DJI - Mavic Air 2

I still use an air 2, haven’t found a reason to upgrade.

Depends on your country. In the US? Good grief just get whatever drone you want and pay $5 to register it. That's it, you're done for three years when it'll have to be registered again for $5. You can fly it in all the same places you can fly a less than 250g drone. The Air 2, 2s, 3 or soon 3s is so much better than a mini. You don't need a part 107 certificate unless you are using the drone to make money. And if you are using it to make money, the weight of the mini drone is now irrelevant and you need the part 107 anyhow. Don't be stupid and fly it where you aren't supposed to and nobody will ever give you grief (except ugly women, they'll accuse you of spying on them any chance they get - my new response to them is to let them know they can complain to the FAA about a legal drone flight taking place in unrestricted air by a certified drone pilot (don't lie if you don't have a part 107 certificate though)). Not in the US? Get a mini. Those sub 250g laws are pretty restrictive from what I understand.

Depends on your country. In the US? Good grief just get whatever drone you want and pay $5 to register it. That's it, you're done for three years when it'll have to be registered again for $5. You can fly it in all the same places you can fly a less than 250g drone. The Air 2, 2s, 3 or soon 3s is so much better than a mini. You don't need a part 107 certificate unless you are using the drone to make money. And if you are using it to make money, the weight of the mini drone is now irrelevant and you need the part 107 anyhow. Don't be stupid and fly it where you aren't supposed to and nobody will ever give you grief (except ugly women, they'll accuse you of spying on them any chance they get - my new response to them is to let them know they can complain to the FAA about a legal drone flight taking place in unrestricted air by a certified drone pilot (don't lie if you don't have a part 107 certificate though)). Not in the US? Get a mini. Those sub 250g laws are pretty restrictive from what I understand.

I still think that the Air 2S is the best drone for your money. Yeah, it's a little older but it's still worth the buy. It handles wind great, it's got a one inch sensor, and you get great looking pictures, and obstacles avoidance, plus a lot more.  That's my preferred drone until the Air 3S comes out. Blue skies 

Had the air 2s for the past two years and never had any trouble with the legality side of it

why can't you buy a used air 2 on ebay? Or get the air 3 because mini 4 pro isn't as good in the wind.

Anything in the DJi Mini series for hobbyist use. I have a DJi Air 2S that I travel with extensively but it is significantly bigger and heavier than the Minis.

Hey all. Had an irrecoverable flyaway event with my old dji air2. Stuck with extra batteries, blades, sticks, and controller. A replacement model is roughly $500, an air 2s is compatible with all my old stuff but those replacements are like $700-800. Now I’m researching all new drones and think it’d be smart just to snag a mini 4 pro fly more combo at ~$1099. Since it’s a significant step up in capability compared to the air 2 and 2s. I don’t want to go more expensive than that though. Input from others? I am skeptical of the minis in windy conditions. I liked how resilient my air2 was in high winds. Also, if I get the mini 4 pro, any advice on selling my kit from my air2? Figure I could let it all go for like $120 on marketplace or eBay. My use case is mostly over ocean for footage of wild life or my friends and I surfing (we hand off the controller, we’re not surfing AND flying) Or over sheer cliffs for footage of friends and I climbing. Nothing professional. Just raw stills from unique angles. I would like to have something that is a bit more capable in motion and the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance is appealing in the M4P too.

Hey all. Had an irrecoverable flyaway event with my old dji air2. Stuck with extra batteries, blades, sticks, and controller. A replacement model is roughly $500, an air 2s is compatible with all my old stuff but those replacements are like $700-800. Now I’m researching all new drones and think it’d be smart just to snag a mini 4 pro fly more combo at ~$1099. Since it’s a significant step up in capability compared to the air 2 and 2s. I don’t want to go more expensive than that though. Input from others? I am skeptical of the minis in windy conditions. I liked how resilient my air2 was in high winds. Also, if I get the mini 4 pro, any advice on selling my kit from my air2? Figure I could let it all go for like $120 on marketplace or eBay. My use case is mostly over ocean for footage of wild life or my friends and I surfing (we hand off the controller, we’re not surfing AND flying) Or over sheer cliffs for footage of friends and I climbing. Nothing professional. Just raw stills from unique angles. I would like to have something that is a bit more capable in motion and the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance is appealing in the M4P too.

Thats why I posted this, I wanted input from someone who's used the mini 4 pro to get a gauge on how well it performed in windy conditions compared to the heavier systems. When I first bought my air2, I didn't think I'd be able to use it in high winds then it surprised me with how well it actually did, so I'm looking for advice on how well the mini actually does in the wind. Wind performance is my deciding factor, if the mini 4 pro gets knocked around in small gusts and gets poor footage then I don't want it. If its more robust than that then great. Air2/2S con: They're older systems and don't have omni directional obstacle avoidance. These limitations kept me on specific use cases for the drone. The price difference is minimal between the 2S and the mini 4 pro \~$200 for fairly substantial upgrades. Air 3 is off the table because its just as expensive as the mini 4 pro, capabilities are worse and none of the equipment I already have would work with it. Its only upside is wind performance. mini 4 pro...con: Price, none of my current gear works with it, and potentially the wind effect. I've never used one so idk how the wind would impact it.

air 2s, 1 inch sensor 5.4k best image around

If you like zoom lenses Air 3. Its such a sick drone. I have the fly more. My buddy just bought the same one. If the zoom lens didnt exist Id probably have done the mini 4 pro. The Air 3 has great range and does incredible in high winds, way more quiet than I was expecting as well. Highly recommend getting the controller with the built in screen. Its a game changer Previously Ive had the Air, and Air 2

Air 2s ... mini 2 if learning to fly. They tend to bounce more .... worst you'll probably have to do is replace the blades

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.