Is the DJI Mavic Air drone worth it? REVIEW!

I bought my DJI Mavic Air drone back in February. Admittedly, I was a bit hesitant to invest in a drone. Over the past few years, I have been on many shoots where drones were involved, and they seemingly always had problems. Either they took a long time to get in the air, or they had problems once they were in the air. Furthermore, they were expensive and quite bulky. They simply were not ready, in my eyes, to be an essential piece of kit.

But all those hesitations were quelled with the release of the DJI Mavic Air. While not quite as cheap as a Spark, the camera was 4k capable, and the drone’s folding size would be much easier to fit within a normal Camelbak. I had an upcoming shoot, and figured that finally, it made sense for me to invest in a drone. I spent the $1000 for the DJI Mavic Air in the Onyx Black “Fly More” package, and eagerly began to annoy my neighbors with relentless aerial acrobatics. #nerdlife

Fast forward 6 months, and I’m a happy camper. I’ve completed about 50 flights with the Mavic Air, all around the world too, and it’s been a trooper. I did learn that it’s essential to update the firmware often. This is not a device to set-and-forget. I also learned that it’s easy to spend a half hour or more trying to get that rad drone shot, and then only use a few seconds of that footage in a final edit, thus resulting in a lot of wasted time. Drone footage, after all, is best used sparingly.

If I were a starving filmmaker on a budget and with minimal gear, I’d definitely invest in a more full DSLR kit than a drone. Luckily, I already have my DSLR kit fairly sorted, so the drone investment was a great option to add to my arsenal.

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[WorldwideCyclery]

Worth it for sure, makes a huge difference in production quality!

[thecakeisalie]

Loved the crunchy tire on gravel sound! Wishing you a quick and full recovery!

[MTBGarage]

Awesome review Jeff, you hit the nail on the head, you can get cool shots, but they are a lot of effort! And for anyone wondering, the obstacle avoidance is too sensitive to use on a trail with trees even remotely close to your flight path, so no it cannot follow down *most trails.

[MateuszPlewicki]

Got the same one and I am loving it. To be fair I use it more for filming family stuff than mountain biking, but it is useful for a nice aerial shot.

[kfivemtb]

great info! thanks for posting. crazy wheelie :)

[SurikatMeerkat]

Regarding the firmware, I've been thinking of just building my own drone for riding footage. Something that doesn't need these updates. Found some nice packages, one with a 20 minute flying time which is very tempting. It might be a better idea. Yeah it probably won't have any follow features, but I don't care too much about that seeing as it's still very much a barely working feature. Great video as always Jeff.

[ScreamingEaglest]

The mavic AIR is the best drone available imo don't listen to negative crap and buy it ! Btw don't call it a silly drone you will hurt it's feelings it's far from silly

[TrailFeatures]

I can tell you one thing: After using a cable cam, a drone is a breeze to setup and get good shots. 😣

[ehenferio]

If it can follow the remote in stead of tracking object that would be super nice, because it really difficult to fly while riding alone.

[bigslacker]

I got the DJI Mavic Air as a gift (nice to have nice relatives!) and I have to agree with much of the vid. It doesn't follow you well, it's nice to take up and get overhead sweeping landscape vids but how many of those you gonna do? It's way too $$ and too long get it in the air vs a gopro that you can just strap on and hit a button. Makes sense for pros, not for average joes.

[cooter]

I use mine in Gesture mode to follow me. That way you do not need to have the controller or phone on you and there is no range limitation.

[pstanisl]

Interesting video, thanks. What type of Shimano shoes do you use? Thanks :)

[disturbingdevelopment]

Nice Shimano product placement with the shoes...did they pay you?

[matthewholm]

Completely unrelated to the video... Who makes your front mudguard? I stumbled upon them a few weeks ago but didn’t buy one cuz I wanted to wait and now I can’t find them anymore! Haha

[giffcutler]

I just switched to flats --- do you always wear flats --- I hadn't noticed

[muchofyou]

peewee Herman, some one stole my drone remote hahaha
you don't actually need to carry the remote as you just need your phone but you will be limited to wifi range
also this guys issue is mostly shit management of technology. and it specifically says your not suppose to let it fly itself so someone should be on the controls all the time

[johnbatchler]

Don't waste ur time on drones if u don't like it

[samurailab]

Molto bello ! se ti piacciono i nostri video iscriviti al canale

[dallasdavis-timms]

Unless you are trying to make a living shooting video, leave the drone at home. I don't want to see or hear your drone on the trail.