Man this thread is hitting home, Ive been debating on selling my mav over the last few hours. Came back from a 4 day trip to Cancun and had the spark waiting to be opened. Even though I seen a ton of vids on the spark it is surprising the size of the thing especially without the prop guards. I have a feeling I would have flown more using the spark than the mavick on my trip. Even though the Mav is small it does draw a bit more attention than I like, somehow I feel the spark would come off as a toy more than something serious. My whole reasoning to buying the mav is portability....which it is, but no comparison to the spark. But on the flipside the Mav I think blows it away in every other sense. I have never had the Mav feel like it was out of control and have always had a crystal clear view. Flying the spark today seemed good at times and bad at times. After I got over the pain of having connection problems I moved on. Tried some indoor flying with my phone, had a tendency to wander around a bit side to side up and down nothing to drastic, now in the sparks defense I had an overhead ac running, and 2 portable ac to the sides and one oscillating fan about 10 ft away but I dont think it should have been a problem. Tried indoor with the rc, definitely better. Tried inside hand jestures/palm control and it worked perfectly. Tried palm control outside and had a hard time staying in one place, it would read my hand, then lose it and wander to the left, catch my hand again and lose it again and wander more to the left and then I kinda panicked because it was heading toward a car.....and yes I didnt listen and was not connected in any other fashion "in case" sh*# happened. So as I started to freak out I tried to palm land and it would fidget and move back and to the left, few seconds later it finally landed. Day was a bit breezy but nothing drastic. Video connection was spotty, but was in a known bad area, my mav prompts me with warning signs on interference but still delivers perfectly in the same spot. But at the end of ends, I enjoy flying drones but I dont do it often enough, I have less than 4 hours on my Mav. What I really need is a flying selfie drone that I can pull out..no remote, no rc, take a snap put it away and move on. However at least now it seems like it needs a bit of work to feel confident in that feature.
Buut having said all that I think im going to sell the Mav and keep the spark. Just having the Mav in a bag and occasionally flying it in a parking lot just doesnt make sense. Bought the spark fly more package but in reality I'll probably just palm fly for pics and occasionally fly it around when the mood hits. I thing the Mav is just to much drone for my needs.
You've made really good points here. And it was good to see that your experiences flying the Spark were similar to mine. There were some things though that I wonder about:
1) Many have said that they FEEL flying the Spark won't be as upsetting to John and Jane Q Public as flying the Mavic. I FEEL that too, but since the Mavic is subject to all the same FAA BS, what good does that do? If someone turns you in, you're in just as much trouble. So, we're all going to put ourselves at risk more often than with the Mav because we HOPE people will ignore us?
2) The Spark is anything but a warm and fuzzy flier. Like you said, "good and bad at times." I like the Gesture Control, but it's really shaky. I did ultimately get it to work, but maybe 10% of the time. In the meantime, EVERYONE that saw me laughed, got bored, and left. You said you needed "a flying selfie drone that I can pull out..no remote, no rc..." I agree that would be awesome...if every shot wasn't of you looking half-panicked and your friends laughing at you.
3) I liked the "Dronie" shot. Again, I got nervous because it kept backing up until it went beyond signal range. Ultimately, I semi-panicked and hit the RTH button. I will admit the shot looked really smooth. It comes at no small risk though, since there is no obstacle avoidance on the back.
4) Speaking of risky shots, what happened to that shot he talked about at the Launch Event where the Spark backs up and spirals? There aren't many trees where I live and that shot still sounds like self-destruct mode. Maybe that's why I can't find it.
5)
$500! A lot of the plusses people have listed almost imply a disposability about the Spark. 'If it runs into something, no big deal.' 'If it falls into the water, no big deal.' When did $500 become chump change? Or $200, for that matter. Technically, you can "fly more" with one more
battery, but it's pretty weak to charge $200 for it. I guess moving the controller over to the bundle was their justification for pulling a batt. Still, 20 minutes is really
not a lot more flying than 10. And for being so small, they take forever to recharge.
So, I remain on the fence. I hate to un-have tech/gear/toys, so I'm really open to hearing people's success stories as they roll in. Especially ones that involve flying in otherwise "restricted airspace" and having no one care. That would be huge.
Good luck!