Battle: DJI MAVIC PRO VS PHANTOM 4 – Camera, design, features and battery (Coupon included)

DJI MAVIC PRO, PHANTOM 4 and GoPro Karma are the top 3 drones at this moment in terms of design, characteristics and camera. Today will do a comparison between DJI MAvic Pro and Phantom 4. So let the battle begin….

Design

DJI Phantom 4 is a very well-designed quadcopter raising the limit to a different level, something that made it very popular among Phantom range. Featuring an attractive matte whole white body, with a metallic finish on the motors and with the 4K camera to be attached to a grey undercarriage. The whole body ends up on a pair of sturdy legs which also contain the drone’s intelligent collision avoidance sensors. DJI Phantom 4 weights 1380 grams, the body is made out of magnesium.

DJI Mavic Pro come with a new feature in the design, the innovative folding functionality. Of course as it is expected and this release is of very high quality, benefiting from the solid construction, something essential for the Shenzhen brand. The new model comes with a new intuitive and ergonomically enhanced controller, equipped with dual display in order to ensure fewer distractions on your device’s camera view. As a whole, the design and construction of the Mavic is superbly aerodynamic even before you see it flying in the air. When the Mavic is folded, you’ll be wondering how the company have managed to pack in, all the functionality. Don’t forget that a lot of owners have published video online showing literally putting it in their pocket. Then there’s the camera and the optional clear housing which offers some protection for the lens and 3-axis gimbal, rounding off the attractive aesthetics. DJI Mavic Pro is much lighter from the DJI Phantom 4, since it weights only 743 grams.

Features

DJI Phantom 4 was released after years of searching and testing of R&D from DJI. The company wanted with this way to create the smartest quadcopter that is currently available. DJI Phantom 4 is featuring a really very large range of features including the ActiveTrack (a feature that helps the Phantom 4 to intelligently follow moving subjects) or the TapFly (a feature allowing with one touch to take-off and land, while benefiting from DJI’s obstacle avoidance feature) and many other included, offering undeniable variety and quality in the drone. Except these two , there are also and flight features, like the Sport Mode Feature, which allows to the P4 to run really really fast and reach speeds of up to 45mph. An other important feature that the Phantom 4 includes is the ability to intelligently avoid obstacles as well as being exceptionally easy to use. All these features make the Phantom 4 a very high-quality quadcopter which is also becoming increasingly affordable.

DJI Mavic Pro is also equipped with features that the Phantom 4 has, like ActiveTrack and TapFly. But Mavic Pro includes and new features like TerrainFollow (a feature that gives the ability to the Mavic to intelligently follow you up inclines without crashing). An other major feature is the folding ability thanks to some brilliant engineering from DJI, ensuring that it’s even smaller and easier to transport even from the GoPro Karma. The Mavic Pro also features Sports Mode like Phantom 4, but the final speed that the Pro can reach is a little bit smaller from Phantom 4, since it can reach only up to 40mph in optimal conditions. This speedy feature has been advertised alongside a new product ‘DJI Goggles’ which allow for a VR FPV drone flying experience, evidence of DJI edging towards the racing market. And in terms of use, the Mavic is already mentioned from all the owners that have it, as one of the simplest drones to use. Mavic Pro is ideal for starters but and for seasoned flyers looking for an easily portable aerial camera. With the included feature of advanced visual positioning and obstacle avoidance, with up to a range of 15m (better than the P4), you are sure that your flights will be issue free and that aircraft will remain steady even if it is indoors and out of satellite range.

Camera

Let’s say I’m the owner of a DJI Phantom 4, as a serious aerial photographer that I’m. So why should I give money to buy the Mavic Pro and replace my DJI Phantom 4!? On the paper, both of them have the same characteristics, more or less, with little differences. But here we will speak about the image quality. Both drones have a stabilized 3-axis gimbal. DJI Phantom 4’s camera can shoot 4K video at 30fps and 1080p HD at 120fps, while Mavic Pro’s camera can also shoot 4K video at 30 fps, but has a slightly lower fps at 1080p HD, maxing out at 96 fps.

DJI’s Phantom 4 camera can shoot 4K reaching great ISO levels and allows for still images at 12MP quality. The images taken from these stills offer vibrant color in both RAW and JPEG formats. As for the video part, Phantom 4 offers 4096×2160 pixels at 25fps and 4K UHD at 30fps. The camera can also soot in 2K and Full HD as well as 720p HD for more video hour. The latter 720p HD is fed to your controller in real-time. An other important thing is that the Phantom 4’s camera isn’t plagued by the unsightly fisheye effect, something which means you can expect cleaner, better-looking imagery from the P4.

On the other hand, DJI Mavic Pro is capable of shooting in 4K and 12MP with Adobe DNG RAW functionality. Using the Gesture Mode, you can command the Mavic to take pictures with a simple wave of your hand and if you use the Tripod Mode, you can be 100% sure that every manoeuvre becomes precise and slow for optimum shot quality. DJI MAvic Pro camera has a narrower FOV which ensures a higher level of image quality. IF we add the obstacle avoidance solution and the visual positioning,  the Mavic has one of the most stable stationary hovers you’ll see from any drone on the market.

Battery

DJI Phantom 4 comes with a powerful 5,350mAh battery, which allow to the drone to stay in air for almost 30 minutes. However, don’t forget that the time depends directly on suitable weather conditions. There’s also the fact that the extensive range of features can also be a drain on the power supply, so keep this in mind when operation the Phantom 4.

Mavic Pro on the other hand is equipped with a smaller battery (3,830mAh), featuring a Intelligent Flight Battery feature, with built-in sensors and LEDs that display the status and the remaining power. Despite the smaller power source, Mavic can fly up to 27 minutes which is pretty close to the Phantom 4 and offers almost 10 minutes more than its closest competitor the GoPro Karma.

Conclusion

Both drones are more than superb. The features that have, abilities, design, all make them the best buy for a person that searches to buy something really good. Which is better is hard to say, since every drone has cons and plus. DJI Mavic Pro you can preorder it from Gearbest, at a lower price, using our coupon code: RC18OFF and for $1046.72 it can be yours  and DJI Phantom 4  coupon code: GBDJI4L at $ $999.