Getting a Mavic Pro

I too am gonna go Mavic. I've managed to acquire three Solos and each one has suffered some kind of disfunction/dysfunction. That wouldn't be so bad if the 3DR support team was better. It takes gays or weeks to get a response. For all that I've invested in 3DR I'm gonna get rid of the Solos and get a single Mavic. The probdefinitley outweigh the cons with the lack of customer support and replacement parts becoming more scarce.

Yep... I've had a few issues with the Karma so I bought a Mavic and man, so far I'm stoked! I've started a thread on it if you're interested. I bought the DJI Care Refresh plan so if I run it into a tree they'll send a new one for $80 and I've added it to my personal property insurance so I'm covered if I lose it completely.
 
What I like about the 3DR Solo and what's the reason why I'm getting one now is that it allows for live video feed from any HDMI source (pls correct me if I'm wrong!). As I'm mainly interested in good photos, I will use it together with my Nokia 808 (as I was already doing with a Blade drone, but without live feed) and maybe another camera with a huge sensor (APS-C or so). Not sure if I will use it for videos as well -right now I don't own a GoPro.

On the other hand, I'm quite interested in the Mavic Pro as well for it's portability and for easy video shots and maybe some photos on the go. Probably I will get one soon. Waiting for the announcement of its successor and/or price drops of the current model.

As regards me, for videos I don't even need 4k for now. FullHD ist enough, if the quality is right. Just cause you don't zoom into videos. But for photos, details and resolution can't be good enough, for crops, highres prints, site scanning and so on... well, if somebody manages APS-C with 50+ MP in a drone, at a reasonable price (why shouldn't they, look at what Nokia achieved with a 1/1.2 inch sensor in a 5, almost 6 years old phone), this would be the way to go. Also, hopefully graphene based CMOS sensors with a much higher light sensitivity than current silicon based sensors will come soon.
 
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I also got Solo because of the photos.
I'm not impressed at all with the GoPro. I only got one because of Solo and just confirmed I was not missing anything. I have been using a Sony action cam that takes much better photos and video footage. Unfortunately it does not have HDMI stream, just output of recorded footage.
As far as cameras I'll wait and see whether someone manages to get a good camera on Solo at reasonable prices.
Also have a Nokia 1020 that I could use, even though not ideal.
 
I also got Solo because of the photos.
I'm not impressed at all with the GoPro. I only got one because of Solo and just confirmed I was not missing anything. I have been using a Sony action cam that takes much better photos and video footage. Unfortunately it does not have HDMI stream, just output of recorded footage.
As far as cameras I'll wait and see whether someone manages to get a good camera on Solo at reasonable prices.
Also have a Nokia 1020 that I could use, even though not ideal.

Nokia 1020 doesn't have HDMI video out, also the quality of the sensor is not as good as the one in the Nokia 808 (for details and for colour correctness). On the other hand it does have OIS, which might help getting crispier photos even without a Gimbal. Try getting a used Nokia 808 and the camera pro app...

What about your Sony action cam - does it work with the Solo Gimbal?
 
I'll try to find a used 808.

My Sony action cam does not do video streaming so there's not how to watch the footage in real time. The HDMI port only works for playback.
However, the colors and crispness are night and day to a GoPro.
Furtheremore, the image stabilization is excellent. I used it on some offroad rides and it's rock solid. It's actually interesting watching my Jeep's hood moving but the whole scenery around very steady. I'm building a support for it and my Ricoh Theta S and will compare.
 
I'll try to find a used 808.

My Sony action cam does not do video streaming so there's not how to watch the footage in real time. The HDMI port only works for playback.
However, the colors and crispness are night and day to a GoPro.
Furtheremore, the image stabilization is excellent. I used it on some offroad rides and it's rock solid. It's actually interesting watching my Jeep's hood moving but the whole scenery around very steady. I'm building a support for it and my Ricoh Theta S and will compare.

Sounds great. Obviously, don't get the 808 for videos unless you have a good gimbal that works for it. 1080p with 4x zoom out of 41 MP might be interesting, but the strong point of the 808 is photos - not videos.
 
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Sounds great. Obviously, don't get the 808 for videos unless you have a good gimbal that works for it. 1080p with 4x zoom out of 41 MP might be interesting, but the strong point of the 808 is photos - not videos.
Yep. If the 808 works fine and I can get the Sony recording stable movies I can use the video streaming from the 808.
The negative side is that I would have to start the Sony and the 808 on the ground. You set yours for time lapse photos, correct?
 
Yep. If the 808 works fine and I can get the Sony recording stable movies I can use the video streaming from the 808.
The negative side is that I would have to start the Sony and the 808 on the ground. You set yours for time lapse photos, correct?

Correct. Right now I did set it for a photo every 5 seconds (FullRes, max. JPEG quality, focus infinity and ISO 50 for a bright day). The camera Pro app also allows for Bluetooth or Whatsapp remote control, but I didn't try this yet. Once I get the 3DR Solo and live video feed, I think I will set the time lapse Intervall higher for less, but better (cause I will see what I will photograph) photos.

With the highest JPEG quality and 41,5 Megapixels it takes about 4 seconds for one photo to take and to save, at least on Micro SD (I'm using a San Disk Extreme with 128 GB of space), but I think that the internal memory isn't that much faster. I'm not even sure if the 808 works faster with the SD extreme instead of the Ultra, but I wanted the highest possible speed while having enough space for many, many photos (along with the other stuff, as I'm still using the 808 as my main phone :D:rolleyes:)

So setting the Intervall to let's say one photo every 10 seconds, you will have live view 60% of the time and a still picture for about 40% of the time. The longer the Intervall, the better you can watch the drone flying, but the longer you have to wait for another photo to take.
 
We all have hobbies we spend on. I don't use drones enough to justify the cost of the Mavic Pro. It is a sexy looking machine.

However, I am a photography and video game/AV buff so I pour that money in lenses for my Canon gear or for my Xbox stuff (including a beautiful 4K HDR TV).

I haven't had problems traveling with the Solo. A little awkward because I do have to unscrew the legs so it goes into my suitcase better. I definitely don't use that 3DR backpack on flights because it's such a friggin huge bag. But yes, it's not a drone that you can just grab out of the car and just get flying right away. Just the GPS acquisition alone takes time.
 
Sounds great. Obviously, don't get the 808 for videos unless you have a good gimbal that works for it. 1080p with 4x zoom out of 41 MP might be interesting, but the strong point of the 808 is photos - not videos.

Just breaking in to point out that the Mavic can zoom in using the remote but only in 2.7 k. Cool feature though! Okay back to camera talk... Hahaha!
 
We all have hobbies we spend on. I don't use drones enough to justify the cost of the Mavic Pro. It is a sexy looking machine.

However, I am a photography and video game/AV buff so I pour that money in lenses for my Canon gear or for my Xbox stuff (including a beautiful 4K HDR TV).

I haven't had problems traveling with the Solo. A little awkward because I do have to unscrew the legs so it goes into my suitcase better. I definitely don't use that 3DR backpack on flights because it's such a friggin huge bag. But yes, it's not a drone that you can just grab out of the car and just get flying right away. Just the GPS acquisition alone takes time.

Um HDR TV is not a "hobby" buddy!!! My 75" QLed had changed my life!!! Hahaha!
 
Just breaking in to point out that the Mavic can zoom in using the remote but only in 2.7 k. Cool feature though! Okay back to camera talk... Hahaha!

The Mavic Pro and it's camera are great for videos and very easy to use. I'd use the Nokia 808 only for (HIRES) stills, especially on a moving drone. So the video zooming stuff is just theory. On the other hand, the camera sensor in the Mavic Pro is quite limited (compared to a Nokia 808) due to it's size and resolution. It doesn't produce what I'd call high quality stills, unfortunately - so for videos, when maxing the digital zoom out, I'd expect a quite grainy image with few visible details. Did you have a try on your Mavic?
 
The Mavic Pro and it's camera are great for videos and very easy to use. I'd use the Nokia 808 only for (HIRES) stills, especially on a moving drone. So the video zooming stuff is just theory. On the other hand, the camera sensor in the Mavic Pro is quite limited (compared to a Nokia 808) due to it's size and resolution. It doesn't produce what I'd call high quality stills, unfortunately - so for videos, when maxing the digital zoom out, I'd expect a quite grainy image with few visible details. Did you have a try on your Mavic?

Btw, having a zoom WHILE filming CAN be very useful, as long as the quality remains acceptable. But you either need optical zoom or a very good, hires sensor for that. I just stated that most people won't zoom into a video afterwards, once it's taken (maybe for additional video stabilization or an artificial dolly zoom effect)...
 
The Mavic Pro and it's camera are great for videos and very easy to use. I'd use the Nokia 808 only for (HIRES) stills, especially on a moving drone. So the video zooming stuff is just theory. On the other hand, the camera sensor in the Mavic Pro is quite limited (compared to a Nokia 808) due to it's size and resolution. It doesn't produce what I'd call high quality stills, unfortunately - so for videos, when maxing the digital zoom out, I'd expect a quite grainy image with few visible details. Did you have a try on your Mavic?

Yep, and it was "okay". The main problem I had was the 2.7 part. After filming exclusively in 4k, going back to 2.7k left me cold. I'm old so it's still funny for me to hear 12mp being described as "limited " when 35mm film maxes out under 5mp, I believe. I get decent stills pulling them from the 4k footage. Obviously, I don't expect to get the kind of still you'd get from a dslr. Heck, I still think the Hero 5/Karma takes better pics. I looked at the complete packages and picked my compromises.

Btw if you're not aware, I own the Solo with a Hero 4 Black, the Karma with a Hero 5 Black and the Mavic (plus various Parrot drones). They all have their strong points but as an overall day to day, break it it and shoot some footage drone, you can't beat the Mavic. I have at least 30-40 videos using the drone and have had zero problems. ZERO. No lost GPS, no lost signal - I've had the thing over 5000' out, no problems at all. I can't say that with either of my other platforms.
 
Yep, and it was "okay". The main problem I had was the 2.7 part. After filming exclusively in 4k, going back to 2.7k left me cold. I'm old so it's still funny for me to hear 12mp being described as "limited " when 35mm film maxes out under 5mp, I believe. I get decent stills pulling them from the 4k footage. Obviously, I don't expect to get the kind of still you'd get from a dslr. Heck, I still think the Hero 5/Karma takes better pics. I looked at the complete packages and picked my compromises.

Btw if you're not aware, I own the Solo with a Hero 4 Black, the Karma with a Hero 5 Black and the Mavic (plus various Parrot drones). They all have their strong points but as an overall day to day, break it it and shoot some footage drone, you can't beat the Mavic. I have at least 30-40 videos using the drone and have had zero problems. ZERO. No lost GPS, no lost signal - I've had the thing over 5000' out, no problems at all. I can't say that with either of my other platforms.

But your 35 mm film did have much larger optics ;-) ofc, things are moving on, but still a bigger sensor delivers better stills than a small one. And as you know, it's not only about Megapixels. So 12 MP is quite fine for that sensor size. Just not enough to zoom like crazy :)

The Mavic Pro is a great package and the best compromise out of all drones, when it comes to portability. That's why it sells so good :) Videos is one of its strong points, even the ones from the P4 Pro aren't THAT much better. But as regards photos, I want more... much more ;) I know that I'm spoiled, as a Nokia 808 user...

Also, people are different. My priority is on photos, while (good) 1080p videos are just fine for me. You, on the other hand don't want to miss 4k videos anymore, but 12 MP shots or even 4k stills from a small sensor are quite fine for you.

I'm eager to get my 3DR Solo and hopefully also a Mavic Pro (2) soon! :)
 
But your 35 mm film did have much larger optics ;-) ofc, things are moving on, but still a bigger sensor delivers better stills than a small one. And as you know, it's not only about Megapixels. So 12 MP is quite fine for that sensor size. Just not enough to zoom like crazy :)

The Mavic Pro is a great package and the best compromise out of all drones, when it comes to portability. That's why it sells so good :) Videos is one of its strong points, even the ones from the P4 Pro aren't THAT much better. But as regards photos, I want more... much more ;) I know that I'm spoiled, as a Nokia 808 user...

Also, people are different. My priority is on photos, while (good) 1080p videos are just fine for me. You, on the other hand don't want to miss 4k videos anymore, but 12 MP shots or even 4k stills from a small sensor are quite fine for you.

I'm eager to get my 3DR Solo and hopefully also a Mavic Pro (2) soon! :)

Now that was an intelligent and well thought out response! I can completely see and appreciate your point of view.
 

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