Mavic Mini vs. Spark

[rick]

I ordered the MM. I like the form factor that the legs fold in,longer battery life,some of the in software editing. At 74 yrs old, I have downsized and downsized going from Phantom to MAVIC Pro to Spark. I would not sell my Spark as I really have enjoyed it. Of course I haven’t received my MM but the YouTube videos comparing pictures. Obviously, drone flying is really great but it is a principal hobby for me. To each his own

 

[Chuck Halfacre]

Lack of manual ISO & White Balance controls, no AEB or Panoramic shooting modes (which I use a LOT), no improvement over JPG only output, removal of hardware controller functions. To name but a few.

I'm not too fussed about active track, but I do use it so that would also be a backward step to lose it regardless. I appreciate some of the shooting modes might be included in firmware updates, but I genuinely don't see the Mini as an upgrade. Everyone's needs vary, so good luck with it if you do choose to switch, but it's not for me.

I would say I'm not into buying to much more from DJI they have proven that they don't care about the people's needs as far as the spark and all the problems it has? The drones flying off and never being found there's just way too many issues and it don't matter how many people complain to DJI they still do not do nothing to help the public inless you want to spend large amounts of money then to fix a drone that crashed because of a software issue DJI will always tell you it crashed because of something we did! DJI will never tell anyone there software has little glitches in it. If your out flying your drone an all the sudden it drops off your screen after a few seconds it says it's going to return home but come to find out as you're standing there it never returns to you but when you go to find your drone and it's not where it says it is? I would say there's a problem with their software. I know this because it happened to me and a few others that contacted me. So I'll bet $10 the new little drone will do the same inless they fixed that just for this drone? It's all about the money an piss on the little people. That's my 2 cents.. "Peace" And fly safe

 

[Locutus40]

Hey Everybody

We compared the Mavic Mini with the Spark. Here are the results: DJI Mavic Mini vs. DJI Spark Comparison

What do you think about the new Mavic Mini? Will you get one?

i tossed my spark.. sold it super cheap... it was garbage... and i bought a mini...

 

[Chrislaf]

i tossed my spark.. sold it super cheap... it was garbage... and i bought a mini...

Garbage! Can you be more specific?

Yes, the new mini has some advantages (2.7k, long battery life, foldable design), but the Spark is no slouch.

 

[Sr Drone]

I am seriously considering this drone. To me, the 3 axis gimbal, enhanced wifi and 30 minute flight time are killer.

 

[Sr Drone]

Oh yeah.. plus it's foldable, much more stable and 2.7k.

 

[FredFly]

Oh yeah.. plus it's foldable, much more stable and 2.7k.

I want that drone as well

 

[AdamBoltGC]

Lack of manual ISO & White Balance controls, no AEB or Panoramic shooting modes (which I use a LOT), no improvement over JPG only output, removal of hardware controller functions. To name but a few.

I'm not too fussed about active track, but I do use it so that would also be a backward step to lose it regardless. I appreciate some of the shooting modes might be included in firmware updates, but I genuinely don't see the Mini as an upgrade. Everyone's needs vary, so good luck with it if you do choose to switch, but it's not for me.

100% agree with everything you said above. People are saying that there could be a firmware update for the Mini to fix some of the missing features in video & photo mode, but having owned the Spark I highjly doubt we will ever see this come through. The only reason I can think DJI would do a firmware update is after a year or 2 when they have sold off the majority of old spares & stock of the Spark. I would have rather seen a Spark 2 which had 3 axis gimbal, 2.7K with 1080 60p, and the 30 min flight time. The 249gr of the Mini doesnt perk my interest at all . Plus I'd much rather have the sturdy fixed arms on the Spark as the folding arms on the Mini look like they could break easily, plus its one less action to perform when setting up the drone. And yes, active track & colision avoidance arent something you use all the time, but I'd much rather have these features than not. I was all ready to hit the sell button on my Spark, but once all the final details were revealed for the Mini there were just too many comprimises that I would have to make. I'd rather save some extra cash and get the Air.

 

[AdamBoltGC]

no customizable RC button

Thats a bloody good point. Being able to quickly hit a function button (I have mine mainly set to AE Lock and Gimbal Up & Down) I think I would find the Mini is so basic I would start hating myself for buying it.

 

[AdamBoltGC]

Oh boy too many to list, I'am sticking with my 2 Sparks for the next two years, the hacks keeps coming and adding more features.
I was hoping the Mini could be an upgrade to the already awesome Spark but is not.
I'll pass on this one.

Where can you find hacks for the Spark? I use to run a hack on my Canon cameras. The hacks worked really well and offered so many more features. Thanks in advance. Cheers Adam

 

[RedZeppelin]

100% agree with everything you said above. People are saying that there could be a firmware update for the Mini to fix some of the missing features in video & photo mode, but having owned the Spark I highjly doubt we will ever see this come through. The only reason I can think DJI would do a firmware update is after a year or 2 when they have sold off the majority of old spares & stock of the Spark. I would have rather seen a Spark 2 which had 3 axis gimbal, 2.7K with 1080 60p, and the 30 min flight time. The 249gr of the Mini doesnt perk my interest at all . Plus I'd much rather have the sturdy fixed arms on the Spark as the folding arms on the Mini look like they could break easily, plus its one less action to perform when setting up the drone. And yes, active track & colision avoidance arent something you use all the time, but I'd much rather have these features than not. I was all ready to hit the sell button on my Spark, but once all the final details were revealed for the Mini there were just too many comprimises that I would have to make. I'd rather save some extra cash and get the Air.

Agreed mate. I'm baffled by the amount of Spark owners on forums saying they're going to sell to 'upgrade' to the Mini. They've either not used the Spark to its full potential, or fallen for the hype / not done the research.

I think there will be a LOT of ex-Spark pilots who will be disappointed at the loss of features when moving to the Mini. Not that they'd admit it of course ?

On a positive note, the Mini release has finally convinced me that the MP2 is my next step ?

 

[AdamBoltGC]

Agreed mate. I'm baffled by the amount of Spark owners on forums saying they're going to sell to 'upgrade' to the Mini. They've either not used the Spark to its full potential, or fallen for the hype / not done the research.

I think there will be a LOT of ex-Spark pilots who will be disappointed at the loss of features when moving to the Mini. Not that they'd admit it of course ?

On a positive note, the Mini release has finally convinced me that the MP2 is my next step ?

And one other thing I hadn't considered on the Mini... NO PROGRAMABLE FUNCTION BUTTONS ON THE REMOTE!!!! ??? That would be another major loss for me. AE Lock & Gimbal up/Down are what I have set at the moment.
If there was a hack that allowed you to use the Spark remote and the DJI Go 4 app with the Mini, and it allowed you kept all the functinality of the Spark, then and only then would the Mini be on the radar for me. For a 1st time buyer then the Mini is great, but we really were spoilt with the functions that the Spark already has built in.

 

[Brojon]

So the question I have is how does the weight factor into flying in Europe/UK?
I was so aggravated at not being able to use my Spark or Mavic while in Switzerland and Germany this summer.
Some of the cathedrals and castles just beg for an aerial shot.
So will the under 250g mean I can fly it more or less without all the legal nonsense?
If so I'm getting one for next summer.

 

[RotorWash]

Oh yeah.. plus it's foldable, much more stable and 2.7k.

Would agree on all your points but the firmware for the camera is crippled right now, video has no manual control. If that's no biggie to you then you should get along just fine with the MM, the 3-axis alone will help improve footage and maybe DJI will enable some more video control down the road with a firmware update. My only other concern would be durability, which we'll know in time. Keep your Spark though if for no other reason the mods that can be used with it now and in the future. I plan on keeping mine and will probably be buying another one before they get too rare to find.

 

[Luno]

So the question I have is how does the weight factor into flying in Europe/UK?
I was so aggravated at not being able to use my Spark or Mavic while in Switzerland and Germany this summer.
Some of the cathedrals and castles just beg for an aerial shot.
So will the under 250g mean I can fly it more or less without all the legal nonsense?
If so I'm getting one for next summer.

Here in Australia your 250g limit is 2kg here. And I’m pretty sure some of the European countries that the limit a ridiculous weight like 20-30kg (44-66lbs)

 

[Brojon]

Here in Australia your 250g limit is 2kg here. And I’m pretty sure some of the European countries that the limit a ridiculous weight like 20-30kg (44-66lbs)

I'm not sure how any of that applied since Australia wasn't mentioned.
Europe also defines a limit at 250g or over. The restrictions are significant such as requiring 1 million Euros liability insurance plus airspace restrictions.
The question was which of these onerous requirements will the Mavic Mini be able to skirt around.

 

[Macinfo]

All the banter, Its always interesting.. the pros, the cons.. the Spark when it first came out was $499 and $699 for Fly More. And the Lower package did not even include the remote if I recall and if you decided you wanted one, it was $150.

So now you have the Mavic Mini, its $399 and $499, both include the remote. Gives you more flight time then most any other DJI drone and the excuse is, I don't need to fly that long, really? You love landing, and slamming all your extra batteries into your Spark to keep flying? With the 3 batteries in the Mini Fly More under perhaps normal conditions, you could fly for maybe 80 minutes, not 30-35 that might be if you're lucky, now if you invested into several extra Spark batteries at say $50 a piece, you almost spent half the price of a Mini on batteries that your going to have to replace some day if you can find them now, and you might exceed the Mini flight time with 3 batteries by a few minutes.

While I feel I get good photos and Video out of my Spark, it suffers from minimal camera control too, and I have posts in the forum asking about mediocre footage on pans, answer was the lack of a 3-axis gimbal. Now on the "Mini", you have one.. Not to mention you can do it in 2.7K. not 1080P. just to state the obvious. Yeah, it would be nice if it were 60fps. Video on the Spark because its 1080P is also a low but rate, you get higher bit rates from higher resolution. Having a high bit rate on a video thats low res to start is not really going to make it better.

Now everyone has different needs, and some are used to extra buttons on the remote, and a couple extra options in the photo settings over the Mini with the Spark, chances are, some of which can be managed perhaps in post.

Sure it would be nice if the Mavic Mini had everything your heart desires, and you'd have a small $6-700 drone again, Hmm... maybe I should get the Mavic Air now?

It's also quite possible, but we won't know for a while, whether DJI or some third party will provide options for more camera options through firmware or update to DJI Fly, I suspect many extra options are software, not hardware, though I could be wrong.

Ultimately, its all in what you think you need or willing to manage to fly.. I've seen some great sample videos from the Mini. Far nicer than I think I've ever gotten from my Spark. Will I get one, jury is still out, plus I don't have the $$ for one at the moment , other budget items prevail.. I just know that probably eventually, I'd like to have something that's easy to travel with, takes higher res video and not spend a arm & leg to get it.

 

[RedZeppelin]

All the banter, Its always interesting.. the pros, the cons.. the Spark when it first came out was $499 and $699 for Fly More. And the Lower package did not even include the remote if I recall and if you decided you wanted one, it was $150.

So now you have the Mavic Mini, its $399 and $499, both include the remote. Gives you more flight time then most any other DJI drone and the excuse is, I don't need to fly that long, really? You love landing, and slamming all your extra batteries into your Spark to keep flying? With the 3 batteries in the Mini Fly More under perhaps normal conditions, you could fly for maybe 80 minutes, not 30-35 that might be if you're lucky, now if you invested into several extra Spark batteries at say $50 a piece, you almost spent half the price of a Mini on batteries that your going to have to replace some day if you can find them now, and you might exceed the Mini flight time with 3 batteries by a few minutes.

While I feel I get good photos and Video out of my Spark, it suffers from minimal camera control too, and I have posts in the forum asking about mediocre footage on pans, answer was the lack of a 3-axis gimbal. Now on the "Mini", you have one.. Not to mention you can do it in 2.7K. not 1080P. just to state the obvious. Yeah, it would be nice if it were 60fps. Video on the Spark because its 1080P is also a low but rate, you get higher bit rates from higher resolution. Having a high bit rate on a video thats low res to start is not really going to make it better.

Now everyone has different needs, and some are used to extra buttons on the remote, and a couple extra options in the photo settings over the Mini with the Spark, chances are, some of which can be managed perhaps in post.

Sure it would be nice if the Mavic Mini had everything your heart desires, and you'd have a small $6-700 drone again, Hmm... maybe I should get the Mavic Air now?

It's also quite possible, but we won't know for a while, whether DJI or some third party will provide options for more camera options through firmware or update to DJI Fly, I suspect many extra options are software, not hardware, though I could be wrong.

Ultimately, its all in what you think you need or willing to manage to fly.. I've seen some great sample videos from the Mini. Far nicer than I think I've ever gotten from my Spark. Will I get one, jury is still out, plus I don't have the $$ for one at the moment , other budget items prevail.. I just know that probably eventually, I'd like to have something that's easy to travel with, takes higher res video and not spend a arm & leg to get it.

As you say, it's ultimately down to what you need. The extra battery life of the Mini is redundant if you want manual control over your footage, as is the 3-axis gimbal. I'd rather send my Spark up twice (the Mini won't give you 3 x flight time over the Spark - that's evident from early reviews), and get the footage I want at 1080p, rather than spend 20 minutes shooting auto exposure footage that will pop all over the place in post at 2.7K.

I do think it also depends on how deeply Spark users have dug into the abilities of the drone. There are far too many things for me that outweigh the extra flight time and video resolution of the Mini. In every other aspect, it's cut down in terms of creative output options. Even the app and hardware controller are crippled.

I'm sure the Mini will be a gateway to many excellent drone pilots and artists, but in no way is it an upgrade to the Spark on a creative level.

 

[Chrislaf]

It's also quite possible, but we won't know for a while, whether DJI or some third party will provide options for more camera options through firmware or update to DJI Fly, I suspect many extra options are software, not hardware, though I could be wrong.

Yes, this is quite possible if they release the SDK to third party developers. For example, Litchi, AutoPilot and others provide many more features for my Phantom 3 Standard (P3S) than the standard DJI GO app that the Standard uses. I use Litchi, AutoPilot or Hammer with my P3S 99.9 % of the time and I get features like Waypoints, panos, tracking, orbits and others - features not readily available on the standard GO software.

Chris

 

[Macinfo]

As you say, it's ultimately down to what you need. The extra battery life of the Mini is redundant if you want manual control over your footage, as is the 3-axis gimbal. I'd rather send my Spark up twice (the Mini won't give you 3 x flight time over the Spark - that's evident from early reviews), and get the footage I want at 1080p, rather than spend 20 minutes shooting auto exposure footage that will pop all over the place in post at 2.7K.

I do think it also depends on how deeply Spark users have dug into the abilities of the drone. There are far too many things for me that outweigh the extra flight time and video resolution of the Mini. In every other aspect, it's cut down in terms of creative output options. Even the app and hardware controller are crippled.

I'm sure the Mini will be a gateway to many excellent drone pilots and artists, but in no way is it an upgrade to the Spark on a creative level.

It depends on how you fly, and the conditions and parameters you set, I've barely gotten 12-13 minutes on some flights. So while 3x for battery might be a push, its close

I am not an expert and don't play one on TV (or youtube) but I think the 3--Axis gimbal, if your careful on how setup your shots, could easily create better footage than multiple flights with the Spark, and have higher res to top it off. I don't disagree that having more camera options would be very nice, I just think you can work in auto if you had to and get great stuff... I don't think you can overcome hardware limitations of 2-axises and 1080p and say thats better than 3 and 2.7K.

I think the other bottomline is you have to look at the price. As I noted in my original post, the Spark when it rolled out the door was $499 and $699 for Fly More. and the cheap package didn't have the remote, talk about controller limitations. Compare that to $399 & $499, with remote in each case, you have to draw lines somewhere without vandalizing the Mavic Air to some degree, course its anyone guess how long the Mavic Air will be around.. Nothing lasts forever and something will eventually replace it.