A question about direct download from a Mini 2

[Honk]

Hello Comrades,

Question: Is it harmful to the my Mini 2 (or other DJI camera drones, for that matter) if I fire it up without unstrapping the legs or removing the camera guard?

I ask because sometimes I don't have an opportunity to collect imagery from the drone until later, after I have packed the drone away. I like to direct download images to my PC using a usb cable.

It would be nice if all I had to do was put in a battery, connect the drone to my PC and download, without having to unstrap and open the legs and remove the camera guard and then repack the drone after downloading.

I am considering getting an SD card reader but I've heard people say frequent inserting and removing of the card may shorten the life of the card and the drone's card slot. What do you think about that?

That's it! Alright. Very good. Here's wishing good stuff to you all.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Its ok to leave the legs folded up but not leave the gibal guard on as the camera want to go thru it check points.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mini 2 in the Rain. Land on the Water

 

[Honk]

Thank you Phantomrain. Please, a coupla more questions.

1. Do you think a card reader would download considerably faster than usb direct from the drone, which is avg. 28 MB/sec?

2. Do you think frequent inserting and removing of the card may considerably shorten the life of the card and the drone's card slot.

Thanks again.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Actually I would open the mini 2 arms and stand it propped up on its side so that convection currents flow across the heat sink. Certainly the gimbal cover should come off. Or direct the blast fron a fan over it.

In fact I wouldn't power a mini 2 up to download photos, why waste battery charge to do that?
I remove the card from the drone and put it in a reader, always.

Try a google for "mSD card insertion rating"

 

[Honk]

Thank you Yorkshire_Pud. Very good. I will be always removing the gimbal guard and I shall be checking your search suggestion.

Re: why waste battery charge
I hear ya on that. There's always 1 or 2 of my batteries will have just been used and down to +-20% and ready for the next cycle.

 

[Meta4]

1. Do you think a card reader would download considerably faster than usb direct from the drone, which is avg. 28 MB/sec?

It's faster and simpler to pop the card, put it in a cheap USB adapter and put that in the computer.

2. Do you think frequent inserting and removing of the card may considerably shorten the life of the card and the drone's card slot.

No ... hasn't been an issuefor me in 8 years of heavy using DJI drones.

 

[Cymruflyer]

The damage you speak of is up to you to prevent. If you think about it, it's like asking if frequent removal and insertion of a battery is likely to do damage to the battery or the unit it is powering.

Think about it for a moment. The Micro SD card makers are making these for many, many different things, not just for drones. Do you think they designed them so they would be extremely delicate, requiring great care when removing and inserting them? I very much doubt it and as long as you are careful when doing the job, I doubt if you will ever have an issue.

I have done it to my drone hundreds of times and to my DSLR cameras, many thousands of times over the years, and never once had a problem. Card readers are simple and low cost and that is always the best way to transfer your files.

I must say it surprised me more than a little, that you are drone flyer and had to ask about the removal of the gimbal cover when turning on your drone. Have you never read or heard anything, regarding the danger of damage to your drone's gimbal if you turn it on before you have removed that gimbal cover, before now?