Hello I’m new to this forum I’m looking for advice on buying my first proper drone. Quite keen on the follow me ability and also the 4k camera. Is the Mavic Air a good option?
Apologies for the typos, joy of predictive text.
What’s your budget @Len?
That will dramatically alter the recommendations you receive.
If you’ve got a spare £900 I can highly recommend the Mavic Air 2 
The active track is great.
Also for active track functions look into the skydio. I haven’t used one myself but from the research I done when looking for my own drone it was highly recommend for its active track capabilities. Although I found it hard to find a UK supplier so I went with the Mavic Air 2 for the active track. Also I can recommend the Mavic Mini if your budget can’t quite stretch to the mavic air 2 but that hasn’t got active track out of the box you’d need to use an aftermarket app. But it does have quick shots out the box. Hope this helps 
P.s always worth spending a little extra for the fly more combo as well. Its 100% worth the extra cost.
Hi read your post and The MA 2 is a good piece of kit to buy, a little expensive but worth it.
The pictures which can be achieved are fab, the one thing which will affect you flying is the new rules coming in Dec 31 2020 about using said drone.
Well worth doing some research on here and of course the CAA website, i watched Heliguy first on Youtube to understand how these will effect users.
But other members on here can also help you with any questions, i did the op and flyer id for £9 with CAA before buying my MA2.
Thinking about A2 coc at present.
I bought a MA1 around 6 months back, now for the extra money I do wish I had bought the MA2, I’m no expert just a beginner & do enjoy my MA1 but I know I will own a MA2 most likely by next summer. Decide how much you want to spend & read up on the drones you like for that price range,
If your budget can stretch to it, definitely the Magic Air 2. If you can manage to spend a little more, the Combo pack is the way to go. It will cost you a lot more to buy the individual items separately in the future i.e., 2 extra batteries, additional propellors etc. Beware you will need to complete CAA course (cost £9) to fly it legally as the MA2 is over 250gm. I would also recommend taking out DJI’s 1st year additional insurance cover, which allows you to make 2 claims in the 1st year for any accidental damage to your drone as a novice pilot. Much more cost effective than paying for a repair or replacement drone (as I found out recently).
Hi Len as others have said, budget is one consideration. Other things to consider are if it is over 250g you need a test and licence in most countries. I live in the UK. What will you want to use your drone for? Are you going to travel with it? Do you want mainly video and photographs like me for Panoramas etc. I went for the Mavic Mini and yes there are some trade offs in features 4k video being one of them and Active Tracking, No collision detection etc. But it is portable, no licence, no test. Its a great little drone to start with and due to its size keep even when or if you move up to bigger drones as it can literally be carried in pockets (not reccomended). Look at lots of YouTube videos for the Mini and you will be surprised what you can do. My first footage can be found here.
And Panoramas here:
https://youpic.com/photographer/Woody5
Hope this is useful
At the momento.
You might want to hold off any recommendations until @Len can answer this question:
Just in case his budget is sub £100 or something 
I read something yesterday that said when the new rules come in even if its under 250g if it has a camera attached and is not a “toy” then you will need to register it. Not sure how accurate that info is? I will try to find it again and post a link.
If you scroll down the page you can select which DJI drone you have or are looking to get and it tells you the current rules for that drone and the changes relevant to that drone when the changes come in
Hi, Len, you haven’t stated your budget, so as the Mavic drones are pretty pricey, similar performance to the Air 2 is the Fimi X8SE 2020, at almost half the price. No avoidance sensors but loads of features. Available from European sellers under £400 (get in quick before Brexit finalises). Or Amazon UK at £449. The controller is particularly nice, and easily takes a mini tablet. Lots of good reviews.
I’m happy with my Fimi A3, (my 1080p video thread here, the original is better quality than the YouTube version), but if I were to look for something better I’d be sorely tempted by the X8 
Bold claim
Bold claim Chris? Not really. I made a start listing all main features of the Fimi X8 from the Fimi web site. Then went on the DJI site Air 2 section. Which rapidly crashed my computer!!! So I lost my original stuff and I ain’t doing it over. 2 fingers to DJI! Anyway, for what it’s worth:
Similar flight time
Similar range (way over the UK legal limit for both!)
Similar maximum speed and ability to fly in quite strong wind
Similar camera specs - both have HDR
Similar special features (follow me, dronie etc etc…) I would go so far as to suggest that the X8 has more of them, for example the interesting ‘fixed wing’ mode.
I would also venture to suggest that the X8 controller is a superior design.
Yes the Mavic has obstacle avoidance. I’ll grant you that one.
If you want to know more, it’s all on the 'net.
Cheers,
Peter
PC I bet
The flying club at bath norton st philip is now ordering and selling these drones I dont know if cheaper think 1800 nr enough they beyond my level for mow but saw one The mk 1 there very beautful
PC I bet
Yes indeed! But why the computer type make any difference is a puzzle - it’s the only site I’ve been to recently which did that - I think it gave my graphics card a headache 
There again, Windoze…
Incidentally although I sincerely believe that the Fimi X8 SE 2020 is very good value for money, if the budget allows there is little doubt that the Mavic Air2 is superior.
Cheers,
Peter
OK Folks,
Need some help. My “budget drone” naming and shaming - the Potensic D58 (piece of shite) on its 3rd flight decided to adopt a mind of its own and ignore the controller and the return to take off button/function failed so I had no choice but to crash it down into some trees. Although I can now go through the faff of trying to import new motors (two are now kaput from the crash and the subsequent lobbing branches at it to get it out of the trees) think I prefer the “lose my s#%t” option with the manufacturer and push for a refund instead. I
I have no confidence it won’t do it to me again and I have no interest in flying something I am not fully in control of 100% of the time.
So I am in the market for a new drone key things for me are
-
sub 250g so i can fly it most places
-
good camera/video
-
£500 or less (would be happy to buy second hand)
-
A flight time of at least 30 mins
-
reliable / trustworthy
Have flyer ID and Operator ID so could go bigger if you think its worth it but would prefer not to have to worry too much about how close I am to houses etc
Ideas?