DJI Mavic Pro Platinum, Fly More Combo

This Mavic Pro Platinum is my first drone, and I love it. It is easy to fly, takes good (albeit not dslr-quality) photos and video, and is not annoyingly loud. The design of the drone and other bits is very well thought out -- for example, the flight batteries will automatically discharge themselves after a settable number of days in order to preserve their useful life, and the charging hub pumps all its power into the least-discharged battery first, so you get flying again as quickly as possible. The Mavic is perfect for my photogrammetric mapping application, mostly using pre-planned "waypoint" flights controlled by the Litchi app (a slightly more powerful third-party replacement for almost all of the features of the included DJI go 4 app except the firmware updater; I need it for its much better facility with pre-planned waypoint "missions"). The Mavic easily fits in a day pack with all its accessories, two extra batteries, etc., in a third-party carrying case, leaving room for other equipment like a landing pad, control-point markers, a jacket, water, lunch, and more. The controller is finicky about connecting to some tablets, including my Android Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, but does eventually work, sometimes after restarting the tablet once or twice. This is really irritating to learn to work around, but in the end is worth it for the bright OLED screen that you can actually see outdoors. Apple tablets and phones work seamlessly, but my iPad Air "retina" screen just can't cut it in the sunlight, although I suppose that some kind of sunshade might make it usable. The fly-more combo is a good deal, because you really need almost everything in it, and it is cheaper than buying them separately. The two extra batteries are a must; the charger and hub for attaching up to four batteries works fine (I got a third-party faster charger but have not needed to even try it yet), the charger that plugs into a car's cigarette lighter might well come in handy, and the extra propellers are good insurance. The "power bank adapter" for the batteries is a small, seemingly trivial thing that finally made sense when I read a comment in a forum post: you always land the drone before the flight battery is dead, leaving some charge in it. So you pop a charged battery into the drone to get back to flying, and use the "power bank adapter" to convert the mostly-discharged flight battery to a "power bank" with a USB cable that plugs into the side port of the controller. This recharges the controller AND your Android tablet plugged into the lower USB port of the controller while you are flying the drone on its next battery! (Apple tablets or phones apparently will not recharge.) If your tablet and controller are fully charged when you start, they will easily last as long as three flight batteries. But if one or both was partially discharged when you began, or you ran your tablet down adjusting flight plans or doing other things with it, you could have to cut your flying short when the tablet or controller threatens to poop out. The little power bank adapter will prevent that, without your having to carry around an additional USB power bank. If you are going to be far from a car or wall socket and expect to use the tablet for something else, like consulting a GIS, taking photos, or recording other data, you might want to take a separate USB power bank anyway, but at least the DJI adapter will let you use all the juice in your flight batteries. The DJI carrying case seems a little too tight to me, especially for traveling by plane or car, where something might bump or press on the case. I bought a zippered suitcase-like carrying case by a company that starts with "Dou" that adds a tolerable bit of bulk but a lot of protection.

I purchased the DJI Spark (blue) last month after trying out the Phantom 4 Pro + at a local college. Flew the DJI Spark and also used footage at a large college graduation which received high praise. The only disappointment I had with the DJI Spark was battery life. Even with 4 batteries I didn't care to have to keep landing to change out batteries for short 12 minute flights. I researched the Mavic Air, Pro and Pro Platinum. After some consideration I decided to purchase the Pro Platinum for the quieter flight and longer battery life. Charged the batteries up (one battery was defective on delivery which the seller, BacTech, remedied the next day by refunding enough money to purchase an additional battery) and took the Platinum out. Wow. I was VERY impressed with how much quieter it was compared to the Spark. I also loved the extended flight time. There seems to be a few more settings to the Platinum in the Go 4 App that I need to figure out but either way AWESOME drone and you won't be disappointed with your purchase.

This thing is fantastic. Being a seasoned quad pilot, I've owned several older Phantoms and have several self-built quads and nothing compares to this in terms of complexity and technology in a small package. The build quality is immaculate. The amount of engineering that must have gone into this quad is very impressive. All moving parts have tight tolerances and feel good to operate. There is a lot of aluminum on this quad. Working in the sheet metal industry, I can immediately tell all four arms are made of aluminum, which explains their stiffness despite being so thin. Much of the hull is also aluminum and there is a large heat sink along the bottom of the craft which can get relatively hot. There are internal fans that kick in to cool down the SoC and radios and lots of vents in the largely aluminum hull also. This Platinum version is unbelievably quiet compared to my other quads. No loud shrieks or high pitched buzzing normally associated with brushless motors and the ESCs that run them. Only the soft beating of the props, which are the quietest props with the most unique design I've ever come across. There are youtube videos that illustrate this better than I can explain with words. I get about 26+ minutes in the air with slow flying, which is better than my other quads also. The thing practically flies itself if you want it to. The quality and range of its video feed (Occusync) is what sets it apart from any of its competitors and nothing else really compares at this time to be honest. There is a (very) slight lag compared to purely analog signals so I don't recommend racing with it (which is not its primary purpose), but for the trade off you get no static in your video feed and anywhere from a 720p to 1080p resolution (your choice) at up to 4+ miles away with no interference or obstructions. Having always flown with analog signals prior, this is almost unheard of. As a very portable flying camera platform that folds up and fits into a small camera shoulder bag, it's pretty hard to beat. The Mavic has its own on-board black box for recording flight data (which you have access to) in case something goes awry in flight. I have pulled several flights worth of data from it just out of the box, before I even charged up a single battery, which means that the manufacturer has flown my quad many times for testing and QA purposes before I even received it. This gives me piece of mind that my quad is a quality piece of kit and should be air worthy the moment I need it to be. The software it interfaces with on your PC can calibrate every on board sensor including the main flight control unit and gives you access to firmware upgrades. The DJI Go 4 software works well on my Galaxy S7 and personally I haven't had any real issues with it despite what other reviewers have mentioned. No app crashing or disconnections so far. Despite being easy enough to fly, I absolutely do NOT recommend this quad to straight beginners. This is a PROsumer product (it's even in the name - Mavic Pro), meaning it is very much meant for the enthusiast who already has lots of knowledge on flying expensive camera platforms. There are hundreds of different settings to learn and tinker with and if you are not detail oriented and technical, some of those settings can cause a VERY expensive mishap to occur. Even the camera gimbal is extremely sensitive and a tiny, fragile piece of machinery that needs to be taken care of. I can see it being the first thing to break in the wrong hands. My opinion: Learn to fly with cheaper, less complicated quads first. Learn to take control and get used to flying and adjusting the orientation of a quad in flight without the aid of GPS and hand holding. Learn about how quads work and the technology behind them so you can quickly recover from any situations that may occur in flight. You will thank me later, believe me.

This is my first drone. The only other time I’ve even touched one it was a Phantom 2. That drone was tough. After a few minutes I became certain I’d crash it and that was that. This drone... it’s shocking how easy it is. I’m only a few days into this and I’m gaining confidence quickly. I haven’t come close to seeing what this drone is capable off. It’s features are never ending. I’m seriously excited about this. If you’ve never flown, I can’t imagine a better vehicle. It’s absolutely brilliant, highly engineered, and unbelievably well built.

Well, got this as a Xmas gift last December and waited until this summer to actually take it out of the box and fire the thing up. After a couple of fly times the motors started yielding an overheating error alarm message and the camera gimbal no longer controls or holds the camera so...for $1500 bucks not too impressed. Will try to see if Mavic will repair under warranty but looking very much like a dumpster candidate and $1500 bucks down the drain. The reviews all said this is the Bomb to get so my wife followed it. Build quality seems good as far as how joints and seams fit together and the batteries seem solid. Using the iPhone as a view screen in the remote control holder device is a joke in the daylight - basically you are flying the thing blind unless you physically watch the drone. I guess as a toy its okay but it is very expensive for a toy and, for me at least, not very reliable considering I have less than 5 hours fly time on the drone.

I've been in the RC game long before it was cool. I enjoy tinkering and building my toys myself, but sometimes you just want to turn it on and go. I've been hesitant just due to the price, Almost bought a P4, almost bought the first Mavic, then finally bit the bullet. Thinking about how many hours and cash I have wrapped up in my other toys, it should have been a no brainer. I watched quite a few of the DJI beginner vids and some others while I was waiting for it to arrive. It came later in the afternoon so I just plugged everything to charge and left it for the light. I woke up and started playing. After initial firmware update this wonderful thing was in the air in less 5 minutes. Calibrate IMU, calibrate the compass, then away we go. I have to say this was by far the best experience I've had with any of my toys. It's very portable, very quiet, and takes stellar photos and video. If you're truly new to drones, take your time. Watch some videos, play with it a lot to get your bearing, don't expect to chuck it in the air and be a pro. While I call it a toy, the price makes me treat it with a bit more respect.

Minus a half star if I could for the bag being junk and worthless cause it can’t even fit this whole kit wouiut a lot of finagling

You gotta be kidding! THIS is a serious piece of technology squished into a pocket rocket. I am continually amazed by all the things this baby can do. DJI is really on top of their tech. The gimbal alone is amazing. The drone can be bouncing around in the wind (not often for sure) but the gimbal produces rock solid pictures and video even in 4K if you want it. Hard to believe until you see the playback. This new Platinum edition is super quiet when airborne. You can really only hear it when you punch it. For a 72-year-old who was never a gamer, I was surprised at how fast and easy DJI made it to be comfortable. I still respect the fact that I am not a super experienced kiddo, but I do feel pretty confident and DJI deserves a lot of credit for that. This is my retirement toy (I hate golf) and I am having a ball with it. It makes me wish I lived in a neighborhood with fewer trees, but that helps make me a little more cautious. If you get one, you will love it --- just watch all the YouTube reviews and tutorials and you will get all the info you need.

Amazing , works perfectly , very easy to learn how to fly it properly.

Still the best folding drone available anywhere.

Had to send it back because of defective controller. I will buy another when my refund comes in.

The batteries wouldn’t charge, I wasn’t able to use the unit. Tech support was non existent. Sent it back as a return over 10 days ago and have not been reimbursed yet.

love it