DJI - Mavic 3E

The P4 is a good drone and we used one for years. However, for the money, an M3E is a huge upgrade. Better camera, faster camera, longer flight times, etc. Plus the controller software is so nice. If you get to the point where you are doing a lot of flights, and you will, the M3E is an absolute workhorse that yields great results.

Mavic 3E is the way to go. RTK is required for some but the RTK has some issues around towers. Either way the M3E is the way to go. Done over 2500 towers and it is the best bird for inspections. Not for engineering work but definitely for inspections. Doesn't matter what you are doing with it but it is a requirement for most tower jobs now.

Mavic 3E has a mechanical shutter. It's the biggest reason. No jello shots. Real 20MP and not a composite image (not sure if air 3 is real or composite). Also, you can put RTK on it. The air series is good for videos and other stuff, but for photogrammetry, mapping, survey, and inspection, the Mavic 3E is the best of the group. Use it all the time when I'm not using the M300. Plus it can take images at 0.7 seconds to speed up inspections and maps.

Nightmare for me too with Autel. First time in my life I ever had to dispute a credit card purchase. The drone stopped recording photos regardless of how many times I reformatted the card (tried multiple different cards). Weeks of back and forth with “tech support” etc. I got a DJI M3E for a replacement and couldn’t be happier. With every penny for the ease and reliability. Don’t wait your money on Autel.

I like to ALWAYS start with what type of job you're trying to accomplish and work backwards from there. Going off of some accuracy specs and preferred software without knowing the projects you want to do puts the cart before the horse a little bit. 0.5 cm tight tolerance to me means "don't use a drone" - your manned aircraft contractor is definitely not hitting anywhere close to those specs, so why do you want those specs? There is the temptation to spend the most $$$ for the best drone but it may not meet your needs even after spending well over six figures. If it's your company's first foray into drone ops - start small with photogrammetry (Mavic 3 E is excellent and not tied to proprietary software) to produce the deliverables, then work your way up to to costlier LIDAR and bigger drone systems, to wean yourself off of your manned aircraft contractor. You are on the right track! But step by step helps a lot more than buying a single fancy unit expecting it to meet all of your needs.

Honestly, to the eyes of the public, the Mavic isn't much more impressive than the mini. If you want to look serious, you need an Inspire or an M300. But that's 500% overkill for OP's use cases.

I would really recommend spending the money on the Mavic 3E or even Matrice 4E. Ask around your department, there's a good chance that other projects could make use of it, and would split the cost. We went through this at my university a few years ago, and banned the purchase of drones outside of the DroneLab, so the DroneLab can get proper equipment that projects can rent for cheap. Having 4 Air 3S flying 4 times a year costs as much as having a M3E flying 12 times a year, and everybody gets better data.

You do not want an air 3. You want the M3E. I did towers for years. The industry has really gone to shit over the last couple years. Tripled the work for the same pay.

It might be, but that’s the drone you need. Otherwise I would buy a used M2P or P4Pv2. Both are workhorses in the industry. The P4Pv2 (v2 is really important) is probably the better buy as it has a mechanical shutter. Still sitting on my 2 M2P and 13 batteries I cycle as required. I still do a bit of work, but towers suck now. The demands on the serious work isn’t matched with pay. The industry has been flooded.

A phantom 4 rtk is still top of the line for survey grade mapping. Next step up would be a Mavic 3E but, like you said, its a bit confusing with DJI right now. I still occasionally use a phantom 4 pro at my survey firm alongside pix4d for processing data.

For all intents and purposes, the Phantom 4 was replaced by the Mavic 3E. It's no longer supported but you can still buy batteries and replacement propellers so that you can use the drone for as long as you'd like. I fly frequently within one of the most obnoxious areas in the country, the Washington DC FRZ. Nothing within the inner limits, but I have had dozens of FAA waivers to fly within the 15 mile radius. I've also flown adjacent to a number of military bases, all fairly recently with a Phantom 4 Pro v2. You should have no issues with a phantom 4 RTK outside of the government going nuclear and bricking all DJI drones, which I doubt they would do to currently compliant drones. Your drone is a workhorse and could easily provide you with years of good data and would last you well until after we know what is going to happen long-term with DJI. If they manage to get past this current madness, I'd keep your eye out for a Mavic 4 announcement eventually (I'd love a 3E but they're hard as hell to get these days for obvious reasons). Just make sure that any drone you get for mapping has a mechanical shutter. This goes for pretty much any company. As for US made drones... sadly there really aren't too many good options right now. They're expensive as hell and untested with plenty of quirks and no pedigre. What kind of work do you do in Alaska? Is it fairly wide open swaths of land? Or more urban? I've been eyeing the WingtraOne recently as its made in Switzerland, has a vertical take off, and has the stupid fast speed of a fixed wing drone. But it's also significantly more expensive than a DJI.

There really isn't a very good American made drone to replace DJI that is well supported and cost effective. We originally bought an American made drone for surveys with a cost of $15k. After 3 years it wasn't working correctly and it needed at $10k upgrade to keep functioning. We got a DJI M3E for a fraction of the cost and it works much more efficiently , has tons of support videos and forums, and can be replaced for a few hundred dollars with DJI Care.

Look at the DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise or DJI Matrice 30. Both have thermal options if needed. Both work great. I prefer the M30T myself as it's weatherproof and has hot-swap capabilities so I don't have to power down the drone for every battery swap. I did a ton of research into the differences between thermal variants, the M30T and M3T, before I made my purchase. Here’s a little excerpt.  -M30t is IP rated. M3T is not.  -M3T has 45 mins of rated flight time versus M30T at 41.  -M30T has hot swap battery capabilities. No need to power down/up the drone between battery swaps.  -M30T should still safely land if one battery fails. -M30T should still safely land if one prop/motor fails -M30T batteries are $330/battery, a pair is required. M3T batteries are under $200 with just one required to fly.  -M30T is larger and heavier. More difficult to trek into remote locations.  -M30T allows dual pilots or single pilot and single camera operator.  -M30T bundles are usually around $11K while M3T bundles are usually around $6K.  -M30T has much better zoom capabilities. -M3T is quieter  Best of luck!

A Mavic 3 Enterprise is your best option. That budget should get you the drone plus a bunch of batteries. Depending on what accuracy you need, you could add on an RTK module as well.

I do tower inspections and use a Mavic 3 Enterprise with RTK which is required for accuracy of models.

The zoom capability of the M3E is ideal for inspecting safety anchors and cable connections from a safe distance. 7x optical zoom.

For cm accuracy you need a drone with rtk. I'd suggest a Mavic 3 enterprise if you have the money.

So mini will be fine to look at the roof and spot obvious damage. Mavic 3 enterprise is entry level. If you are wanting to take pretty pictures too I actually do my visual inspections with a Mavic 3 pro with 7x optical lens. The correct answer is a Mavic 3 thermal for the best fit but they are very expensive.

I’m in Iceland for the moment. Last week I had some nice flying opportunities that were all legal places. The few people who saw me flying were uninterested or friendly, partly because I didn’t annoy anyone nor flew in restricted areas. For now me, my wife and my Mini 4 pro are stuck in a snowstorm in the north, meaning you can expect all kinds of weather anytime, including drone-unfriendly weather. If you want a sturdier drone that can handle more wind and you want to invest look at the Mavic 3.

Agree with posts , DJI is market leader at this time based on consumer models. After budget then the choice is camera or FPV model. If your budget is huge and camera focused then it’s the full sized mavic or Inspire models, however its more likely you want a 249g or less weight class to maximize convenience so a mini. I would recommend the refurbished DJI units regardless of budget then you can spend the savings on extra batteries and/or DJIcare (insurance replacement).

I have a Mavic and my Avata 2 will be here Wednesday. I have used my Mavic only a handful of times just because I don’t find a lot of fun in just flying at that speed and taking pictures, and the videos just aren’t that exciting with it. I am hoping the Avata re energizes my enjoyment for drone flying. The honeymoon phase with the Mavic died off quickly. And I live in Colorado with more photogenic locations than I know what to do with

I've basically stopped using my Mavic and use my Mini 3 Pro for most things now. Wind resistance isn't quite as good, but image quality is more than good enough and being under 250 g makes flying a lot easier (in Canada, might be different where you are). Some people assume 'bigger is better'. I've seen that in photography, where my Nikon D800 with huge lens gets more respect than a smaller camera. (So sometimes I'll being the bigger camera for show, use it for a few pictures while mostly using a smaller camera, and let people assume that the best pictures were taken with the bigger camera when in reality all the pictures came from the smaller easier-to-carry camera.)

It's actually not a bad photographic done. It's easier with say a Mavic which is a super stable platform especially once you get the full gimbal but a little practice and it's not bad at all.

If you want something good and not care about price get the mavic but if you do care about price then get the dji mini 3 or 4 pro remember to ALWAYS do the training flight simulater when you buy a new drone you will need to

I have a Mini 4 Pro. It's a great all-rounder. It's small enough that it can fly indoors with some prop guards if needed, though it's better outside. The camera is versatile, and it can tilt its head for pure vertical shooting. Weighs less than 250g, so registration (especially when traveling) is often easier or absent. Folds up really small. I think it's the best international travel drone for that reason. Here are why you'd want the other drones: * The mini flies well, but the Air flies even better. In places like iceland with high winds, Minis get sent to the shadow realm (the ocean), but Airs can manage better. * Mavic line when you want the best camera setup on a drone for photo and video. The flagship camera drone line for a reason, that tri camera is a beautiful, beautiful tool. * Neo for a more entry level, indoor friendly drone. It's just as easy to carry as the mini and costs less, but the camera is not as good and it's not as strong a flyer. Supersedes the Tello. Lacks omnidirectional obstacle avoidance. * Avata 2 is the strongest flyer, but it's for a different type of flight and shooting. It's for first person flight and exploration. It can definitely chase cars and is the fastest, and also the easiest to control at high speeds, but it's definitely rooted in a concept that's flight-first and photography-second. That said, it's a far more capable camera than its roots in custom handbuilt FPV. The others shown are older models. Good if you want to shave some of the newer features for a discount.

OK not one correct answer I see. Find you tube look up Joshua Bardwell. If he is interested in electronics and you want to push him into a hobby that could lead to an engineering degree or something in stem look into FPV. He can start with a little whoop starter kit or just buy a pair of goggles and a controller and he can play on a simulator on a computer and learn to fly before he gets an actual drone. You can buy his first but he should definitely build his second one. It builds a great skill set in both mechanical and programming. I've seen 5 year old flying fpv. It's a great entry into robotics there is so much of a benefit to a young kid. Don't buy him a Mavic or any camera drone. They aren't meant for kids they are too easy to fly. It's the type of thing that a kid without supervision can really get themselves in trouble. If he Flys fpv it takes skill and it's the kind of thing that builds respect as you learn and most people find it more enjoyable to fly low and in a confined area. Where camera drones seems like everyone wants to fly as high and far as possible.

Mavics are so good!

Bottom line it's a more expensive version of shat is a generic Chinese built drone. It has a "sort off" collision  avoidance but not great in lower light. The cameras are as they say they are but as there is no active gimbal they are no where near 8k quality unless it's not flying (even then it's debatable). So up to this point you get what you pay for..... Now stability......GPS on.... its as stable as Donald Trump..... GPS off..... you never know where it's going..... In short it's not the worst but if you need it for anything semi decent then pay more money for a mavic

What is the benefit of the remote with the screen over using your iPhone/Android? I just ordered a gently used air 2s and am planning to do some mapping with it. I have used drone deploy in the past with a mavic and phantom. Planning to try maps made easy for my next project.

A Mavic isn’t really going all-out. If you had the choice of hiring someone who could only bring a Mini or someone who had a Mavic, who would seem more serious to you? Who would you hire?

It depends entirely on your requirements. While there are some advantages to the better camera on the maverick, unless your client is going to run the video on large screens there may be no practical difference. Your skill as a videographer and editor will make much more of a difference than the camera. As others have pointed out, the Air is a great compromise, but depending on where you need to fly, the Mini 4 Pro may have advantages. One of the challenges in an urban environment is operating over people. Unless you have a category UAV or a waiver, you can’t legally fly over uninvolved people. In an urban setting that can be a challenge. A category 1 drone needs to be under 250g with prop guards and remote ID. The only current option to get there in the DJI lineup is a Neo with an external RID module, but the photo/video quality isn’t as good as the air or mini, and that’s a bit of a limitation for pro photographers. (On a related note, if someone from DJI is reading this, please poke your product management with a sharp stick and wake them up. The new DJI Flip is one firmware change away from being an awesome option that 107 pilots like me — who already own a M4P and Neo — would buy in a heartbeat. Please add the option to turn on Remote ID in the USA so we can fly it as a Category 1 UAV.) Category 2 essentially requires a parachute which right now is stupid expensive. Your other option is to apply for a waiver. I won’t go into all the details in case OOP isn’t important to you. But if it is, an M4P with extended battery, prop guards, and an anti-collision light is still light enough to operate over people and moving vehicles under a 107 waiver without requiring a parachute. Flight times and wind handling will decrease, but in an urban area that might make the difference between being able to legally get your shots or not. Just buy the extended batteries because they turn RID on. On the other hand, if OOP isn’t an issue, then in the USA under 107 an Air is probably a better choice. And, if you have any interest in popping north of the border, do yourself a favour and take an M4P with standard batteries. Being under 250g in Canada will make your life much, much easier. Remember that the best camera in the world isn’t going to help if you can’t get it where you need it.