DJI Mavic + (Fly More Combo)
The DJI Mavic so far is living up to the hype and reviews that we have researched. The size and portability are incredible. The biggest obstacle for a news station is that the Mavic does not have any video feed out, so it is not an option for live drone shots. This drone would primarily be used by Creative Services. For us, it is a tool to gather beauty shots for image promotion, and to offer commercial production clients more complex spots that include aerial footage. While my amount of flight time with the Mavic is still low, I have been able to test out most all features that we would use in our productions. Sport mode is fast – really fast. This is great when it’s needed and surprisingly stable footage for fast action. I know the size of the drone and gimbal had us concerned for windy flight but it counteracts very well to produce a stable image. In normal flight using the controller everything feels smooth and easy. The main frustration is the gimbal control dial. It feels to be the opposite direction of a natural tilt up or down. The speed is tough to master for smooth tilt while flying complex shots. It seems to be easier using the touch control in the app, but that does take away a thumb from your controller joystick. Aside from that, flight comes easy with the Mavic and knowing that it has sensors for obstacle avoidance is calming. We have not tested the Mavic indoors yet, but as of right now DJI has not provided the option to switch off GPS entirely. In most situations to fly indoors you would not have any GPS lock, but close enough to windows or the right buildings it can from time to time find a signal – so that is something to be aware of. Picture quality rivals that of the Phantom 4 Pro with a little adjustment. Exposure control is very easy to set and adjust in Manual mode (always). Currently we shoot with the d-log picture profile for best post color grading. With the ability to shoot full 4k, UHD 4k, 2.7k and down to 1080 you have the variety needed based of the project. 1080p does allow for a digital zoom but I cannot speak on the video quality once you zoom in this mode. As expected, orbit mode works well. I have not had an area or situation for Tap Fly yet, but have tested the Wi-Fi only app flight. While this has its place, I will always be flying with the RC and not using the virtual controls of phone / app only flight. Batteries have up to a 27 minute flight time and I have yet to fly one battery long enough to need to reach that. The charger with the combo package charges up to 4 batteries at once while your remote controller can be plugged in as well. All things considered we love the results of the Mavic and have already benefited greatly in its use for creative production. Lastly, I would purchase a hard case as to not rely on the small bag that comes with the fly more combo.