First Drone Question - Spark - Mavic - Phantom ? in Canada

[Fortkentdad]

When I watched the promo's for the Spark - I thought .. I want one.
But then I saw the Mavic ... Hmmm twice the price.
In Canada both are under the 1 KG limit which lets you get closer to your subjects (30mm vs 75mm for the Phantom as it is over 1 KG)
Both are over the 250 gram rule, meaning the Canadian Drone flight rules apply.

Besides the fun of flying I'm primarily interested in getting my photography air borne. I'm an photography enthusiast and interested in good quality images. The Sparks lack of RAW files is disappointing, but it is half the price.

OR do I stay back 75m and pay even less and get a Phantom 3? How important is that crash avoidance feature. Spark and Mavic have it - Phantom 4 has deluxe crash avoidance system.

OR should I wait for Mavic II or Spark II???

Hmmmmm

 

[Lancelot]

I would say that basically 3 aspects, and you can choose 2.
- Portability (easy to carry, stealthiness, not intimidating)
- Budget (ok this is different for each people but i mean something at around 600 bucks)
- Quality (better camera, shoot in raw, 3axis gymbal, etc)

1. Portability and budget = spark (although quality is still not bad, but no RAW might put most people off who are really into quality)
2. Portability and quality = mavic (as you said, twice the price of spark)
3. Quality and budget = phantom 3

To be fair, no one could really say whether it is 30 metres or 75 (I suppose you dont mean mm as in milimetres?)
So if budget and quality is your primary focus, I would say go with Phantom 3. Maybe the SE one, it has downward vision, 4k camera.
Because you clearly state that you are a photographer, so the spark, however good it may be, probably wont cut it for you. And the crash avoidance thing, if you are flying at around 50m + from objects, you should be fine. Again, Phantom is to be used at more open areas. Dont try it in tight places if you are beginner.

 

[Fortkentdad]

I would say that basically 3 aspects, and you can choose 2.
....

To be fair, no one could really say whether it is 30 metres or 75 (I suppose you dont mean mm as in milimetres?)
......

Thanks for the reply Lancelot.
Budget is always a consideration, that extra $1,000 would buy me another lens for my DSLR - well a down payment on a nice Sigma Art Lens.

As for 30 metres vs 75m. that is meters (as in 39 USA inches per metre) so just call it a yard. So my question is whether shooting a subject from 30 yards with a Mavic (or Spark but as you suggest I'll probably be disappointed in the photo image quality of the spark) but is a shot from 30 yards with Mavic better than a shot from 75 yards with a Phantom?

As for crash avoidance - I'm thinking of overhead wires and tree branches. I live in northern Canada - only three hour drive to the nearest city - so except for the air force base (a no fly zone for 11 mile radius) I've got lots of forest.

 

[K man]

I fly here in Canada and LOVE my spark. I love being able to pull it out and be up in the air in a minute. I dont have a MAVIC to compare to but I am at almost 80 flights and have no issues

 

[Lancelot]

As for 30 metres vs 75m. that is meters (as in 39 USA inches per metre) so just call it a yard. So my question is whether shooting a subject from 30 yards with a Mavic (or Spark but as you suggest I'll probably be disappointed in the photo image quality of the spark) but is a shot from 30 yards with Mavic better than a shot from 75 yards with a Phantom?

Better or not is very much depending on the type of shot you want to make. I cannot personally judge whether a shot from 30m will be better than 75m because it depends on the object, background, etc. One consideration is that if you do want to take shots of scenery with people on it, then 75m is far. meaning that you wont be able to really see the people.

 

[Boudro]

I own a Spark in Canada, QC. I live to take it almost anywhere and just look like playing a toy. That said, my next drone qould definitly be a Mavic. Portability, quality, reliability, and still does not look that much professional that people get scare and try to rule you out of the public space. I would recommend Mavic for you because counselling means also comitting, so there it is : go Mavic ;-)

 

[Buddy411]

A few things that haven't been brought up:

- The Mavic ism't really twice as much as the Spark when you consider the Mavic has the controller included. That puts them closer by $150.

- Mavic has longer flight time, almost twice that of the Spark. You don't want to spend all that time framing a shot and getting the settings just right only to have the low battery warning come on!

- The range is sick on the Mavic. Even if you don't need to go out for miles, it's nice to know you can. (and I mean miles!)

Now, of course, the Spark is more compact and less noisy, and can be used more discretely. Also much easier to fly indoors. Are those things more important to you over flight time, range and better camera?

Things to think about.