I want a drone but I am stuck between these two. I am loyal to go pro and want the Karma for everything it comes with, but seeing that it only has 15 flight time and is noisier than other drones bothers me. Batteries are 100 bucks to fly 15 minutes? Besides that, Karma is my first choice. Mavic Pro is smaller, more portable, 27 minute flight time, has sensors, more quiet and same price. Biggest difference is you can't disconnect camera from Mavic and use it by itself like Karma. The footage I have seen from both looks about the same. Y'all help me decide!
I think the answer depends both on your budget, and on what you plan to do with your drone. I know they both seem to cost the same, but the Karma and the Mavic Pro are not an apples to apples comparison.
The Mavic Pro is just a drone. It’s a great drone, but that is all it is. If you plan a trip to Hawaii, you might get some fantastic drone shots. But if you want POV shots riding a bike down a volcano, surfing, snorkeling, or swimming under a waterfall good luck! With the Karma package of a drone, action camera and gimbal, you can get fantastic photo and video of all these activities at a reasonable price point.
There is a trade-off in quality of the drone, and weight and portability of the entire package, and that is why I mentioned budget. If you can afford to purchase these things seperately you might appreciate the quality of the Mavic over the Karma Drone. The Mavic will weigh less, take up less space in your pack, stay up in the air longer, and theoretically suffer less from connectivity issues. Plus, If you crash it while on vacation in Hawaii, you would just be out a drone, not your drone, gimbal, and action camera.
I personally love the Karma, but not when I’ve been hiking with it strapped to my back for 10+ Miles, lol. If you were wandering around Hawaii, 5+ Miles a day is not unrealistic. You could throw the Mavic in a day pack and forget about it. Definately not the case with the Karma!
I think the Karma package is a good budget concious decision, but I wouldn’t knock someone that purchased their action camera, gimbal, and drone separately. The Mavic Pro is an especially good deal right now, given that the Mavic Pro II might be just around the corner. The Mavic Air seems like a great little drone as well.