I'm Furious! Mini 3 Pro Can't Fly Waypoint Missions

[RogerDH]

Are you sure about that?

View attachment 157920

Yep.

Nice pic.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

Yep.

Nice pic.

Cuz the last time I checked, the M3P shoots in 4K and has all the ActiveTrack modes.

 

[Elthree]

I think the point is the Mavic 2 "Pro" did have waypoints, so you can imagine that the Mavic 3 with the similar naming conventions that one would expect the Pro to have Waypoints.
Phantom 3 Standard had waypoints, zip forward to Mavic 2 and you had to get "Pro" version for waypoints. Zip forward to Mavic 3, and you now need enterprise? The only person who couldn't understand why people are upset about this are likely those who already paid the money for the more expensive drone and like the cost differential to keep the hobbyist out of their competitive commercial space.

But surely there's a difference?

Being disappointed that DJI was moving some features out to more expensive ("Enterprise") models is one thing. And quite understandable.

But being angry that you'd spent money on a system without doing due diligence research? That seems a little different.

 

[Elthree]

Cuz the last time I checked, the M3P shoots in 4K and has all the ActiveTrack modes.

But the initial comments weren't about the Mini 3 Pro where they? I saw a reference to the Mini (which is limited to 2.7K even though the sensor is the same 12 Mp).

I can't talk to the capabilities of the processor specifically. I would not be surprised though if there were things like clock/RAM/bandwidth issues with the specific hardware revisions available in bulk in 2019.

 

[RogerDH]

Cuz the last time I checked, the M3P shoots in 4K and has all the ActiveTrack modes.

So? My point was that the original Mini has a camera "system on a chip" (SoC) that is capable of 4K and ActiveTrack -- an Ambarella H22 -- but DJI chose not to support those features. The Mini 2 also has an H22 with identical specs, but with 4K enabled (and still no ActiveTrack).

 

[RogerDH]

But the initial comments weren't about the Mini 3 Pro where they? I saw a reference to the Mini (which is limited to 2.7K even though the sensor is the same 12 Mp).

I can't talk to the capabilities of the processor specifically. I would not be surprised though if there were things like clock/RAM/bandwidth issues with the specific hardware revisions available in bulk in 2019.

The Ambarella H22 SoC is the entirety of the system: It implements the image pathway with an image signal processor (ISP) and an H.264/H.265 codec processor, and it also provides a quad-core processor for everything else, including DJI's flight control software, wi-fi, optical flow control, obstacle avoidance, ActiveTrack, waypoint missions, etc. Since it was first released in 2017, the H22 has been capable of 4K video, and it was used is some 4K action cameras (eg. SJCOM SJ8 Pro) and in at least one other drone (the Hubsan Zeno 2, which supports 4K video and also "follow me" and waypoints, because why not).

 

[DownandLocked]

May I ask
Why not use the Mavic Pro to fly your waypoint missions and just fly the mini 3 Pro for the fun of it?

Why? Because the Mavic Pro is fun too as well as being able to fly waypoionts. Spending an additonal ~ $1,000 wont give me $1,000 more fun. I have used the Mavic to fly very scenic and technically smooth videos using points of interest and radiused flight paths and produced very practical ortho mapping images. I've returned my mini 3 pro to DJI for a full refund. I had initially purchased the mini 3 pro primarily for future remote ID capability.

 

[DownandLocked]

This is exactly true. I have made this point before. They have made the decision to only to add this capability to the pro grade drones. If it makes you feel any better, it is not even available on the Mavic 3 line. The bigger problem is there is no SDK available which would allow 3rd party developers to create software with this capability.

My guess is that DJI doesnt want to lose the waypoint business to the third part "Litchi" type businesses so they don't want to provide the SDK's to make that possible and push customers toward their expensive "enterprise" drones which use the DJI waypoint system which seems to be inferior to the Litchi's of the drone world.

 

[Meta4]

My guess is that DJI doesnt want to lose the waypoint business to the third part "Litchi" type businesses

DJI never lost any business to Litchi.
You need a DJI drone to use Litchi.

 

[Siam]

Why? Because the Mavic Pro is fun too as well as being able to fly waypoionts. Spending an additonal ~ $1,000 wont give me $1,000 more fun. I have used the Mavic to fly very scenic and technically smooth videos using points of interest and radiused flight paths and produced very practical ortho mapping images. I've returned my mini 3 pro to DJI for a full refund. I had initially purchased the mini 3 pro primarily for future remote ID capability.

Sorry, just an aside....did I read that correctly:

"I had initially purchased the mini 3 pro primarily for future remote ID capability."

Why on earth did you buy something for that capability? Every person (literally, 100 percent) I know does NOT want that capability and think it is a bad decision by the FAA/US gubermint.

 

[DownandLocked]

Sorry, just an aside....did I read that correctly:

"I had initially purchased the mini 3 pro primarily for future remote ID capability."

Why on earth did you buy something for that capability? Every person (literally, 100 percent) I know does NOT want that capability and think it is a bad decision by the FAA/US gubermint.

Like it or not, remote ID is the LAW in the US and are required to comply with it by next September. I plan to fly legally but others may want to thumb their nose at remote ID and fly illegally. Now, to be in compliance with my old Mavic Pro, I may have to add that capability at a price as a separate piece of equipment.

 

[RogerDH]

But surely there's a difference?

Being disappointed that DJI was moving some features out to more expensive ("Enterprise") models is one thing. And quite understandable.

But being angry that you'd spent money on a system without doing due diligence research? That seems a little different.

I don't know why this is so hard to understand, but before DJI thought up this brilliant new marketing strategy (which, I've been assured, was after exhaustive marketing analysis), automated return-to-home and waypoint missions were just what you did if you were a GPS-enabled drone. If you had any appreciation for how useful waypoints are, then you might understand why "disappointed" doesn't quite cover the surprise of discovering their omission. If neither DJI's marketing material nor the vast majority of YouTube reviews mentioned that waypoints were no longer supported, and you didn't live on one of the drone forums and happen to come across a post where it was discussed, then the only way to discover that the Mini didn't support waypoints was to download the user's manual and search for waypoints. I actually downloaded the Mini manual before I bought it, but I never thought to search for waypoints -- I just assumed there would at least be something primitive like every other GPS-enabled drone on the market, including DJI's. My first experience with them was around 2015 with a borrowed Parrot BeBop, which I believe was the cheapest GPS drone on the market at the time, and I really don't believe there was any GPS drone up until the Mini that didn't support waypoints. You betcha I was angry at DJI, your inability to understand why notwithstanding.

 

[Siam]

Like it or not, remote ID is the LAW in the US and are required to comply with it by next September. I plan to fly legally but others may want to thumb their nose at remote ID and fly illegally. Now, to be in compliance with my old Mavic Pro, I may have to add that capability at a price as a separate piece of equipment.

Correct me if I am wrong...but the FAA states:
"All drone pilots required to register, including those who fly for fun, for business, or for public safety, must operate their drone in accordance with the final rule on remote ID beginning September 16, 2023, which gives drone owners sufficient time to upgrade their aircraft"


and

"If your drone weighs less than 0.55 lbs (250g), you don't need to register it. That also means your drone doesn't need a remote ID. If your drone weighs between 0.55 lbs and 55 lbs, it must be registered with the FAA."

The Mini3 Pro, if used for personal use and you do not add weight should not have to have RID......is that correct

 

[DownandLocked]

Correct me if I am wrong...but the FAA states:
"All drone pilots required to register, including those who fly for fun, for business, or for public safety, must operate their drone in accordance with the final rule on remote ID beginning September 16, 2023, which gives drone owners sufficient time to upgrade their aircraft"


and

"If your drone weighs less than 0.55 lbs (250g), you don't need to register it. That also means your drone doesn't need a remote ID. If your drone weighs between 0.55 lbs and 55 lbs, it must be registered with the FAA."

The Mini3 Pro, if used for personal use and you do not add weight should not have to have RID......is that correct

You are correct on all points. I do use my drone for business so I have a part 107 drone license for that reason which means that even thought the Mini is under 250g, I still need remote ID since I'm flying commercially. I didn't buy the m3p for the weight, but because DJI said the mp3 would be remote ID compliant in the future with a software upgrade. I didn't make that clear.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I think the point is the Mavic 2 "Pro" did have waypoints, so you can imagine that the Mavic 3 with the similar naming conventions that one would expect the Pro to have Waypoints.

Absolutely. I was no different. While it seems I'm arguing with you guys about this, I'm barely so... The only difference in my opinion seems to be acceptance of DJI's business decisions as nothing nefarious, but rather understandable in light of the evolving drone market.

What has happened here is common. Happens all the time.

Here's an independent fact you all seem unwilling to accept: The market has changed over the last 7 years. The fact is waypoint functionality has become much more valuable, and therefore your expectations are out of line with the market. The problem is you guys, not DJI.

DJI hasn't removed this functionality. It's available in the M3 Enterprise. You will pay the market value for the waypoint feature if you purchase one.

There are a variety of reasons you're not abandoning DJI for Autel in order to get waypoints. It doesn't work the same as on a DJI drone with support, and there are other valuable features that DJI offers superior to Autel.

The bottom line is this: DJI didn't eliminate the feature in the M3, they revamped their product structure to better reflect the market and maximize their earnings. There is nothing bad about this. DJI has no obligation, legal or ethical, to provide the feature set, at the price, that every individual wants.

You want on-board waypoints in a Mavic 3? No problem. It costs U$5,000. If you really want/need the feature, you CAN have it.

If you can't simply understand and accept that this is ordinary behavior on DJI's part.

 

[RogerDH]

...

You want on-board waypoints in a Mavic 3? No problem. It costs U$5,000. If you really want/need the feature, you CAN have it.

If you can't simply understand and accept that this is ordinary behavior on DJI's part.

It's fairly ordinary behavior in the pharmaceutical industry, anyway.

 

[Rusty_SWO]

There are a variety of reasons you're not abandoning DJI for Autel in order to get waypoints. It doesn't work the same as on a DJI drone with support, and there are other valuable features that DJI offers superior to Autel.

He might not be, but I am. Literally the only thing I use my drone for is photogrammetry and mapping. Waypoints are the single most important feature.

I want that big battery life, and I'd been waiting for Mavic 3 to hit the SDK before buying it. It's not useful to me without Litchi. Now that I'm convinced that's not going to happen in anything like the near future (if at all), there's a big brown truck somewhere between Kentucky and my house carrying my Black Friday special EVO II Pro bundle. Even got a few additional spare batteries and a 4-way charger beyond what the standard "rugged" bundle comes with.

FWIW, the current beta firmware for EVO II fixes the stop-at-each-waypoint behavior that's been a problem.

 

[RogerDH]

...
You want on-board waypoints in a Mavic 3? No problem. It costs U$5,000. If you really want/need the feature, you CAN have it.

If you can't simply understand and accept that this is ordinary behavior on DJI's part.

So, DJI decided to support waypoints in the Mavic 3 after all -- so much for the theory that they are operating under a carefully calculated marketing strategy! I do believe they changed course again because of negative reaction from the user community, so it's a good thing that not everyone in the community was as compliant as you.

 

[Hauptmann]

That settles it. I've been considering upgrading from my M2 Pro to either MP3 or Mini 3 Pro. I'm not buying either until the E versions (or the SDKs are available. And the Mini 3 E only if it is still under 250 grams (it would be my foreign travel drone).

 

[Tufargon]

That settles it. I've been considering upgrading from my M2 Pro to either MP3 or Mini 3 Pro. I'm not buying either until the E versions (or the SDKs are available. And the Mini 3 E only if it is still under 250 grams (it would be my foreign travel drone).

The M3 series now does waypoints if that's all you wanted. It's in the new firmware and app upate.

DJI Mavic 3 now supports Waypoint Flights with DJY Fly App release 1.9

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