If not now, then when??

[The Scary Monsters]

Hey guys and gals or however you currently identify.

I have been teetering on the edge of buying an MM for about a year which cost about $800 (Australia) for the Fly More combo.

The thing that has held me back is the lack of way point flying (I’d get Litchi for this). The Litchi guys have said “they are working on it” (see attached screen shot). Will it happen?

Now to make my purchasing decision more of a C Stretcher, there’s talk of an MM2 with 4K coming out.

So! The question is, when is this stuff likely to happen? Before Christmas??

Thanks guys

 

[old man mavic]

welcome to the forum ,
to answer your question ?

 

[maelstrom]

The thing that has held me back is the lack of way point flying (I’d get Litchi for this).

Get Dronelink. It handles waypoints well on the Mini.

 

[vindibona1]

Get Dronelink. It handles waypoints well on the Mini.

Yes, Dronelink does support the MIni as Litchi does not, except for beta software. Dronelink can do many things, some better than Litchi.... but the learning curve is ? S T E E P! I purchased Dronelink (as well as also owning Litchi)almost two weeks ago and I'm still trying to plan my first mission. My first attempt was a total fail and I've been trying to view the scores of tutorials, but am so confused. I wanted to keep my first "Repo" (and odd term that isn't intuititve to grasp) as private but says my $20 account can only create a public repo to be shared with all who search for it. And then there are lists, and the lists have lists. Do I have to stop the camera before starting it? How to I learn the nuances of how to control the camera direction and gimbal direction. It seems super powerful as it can control every aspect of the flight. That's a good thing. However, you have to program every aspect of the flight, which for a beginner is more than a bit challenging.

I was up and running with Litchi in 20 minutes. But IMO it's not ready for Mini's prime time yet. Don't get me wrong, it's powerful; more powerful than Litchi. But there are SO many steps involved in the programming. Also, unlike Litchi you cannot program a Dronelink mission on a mobile device as you can with Litchi .
JMO

 

[Modra]

I own a mini and i love it. It depends on what your using it for . i have a MP2 as well as a MA2 for work and the mini for mayhem and general nonsense. cant beat for the price the next one might come with a cost increase .
If you get the combo be careful with the case, it has a hump in the bottom that likes to warp props.

 

[Modra]

Yes, Dronelink does support the MIni as Litchi does not, except for beta software. Dronelink can do many things, some better than Litchi.... but the learning curve is ? S T E E P! I purchased Dronelink (as well as also owning Litchi)almost two weeks ago and I'm still trying to plan my first mission. My first attempt was a total fail and I've been trying to view the scores of tutorials, but am so confused. I wanted to keep my first "Repo" (and odd term that isn't intuititve to grasp) as private but says my $20 account can only create a private repo. And then there are lists, and the lists have lists. Do I have to stop the camera before starting it? How to I learn the nuances of how to control the camera direction and gimbal direction. It seems super powerful as it can control every aspect of the flight. That's a good thing. However, you have to program every aspect of the flight, which for a beginner is more than a bit challenging.

I was up and running with Litchi in 20 minutes. But IMO it's not ready for Mini's prime time yet. Don't get me wrong, it's powerful; more powerful than Litchi. But there are SO many steps involved in the programming. Also, unlike Litchi you cannot program a Dronelink mission on a mobile device as you can with Litchi .
JMO

Yes, Dronelink does support the MIni as Litchi does not, except for beta software. Dronelink can do many things, some better than Litchi.... but the learning curve is ? S T E E P! I purchased Dronelink (as well as also owning Litchi)almost two weeks ago and I'm still trying to plan my first mission. My first attempt was a total fail and I've been trying to view the scores of tutorials, but am so confused. I wanted to keep my first "Repo" (and odd term that isn't intuititve to grasp) as private but says my $20 account can only create a private repo. And then there are lists, and the lists have lists. Do I have to stop the camera before starting it? How to I learn the nuances of how to control the camera direction and gimbal direction. It seems super powerful as it can control every aspect of the flight. That's a good thing. However, you have to program every aspect of the flight, which for a beginner is more than a bit challenging.

I was up and running with Litchi in 20 minutes. But IMO it's not ready for Mini's prime time yet. Don't get me wrong, it's powerful; more powerful than Litchi. But there are SO many steps involved in the programming. Also, unlike Litchi you cannot program a Dronelink mission on a mobile device as you can with Litchi .
JMO

I had Litchi before i bought Dronelink . And after sitting in front of my computer for what seemed like a great part of humankind i gave up without ever getting a mission to ever work. JIm at dronelink was quick and friendly with my refund. Litchi is Awesome ! I'm hoping it's out of beta soon for the MM .

 

[maelstrom]

I had Litchi before i bought Dronelink . And after sitting in front of my computer for what seemed like a great part of humankind i gave up without ever getting a mission to ever work. JIm at dronelink was quick and friendly with my refund. Litchi is Awesome ! I'm hoping it's out of beta soon for the MM .

Dronelink certainly does seem more complex than Litchi but I was able to get a basic 5-waypoint mission up and running from scratch in about an hour (and I’m fairly new to the world of drones). There are lots of free tutorial videos produced by Dronelink which are essential watching, in my opinion.

The fact remains that if you want waypoint missions on the Mini (and you use an Apple device), Dronelink is your only option at present.

 

[vindibona1]

I had Litchi before i bought Dronelink . And after sitting in front of my computer for what seemed like a great part of humankind i gave up without ever getting a mission to ever work. JIm at dronelink was quick and friendly with my refund. Litchi is Awesome ! I'm hoping it's out of beta soon for the MM .

There is a beta out currently for the Mini and I had it. When I set up my first mission it wasn't ready for what I wanted it to do so I deleted it. It works pretty well on my M2, but I haven't quite figured out how to make smooth gimbal transitions with it yet.

I think I threw this link off course, so to get back to the OP's question about whether he should buy a Mini, now or later. That's a tough one. Considering the Mini (1) is a first shot at a sub 250gm drone, they hit it out of the park, as they did with the MA2. We know that at some point DJI will release the Mini2. When? It's anyone's guess. It's not like Apple where you know they'll have releases in the fall almost like clockwork. I suspect the major upgrade from the Mini1 will be 4k video. I would also suspect that their upgrade will also include a firmware upgrade for the Mini 1 with additional software features, especially if they are going to release V2 on the heels of their first model. I find it interesting that the MM and the MA2,which is quite a formidable drone, regardless of price point both use the DJI Fly app. Inquiring minds want to know why they came out with a completely different app for these models. Is it the way DJI is going with all their drones, or did they write the Fly app to delinate it further from their prosumer and professional drones?

I suspect there will be some used Mini1's available on the market shortly which might be a good option for those on a budget or not willing to pay full price just to see if they like the hobby.