DJI Mavic 4 Pro 9-Month Long-Term Review: The Drone I Keep Choosing Over Everything Else

The DJI Mavic 4 Pro is not a drone that will impress you on day one. It will probably make the biggest impression three months down the line, when you realize you keep reaching for it, even when you have plenty of other drones that could do the job. I’ve flown this drone extensively over the past nine months, and this is my honest long-term assessment so you can figure out who this drone is really for.

Before we get into the camera, the lenses, and all the different features, let me be clear about one thing: this drone is not for beginners. It’s not for casual flyers either, and it’s definitely not for anyone looking to get into the air on a budget. The DJI Mavic 4 Pro is for cinematic flyers, professional creators, and people who care about image quality, flexibility, and reliability.

If you’re the type of person who notices focal length differences, color depth, color grading latitude, and how the drone behaves in windy conditions, this drone will make a very strong impression on you. If not, you’re probably overpaying for something you won’t use at its full potential.

The telephoto lenses are the real stars of this drone

The DJI Mavic 4 Pro carries three lenses: a 28 mm wide-angle, a 70 mm medium telephoto, and a 168 mm telephoto. The 28 mm is fine. But the medium telephoto and the telephoto are where this drone separates itself from everything else I’ve flown. They’re quite ridiculous, and I mean that in the best way possible.

This is where cinematic flying actually becomes cinematic. You get real compression. You can separate the subject from the background. You can show scale. And you get that parallax effect that looks so good when done right. You can tell better stories without flying too close to your subject. Once you get used to those lenses, going back to a single wide-angle feels painful.

I have to be honest, though. I’ve complained before about how soft the image sometimes looks from the medium telephoto and telephoto lenses. That’s still the case. They are not perfect. Sometimes the image becomes a bit too soft for my liking and lacks the sharpness I’d want. I suspect it’s a hardware limitation since DJI hasn’t addressed it through firmware. But I can live with that trade-off for the creative flexibility these lenses provide.

Night performance that keeps surprising me

The Mavic 4 Pro’s low-light performance is surprisingly good. Even in pitch-black scenarios with almost no ambient light sources, this drone produces usable footage. The noise is manageable. If you’re running DaVinci Resolve, the built-in noise reduction handles it well.

I keep getting surprised by the quality at night. This is one of those features people don’t realize how good it is until they actually see the results. And if you shoot at blue hour instead of waiting for complete darkness, the amount of light, detail, and clarity you can extract from this camera is fantastic.

6K 60fps All-I codec changes the post-production game

The 6K at 60 frames per second with the All-I codec is reserved for the Creator Combo, which costs more. Not everyone has experienced what this codec offers. But if you’ve invested in the Creator Combo, you get access to something that has changed how I work.

I never use anything else. I always shoot All-I because I want maximum flexibility and the most detail this drone can give me. Yes, the files are massive. I don’t care. I have plenty of storage. What I get in return is something I’ve never experienced from a consumer drone before. It’s right on the edge of cinema-drone territory.

D-Log is the color profile I keep coming back to because it’s so flexible. My custom LUTs are optimized for D-Log and D-Log M footage, and my DaVinci Resolve Power Grade has been tweaked to work with both. One of my favorite things to do is apply my Power Grade on top of All-I D-Log footage from the Mavic 4 Pro and watch it come together in less than a second. Working with D-Log footage should not feel intimidating because it really isn’t.

Intelligent flight modes and tracking keep getting smarter

The intelligent flight modes on the Mavic 4 Pro are fantastic. These drones keep getting smarter, and getting smooth shots is now easier than it has ever been. You really don’t have a good excuse for shaky footage anymore.

The tracking is solid. It has its hiccups occasionally, but for the vast majority of situations where I’ve used Active Track, the experience has been positive.

Quiet operation and wind resistance you can count on

Something that should not be underestimated is how quiet this drone is. If you’re shooting a lot around people or in urban areas, you know how much that matters. Even though this is a big drone, it’s still remarkably silent.

Wind resistance is something I never worry about with the Mavic 4 Pro. It handles strong conditions without any problems. Weather is never a concern for me when I’m flying this drone. That kind of confidence makes a real difference when you’re on location and need to get the shot regardless of conditions.

The RC Pro 2 controller is great, with one concern

I have the Creator Combo, which comes with the RC Pro 2 remote controller. For the most part, I love this remote. The bright screen, the responsiveness, the ease of use. Just pull it out of your backpack, open it up, and it’s ready to fly. Auto-powering on both the drone and the controller is something I cannot live without anymore.

What concerns me is the build quality. The folding mechanism on the back feels a bit flimsy. I’ve heard reports of people breaking the remote fairly easily, and I always have that in the back of my mind. I’m careful with it. That nagging worry shouldn’t be there on a controller at this price point.

Transfer speed and internal storage make a real workflow difference

If you’re shooting a lot, transfer speed and internal storage make a huge practical difference. Especially with All-I files being as large as they are, you need to move data fast. The Mavic 4 Pro’s transfer speeds are genuinely fast. You don’t feel the large file sizes because everything moves to your SSD so quickly. That saves real time in a day-to-day workflow.

What I don’t like after 9 months with the Mavic 4 Pro

After a long list of positives, there are things I don’t love about this drone even after nine months of use.

The Infinity Gimbal: Yes, it’s cool. No, I never use it. I appreciate the tilt capability, but I don’t care about the 360-degree rotation. It can produce some interesting shots, but I never reach for that feature. I fly FPV as well, and I keep that style of creative movement for my FPV shots. I prefer my camera drone footage to look more traditional. That’s a personal preference, but the Infinity Gimbal is not a selling point for me.

Vertical shooting: Connected to the Infinity Gimbal, but I never use it either. I always prefer a horizontal image that I can crop later if I need vertical content. If you record an incredible shot and only have it in vertical, that’s extremely limiting. You can’t put it on YouTube. You can’t use it in a traditional edit. I don’t want to limit myself that way.

D-Log M with Auto ISO: I’ve seen plenty of people talk about this combination for maximizing dynamic range. It’s not for me. When you have D-Log, manual settings, and ND filters, you can shape the image exactly how you want. I can’t explain it beyond saying that Auto ISO and D-Log M feel pointless to me on a drone at this level.

The C2 label: The Mavic 4 Pro weighs more than 900 grams, which places it in the C2 category under European drone regulations instead of C1. That means more regulations and more compliance requirements. For some people, that could be a deal-breaker. For me, it’s limiting in certain shooting situations, but not something that stops me from flying it regularly.

Final verdict after 9 months of flying

The DJI Mavic 4 Pro might not be the most exciting drone release on paper. It’s not flashy. But the best thing about this drone shows up after months of consistent use. The small things you notice in different lighting conditions, different environments, and stronger winds. Those are the things that build real confidence in a tool you rely on.

Yes, it has things that might be deal-breakers for some pilots depending on how they shoot, what they expect, and how much they’re willing to spend. But for me personally, for the type of shots I pursue and the quality I expect every time I fly, this is the best consumer drone you can buy right now before stepping up to the Inspire line and spending three to five times more money.

I’ll keep flying the Mavic 4 Pro for as long as I can, unless something better comes along. Right now, nothing has.

All photos courtesy of Drone Supremacy. Check out more reviews and content on the Drone Supremacy YouTube channel.