Now that both the GoPro Karma and DJI Mavic have been presented to the wide public and the emotions have (hopefully) cooled off a bit, I’d like to take the time to talk about them and compare some of their features. The main reason for writing this article are the countless comments I’ve seen online, stating “R.I.P. Karma”, and basically totally writing the drone off.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m not denying that the Mavic looks spectacular on paper, but it might be just a little too soon to cross out completely GoPro’s aircraft. Also, we haven’t really seen any of the drones in consumer tests, since most of the footage available at the moment has been commercial clips and some heavily edited videos online.

As a matter of fact, the first real videos I’ve seen from the Mavic has generated a lot of confusion, because the quality doesn’t look up to par with the Phantom 4, which has very similar camera characteristics (see the video below)

So in this article I won’t just compare the technical specifications of the two aircrafts (I’ll provide a short table of course, you can see in the bottom of this article), but I’ll also evaluate their unique strengths and weaknesses. Because let’s be honest – these two drones are targeted at two separate groups of people and can both coexist in the tech world. And not only they can coexist, they are good for each other, since their competition actually pushes the drone industry forward. Yes, they both share the casualness characteristic, they’re both foldable and smaller than the drones we’re used to – but they both possess unique features which set them apart.

We should keep in mind that the Karma it GoPro’s first attempt at a technology from this level, while DJI has been the drone market’s ruler for a few years already. In addition, GoPro has always targeted a specific group of people – those who are into extreme sports, or who like to be always on the move. To a large extent, that’s also the case with the Karma – it’s main selling point is the portability and the versatility of the product, as well as the multifunctional camera – that’s hard to beat, even by DJI.

So let’s see who’s better at what:

Where Mavic beats Karma:

Longer flight time (~27 min versus 20 min)

Follow me mode, Active track mode, Tap to fly mode

4 vision sensors (obstacle avoidance and ground sonar sensors)

Much better flight range – 4.3 miles (7km)

Faster top speed 40.6mph vs ~35mph

Where Karma beats Mavic:

Much bigger versatility – you can use the camera on the drone, detach it and take it underwater or strap it to your helmet, then attach it to the gimbal and take regular smooth videos

No need for an extra device to view the live video feed from the camera (if you’re using the RC)

Instead of buying the new GoPro Hero 5 Black/Session, you can use your existing GoPro camera (GoPro Hero 4 Black/Silver)

Karma Grip – detachable gimbal, no need to buy a separate gimbal if you want to film everyday videos

Some people argue that the DJI customer service is a good reason not to buy this drone, but many users have reported that the customer service has largely improved over the course of the past few months, so this point could be not as valid as before (still, you might want to consider it).

I’ve seen tons of opinions of people who really dislike the GoPro footage due to the “Fisheye” effect, and consider it as a major disadvantage over DJI’s footage. Fortunately, in GoPro Hero5, there will be a “flat” mode, which will turn off the fisheye effect, if you want it gone.

Also, it’s very interesting to watch the two companies’ different policies when it comes to sales – GoPro announced their drone and didn’t start taking pre-orders right away (at the moment you can only be notified by e-mail when the drone becomes available to order from the official GoPro website). At the same time, DJI has been very active right after the live product presentation ended. They started taking pre-orders on their official website and on their official Amazon account. This will certainly hurt the sales of the Karma, because even if there were many people who wanted to pre-order their product, the hype that DJI has generated right after the Mavic release was unreal and it’s very likely they will lose a lot of potential customers because of that.

So let’s see the detailed comparison between the two aircrafts in the table below:

Specification GoPro Karma DJI Mavic Built-in Camera No Yes Handheld Gimbal Included ✓ ✕ Object Tracking ✕ ✓ Obstacle Avoidance System ✕ ✓ Vision Positioning System ✕ ✓ Case / Backpack Included ✓ Optional Extra Monitor / Screen included ✓ ✕ (Partial display + Smartphone) Gimbal 3 Axis 3 Axis Camera Lens FOV 94° 17.2mm f/2.81 FOV 78.8° 28 mm f/2.2 Resolution : UHD 4K up to 30p / 2.7k 60p1 4K / 2.7k up to 30p + C4K 24p Still photos 12MP RAW + WDR 12MP DNG RAW + HDR Max. Speed 35 mph (15.6 m/s) 40 mph (17.8 m/s) Max. Distance 0.62 miles / 1km 4.3 miles / 7km Max. Wind Resistance 22mph (9.8 m/s) 24mph (10.7 m/s) Battery 14.8v / 5100mAH 11.4v / 3830 mAh Flight Time 20 mins 27 mins Weight 1006g 734g Dimensions (folded) in mm L: 365 / W: 224 / H: 90 L: 198 / W: 83 / H: 81 Retail Price : US $799.99 or $1099.99 inc. Hero 5 $999.00 Battery Price $99.99 $89.00 Shipping October 23rd 2016 Mid October 2016

Again, I definitely think that technical specifications on paper are not everything. For many people the Karma will provide better overall value over the Mavic, depending on their lifestyle and type of filming, especially if they like to film ground videos.

On the other hand, the Mavic will most probably be the most popular choice for people who’re getting their first drone or people who already own DJI products but are looking for more portability by (almost) not sacrificing quality and functionality.

In all cases, both platforms have their strong usage case arguments and they don’t fully overlap.