DJI Mavic Air Review - The Drone That Helps You Tell Better Stories

The DJI Mavic Air is clearly a great alternative to the Mavic Pro. But how does it hold up over seas and on large productions? Corbyn Tyson covers the pros and cons of this killer little drone from a filmmakers perspective.

Mavic Air (Single Unit)

Mavic Air (Fly More Package)

Mavic Pro (Fly More Package)

Neewer Pro ND 16 Filter for DJI Mavic Air

Neewer DJI Mavic Air Lens Filter Kit

Mountainsmith Kit Camera Cube - Small

DISCLAIMERS:

The drone used in the video was loaned to us from DJI. This review and it's content was not reviewed or paid for by outside persons or manufacturers.

[dslrvideoshooter]

Quick note! This is my good friend Corbyn Tyson. I asked him to help me out with this and other videos since he is a drone/gimbal wizard. Sorry for any confusion!!!

[BrotherBloat]

I'm sorry, but telling people not to fly line of sight is actually encouraging illegal activity in most locations worldwide... Flying beyond visual range is frowned upon and sometimes downright forbidden! Not to mention, the worst thing you can encounter in the field is a pilot who can't fly towards themselves using LoS... Learn to fly first, then use the gimmicks and fpv after you master your aircraft. Don't forego this step!

[AlexMinor]

Am I the only one who heard some random wierd secondary audio from about 0:34 - 0:58?

[ChadWork]

At 4:38 Corbyn gives some really bad advice regarding how to get good at flying your drone. No offense to Corbyn intended, but as an experienced UAV pilot / videographer I have to say a few things. You SHOULD absolutely learn to fly without using your monitor at all, keeping the aircraft in your line of sight at all times. Learn to fly nose-out first, then learn nose-in, so you get your muscle memory built up before you start relying on the screen as a crutch. Just go out to an open field and fly the thing without shooting any video. Fly low and slow! I've been doing this since 2011 and his "tip" is not only an invitation to crashing more, it's also against the FAA rules as far as keeping your head buried in the monitor. Keep in mind the man crashed in an open field from assuming the trees wouldn't be a problem. My advice would be to try to learn how to fly in a smooth figure 8 pattern about 10 feet off the ground. Keep your eyes on the drone. Then try to film something.

[WorldWideWong]

I was totally thrown off!
"Did Caleb grow his hair...and face...and name?"

[conrad]

Obstacle avoidance turns off with programmed modes like boomerang I believe. Just a heads up.

[ruitorre]

I really agree with you on the "dont look at the drone wile flying" but in my country we need to be always looking at it or have someone looking for us (we must by law always keep the drone in sight and in line of sight)

[creative_by_nature]

Did they not watch it before they uploaded the video the second audio layer is really annoying

[palentier]

Who are you and what did you do with the bald guy?

[calumdavies]

It’s against the law to not have constant eye site of the drone in a lot of countries. In nz if I fly my drone and some one asks me were it is and I can’t tell them in 3 seconds I get fined $2000

[simer]

Who are you, what have you done to Caleb? :D

[tomboard]

Thanks Corbyn, nice video. Appreciated the piloting advice as well, as a complete novice contemplating a drone.

[HotRodHippie]

Wifi connection concerns is exactly why I bought a Mavic Pro last week. Between this review and Matti's yesterday I was questioning that choice but then both reviews mentioned connection issues. And that solidified my choice.

[nicktosti]

5:01 My drone pilot professor said that in many states it's illegal to fly a drone if it's not in line of sight. (It's definitely illegal in Virginia)

[stewsview]

Great Video. I just wish you did the intro & Outro. We are here for you Caleb and we like your guidance. Even if it is through other people who know more about something. We need your calm voice and happy attitude to bring us through the video. =)

[MichaelMiddletonTBH]

Welcome Corbyn! I was initially thrown off when I didn't see Caleb, but an (occasional) different perspective is good! I started with a Phantom 2, then Inspire 1 and currently the Spark that I use in the situations you mention. The Mavic Air looks like a sweet machine. Thanks for the review. I look forward to more great content from Corbyn and Caleb!

[obikenobi]

Thanks, good thoughts on aerial shooting. Def in the market for the 'air' :)

[PromoMoviescomau]

Hi Corbyn, after reviewing the footage, in terms of just image quality would you say the Mavic Air (at least) matched or was better than PH3 pro? I'm looking at replacing my PH3 4K with this for portability when travelling.

[steven_shaltiel]

This video was helpful, and I like this guy, but it I was totally thrown off - is this the first time anyone other than Caleb has contributed to this channel, or am I missing something? Different content is awesome, but an explanation or introduction to such a change would be great!

[photojournalists]

It's not just line of sight it's also signal interference. I could fly my Phantom for quiet a long distance, in nature but any city with lots of signals you will lose signal much faster even if you're at line of sight.