If there's one thing no one can accuse DJI of, it's having too few drones for consumers to choose from. If you're looking to purchase the Spark, Mavic Pro, or Phantom 4 Pro, this quick comparison will give you a glimpse at the relative video quality between the three popular options.
In this helpful video from Billy Kyle, you'll see similar footage from the DJI Spark, Mavic Pro, and Phantom 4 Pro (I can't help but feel this is a flying version of the "Goldilocks" story). With each drone, you get a different feature set, but one of the main tradeoffs is portability versus image quality. While I love my Phantom 4 Pro dearly and I think it was the clear winner in this comparison, I was seriously impressed by the Spark's capabilities, and I find myself even more tempted to pick up one (it's just so impossibly adorable!). And of course, the Mavic Pro seems to represent a real sweet spot of size and quality for a lot of pros. I personally don't mind the extra size and weight of my Phantom 4 Pro, but of course, we all feel differently about that, so give the video a watch to see what's acceptable for your taste.
I don't own any of them but the Mavic Pro still seems like the sweet spot to me. I noticed some rotor induced flicker in the first clip for the Phantom 4, you don't seem to get that with the smaller drones. Spark looks really small but since the arms don't collapse, I'm not sure it actually packs down to be much smaller than the Mavic Pro.
What really surprised me was how different the colors were coming out of the 3 drones, assuming they were all set up the same.
That's the only thing that stopped me from buying the Spark. If I could fold the rotors up and drop it in my pocket, Id carry it with me everywhere.
If you buy the fly more package you get quick release rotors that fold up.. and you can technically drop it in your pocket, as long as its a big enough pocket, and it really doesnt have to be a huge pocket.. I'm used to carrying big lenses on my waist with the Think Tank belt system, wouldnt mind carrying the spark around in a big enough bag on my waist, which again... doesnt have to be that big.
The only thing I don't like about the spark is lack of that 3rd axis... so you get jerky turns. Whereas the other two give you much smoother sweeping shots. I watched a spark video where the drone followed a guy and had to keep turning... it became quite noticeable.
I own both the P4P and Mavic. The problem with the Mavic and which I'm guessing will be even worst with the spark is wind. I find myself traveling and using the drone a lot when I do, but I have been leaving the Mavic at home and taking the P4P instead as it's easily pushed around by the wind. There is nothing worst then being in an awesome setting and getting shake from the wind. The P4P handles wind these days almost as good as an Inspire.