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Comment by samfisher83 | Hacker News Reader

For the price I don't know if DJI has any competition. The p3s is about 350 bucks and I don't think there is any drone at that price point that is competitive. Maybe the xiaomi drone, but they don't have US warranty. 3DR is out of drones. The other brands just don't work as well with the same range, gimbal etc. There is really no competition to the Mavic.

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I just upgraded from the P3S to the Mavic actually. While a good starter drone, the P3S is inferior to the other models in quite a few ways, so I'd recommend anyone interested in a drone to just save up a few more bucks and buy the Mavic or maybe a P4 Advanced. Biggest difference is that the Standard uses normal 2.4ghz wifi for remote -> phone -> drone communication, so it gets interfered with heavily and has a very reduced range because of that (comparatively, the Mavic can like miles while the Standard you'd be really pushing it at just a mile).

The Mavic is a ridiculously cool little device, so much better for traveling too.

While I haven't owned any other drone to compare, I think the Mavic is quite incredible - the combination of compactness and ability is brilliant. Being able to take something in a small pack that can fly kilometres away and handle quite windy weather is really useful if you enjoy documenting your trips or just having an excuse to get out and about more.

It's not a drone-specific account, but I put up a few photos and videos here: https://www.instagram.com/isaacforman/

Nice! You have some great shots on there.

Here's my account: https://www.instagram.com/dronechuk

Must be great having access to such photogenic territory. I like this kind of understated scenery!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWqzeMqBziz/?taken-by=dronechuk

I bought my drone while in the US and first flew it in Utah, but not enough. Misunderstood the settings on one of the early flights and it drifted into a tree - that scared me off further flights until I got home!

yeah all the different settings can be a little overwhelming. I'm constantly in awe I'm able to take photos of stuff that basically ten years ago+ you needed a damn helicopter for.

Question, are you using a lens filters on your Mavic's camera, or solely adjusting colors after the fact?

I bought PolarPro Vivid filters and have tried them once so far, but it was quite cloudy. Yet to try them with a lot of sun/glare.

Otherwise just flying raw and then fixing in LightRoom. By default, the raw shots come out very blasted and unlike what the eye sees.

"A few more bucks" is quite an understatement. P3S is around 500€ here. Mavic is 1100€ ;)

Well, you're correct for sure. Considering they're all discretionary "toys" for most of us (unless you're a pro, in which case you'll probably be spending a lot more for an Inspire or something), an extra $500 or so isn't too bad.

The Mavic is night and day compared to the P3S. Don't get me wrong, my Standard got me some great shots and was a good intro, but the Mavic will be my goto for a while now. Easy to take on hikes/trips, cheaper batteries, better controller.

Mavic? Why not Spark?

Spark is even smaller... for travelling, it's ideal. (If you have a standard sized suitcase, the Mavic will assume like half the space of it... Spark is MUCH smaller). And it's more affordable.

The Spark is significantly inferior to the Mavic, and since the arms don't fold up, isn't even any smaller than the Mavic. I have a Mavic Pro and there's zero chance I'd trade it for a Spark even if price was more of a concern.

Also: no 4K video (makes a significant difference in sharpness even when downsampled), 2-axis gimbal (that's the real killer) and significantly shorter flying time (16min vs. 26min, but that's really more like 10min considering you have to bring it home with enough lead time).

Spark trade-offs are reduced range, doesn't do 4K video, 2-axis gimbal, etc.

I'm not sure what suitcase you have, but a Mavic doesn't even take up half of a hand-luggage-sized bag. I have a 40L backpack I use as carry-on when flying. In that bag, I can fit the Mavic (inc extra batteries, cards, controller, iPad, etc), sleeping bag, air mattress, stove and cooking gear, clothes and food for days of hiking.

GoPro Karma competes quite favorably with the Mavic, especially since the Karma has the added benefit that you can remove the Hero5 Black and/or the gyroscopic stabilizer and use them on the ground.

The Karma is controlled via wifi (like the parrot bebop) which limits the range and the image is a bit to distorted imho. It's a good machine but it's no match for the Mavic

Not in the size department though. The Karma is leagues larger.

didn't the karmas all get recalled?

yes. And have been back on the market for half a year or so.

oh wow ok

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