[FriedPiston]

Originally Posted by P1et

That Casey Neistat review was impressive. Definitely tempting. To get that under $500 would be amazing.

Neistat is a big advocate of DJI products, and he usually goes out of his way to do his best attempt in providing a tech review each time he gets his hands on a new model like the P4, P4 Pro, Mavic, Spark, Air, and etc.

Under $500 BRAND NEW may be possible later this year for the Mavic Air. I was one of the handful of people who got in on a Mavic Pro + extra battery for around $440 shipped including CA sales tax during last year's Amazon Prime Day sale. The deal was never advertised, and it lasted for no more than 15-20 minutes. There's a chance something like this could happen again if not on Amazon Prime Day, then on Black Friday.

808@702 With all due to respect to your GF, you should seriously consider returning the Spark for a refund or store credit, then pony up the difference for a Mavic Air.

I had a friend who was adamant on keeping the Spark over upgrading to a Mavic Pro when the Spark was first released. He ended up changing his mind shortly after almost losing the Spark in Mexico due to gusty winds resulting into a short signal loss. He had the Fly More combo with R/C, and it was painful to see him go through so much trouble getting the R/C unit to work, which is a common issue for Spark owners. Fortunately for him, he was also one of the few people who got in on the Amazon Prime Day - Mavic Pro deal.

The Spark is a decent drone for very casual use, but it really falls more into the toy category compared to the rest of the DJI lineup. If you want something you can count on all the time, and something that can withstand mild winds, then you'd want to get a slighter bigger portable drone for better stability and performance.

[ProAktion]

I have a Hubsan H501SS advanced version. No gimble but the drone is great with good range!

[DSB335d]

I bought the Mavic Pro Platinum about 2 weeks ago and took it on a trip to El Salvador. I've played with a couple of Sparks and they are fun but they are much louder in comparison they also don't have the battery life of the platinum pro; 30min.

El Salvador has pretty much no drone laws so I took it up to 2000ft several times in different locations. It was a lot of fun. Also a couple times the wind was pushing it away from me and I was afraid of losing it; switched it to sport mode and easily brought it back.

[DSB335d]

Top of Conchagua volcano, port of La Libertad, neighborhood we rented a house, San Miguel volcano

[chumley]

You guys have any trouble finding places to fly it? There seems to be more than a few restrictions around obvious places like airports but have you had any push back from people in parks? neighborhoods? Seems like it would attract alot of attention (maybe not positive) if you took it to the beach any type of outdoor event.

[smoosh]

Originally Posted by chumley

You guys have any trouble finding places to fly it? There seems to be more than a few restrictions around obvious places like airports but have you had any push back from people in parks? neighborhoods? Seems like it would attract alot of attention (maybe not positive) if you took it to the beach any type of outdoor event.

If I'm at the beach, and I see a drone flying overhead, recording me, I'm "accidentally" throwing my football at it and bringing it down.

Just saying.

[rlmesq]

I want a Predator drone for use in traffic jams and to deal with bad drivers. THAT'S something you get enthusiastic about!