Description
- FUNCTIONS: Easy to use, fun to fly. Mavic Air Drone has many functions such as ActiveTrack, QuickShots, SmartCapture, TapFly. The lithium batteries offer a substantial flight time of up to 21 minutes
- 3-AXIS GIMBAL: The Mavic Air is the most portable DJI drone to house a 3-axis mechanical gimbal, with its angular vibration range reduced to 0.005 Degree Gimbal dampeners help create even steadier shots
- HIGH QUALITY: The Mavic Air shoots video at an incredible 4K 30 fps, recording at 100 Mbps to capture every second with UHD quality. It has a support for recording 1080p 120 fps for slow-motion video
- GEOMETRIC ELEGANCE: Magnesium alloy brackets reinforce the seven onboard cameras, rear vents dissipate heat efficiently and the primary gimbal camera is recessed for better protection
- INCLUDED IN THE COMBO: Aircraft, Remote Controller, Intelligent Flight Battery, Charger, Cables (Power, RC, USB), Propellers, Propellers Guard, Gimbal Protector, Carrying Case
S. C. White (verified owner) –
Stunning!
The media could not be loaded. What an amazing piece of kit this is – I am almost lost for words about how incredible this UAV is!
Setup is easy – all three batteries will need a top up charge on arrival, as will the controller. DJI supply a fiddly little USB-C to Micro USB adapter for the controller; I’d recommend having a dedicated Micro USB cable for the job. The smart charger will charge four batteries (although only one at a time – starting with the fullest to get you flying again) and two USB devices at once. Download and launch the DJI Go 4 app and connect your phone to the controller. Power on the drone and the controller in that order, and you’re away. Have a spin with the simulator first, just to get used to the controls. Finally, be brave and take off!
Flying is incredibly easy – with GPS signal (everywhere in an open space) the drone will hover even in a strong wind. The left stick controls height above ground and yaw (heading) while the right stick controls pitch, both fore-and-aft and left-and-right. I flew slowly around our garden to start with, only reaching a couple of metres up until my confidence grew. I’m now at the stage where I can happily fly up to the CAA-mandated ceiling of 120 metres and 500 metres distance (assuming line of sight is maintained). If you become confused about which way the drone is facing, you can glance at the phone screen which can either show you the view from the camera or change to a map /satellite view to orientate yourself.
The drone has front, rear and underside cameras which will prevent any crashes in optimal conditions – you can fly at full speed towards an obstacle and the drone will detect the hazard and stop in time, completely autonomously. The object tracking and Quick Shot modes are great for short videos – with practice you can have the drone out of the bag, connected up and flying in under a minute. Press your phone screen a few times and the drone will then film you as it flies about in a number of different patterns, giving amazing angles and views. Stills photos are also great – quality is on par with a middle-to-upper range smartphone – but the angles achieved are wonderful. I’d rather a drone photo from an unusual angle than a top-end DSLR image from a conventional angle, if that makes sense?
Battery life is good, at about 15-20 minutes. You get plenty of warning about low batteries, and if you are hovering somewhere and don’t respond to these warnings then the drone will fly back to it’s take-off point and land itself before the battery gives out. I’d recommend the Fly More combo, which will allow an hour or so of flying before recharging.
The only recommended extras are a set of ND filters – the theory is that they will allow a slower shutter speed in bright light, and hence reduce any ‘jello’ effect or jumpy video footage. The rule of thumb is to aim for a shutter speed of twice the frame rate – so aim for 1/50 second shutter if filming at 25 frames per second. Polar Pro do a good (and free) app to decide which ND filter to use, but the general online consensus is that the cheaper ND filters are 90% as effective as the most expensive on the market at less than half the price. A 32gb Class 10 micro SD card is also good – you have 8gb on board memory, but I find connecting the drone to my Macbook every time a pain, and formatting the internal memory needs drone, controller and phone all connected; far easier to pop a Micro SD card out and transfer footage that way, and easier to format.
Last piece of advice – read the CAA’s ‘dronesafe’ website and comply with the regulations. People can be a bit sniffy with drone pilots, especially if they feel their privacy is in danger. Fly away from people’s homes and you won’t go far wrong.
In summary, I am delighted with this drone. It is a fun toy in its own right, but the fabulous quality of the video and stills make it a fabulous tool for making memories. It is almost uncrashable provided you are sensible and realise when and where not to fly. Highly recommended!
Mike Nelson (verified owner) –
Possibly The Best In It’s Class – Needs A Good Mobile Phone
I have only been flying drones for a few months and I started with a GoPro Karma as I could use it with my Hero 5 camera.
I know some of those are famous for falling out of the sky but my one has been pretty good but did have total loss of control for no apparent reason and it nearly hit a building.
Thus time for something hopefully I could trust and a lot less to carry around.
I got the MA Combo in a deal price and it does offer good results with battery flight times of about 16min max.
I really wanted a red one but the white was was a lot cheaper!
It works pretty well other than sometime a right slow drift (which others have reported even with .050 firmware).
Easy to control but I did label the controls up with narrow dymo tape to help remember which joystick direction does what. (I still move the camera gimbal control sometimes the wrong way).
I shoot in 4K and the results are pretty good but maybe not as good as the Hero 5 (except the Hero 5 4K is not linear so horizons look all wrong).
And I must admit seeking the ultimate in picture quality I then bought the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 which does shoot the best video (in the price range) but is a lot more to carry around and twice the price.
I got my one on interest free credit as I had already spent far to much.
I also snagged an Anafi which has a longer flight time, weighs less and also shoots pretty good video. However no sensors, clamp for phone on controller is terrible (you need three hands to try and clip your phone in).
Which one is best depends a bit on your needs and budget. I wish I had just gone straight to the Phantom or now of course the Mavic 2 Pro.
Both the MA and my Karma have fairly limited flight range in the UK and a bigger drone is easier to keep an eye on.
Don’t forget to check on the dronesafe UK website and don’t forget next year (2019) that even more new rules are likely to be introduced.
A. J. Donne (verified owner) –
Incredible drone. As soon as you start flying you’ll not regret it!
If you have been debating (as I was) what drone to get as a first proper drone, look no further. The image quality is fantastic, the control of the drone is amazing and the build quality is really high end. The stuff they don’t put in the blurb…. this has a one touch take off and one touch landing control, so if your nervous about how to launch your drone, this makes it really, really simple. The control of the drone in flight is so easy and natural. My fear about crashing my new purchase disappeared in about 2 minutes.
The fly more kit does have everything you need. As well as the drone, you get the propeller guards, spare propellers, the extra batteries, a nice case for the drone and a great travel bag for the remote, batteries, cables and spare batteries (you do also get the controller and the cables and battery charger).
Everything has a high quality, premium feel and some very nice touches.
This drone is good in wind too. It’ll fly in up to 22mph winds. The drone itself will fly up to 42mph. Which creates some fabulous videos.
Overall, you won’t regret buying this if you’re keen on your photography and want to take things to the next level. The fact that the drone folds down means you can throw it in a backpack and head up to the hills without noticing any extra weight in your backpack.
HOWEVER: before you purchase, checkout where you can fly your drone. Drone registration becomes effective from the 1st November in the UK and you need to abide by air traffic control legislation and the drone code. It’s worth-downloading the NATS Drone assist app (free) which shows you where you can and cannot fly, you do also need to check any local restrictions too. This statement is valid for any ‘proper’ drone you might be looking at buying. All that said, you can fly in most places, just be mindful of the legislation. The Mavic air also has built in logic and tells you where you can and cannot fly, sets the maximum altitude for you etc.
Peter (verified owner) –
Excellent but irritating noise
I am basically a photographer, and use this in the first instance for stills, although it is reawakening an interest in video. I did not want to have to learn a load of tech stuff, and did not have to – youtube told me everything I need to know. The plane is amazingly small and with three spare batteries, filters and controller, sits happily in my rucksack, taking up about the same space and weight as another lens would do. It is also amazingly stable in the air, even in fairly tough winds (force 4/5). Ideal, however, is light wind or no wind, when you can even do long exposure (so far 2 seconds no problems with ND filter). Others complain about range (before you lose contact and it starts flying itself home), and battery life / flying time. Neither of these bother me so far as I only use it fairly close (1km 120m up). Only problem is the irritating noise (a factor of the small size), but this is only really an issue for take-off and landing if you fly high, and helps to make sure you fly considerately of other people which is a good idea anyway. I tend to be away from any residential buildings, and flying around dawn time – keeping an eye out for horses and dog walkers. Farm animals do not seem bothered by it, but one of my dogs goes ballistic, and I would not want to find out how horses might react.
M (verified owner) –
What next for DJI?
The Mavic Air was my second drone after the DJI Spark. I purchased this because i wanted to shoot in 4K and a longer battery life. Whilst the spark batteries realistically gave me 8-12 minutes of fun drone times, the Mavic Air was more like 12-18 minutes depending on conditions.
The Mavic air flies fast, and by fast i mean super fast. Its quite scary when you put it FPV and sport mode and see this thing in action. I have never had any of the flyaway issues and mentioned by some reviewers and it has served me well over 10 countries.
Pros
– It folds up into a tiny profile which you can keep in your back
– Comes with a nice bag but also a separate case for the Mavic Air
– Battery life is much improved over the spark
– Shoots in 4k video – fantastic quality
– Great active track capabilities
Cons
– The arms fold out which means it is fragile and prone to dislocating. I purchased off Amazon warehouse and the leg was slightly damaged so had to have it repaired.
– The foot of the arm is also prone to falling off – I also had to have this replaced
– It is louder than the Spark so less inconspicuous
If you are looking for an upgrade to the DJI spark, then look no further. Even in 2019, the DJI Mavic Air is a huge contender. It is smaller than its other Mavic cousins which makes it more portable, but still shoots in fantastic quality.
S. Braybrooke (verified owner) –
Excellent drone and a great price from Amazon.
I’ve been looking at various drones for a few months. The Mavic Air seemed to fit my needs for a compact device which is easily carried in the same bag as my digital SLR, lenses, and handycam, has long enough flight time to compose some good shots, and high quality images (not only 4K but also 100Mbps write speed). And as a drone novice I liked the idea of radar sensors front and back, the optional and sensibly priced DJI care package with repairs and replacements, and the extras included in the fly-more bundle. Amazon’s price was up and down a lot (varying by £80 some days) but I am pleased with the fly-more kit at £849 (£100 less than John Lewis price, and I would not have benefitted from their 2-year warranty as it does not include the accidental cover that DJI’s care package does). There’s an overwhelming number of options for controlling flight and images on this drone but the beginners mode makes it much easier and can be switched off as you gain confidence. Image quality is astonishingly good and the gamble does a great job of stabilising things even in high winds. Great device!
Mjizzle (verified owner) –
My first drone, feels like the right choice!
After a few flights now I don’t really have a bad word to say about this product! Would definitely recommend the fly more combo, as I’m getting approx. 1hr flying time off of the three batteries, which is more than enough to get the shots you need a given location.
Intelligent flight modes make professional looking footage achievable right out the box, and it is not a steep learning curve to become adept at flying the drone well by hand, especially with any experience with RC aircraft in the past, and even video game experience to a certain degree will make this skill even easier to pick up.
Nerve racking at first to take the drone to high altitudes and over water, especially as I only had experience with relatively basic RC copters in the past, but you soon come to trust in the ability of the drone and these activities become far less daunting. Would highly recommend as a first drone or upgrade from a more basic product.
Jamie (verified owner) –
I sold my DJI Phantom 3 4K to purchase this Mavic Air drone and I’m glad i did!
I purchased the Mavic Air with the Fly More combo from Amazon for £818. Although compared to other suppliers this was a good price, it still seems like an awful lot of money for a drone but I don’t regret it in the slightest.
In my opinion, there’s no massive leap in camera quality between the two drones but the Mavic Air footage definitely looks crisper. It also has some really nice Quickshot camera modes and the Cinema mode is especially useful for getting some really smooth looking footage.
The thing I love about the Mavic Air is it’s portability. It’s so compact and easy to just slip it in my camera bag on a day out. You don’t even have to fanny about putting the propellers on, just unfold the arms (legs?), remove the gimbal guard and you’re ready to fly.
Also, the Fly More combo bag is a thing of beauty and holds everything you need to fly; including the drone, controller, charger and 3 batteries.
Love it!!
Bydand (verified owner) –
Small but powerful
What a totally awesome bit of Kit, dont be fooled by the compact size of this drone it has some amazing tricks up its sleave.
It has alot of nice pre programmed trick shot features which are great and can make any novice flyer look like a pro.
I would suggest changing a few of the camera and controller settings prior to flying to get the most out of your flight experience and 4K camera footage.
only down side is the battery life which really only about 10-12 mins flight time ( so get the fly more combo) and the noise level as it sounds like an angry wasps nest.
apart from that it really is a great drone to have
Gavin (verified owner) –
Brilliant Drone, brilliant package
Amazing, amazing, amazing!!! The set up is the one to get for the Mavic Air as those 3 batteries come in very useful.
I upgraded to the Air from the Spark mainly due to 3 things; battery life, 4k and 3 axis gimble. I tend to go places that i dont have access to power supply so those few extra minutes in the sky make all the difference. The 4k and gimble speaks for itself.
The other great thing is size and packability. Because of the way it folds down it actually feels smaller than the Spark and is easier to pack away.
Unless you are going professional or dont have the money (the Spark is still brilliant btw) then this is the drone you are looking for.
Amazon Customer (verified owner) –
1 battery dead – 2 seem to be working.
So before I couldnt even fly this thing i needed to charge the batteries right? Well 2 of them work 1 doesnt. Not sure if the broken battery that comes with the drone that is dead or one of the other 2 that comes with the fly more pack.
Either way not a great start.