DJI Mavic Pro VS GoPro Karma: Complete Specs And Comparison

The drone industry is trying to manufacture much smaller and more portable drones each day. DJI Mavic Pro is the latest addition to that trend. Unveiled yesterday (September 27), the new drone is about half the weight and size of DJI's previous best, the Phantom.

A few days before, Yuneec introduced its drone with foldable arms followed by GoPro Karma, whose producers repeatedly emphasized how the unit slipped into a backpack easily. Well, bad news GoPro, karma may hit you back now.

Mavic Pro, DJI's first foldable drone, is the size of a water bottle https://t.co/lr1XjvLnlS via @mashable

— Wecapser (@Wecapser) September 27, 2016

The DJI Mavic Pro is much slimmer as the props that hold the rotors fold easily in over the body, making the whole profile small enough to sit on your palm. Here are the basic features of DJI's latest offering.

Features

Here's what we know of the DJI Mavic Pro so far:

Sensors

Though DJI Mavic Pro is smaller in size, it doesn't sacrifice on any of the advanced features that of the Phantom series. There are sensors on the front and bottom, which provide the drone with subject tracking, obstacle avoidance, autonomous landing, and stability indoors without GPS, states a report on The Verge.

Camera

The camera has the same sensor as the Phantom 4. It can shoot 4K video at 30 fps along with full 1080p HD at 96 fps. Though the 12-megapixel camera also comes with support for Adobe DNG RAW, the field of view is slightly reduced from 94 degrees to 78.

DJI goes portable with the Mavic Pro https://t.co/9HNuf3rIZ4 — David Papp (@DavidPapp) September 28, 2016

Battery & Range

DJI Mavic Pro offers 27 minutes of battery life on a single charge with a top speed of 40 miles per hour. According to My First Drone, DJI state that the new drone can stream live video from up to 4.3 miles away, compared with 3.1 miles on the Phantom 4.

Mavic Pro also adds some new features in its computer vision system with added gesture control. All you need to do is fly the unit and put down the remote. For instance, if you throw your arms up in a big Y, the drone will focus on you.

The remote too has been miniaturized, now being the size of an NES controller. It has a small screen that provides the basic telemetry: speed, height, distance, and orientation.

Price

The Mavic Pro will go on retail for $999, quite more than its rivals. For a person who didn't buy the Phantom, the new drone packed with all these features seem like overkill. DJI is, however, offering the Mavic Pro without the remote for $749.

Comparison

Based on the above features, DJI Mavic Pro is a better option than GoPro Karma. The cheapest price for the Karma is $799, including the drone, controller, Karma Grip stabilizer, and case. It does not include a GoPro Cam. Whereas, the cheapest configuration, DJI Mavic Pro comes in is $749 including the drone with the built-in camera but without a remote. You can still use the phone app to control it.

Well, in case you want everything, the Karma with the Hero5 and extras, you're looking at $1,099. Whereas, the full Mavic kit is $1,300. That might be worth it for the extra features the drone is providing. The Mavic costs $999 for just the drone and controller. You can place your order here.