Talk me out of it - I may upgrade.

hostar · Jan 13, 2018

I bought the spark because of its size and it is way less intrusive when I fly it. Also because I didn’t need the 4K video. Everything else on the spark has been fine. Way fun to fly......

Until I walked into the DJI store and saw the mavic pro platinum. Yes it is larger then the spark but it is wayyyyy quieter. And because it is so much quieter I find it way less intrusive then the spark due to the noise.

I am flying in Europe for now and trying to draw as little attention as possible when flying. With the reduced noise it is very appealing to upgrade.

aviscomi · Jan 13, 2018

Sit tight and wait until 1/23 when DJI is supposedly announcing something new.

hostar · Jan 13, 2018

aviscomi said:
Sit tight and wait until 1/23 when DJI is supposedly announcing something new.

Good to know I can wait a few weeks while I do some research.

mikep2323 · Jan 13, 2018

FYI also you can get original mavic for cheaper and buy the quieter blades for it . They are definitely quotes and there's a guy on you tube toms tech time that does a comparison.

Kilrah · Jan 13, 2018

Props are only a part of the improvement, the new sine wave ESCs on the Platinum do a lot about it.

hostar · Jan 13, 2018

Yeah I think it is more then props. They compared the pro to the platinum and the platinum is noticabley more quiet then the pro.

Also tested the headset out as well. Having it control the gimbal was awesome.

Eljay · Jan 13, 2018

I've noticed that people out and about walking their dogs react much more positively to the spark than the Mavic. They hear them both but the Spark doesn't look like it could be up to something. It's not necessarily logical but reactions to drones often aren't.

hostar · Jan 13, 2018

Eljay said:
I've noticed that people out and about walking their dogs react much more positively to the spark than the Mavic. They hear them both but the Spark doesn't look like it could be up to something. It's not necessarily logical but reactions to drones often aren't.

What kind of reaction does the mavic get?

Eljay · Jan 13, 2018

hostar said:
What kind of reaction does the mavic get?

Well, I saw one fly maybe 50 feet over some dog walker and she started SCREAMING "You nearly cut my head off!". But just generally with the Spark people are like how cute, he's out with his kids and a toy. Lots of smiles and thumbs up and all that.

I think part of the issue is that because people have a wrong mental image of how large they are, they think the Spark is further away than it is and the Mavic is closer.

Bubbles!!! · Jan 13, 2018

Btw, even if it may not look the best, the best deal you can get is ordering the alpine white Magic and buying the quieter props, gives everything of the mavic pro fly more combo in the $1000 package instead of $1300

I hope they stick with selling the alpine white, wanna upgrade to that after I sell my spark.

Richard Ruckert · Jan 14, 2018

I have both the Spark and the Mavic. I started with the Phantom 3 standard (P3S) The mavic is more complicated than the P3S, and way more complicated than the Spark. I have only flown the Mavic six times, but I have yet to get an image as good as the Spark, even though the Spark is a little too sharp, and over saturated. Using the Mavic I record at 2.7K because my computer can't handle 2.7K, but not 4K.
I think the Mavic is a far superior drone than is the Spark. However, the Spark is still my preference. What I get out of the Mavic is distance, although Spark is pretty good, and a more smooth pan because of the three axis gimbal. If I had to choose between the two, I would stick with the Spark.

hostar · Jan 16, 2018

Richard Ruckert said:
I have both the Spark and the Mavic. I started with the Phantom 3 standard (P3S) The mavic is more complicated than the P3S, and way more complicated than the Spark. I have only flown the Mavic six times, but I have yet to get an image as good as the Spark, even though the Spark is a little too sharp, and over saturated. Using the Mavic I record at 2.7K because my computer can't handle 2.7K, but not 4K.
I think the Mavic is a far superior drone than is the Spark. However, the Spark is still my preference. What I get out of the Mavic is distance, although Spark is pretty good, and a more smooth pan because of the three axis gimbal. If I had to choose between the two, I would stick with the Spark.

I agree. I like the footage from the spark without fiddling with all the settings on the mavic. But the sound...... so quiet. Sooo sooo quiet.

aviscomi · Jan 16, 2018

Richard Ruckert said:
The mavic is more complicated than the P3S, and way more complicated than the Spark.

Huh?...they both use the same software (i.e. DJI GO)

Richard Ruckert · Jan 16, 2018

aviscomi said:
Huh?...they both use the same software (i.e. DJI GO)

All the camera settings, and color profiles is what I was referring to

Richard Ruckert · Jan 16, 2018

Richard Ruckert said:
All the camera settings, and color profiles is what I was referring to

Also, with the spark you floor it with obstacle avoidance turned off, and max speed is about 13mph. With the Mavic, I can get 30mph in GPS (P) mode. I think this is too fast for video, so managing the speed requires much more touch

aviscomi · Jan 16, 2018

Richard Ruckert said:
I think this is too fast for video, so managing the speed requires much more touch

Tri-pod mode solves this

Richard Ruckert · Jan 16, 2018

aviscomi said:
Tri-pod mode solves this

I was referring to flying straight ahead or backward. What is the max speed for the mavic in tripod mode? In spark it's 2.2mph

aviscomi · Jan 16, 2018

Richard Ruckert said:
I was referring to flying straight ahead or backward. What is the max speed for the mavic in tripod mode? In spark it's 2.2mph

Same

Richard Ruckert · Jan 16, 2018

aviscomi said:
Same

View attachment 2856

So, I guess I confused this conversation all up. I would like spark to go 17 to 20 mph with obstacle avoidance turned off, and not 13mph, which I suppose is cinematic, but a little slow for my liking though it can be aided in post. The mavic can easily go 17 to 20mph, but requires touch to keep it steady whereas with spark it's just right stick forward to the max position- easier. That and single color profile, single fps, it's good out of the camera. My only two issues with spark are the 13 mph (sport mode is unpredictable), and poor panning because of two axis gimbal. Tripod mode certainly helps with the panning, and while I've yet to try it, I suspect the 6.5 with the obstacle avoidance turned on may pan well. Also, you can take more chances with spark because if you crash and burn it's much less costly to replace. Mavic can be repaired for roughly the same price, but you never know what DJI is going to give you back