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Started By
Message
DJI Mini 4 Pro
Posted on 12/25/23 at 11:30 am
Posted on 12/25/23 at 11:30 am
Initially bought the Mini 2, based on recommendations here and elsewhere, believing I could fly fairly easily without any drone experience. I read about this one not having any collision avoidance detection, so, I returned it without using it. I simply did not trust myself flying without any assistance.
Stepped up to the Mini 3 Pro. Started getting really in depth with the great YT videos that are out there, and website reviews. This one has collision avoidance system, however, only from the front and back (top and bottom), and not the sides. Realizing the amount of money this was, and considering I am a novice at best, I decided to return the Mini 3 Pro, unused.
Finally decided on the Mini 4 Pro. This one has all the bells and whistles, including collision avoidance detection 360. I flew it this morning, along with my 2 daughters. Simply fantastic experience. The camera quality (vertical and horizontal) are awesome, and this thing practically flies itself.
I can easily see us bringing this on vacation. I want to use it on my dogs when we go walking and track them from a different perspective. I bought the Fly More edition with the 3 batteries and the remote has a screen built in.
Set up was simple and very straightforward. I am looking forward to getting a lot better with it and bringing it out to LSU as I think some aerial photos would look fantastic.
Stepped up to the Mini 3 Pro. Started getting really in depth with the great YT videos that are out there, and website reviews. This one has collision avoidance system, however, only from the front and back (top and bottom), and not the sides. Realizing the amount of money this was, and considering I am a novice at best, I decided to return the Mini 3 Pro, unused.
Finally decided on the Mini 4 Pro. This one has all the bells and whistles, including collision avoidance detection 360. I flew it this morning, along with my 2 daughters. Simply fantastic experience. The camera quality (vertical and horizontal) are awesome, and this thing practically flies itself.
I can easily see us bringing this on vacation. I want to use it on my dogs when we go walking and track them from a different perspective. I bought the Fly More edition with the 3 batteries and the remote has a screen built in.
Set up was simple and very straightforward. I am looking forward to getting a lot better with it and bringing it out to LSU as I think some aerial photos would look fantastic.
This post was edited on 12/25/23 at 11:32 am
1
Posted on 12/27/23 at 8:34 pm to Will Cover
You made the correct choice from an overall product POV. If you are going to spend the money, spend it 
That being said, they all fly the same and you would have been just as good with the mini 2. They are all so easy to fly. You almost have to try to crash them. You have a better product now though!
That being said, they all fly the same and you would have been just as good with the mini 2. They are all so easy to fly. You almost have to try to crash them. You have a better product now though!
Posted on 12/27/23 at 9:15 pm to im4LSU
quote:
They are all so easy to fly. You almost have to try to crash them. You have a better product now though!
Yes, after flying it a couple of times, I do agree with you. However, I firmly believe that if a tree is present, or a roofline, I could hit it!
So, I am glad I upgraded.
Posted on 12/27/23 at 10:05 pm to Will Cover
I'll say this after I already said "you almost have to try to crash them"
Dont let the 360 degree collision avoidance lull you to sleep though. I did just that. Had an accident with my Air 2S where I was trying to get a certain shot for a client and I was about 2 ft below the canopy of a small tree in a parking lot. Everything was fine, no sensor alerts then boom. All of a sudden the drone flipped out and got really wobbly and fell about 5 ft to the ground. When I got closer, I noticed that there was a little twig hanging down and one of the props had knicked it and got caught in the prop. Ended up bending the front right motor mount and busting the gimble.
Sent it in to DJI and they just swapped the whole drone out for $0. I didnt even have the Care Refresh on that drone.
Point being, If I didnt have that false sense of security with the avoidance, I would have never been in that position in the first place.
Dont let the 360 degree collision avoidance lull you to sleep though. I did just that. Had an accident with my Air 2S where I was trying to get a certain shot for a client and I was about 2 ft below the canopy of a small tree in a parking lot. Everything was fine, no sensor alerts then boom. All of a sudden the drone flipped out and got really wobbly and fell about 5 ft to the ground. When I got closer, I noticed that there was a little twig hanging down and one of the props had knicked it and got caught in the prop. Ended up bending the front right motor mount and busting the gimble.
Sent it in to DJI and they just swapped the whole drone out for $0. I didnt even have the Care Refresh on that drone.
Point being, If I didnt have that false sense of security with the avoidance, I would have never been in that position in the first place.
Posted on 12/28/23 at 6:52 am to im4LSU
Makes sense, and I appreciate the tip. I don't plan to cut it close. I wanted the collision avoidance detection for when I fly my 4 down the street or above someone's house and I can't directly see how close I am to a tree (I do understand that it's harder to detect tree branches when they don't have any leaves, from what I have read) or their house.
How far away are you comfortable flying your Air 2S? Do you always try to keep eyes on it, or you allow it to get out of sight (and monitor on your phone or remote)?
I ask, because so far it has been line of sight for me, as I don't trust myself, yet. I did set my maximum range distance to about 2500 meters for now.
And do you recommend buying the extended warranty coverage from DJI? I bought mine from Best Buy, have used it but right now, it is still in mint condition. I normally don't buy extended warranties, except for refrigerators.
How far away are you comfortable flying your Air 2S? Do you always try to keep eyes on it, or you allow it to get out of sight (and monitor on your phone or remote)?
I ask, because so far it has been line of sight for me, as I don't trust myself, yet. I did set my maximum range distance to about 2500 meters for now.
And do you recommend buying the extended warranty coverage from DJI? I bought mine from Best Buy, have used it but right now, it is still in mint condition. I normally don't buy extended warranties, except for refrigerators.
This post was edited on 12/28/23 at 6:55 am
Posted on 12/28/23 at 7:48 pm to Will Cover
quote:
How far away are you comfortable flying your Air 2S?
Ill fly it until I see 2 bars drop off of the signal indicator. Which rarely happens. I dont really fly them just for fun, its normally a specific job site. I normally do a test flight after every firmware update, which is pretty frequently. I do that just to make sure everything is working correctly. I normally go as high as I can and as far as I can just to make sure nothing screwy is going on. Im really comfortable with the area I fly in (no structures or anything) so Im good with flying beyond VLOS. I monitor on my IPad if I do that.
quote:
I ask, because so far it has been line of sight for me, as I don't trust myself, yet. I did set my maximum range distance to about 2500 meters for now
Depending on where you are, I doubt the drone will be able to fly that far out due to interference. Where I am in Hattiesburg, the farthest I have been able to fly out has been about 2500 FEET
quote:
And do you recommend buying the extended warranty coverage from DJI? I bought mine from Best Buy, have used it but right now, it is still in mint condition. I normally don't buy extended warranties, except for refrigerators.
I normally dont either but I absolutely 100% recommend enrolling in the DJI Care Refresh program. Their customer service has been unbelievable for me. Something happens to your drone, all you do is go to the DJI website and set up a repair request. They email you a shipping sticker, you pack it up and send it. 3 days they will have it diagnosed and send you a repair plan. They will have it repaired in another day and you'll have it back within a week from when you initiated the repair request.
That was my experience at least. Ive seen countless other instances of it being the same for other people as well. Mine was more cost effective to just send me a completely new drone. Granted its a refurb, but the refurbs go through a more rigorous inspection than the new ones off the line. I will be purchasing a refurb from them the next time I need to upgrade just for this reason. What makes this more unbelievable to me is that I wasnt enrolled in the Care Refresh program for my Air 2S, yet they still went above and beyond for me.
I was in the middle of a job when that incident occurred so I had to go ahead and buy another drone (Air 3) and I purchased the 2 year Care Refresh on it simply because of the unbelievable service they gave me. It was too easy, and its a huge weight off of my shoulders to know that its so easy in case something happens. I do this for money so downtime is no bueno for me.
Posted on 12/28/23 at 9:14 pm to im4LSU
Great information, thank you for sharing.
Posted on 12/28/23 at 10:54 pm to Will Cover
Glad to help. Enjoy that Mini 4 
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