m much more eager to see other companies give DJI some real competition with the Phantom line. They go mostly unchallenged and until they do my hat is off to them for building a magnificent bird for a good price. It’s their service that few can brag about. But without competition they dominate - almost monopolize an entire industry. I don’t blame them for throwing another model in. How about a model above the current or soon to be released P5 in between the Phantom & the Inspire? You heard it first right here...

I suspect many are looking forward to increased competition to DJI. It’s great for consumers. Parrot and 3DR were in the market before DJI and other multirotors were available to enthusiasts long before that. DJI seem exceptionally good at packaging technology into reliable cheap products however they remain dependant on external suppliers for the core tech which is also available to potential competitors.

 

[UpLift Aerial]

Addressing your comment about the battery detaching and then the ability to come in for a safe landing...unless I’m reading your post incorrectly there isn’t a multi rotor of any kind that can safely land without power. They literally become bricks in the sky continuing slightly in the direction they were going then gravity brings them hurling into whatever lies below.

Yes, I think your are reading my post incorrectly. I don't mean they could fly without power, I meant that they wouldn't fall out as easy. In the Spark and Mavic Air, the battery is on the bottom, so if the latch that holds them on the bottom ever lets go, or is not latched proporly, then it will fall out. Where with the Phantom or Inspire, if the latch is not latched, the battery will still have some support the stay there. Unless you do flips in the air with your Phantom or Inspire and the battery is facing down, you have a better chance of it staying in. That's pretty much what I said in my first post.

 

[UpLift Aerial]

Take a bottle of water for example. Fill it up about 1/4 of the way and put the cap on. The cap represents the latch on the battery, just like how the latch on the battery holds the battery in place, the cap holds the water in the bottle. Then, with the cap on, put the bottle on its side. So the water stays in the bottle. Now take the cap off. Most or all of the water still stays in the bottle. That's like to latch on the battery, if the latch let's go, the battery will still be able to stay in. Now do the same with the bottle upside down. You see, no cap no water. That's the same with the battery on the Spark and Mavic Air, no latch, no battery.

Now try this...
But the battery in your Phantom but don't latch it. Hold it up without touching the battery. Now if you try to do that with a Spark or mavic Air. You can't because it is underneath so either you or the latch has to hold it.

Same with the Mavic Pro, it will still say because it's on top. Like sitting a book on the table, but if you set it under the table it is going to the floor.

 

[Russ43Phantom]

I compare the Mavic Air to my iPhone X and my P4P to my Nikon 750. For more demanding work, I would use the P4P for it’s camera and flight time. BUT ... often, we say the best camera is the one that is with you all the time. I ordered to Mavic Air to be a camera to travel with or keep with me all the time so that special moments aren’t lost because I didn’t have my P4P. The second use of the Mavic Air, at this point, is to have a drone that I am more comfortable with when flying in restricted locations. DJI gives you choices so you can have options. The Mavic Air may not be for everyone ... but thank you DJI for providing choice.

 

[EyeDrone]

DJI have a large range of drones to cater for many different market segments.
More than just the Spark .. Mavic .. Phantom .. Inspire models.
You can't expect DJI to always ensure that the Phantom range gets the most recent technology before other models.
Whatever model is newest will be the one with the latest developments.
Just be glad that they have a big team working on that technology.
DJI can sell a lot more of the smaller and less expensive drones and that provides money to keep the research and development happening.
The technology will filter down regardless of which model it shows up on first.

In my humble opinion, your post is a well educated analysis of current market practices. As an aside, I own a P4P and wish it had redundancy. In time, I hope to be able to upgrade, as a prop failure is my most feared outcome. Fantastic Forums here. Thank-you.

 

[why]

I agree a lot with the OP.
Maybe I am being selfish... But, since DJI released Mavic Pro and then Spark, the number of near mishap and other issues had grown exponentially !!!
The reason is quite simple and obvious: A P3 or P4 or P4P, you need a certain learning curve and skills to fly it with ease and confidence. And even then, you are not 100% confident.
But with the little toy-ish drones and cheaper price tag, you have hundreds of new comers. That might be good for the industry, but it is definitely a bad thing for all the bad press, be it fact based or not.

Anyway, I personally not going to purchase an Air. I was more into moving to a Mavic but seems that it won't be. Meanwhile, I had 2 updates of the DJI app (on Android) and on site, I faced lots of issues. To give you an idea, same place, 2 years ago with a P3A I could fly without any issues, yesterday with my P4P, I had the scary aircraft disconnected without any possibility to get the app running... Even tried reboot the tablet, restart the APP... Hopefully, it made a safe RTH, but it really pissed me off a lot !

 

[RunningWithScissors]

You can't expect them to bring out new update models every few months.

In the camera world, the big makers also release more consumer models with new tech and revise their flagship professional cameras less frequently.

I would agree with Meta. DJI is going to go where the money is, or where they feel the money is. That's clearly the consumer segment, and the direction they're going isn't surprising. The Mavic and Spark appear to be DJI's latest offerings aimed at the consumer segment in an attempt to offer as much tech and value as possible. Still, it would be refreshing to many of us to see an official release announcement for a Phantom 5, for a variety of reasons.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

How many people are losing Phantoms due to faulty updates? This is a myth.

I would agree with Meta. We tend to hear from users whenever there's a failure that's the result of a "bad update". What we don't hear about are all of the uneventful flights and landings that happen every day. In some ways, drones are much like real airplanes. You always hear about the crashes that are sensationalized on the 6:00 news but, when was the last time anyone talked about the thousands of flights that go without incident every single day. Just my opinion.

 

[smackc4]

As @nollzr said in Post #20 of the thread DJI Mavic Air,
"Getting tired of these little toy drones they keep putting out. When will the phantom 5 be released for us that are into the more professional models??"
Now I have agree with him there. DJI has been focusing on the more "consumer" side of the drone world. DJI hasn't released anything for the ones who are in to the professional stuff since 2016, It is now 2018. Again, like @nollzr said about the Phantom 5. So I have to ask, where is DJI going with this?

Umm...Inspire 2?

 

[Mix_]

The Battery issue is simple - bigger drones can fly longer because of better weigth/rotor area proportion : https://www.wired.com/story/the-physics-of-why-bigger-drones-can-fly-longer

 

[gizmoking]

"In my opinion"

I have a Phantom 4, that was purchased to do real estate photography. Last month I had problems with the video feed. Turns out it was a defective gimbal control board. I took it in to a local repair shop, an official DJI sales center but not official repair center yet, and they replaced it in a day. They also upgraded my firmware. Now I have another issue with a spastic jumpy drone because of the firmware update. It also will give me issues if I fly near an airport, even though I will have permission form both Transport Canada and the airport. I could encounter a situation where If I do not launch from inside the restricted zone, I will lose control of my drone as it will auto land with nothing I can do. I digress...

The reason DJI has changed the firmware is because of all the "consumer" purchases and DJI is focusing on consumers and not professionals. They want to sell more drones. If I look at what has happened in professional photo editing, Adobe has done the same thing. Adobe Lightroom, that used to be a desktop photo editor designed more for the professional photographer, has now turned into a mobile app that is geared to be used on a phone or tablet. No self respecting professional photographer is going to edit your wedding photos on their phone. Adobe did keep the desktop version, and called it "classic". I digress, the bottom line is there is way more money to be made by selling to consumers than there is by selling to professionals. Companies like DJI will use the word "professional" on their products to try to sell more higher priced products. If the Phantom 4 Pro was truly designed for professionals, the firmware would allow those users to fly near airports and if there was an issue with authorization, the drone would return back to launch point along the reverse trajectory before landing. They could consider locking the drone until there was an email confirmation, or log into your account to indicate you are still the authorized user and have permission. This could also be sent to the appropriate aviation officials and a double check.

This new drone, in my opinion, is a marketing ploy to try to sell to consumers and get them hooked on a drone. They offer it at a low price without all the things that most people would really need. The design points aren't really concerning to me. Battery on the bottom is fine, as long as there is a secure method of attaching it. The gas tank on my car is on the bottom, and it has never fallen off, even when I've gone over big bumps. Ford had an issue with gas tanks on their Pinto, and history shows they were aware of the problem, but know it was cheaper to pay settlements then to do a recall and fix the problem. I would hope, but not expect DJI to to exactly the same thing. It is not about making the best product, it is about making the product look the best, and selling as many as they can.