DJI - Mavic Air

I have a mavic air and its a few years old now but I still use it quite a bit, you can grab one on ebay for pretty cheap, make sure you get a few good batteries with it if you go that route.

well i looked it up. There is it but its extremely old. So no i would not get a "Mavic Air"

Oh what a huge bummer! So there are going to be two obstacles facing you \* flying legally \* convincing your DJI drone that you're flying legally. True story. I had this awesome drone, DJI Mavic Air. My first decent drone. I was in a no-fly zone. I got clearance to fly from the FAA, but I forgot \*to input into the DJI drone that I had that clearance\*. Result of this: it didn't realize at first where it was, so it let me take off, and fly it over a body of water. Suddenly it realized it was in a no-fly zone, so it followed its programming and dove straight into the water before I could bring it back! It was traumatic! I had sunk well over $300 into that drone and it was gone in an instant! \* So flying \*\*legally\*\* isn't that hard. You can register with the FAA, install an app on your phone, and then you go into that app on your phone and click on a spot on your map and you can get permission for such-and-such a pilot to fly such-and-such a drone for an hour. Boom, you're done. \* To convince your \*\*DJI drone\*\* that you're flying legally, you have more hoops to jump through. You have to ALSO register on the DJI FlySafe web page. Log into that web page and tell it you want it to permit you to fly in a particular no-fly zone. You have to tell it what drone you're going to fly, who's going to fly it, what zone you're clearing, and then it'll clear you for three days - the idea being that you're assuring DJI that you're going to get all that legal permission, pinky promise, swear to God. THEN you have to go into your drone and the app that comes with it and import that permission from the web through your app and into your drone, so it knows to chill. So that's 2 different apps, 2 different sets of permissions, you better not forget or your drone might fly itself into a lake!! Some people would consider this a good reason not to get a DJI drone. They're absolutely the best, but if you are going to be dealing with no-fly zones, they force you to jump through a LOT more hoops to convince the drone it should let you fly. If you don't get a DJI drone, then you only have the one hoop to jump through: using your app to get FAA permission (this is called LAANC). Instead of the two hoops, of making it legal and then asking DJI pretty please to let you fly your drone. anyway.... I hate to be the bearer of bad news about the hassles that you may face, flying a drone where you live. Oh, I should mention one thing: NONE of these rules apply indoors! Indoors you can do whatever you want! Also indoors even a DJI drone is not using GPS so it doesn't know where it is and it won't ground itself due to lack of permission!

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.)

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.

Mavics are so good!

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.

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

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.