Gopro Karma drone

[5:00]

I couldn't resist any longer and I pulled the trigger on the Mavic. Not sure what I was thinking, I never pre-order ANYTHING! Really looking forward to getting this thing. I won't have it in time for any boating shots but it will give me time to practice. I am looking forward to trying the profile follow for surfing.

[trayson]

I couldn't resist any longer and I pulled the trigger on the Mavic. Not sure what I was thinking, I never pre-order ANYTHING! Really looking forward to getting this thing. I won't have it in time for any boating shots but it will give me time to practice. I am looking forward to trying the profile follow for surfing.

So what options are you going to use? I assume you'll get the controller? I think that whole deal were you can fly it with just an app sounds sketchy. are you getting extra batteries or anything?

[5:00]

I got the Pro Fly More Package. It is the loaded package and I figure I would end up buying that stuff anyway. I don't want the carry bag (almost the price of a battery) but the rest makes sense. It has a multi charge port, car DC adapter, extra battery (who doesn't need that), extra set of props and some other plastic piece that I am not sure of its purpose but I think it is a gimbal lock. I will hold off on a third battery until I see how much I will really use it. Three would give me about 1.5 hours total fly time. Charge time is 1 hour so if I had three there would always be a battery at the ready. Of course I would never charge a hot battery LOL. I will wait for spring for that.

It includes the controller with this one. I have extra phones doing nothing so if I want I can use one of those as long as I don't need any real time features like unlocking zones, streaming live to FB and so on. I have a hot spot if I need and I can always just use my regular phone or a tablet. The tablet wouldn't fit but we have our ways right?
Using the phone for control is bit sketch I agree. It is local via WiFi I believe. That is good for doing very local flying where it basically isn't leaving your side. Kind of cool if you don't want to carry a controller but with the controller having a multi mile capable transceiver I am going with that for extra insurance. I have flown a multirotor, one of the Parrots, using a phone just the way it looks on the DJI app screen and it is really strange. My fingers would go beyond where the control surface is if you panicked and so on. In the assisted modes you would probably be fine as when you let go of the controller's sticks it just hovers. I am guessing it is the same for the phone controller.

[gpd005]

We have a Phantom 3 and we have been flying it over water for awhile now. We mainly use it to film ATV and Dirtbike cross country races but we have had it for a few years so if something happens to it over the water now we have gotten our money. But this smaller compact model has us thinking it's time for an upgrade not to mention the faster speeds. Flying the 3 from the boat is a trip that's for sure!!! Especially when someone is on a slalom ski, it's almost impossible to keep up with the boat so we just fly really high so we can keep the boat and the skier in the same shot but it's a blast to do. Just takes up a lot of room in the boat.

[5:00]

It will do 22MPH in auto mode anything more than that and you have to fly in sport mode and take matters into your own hands. Not sure that 22 is fast enough for what you are doing? 40MPH in sport mode will take care of you though.

[jtatexc]

I couldn't resist any longer and I pulled the trigger on the Mavic. Not sure what I was thinking, I never pre-order ANYTHING! Really looking forward to getting this thing. I won't have it in time for any boating shots but it will give me time to practice. I am looking forward to trying the profile follow for surfing.

A buddy of mine who bought the latest phantom last year just sent me some links of the Mavic since I was looking at the go pro. I am now thinking that Dji is my new front runner. That thing is dialed in! I am very curious to see your reviews when you get it in hand. When are you thinking you'll see it?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[5:00]

I am excited to get it for sure. Not sure when it will happen. One of the reps on the forum made it sound like it is about two weeks after shipping begins if you were in early but I don't know what that means. I was in on the second day because I was waiting for answers back on what phones you can use otherwise I would have ordered on the first day. They were really quick in getting back to me but I went back and forth with them several times. I am expecting mine in early November but who really knows.

I have been on their Mavic forum and there are a couple of people from DJI that are answering back to just about every comment and question that comes along. There is a good bit of information that you probably won't find in other places. I would take a look at the forum for sure which may help your decision http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=forumdisplay&fid=104 The forum for Mavic is brand new and no one has one so there is a lot of speculation but the DJI guys are doing a good job of answering what they can. This is my first DJI experience and good so far.
There are a few haters on there saying the camera isn't as good as the P4 and that is true HOWEVER it is a whole different world as far as the platform. The P4 platform has trade-offs compared to the Mavic. It is amazing what they have done with such a small and inexpensive machine. It is recording in 4K and take a look at some of the quality videos on the forum. Personally I will be more than happy to have video of that quality. We have board snobs (ok not really) they have cam snobs. Not all boards are perfect but most are more than good enough.

The only bad thing I have seen so far is the no fly zones for me personally. I am very close to Washington D.C. which has a massive no fly zone. I am about 1 mile outside of it on every FAA chart I have seen. I went on the DJI restricted zone site and where I live is JUST inside of theirs. I am guessing DJI added 1 extra mile as a buffer to keep themselves out of trouble. So I probably won't be able to fly at home. The lake we go to is completely clear to my surprise being that there is an airport, helipad, several amphibious aircraft and a nuclear power plant there.

I am really waiting for the manual to come out so I can study. They are saying about a week for that. I have the app downloaded and ready to go.

Sorry for the long post

[trayson]

I wonder if this would get you any headway.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/30058...ts-drones.html

Although it says you won't be able to self certify DC, so you might be SOL.

[5:00]

"DJI said on Tuesday that a new version of its drone control software to be released in December will allow pilots to fly in restricted areas after they have self-certified they have permission to do so."

Good find but unfortunately D.C. is a no if's, and's or butt's no fly zone. Even if you have a 333 exemption you still can't fly there from what I have read. Other places you may be able to work it out.

[trayson]

"DJI said on Tuesday that a new version of its drone control software to be released in December will allow pilots to fly in restricted areas after they have self-certified they have permission to do so."

Good find but unfortunately D.C. is a no if's, and's or butt's no fly zone. Even if you have a 333 exemption you still can't fly there from what I have read. Other places you may be able to work it out.

I guess then your only course of action would be to get clarification on where the actual no fly zone ends, and if DJI is wrong, then see if you can make some headway with them to update their system to reflect what's reality, not their conservative buffer interpretation.