I do allot of drone photography and use a DJI Inspire 1 commercially and it's perfect for my needs. But as a recreational user as well, it can be a bit frustrating as the time from inspiration to actually shooting can be drawn out a bit and it's not exactly convenient to carry around. I've studied with great interest allot of these lightweight racing quads that are coming out and always end up disappointed as while they are built small, light, and packable, they aren't built for high definition photography. But now, I see light. A package that when folded is H83mm X W83mm X L198mm, and only 743g is very appealing to me as a way to have a camera drone that I can literally carry in my ruck. So I have to ask, have any of you flown one yet or are ordering with intent to be able to EDC a DJI Mavic Pro?
I don't think there are many of these or the GoPro Karma's in the wild without supervision from a rep just yet. The early reviews look promising for both, it's going to come down to the real world longevity for durability and battery life besides the footage. The comparison footage on the DJI mavic in 4k shows softer raw footage than the Phantom comparison, despite their claim to sing the same sensor. As far as EDC a drone, even these new compact ones... you have to be at the high end of a photo fanatic scale or a professional with the penchant to not want to miss a shot. But with the new ever smaller video capable drones emerging, it probably will be more common place than expected within the next year or two. Most likely it will be a blending of the photo community and the EDC people who will be willing to pack a couple thousand dollars worth of gear around they may never use on any given day as it's already common for most of us at this point.
I agree. It's still pretty new thing. But with that size and video quality it really has potential for EDC.
Good points, I rarely put allot of weight onto pre-release "consumer reviews" no matter how many likes or whatever they have. They always appear to be rushed and focus on points that are either obvious, or are not relevant to my interests. As to the videos that are coming out, I'm not too alarmed by them as I've seen the RAW files from DJI and when I push them through the editor here I'm liking what I see from a recreational product. I can say that one reviewer changed the focus - as indicated when he recorded himself controlling it - so I can't consider his inflight footage as a benchmark as I have no idea if he did the same with what he is showing or not. Two other reviewers shared footage that they recorded with the gimble protector dome in place that DJI specifically states is only to be used when transporting it. I fly commercially weekly and fly the same rig recreationally at least once a week so having an extremely portable ready to fly package is still very appealing to me, so appealing that I went ahead and put a pre-order so I hope to be flying mine soon.
I will but be warned, I usually wait until I've owned and finger poked something for a few months before I review it as I've noticed allot of "I want to be first" reviewers overlook allot of points that could be deal breakers for some. Did just get word that the mid-October shipping dates have been scrubbed for early-ish November dates. I reckon the demand for these will be the highest to date.
OP how are you getting along with your Mavic Pro? I have a few of the racing drones and I think they could do HD photos ok but it seems like the Mavic is much better purpose built. I was considering one for a hiking trip to the Everest base camp later this year but decided against it with all the rescue helicopters occasionally flying about.
Destroyed the first one, was my fault and am not blaming anyone but myself. Just got the second one a couple weeks back but the weather has been inconsistent so not allot of flight time yet. Some have complained about twitchy gimbals but I have yet to experience that.
I recently got one of the Mavic Pros and I love it! Its so easily transported and small. I repurposed a small unused camera backpack and its been great. The bag actually too big! Its such a less stressful flying experience than the racing quads Im used to. Im really hoping Im able to take it abroad later this year (hoping the airlines dont ban lipos). On a side note im really glad I have experience with the racing drones bc this MP has some decent power...
I've got 2, one for flying at home for fun, and the other one is in my camera bag(there's nothing better suited for this, then a trident 20), just to be sure that I have always one with me
I suppose you could call "mine" EDC Its not actually mine, but the company i work for's. It lives in the car most of the time, but i do regularly take it to meetings with clients (and let them fly it) Pretty fast, super stable and easy to fly, folds up into a tiny package (the Manfrotto Amica 50 fits the flymore kit really well)
Btw, can anybody recommend a pouche/pocket for the drone? I wasn't able to find anything with the perfect size for the drone as additional protection layer inside my backpack....
Photo equipment sales... I spend a lot of time on the road visiting corporate clients who cant get into the store
I can't remember the last time I wanted something as bad as the Mavic when it came out. It really checked all the checkboxes for me -- a consumer drone at a reasonable price that is small, forgiving of my inexperience, has a great camera, FPV capable, incredible range, and the live feed is good enough to use for real time search and rescue work. Costs about as much as a decent AR-15 sure, but I use it far more! Got my Part 107 as soon as I could afterwards, after seeing some youtube videos that demonstrate what this little guy can do in the hands of professional photographers and post-production, I'm definitely impressed. Hopefully will be able to convince my department to invest in some sUAS once it shows it's worth, hopefully something like an Inspire with thermals. I bought one of the hardshell EVA mavic cases on ebay (holds the charger, controller, 2 spare batteries, my ipad mini 2, sunshade, etc) and not much bigger than the box the mavic came in. It will fit into a nalgene bottle pouch, but it's a tight squeeze and there's no cushioning.
I think that's the general idea with these...small enough to take anywhere. The GroPro drone is the same I'm told, which I'm hoping to grab at some point since I have the Hero5 Black.
