mavic pro

Karma Police – The DJI Mavic is a GoPro Buzzkill

Well that didn’t last long. The media honeymoon that followed GoPro’s long-awaited unveiling of the company’s first drone came to an abrupt halt after DJI announced its own compact UAV. The sleek and feature-rich Mavic seems likely to give DJI a leg up in what seems to be a race to move drones from under the Christmas tree and into small stockings.

Big Things in a Small Package

Folded MavicThe DJI Mavic Pro is smaller than GoPro’s Karma and comes with many of the impressive features found on the Phantom 4, but is far more compact and portable — the unit weighs only 1.62 lbs and can be folded into an 83 x 83 x 198 mm box. The Mavic Pro comes with a 4K camera stabilized by a 3-axis gimbal, active tracking, and precision hovering.

Tap Fly

The Mavic Pro, like the Phantom 4, comes equipped with DJI obstacle avoidance and Tap Fly technology. These features work together to enable pilots to simply tap their desired destination on a screen and send the UAV flying to that spot, all while the drone avoids trees and other obstacles that might get in its way.

Return to Home

Another handy feature is the Mavic’s Return to Home function, a feature that enables pilots to bring the drone back to its starting point with nothing more than a tap and a finger swipe.

Aside from its portability, the most attractive and unique feature in the Mavic’s set might be its flexible controller options. Experienced Phantom pilots will quickly notice the significant differences in the drone controllers. The Mavic’s controller is much smaller and even allow the drone to be controlled with on-screen joysticks on the smartphone’s screen. Pilots will no longer need to carry a mobile device such as a cell phone or Ipad with them on every shoot, and finally choose whether they want to risk smartphone distractions or simply fly with the controller only. The Mavic Pro will retail for $749 by itself, or $999 with the remote controller included.

Compare Mavic Pro GoPro Karma Phantom 4
Flight Time 27m 20m 28m
Top Speed 40 mph 35 mph 45 mph
Base Price $749 $799 (no camera) $1199
Range 4.3 miles .6 miles 4-5 miles

Pre-orders of the Mavic Pro are available as of October 5, and the stocking stuffer will officially hit the shelves on October 15.

About the Author

Adam Shore

Adam is a Central Florida alum who recently left the Orlando area to relocate to Denver, where he enjoys shooting aerial photography of the Rocky Mountains. And to ski. He is a member of the AMA and was been a drone photographer since the early days of the industry. Follow him @dronegenuity.