Multirotor, multicopter and quadcopter discussion - The Drone thread

Don
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Well I bought one after reading and watching many a reviews online. I always regretted selling my Phantom but the thing was a nightmare to transport, can’t wait for this to turn up.

@AndyCr15, I take it the drone doesn't come with an SD card? Is it just the standard micro SD card it takes?
 
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Don
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I think it all comes down to the old photographer's adage of "The best camera is the one you have with you". You are more likely to have the little Mavic Mini with you than the larger drones which require a concious decision to take them. Kind of like your phone vs your SLR.
 
Associate
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I'm looking to get my first drone. I am not sure if I should get a new Mavic Mini with Fly More or get a used Mavic Pro with Fly More. The used Pro works out slightly more expensive. I live right on the edge of the New Forest so I'd like to make sure I get decent range and I have read reports of the Mavic Mini having range problems over more built up areas. I am expecting the cameras to perform around the same? Primary uses would be for fun, seeing the world from up high and some photography.
 
Don
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I'm looking to get my first drone. I am not sure if I should get a new Mavic Mini with Fly More or get a used Mavic Pro with Fly More. The used Pro works out slightly more expensive. I live right on the edge of the New Forest so I'd like to make sure I get decent range and I have read reports of the Mavic Mini having range problems over more built up areas. I am expecting the cameras to perform around the same? Primary uses would be for fun, seeing the world from up high and some photography.

I'm not sure you can compare the Mini and the Pro really, the latter will provide you with a lot more for your money. The Mini just appealed to me for it's price, size and the fun factor, the spec is really impressive too, I've watched so many YouTube vids on it I was instantly sold. The fact I can literally take it anywhere without thought is a big reason why I never really used my Phantom enough. The Mavic isn't exactly big neither, so as long as you can find a decent second hand example, you're probably best future proofing yourself and going for that.
 
Associate
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I'm not sure you can compare the Mini and the Pro really, the latter will provide you with a lot more for your money. The Mini just appealed to me for it's price, size and the fun factor, the spec is really impressive too, I've watched so many YouTube vids on it I was instantly sold. The fact I can literally take it anywhere without thought is a big reason why I never really used my Phantom enough. The Mavic isn't exactly big neither, so as long as you can find a decent second hand example, you're probably best future proofing yourself and going for that.

Interesting, thanks for that. Normally I'd just get the Mini but as the prices are within £30 I thought it was worth considering the Pro. I presume it will have better range then the mini under all conditions? Other than the size of it and the fact it's new, is there a reason to get the Mini over a used Pro?
 
Don
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Interesting, thanks for that. Normally I'd just get the Mini but as the prices are within £30 I thought it was worth considering the Pro. I presume it will have better range then the mini under all conditions? Other than the size of it and the fact it's new, is there a reason to get the Mini over a used Pro?

Someone will have more knowledge than me but the Pro will go further yes, it's range is something like 4 miles, probably more. The Mini would be around half of that. My P3 Adv could do 3m odd, did I ever go that far? Never! So that part doesn't interest me. I'm not sure about the RF debate, I think the Mini uses a different or older (?) frequency which could mess with range. Again, I'm sure someone can clear it up. The quality of the camera looks really good too, 2.7k is more than enough for me. The quick shots look really good too.
 
Soldato
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Range is further (and irrelevant as your limited to line of sight under CAA rules), but flight time is actually lower (21-27 minutes) than the Mavic Mini (~30 minutes), its also much heavyier at ~900g so you will need to register the drone with the CAA (at £9/a year) and take the pilot competancy test, you don't need to do any of this with the Mavic Mini.

I used to have the Mavic 2 Zoom which would comfortably fly across the bay from Torquay to Brixham (~4miles) and still have great reception, but you couldn't see it past 1 mile anyway unless you were tracking its every move (with a spotter)
 
Caporegime
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Range is further (and irrelevant as your limited to line of sight under CAA rules), but flight time is actually lower (21-27 minutes) than the Mavic Mini (~30 minutes), its also much heavyier at ~900g so you will need to register the drone with the CAA (at £9/a year) and take the pilot competancy test, you don't need to do any of this with the Mavic Mini.

I used to have the Mavic 2 Zoom which would comfortably fly across the bay from Torquay to Brixham (~4miles) and still have great reception, but you couldn't see it past 1 mile anyway unless you were tracking its every move (with a spotter)


Strobe led's can help out with visibility from afar, though i think the rules state it has to be unaided, so using binoculars or strobes don't count for that. =/ I have arc 2 strobes on my mavic and they have a visibility of 3+ miles.
 
Associate
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theres some range tests on youtube, but the mini is completely fine. and theres probably only a few times you really need a long distance or duration flight tbh
 
Soldato
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The Mavic Mini was created for a specific market segment though, one that would not require CAA registration and allow average Joe to get into the hobby without the need to hand over personal details. The Mavic Air is also double the price of the Mini so I would expect it to offer more "pro" level features like RAW output for colour grading. Something most people don't care about at all.
 
Soldato
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Does anyone else have a Mini? I've had a couple of issues so far. It didn't like two of my memory cards, neither of which I've had problems with before. It's almost like the Mini was corrupting them. I seem to have finally found one that works after two wasted walks to the local fields! (First time I didn't consider the card wouldn't work, second time it seemed fine at home, then wouldn't work up the fields). Then, the two times I've tried to gain altitude, I get to about 60m and it starts telling me it's losing connection to the controller, which is a little unnerving. One time it flashed something up about WiFi conditions, but surely WiFi isn't used when using the controller?!
 
Soldato
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Most of the videos you find will be from people in countries that don't have the ridiculous EU power limitations of 25mw, the FCC version is 1000mw. This is actual video of its range on the CE model flying at an altitude of 70m, range was ~1600m (less than a 3rd of the FCC model), obviously it would be much lower at a lower height where obstructions will be plenty.

Big difference though is the FCC model actually ran out of battery before range was limited (video drop outs etc), the CE model loses video forcing a return to home.

 
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