![mavic pro board view mavic pro board view](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/H04c64c306be3490388c71be4d6a4f2b6c/Original-Control-Board-for-DJI-Mavic-Pro-Core-Board-Mavic-2-Pro-Zoom-Motherboard-Drone-Repair.jpg)
As I mentioned earlier, the Mavic Pro is almost identical in spec to the Phantom 4, a much larger drone aimed at the prosumer market.
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That’s everything I might possibly need for photography and video in one compact bag.īut just because it’s small doesn’t mean it’s not capable. I swapped out the supplied bag for a slightly larger camera bag – still within ‘second carry-on bag’ sizing – which allows me to carry the drone, controller, two spare batteries, my iPad, an adapter that I’ll talk about later, and my Sony a6300 still/video camera. Certainly I’ll carry it with me everywhere when travelling. The portability is not quite at a level where you can carry it with you on a ‘just in case’ basis, but it’s close. Allow another minute or two for the GPS to locate itself and to rotate the drone in your hands to calibrate the compass, and you’re in the air. Unfolding and folding takes literally seconds, as you’ll see in the video. Unlike most drones, the prop blades stay on, just folding away, so you can have the drone ready for flight in about 10-15 seconds. And it’s designed for use with an iPhone, which gets you the most compact complete ‘proper’ drone on the market. The controller also folds, and is about a third of the size of the drone. The bag is so small that there’s no way in the world anyone would imagine it could hold a drone.įolded, the drone measures just 19.8×8.3×8.3cm – a little under 8×3.3×3.3 inches. I’m not, but DJI sells a custom-made shoulder bag to hold the drone, controller and a couple of spare batteries. It is literally pocketable if you’re a cargo pants kind of guy.
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I tried very, very hard to resist buying one. Since travel was my main exc– reason for buying one, the much more compact form-factor was a huge deal. The Karma fits into a custom-made backpack, sure, but the Mavic fits into a shoulder bag small enough to count as a second carry-on bag on even the strictest of airlines. I initially favored the Karma, as I already owned a GoPro Hero 5 camera – so could save money by buying one without – and it would get me a handheld gimbal into the package.īut the far better portability of the Mavic that really sold me. The DJI Mavic Pro and GoPro Karma were announced almost simultaneously. Then along came the DJI Mavic Pro – a folding drone whose spec was virtually identical to the Phantom 4 but with a folded size so small it was almost pocketable … Travel was the only situation I could think of where I might make use of one, but small ones were poor quality and high quality ones weren’t exactly compatible with my handbaggage-only approach to travel. After all, what would I actually do with it? Then a few family members got together to buy my father a DJI Phantom for his birthday, which gave me some hands-on experience. I was starting to get the itch, but still resisting. I didn’t want to spend a four-figure sum on something that would soon be relegated to a cupboard.
![mavic pro board view mavic pro board view](https://sc04.alicdn.com/kf/HTB185c.L9zqK1RjSZFpq6ykSXXae.jpg)
I mean, proper drones are both radio-controlled flying vehicles and high-end cameras – what’s not to love?īut decent ones are expensive, and I feared that they might be one of those things I’d find fun for a short time before the novelty wore off. They had immediate and obvious gadget appeal. I’ve been keeping a watching brief on drones for some time.