DJI Mavic 4 Pro — The Aerial Overachiever
If the DJI Mini 3 is your first beer, and the Air 3S is a respectable craft IPA, then the DJI Mavic 4 Pro is a perfectly aged single malt — smooth, powerful, and expensive enough that you’ll hide the receipt in the glove box for a year.
This isn’t just a drone. This is DJI flexing, hard. A 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad camera, 5.7K video, 45+ minutes of flight time, and obstacle avoidance so advanced it might dodge your bad decisions.
It’s the drone that makes sunsets look cinematic, real estate listings look like Netflix trailers, and your neighbor with a Mini SE cry into their Costco hotdog.
The Camera: Hasselblad Flex Mode
The heart of this beast is the 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad camera. Translation: your footage now looks like it belongs in National Geographic instead of your uncle’s Facebook feed.
Dynamic range: Pulls detail from bright skies and dark forests like some kind of wizard.
Low light: Finally, night shots that don’t look like you filmed them with a potato.
Colors: Hasselblad color science is famous — and no, that’s not marketing hype. It really does make the ocean look bluer and the sunsets richer.
On Vancouver Island, where you can go from blinding ocean glare to shadowy rainforest in five steps, that extra quality isn’t just nice — it’s survival.
👉 Pro Tip: Pack ND filters. Without them, the glare off Tofino surf will nuke your footage faster than a gull stealing fries.
Punchline payoff: Yes, it’s Hasselblad. No, that doesn’t mean you’re suddenly Scorsese.
Flight Time: Finally, Less Battery PTSD
DJI claims 45+ minutes of flight time. Which, if you’re coming from a Mini, feels like discovering cheat codes.
That’s long enough to:
Film an entire oceanfront mansion,
Panic when a bald eagle decides you’re the intruder,
Argue with yourself about whether to “push it one more minute,”
Still make it home with battery left.
For construction projects, this is massive. Less time swapping batteries, more time actually filming. For hospitality shoots? You can cover an entire resort in one smooth take instead of three stitched-together flights.
Punchline payoff: It’s the first drone I’ve flown where the low-battery warning doesn’t trigger immediate chest pain.
Obstacle Avoidance: Your Built-In Drone Insurance
The Mavic 4 Pro has all-direction obstacle sensing, which means it basically refuses to die unless you really try.
It dodges trees, buildings, and the occasional power line like it owes you money. On the Island, I’ve flown it through marinas full of ropes, poles, and seagulls with zero incidents — which is more than I can say for myself after two coffees.
For construction sites packed with cranes, scaffolding, and workers who “just want to see the drone up close,” this is more than nice. It’s peace of mind.
Punchline payoff: It’s like flying with a backseat driver… but one that actually keeps you alive.
Portability vs. Power: Not a Pocket Drone
Look, this thing isn’t small. If you’re hoping to slide it into your jeans pocket, either you’re wearing cargo pants from 2003 or you need to rethink your wardrobe.
But here’s the tradeoff: that weight means stability in wind.
Mini 3: Flaps like a plastic bag in a storm.
Air 3S: Decent, until the gusts get sassy.
Mavic 4 Pro: Cuts through coastal winds like a drunk uncle through wedding cake.
If you’re filming along Ucluelet’s cliffs or a construction site where dust devils roll through, you’ll thank every extra gram of this drone.
Punchline payoff: It’s not discreet… but neither is showing up to a job with shaky footage.
Should You Buy It?
Let’s be brutally honest:
Beginners → Don’t do it. Crash a Mini first, get the tears out of your system.
Upgraders (Air 3S, Mini 4 Pro) → Welcome to the endgame. This is the truck upgrade. You’ll never shut up about it.
Pros (real estate, construction, resorts) → If you show up without this drone, someone else will. Clients can smell “entry-level” from a mile away.
At Island Drones, we run a fleet — but when wow-factor is on the line, this is the rig we pull. It’s the one that makes clients say, “Wait, you shot that?”
Real Island Test: The Cliffside Shoot
We were filming a cliffside property near Sooke. Conditions: brutal. Windy, reflective water, trees everywhere.
Mini 3: got bullied by the wind.
Air 3S: respectable, but not happy.
Mavic 4 Pro: rock-solid, smooth, and made me look like a genius.
The client was floored. That single shoot justified the price of the drone.
Punchline payoff: Sometimes, pro gear isn’t about looking fancy — it’s about getting paid.
The Island Drones Verdict
The DJI Mavic 4 Pro is not cheap. But neither is divorce — so maybe don’t tell your spouse what you spent.
It’s not a toy. It’s not a hobbyist’s upgrade. It’s the professional’s rig — and on Vancouver Island, where the conditions are unpredictable and the views are priceless, it’s the tool that elevates your footage from “nice” to jaw-dropping.
👉 See our full gear list — including the Mavic 4 Pro, filters, and the extras that actually matter.
