monkeyseemonkeydo Posted January 22, 2019 Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 Hey y'all (and by y'all I mean the three or four active members), anyone got any experience of little drones for photos and videos? I've been thinking of getting hold of one of the little DJI Mavic clones but it seems like when you get down to it they're all cheap tat in one way or another. They've either got crap cameras, dodgy interfaces, don't work to begin with, lose connection etc. etc. So now, having seen some very impressive videos of and footage from, I'm tempted to bite the bullet and get something like the DJI Spark setup (with extra batteries, controller etc.). Big Jeff Lenosky (apparently) actually paid for one himself to use for filming stuff on his MTB and since we're off to Canada this Summer I thought that it might be cool to have something to get some interesting views and pictures from. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD™ Posted January 22, 2019 Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 Even my Phantom 4 is very decent, and that’s a fair bit older than something like the Mavic Pro - I’d have no issues getting one of those if I used the Phantom enough to warrant spending again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncy H Posted January 22, 2019 Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 I've got myself a DJI Mavic Pro and it has been fantastic when I used it. I've witnessed first hand people receiving cheap copies as gifts and the quality is just plain awful, I've seen them flown once when received then never used again. Just an utter waste of money. The mavic pro is great thanks to its portability and ease of use, it's also relatively small and quiet compared to others. As it happens I had just vaguely put mine up for sale today, I got a bit scared by the legislation, paperwork and insurance you need now if you're making money from it and as I'm trying to turn professional I thought I'd rather invest the money into my DSLR kit and remove temptation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted January 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 The Mavic Pro looks a bit too pro for what I'm after I reckon...it does look like an awesome for of kit though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_travis Posted January 24, 2019 Report Share Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) Dave, I've got a spark and its an awesome little bit of kit. The battery lifes a little crap though 13-14 mins per battery at max really, but the footage and picture quality is good enough to make up for that. Uses the same software as the other drones too, so thats a nice bonus if you ever upgrade. If you can get one for a decent price, then i'd say go for it! Edited January 24, 2019 by ben_travis 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross McArthur Posted January 24, 2019 Report Share Posted January 24, 2019 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted January 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 17 hours ago, ben_travis said: Dave, I've got a spark and its an awesome little bit of kit. The battery lifes a little crap though 13-14 mins per battery at max really, but the footage and picture quality is good enough to make up for that. Uses the same software as the other drones too, so thats a nice bonus if you ever upgrade. If you can get one for a decent price, then i'd say go for it! There have been mutterings online about a Spark 2 being released so I might leave it a bit and see if anything transpires but it does look like a perfect little thing for travelling with... Would probably be looking at the 'fly more' bundle with controller, extra batteries etc. but will look out for a bargain! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted January 27, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 I'm starting to sway towards a Mavic Air for the slightly smaller folded size and probably more importantly the better battery life... A bit more expensive but not stupidly so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted February 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 So I bit thew bullet yesterday and have ordered a very slightly used (flown once apparently) Mavic Air for £650 (the 'Fly More Combo bundle that retails at about £950). Hopefully will do what I'm after and should be fun to mess around with filming the kids etc. (I'm a dad, not just filming random children ) 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundreamer Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 Dreaming of buying a DJI Mavic 2 Pro. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted November 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Just sold my Mavic Air this weekend and ordered a Mavic Mini. My thoughts are that with regulations coming in with the 250g limit making life ever more difficult the 249g Mini makes sense and if I didn't sell the Air now it might become more difficult once the laws come in properly and the Mini's become more common. It's a real shame the Mini doesn't (yet) include ActiveTrack and TapFly features but I'm really hoping in the future these might be introduced either through updates or paid for App modes. Time will tell... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted November 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 I should point out that having bought the Air in February to go to Canada with the c units changed their laws in July to make it effectively illegal to fly a drone over 250g in Canada so I ended up buying and taking a little Tello that didn't really do what I wanted (if only the Mavic Mini was around then...) but also I managed to get £600 for the Mavic Air 6 months later so can't really complain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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