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My Thoughts about the DJI Spark So Far

GadgetInspector

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Jul 19, 2018
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37
There are already about a million reviews out there on the DJI Spark, but I will still be doing my own kind of review (review over time). My plan is to reach a total of 100 flights before posting a pros/cons video review. Here's a summary of my thoughts and experience thus far:

PROS
  • Great build quality
  • Size and portability are a HUGE benefit for me for many reasons. Primarily for transport, but also for how inconspicuous this little drone makes the pilot look. It doesn't draw a lot of attention.
  • Image quality is better than I expected. The 2-axis gimbal and EIS work well for me. 1080 30fps is also just fine for getting cinematic shots which is what I'm looking for. The slow speed of the Spark lends well to cinematic video. Also very pleased with photo quality.
  • Extremely easy to fly. My wife will be getting comfortable with drones with this one.
  • I have had no problems with range. My video feed is solid out as far as my visual line of sight. Very pleased with this.
  • Little dog, big bite.
CONS
  • Lack of image stabilization in Sports mode
  • Short flight time. I have been averaging 14-minutes which isn't horrible, but I only feel satisfied after 3-batteries
  • Initial setup is convoluted and could be more intuitive
  • No gimbal protector is included
  • Very slow machine (unless in Sports mode of course). In order to maintain stable video due to the 2-axis gimbal, speed is limited.
 
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I agree with all of these points. As it stands, you get an amazing little machine for the price.
 
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I agree about the speed of the spark in non sport mode. But I'm wondering how much faster, if at all, the mavic is in the same mode.
 
I agree about the speed of the spark in non sport mode. But I'm wondering how much faster, if at all, the mavic is in the same mode.

The Mavic is quite a bit faster.. in p-mode it's about 20mph with OA on, 30 with OA off. Sport mode is about 35. Of course add or subtract for tail/head winds...
 
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Two important considerations in regards to the Spark being too slow:
1. A new Spark is set too Beginner Mode as the factory default. You can turn this off in Settings
2. Turning off Obstacle Avoidance will make the Spark about TWICE as fast. Once you are comfortable flying you won't really need OA (especially if you remain within line of sight).

Neither of these actions will adversely affect gimbal performance or the cinematic quality of your footage.
 
I did not know that turning off OA increases speed, thanks for that info.
Everything written so far on this thread is the reasons why I bought a Spark. No drone is perfect, the Spark is the best compromise for my wishes.
 
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Little dog, big bite. :D I like that. Yes. the Spark is very affordable as far as spare batteries and accessories go. And it's portability is a plus. The Phantom pilots agree on that as I have seen.
 
I agree with you 100%, particularly concerning the abstruse set-up and lack of intuitive procedure. However, it is everything and more than I expected it to be and, as everyone seems to agree, it is a lot of drone for the size and money. As my first drone it is perfect.

I'm not about to set the world on fire with my amazing videos or flying skills, - all I need is something that will go in a bag or pocket ( I have big pockets ) when I'm out on the mountain bike or fishing or just farting about. I also can't fly anything higher or further than the Spark can manage because I live in the restricted military training airspace of northwest Scotland, which can occasionally be exciting.
 
I agree about the set up. I bought the Parrot Anafi to add a more flexible camera to my drone line up and to compliment the Spark. It literally takes about a minute to take the Anafi from its case to up in the air!! With the Spark...not NEARLY this easy or fast! I still love the Spark though I just wish the connectivity was faster.
 
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Two important considerations in regards to the Spark being too slow:
1. A new Spark is set too Beginner Mode as the factory default. You can turn this off in Settings
2. Turning off Obstacle Avoidance will make the Spark about TWICE as fast. Once you are comfortable flying you won't really need OA (especially if you remain within line of sight).

Neither of these actions will adversely affect gimbal performance or the cinematic quality of your footage.
Also, if you fly diagonally with OA on Spark will fly at about 10mph, and with OA off about 18 mph. Don't know why, but it's true.
Diagonal video puts a new view to the video. When right stick is at between 1 o'clock and 2 o'clock, move right stick up toward 12, or down toward 3 for more interesting moves/video. Of course diagonal is also at between 10 and 11, 4 and 5, and 7 and 8
If you fly in Sport mode, move the stick sensitivity slider (in app) toward slow to lower top speed from 30mph to 25mph, or 20mph etc... this helps increase speed, but reduced enough for better video.
Another trick is to not use tripod mode, but to fly with OA on with stick sensitivity slider lowered. This reduces top speed with OA on from 6.X to less than 6.X. Why this matters is that the gimbal speed won't be effected. In Tripod mode, the gimbal is also slowed waaaaaaaay down.
In my opinion, about the only thing Spark can't do is pan well. We just have to find various ways to work around the other limitations.
 
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I’m still hoping DJI eventually expands the Spark’s video options. I’d like to be able to customize the frame rate to 24FPS and shoot in D-LOG. This would allow us to produce far better video/movies.
 
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I agree about the set up. I bought the Parrot Anafi to add a more flexible camera to my drone line up and to compliment the Spark. It literally takes about a minute to take the Anafi from its case to up in the air!! With the Spark...not NEARLY this easy or fast! I still love the Spark though I just wish the connectivity was faster.

Really? It only takes me 60-90 seconds to get my Spark ready to launch. It's sometimes about 2 minutes before I'm in the air because of waiting for GPS lock but 2 minutes is still pretty quick in my book.

I recently turned off obstacle avoidance and it does make the Spark quite a bit quicker! Very pleased with that.
 
Two important considerations in regards to the Spark being too slow:
1. A new Spark is set too Beginner Mode as the factory default. You can turn this off in Settings
2. Turning off Obstacle Avoidance will make the Spark about TWICE as fast. Once you are comfortable flying you won't really need OA (especially if you remain within line of sight).

Neither of these actions will adversely affect gimbal performance or the cinematic quality of your footage.
Great tips. I was aware of the benefit of turning of obstacle avoidance, but I never think of it out in the field. I'll try to remember that when I'm out there needing just a wee bit more speed.
 

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