Buying , or not buying ?. That is the question.

[Felix le Chat]

The mini 3 pro has now had enough time out in the wild for DJI to iron out the most egregious bugs and glitches they always ship their new drones with. The mini 4 pro will be the best thing since sliced bread for the first fortnight and then we'll all be reading the inevitable expanding list of observations about it's funky little quirks for the next six months (as we have for every new release drone). If I am going to invest over two grand for new kit: it'll be the Air 3 and mini 4 pro combo.... after DJI has tracked down and exterminated most of the bugs.

 

[Starz]

are quite a bit better build quality

As with all your observations on this forum,(won’t be the same here without you)you are probably correct. They are most likely increasing the profit margin collected by our friends at DJI. Thanks M for all you do!

 

[loop]

Please when you receive it, folks here who are buying, send a comment about low light performance.
Is it the upgraded Air 3 sensor?

 

[spsphotos]

Not buying a M4P. I do like the new sensors, but not enough to shell out $$$. My M3P works fine. If I do buy another drone it's going to be the Air3.

 

[whazzup]

The Pilot Institute review is pretty comprehensive and the upgrades are nice, and some are compelling. For me, the waypoints function and full 360 obstacle avoidance are the salient, "drool-inducing" new features. The camera is similar to M3P (which I have). The upgrade path is painful as I feel the need to sell my M3P to "fund" a portion of the purchase (~$500-600 on eBay recently, soon to drop, I'm sure). I also want to upgrade my mirrorless camera, and "GAS" (gear acquisition syndrome) gets expensive after a while.

Bottom line is not "if", but "when". With the iPhone, I typically upgrade every other cycle. I upgraded to the M3P from the original Mini, and I will decide between the M4P and some future M5P (assuming the follow the pattern).

Just my $0.02

 

[Dale D]

What is your reason for "YES buying" a Mini4 ?
(and what are you doing with your "old" drone?)

What is your reason for "NOT buying" a Mini4?

I'd consider it but after it's been out a while. Now have enough on my plate with Mavic 3 and Mini 2. Don't use either of them very much except for travel and it is getting so restrictive that I leave the drone at home for some countries so there is absolutely no rush for me. Examples(1) - three trips this year- Middle East- Israel_Jordan (Unite Arab Republic - Dubai-Abu Dhabi) the use of drones is forbidden due to risks of high fines and prison time. The UAR is at war with the Houthie Rebels who use drones on them! (2) Canadian Rockies in August- mostly national parks- high fines, prison. (3) Kenya soon- same story as above.
I have exhausted filming and flying in the Miami area. All flying here would be a repeat of drone trips- lots of traffic, risks, etc. Why buy a Ferrari if it sits in the garage all the time?

Dale
Miami

 

[funflyer]

What is your reason for "YES buying" a Mini4 ?
(and what are you doing with your "old" drone?)

What is your reason for "NOT buying" a Mini4?

I can do all I want with my mini 2. I would only buy if my mini 2 was lost, damaged or unusable.

 

[rwilliam99]

I can do all I want with my mini 2. I would only buy if my mini 2 was lost, damaged or unusable.

I would say the same about my mini 3 pro. While the 4 pro has some interesting new features, they are not enough to prompt me to lay about another $1000 to get one. The waypoints feature, along with the 360 degree OA are most interesting to me, but I'm not sure how much I'd use them.

Does anyone know if you can load other apps (like litchi) on the RC-N2?

 

[kerryp24]

Probably not. My current is an A2S. I was thinking about the new Air 3, but figured I'd wait to see what the M4P had to offer. For a difference of $400... With MUCH more features, I'll be going for the Air 3.

 

[funflyer]

I would say the same about my mini 3 pro. While the 4 pro has some interesting new features, they are not enough to prompt me to lay about another $1000 to get one. The waypoints feature, along with the 360 degree OA are most interesting to me, but I'm not sure how much I'd use them.

Does anyone know if you can load other apps (like litchi) on the RC-N2?

With the way point feature, I assume that after way points are entered, you can concentrate more on your camera while flying and not as much as where the drone is flying?

 

[rwilliam99]

With the way point feature, I assume that after way points are entered, you can concentrate more on your camera while flying and not as much as where the drone is flying?

That is certainly one possibility. The other thing is you can "replay" a flight at a different time - it opens up some interesting possibilities - but again, I'm not sure how much I'd use it - at this point it is more of a curiosity thing for me.

 

[VLL]

I bought my M3P from an online retailer named after a South American river two weeks ago, and I will be returning it next week and buying a M4P.

Hmmm . . . South American river. What retailer might that be? I think probably the same retailer I bought Freewell ND filters from. And since the M3P filters don’t fit the M4P, I’ll be returning them in that same 30 day return window. Freewell’s website says the M4P filters should start shipping in mid-Oct. Yay!

 

[James in the Desert]

What is your reason for "YES buying" a Mini4 ?
(and what are you doing with your "old" drone?)

What is your reason for "NOT buying" a Mini4?

No, I've been involved in drone flying for quite a while, and I must admit that despite owning various drones, I haven't fully explored all their capabilities. The more time I spend with a drone, the more I become adept at maneuvering it, almost like playing a Game Boy. However, I mainly focus on capturing great videos and stunning photographs when it comes to practical use. it really is all about time in the air and reception between the controller and the Bird

 

[WildcatDave]

I ordered my Mini 4 Pro from DJI.com today but did not want the RC controller. So I ordered my own Fly More combo 'à la carte' as I wanted an RC-N2 controller as I prefer my phone as a display.

Upgrading from my first drone I got this past July -- a Mini 2 SE. Reason for upgrading -- I wanted the better camera and obstacle avoidance technology despite never having a crash in my short flying experience.

Not sure what I'm going to do with the Mini 2 SE Fly More combo I have now but really don't need two drones.

Curious as why you like your phone display better. I have a current gen phone with a bright screen but still prefer the built-in one. Especially since I don't have to fiddle with connections and limit my phone use while connected to the drone or have a second phone.

 

[agia57]

Curious as why you like your phone display better. I have a current gen phone with a bright screen but still prefer the built-in one. Especially since I don't have to fiddle with connections and limit my phone use while connected to the drone or have a second phone.

I'm using a Samsung S23 of which I configured it to automatically do the following when I plug into the controller:

• Launch the DJI Fly app
• Automatically brighten the screen
• Turn up the volume
• Go into an ignore mode for text messages, phone calls, etc.

I can view the B4UFly app on the same device as well.

It's just my personal preference plus I prefer having the display above the joysticks.

 

[WildcatDave]

I'm using a Samsung S23 of which I configured it to automatically do the following when I plug into the controller:

• Launch the DJI Fly app
• Automatically brighten the screen
• Turn up the volume
• Go into an ignore mode for text messages, phone calls, etc.

I can view the B4UFly app on the same device as well.

It's just my personal preference plus I prefer having the display above the joysticks.

Well heck now I can see why you like that. That's excellent, it's basically a turnkey plug-in and go.

It's great that we have options and they are reasonably priced in either choice.

 

[Wingman8209]

I bought a Mini 4 Pro because I like the upgrades and I think I am giving my Mini 3 Pro to many son-In-law who wants to start flying

How big is the screen on the RC 2 remote? Seems like it would be even smaller than my phone. Might be better off with the non screen version.

 

[Chrislaf]

I won’t be upgrading from my Mini 3 Pro as the added features it has I already have in my Mavic 3 Pro which I just recently upgraded to from my Mavic 3. Also, having the Mini 3 Pro compatible with the RC Pro allows me to use one controller with both drones rather than having separate controllers for each drone which is important to me as I am often hiking with both drones.

Chris

 

[agia57]

Well heck now I can see why you like that. That's excellent, it's basically a turnkey plug-in and go.

It's great that we have options and they are reasonably priced in either choice.

It was an accidental discovery when I upgraded from a much older smartphone. My phone's Android OS has a feature called "Modes" so I created a 'Drone Mode'. The modes have a lot of configuration options. I have no experience with the RC controller but was concerned with some of the feedback about screen brightness plus I'm in usually sunny So. Cal. where the screen can wash out.

 

[Jack in Dixie]

How big is the screen on the RC 2 remote? Seems like it would be even smaller than my phone. Might be better off with the non screen version.

I believe I read somewhere the RC2 screen is 5.5". Please correct me if I'm wrong...

I bought the M4P last night with an RC-N2 (no screen) controller. I will be using an iPad Gen 6 with a 9.7" display or my iPad Pro Gen 3 with a 12.9" display if the 9.7" tablet is not enough for me to enjoy flying. I find as I get older (62) I need a larger display than when I was <50 yrs. old. Same reason I now have a 75" TV at home instead of a 32".

That is why I went with the RC-N2 and HIGHLY recommend it so you can use a controller display that works for you now and can go bigger (if needed...) as you age. And as another person noted, I also prefer my display to be above the sticks. Your mileage may vary.