Improve this shopping list for Mavic 2 Pro

[lomposlapos]

Below is a shopping list for a Mavic 2 Pro gear before heading to Southern Africa and the Indian ocean (desert and island aerial shooting). Other than the phone/tablet (not listed), what else I need or should be replaced by something better suited?

1 x DJI Mavic 2 Pro Standard Kit

4 x SanDisk 32GB Extreme PLUS UHS-I microSDHC Memory Card
//use empty card for each flight

3 x DJI Intelligent Flight Battery for Mavic 2 Pro

1 x DJI Battery Charging Hub for Mavic 2 Pro

1 x DJI ND Filter Set for Mavic 2 Pro (4-Pack)

1 x GoScope Go Cases for DJI Mavic 2 Pro
//case for aircraft and controller (to be placed into a large padded Pelican)

SPARES:

1 x DJI Gimbal Protector for Mavic 2 Pro

2 x DJI Low-Noise Propellers for Mavic 2 Pro (total: 2 pairs = 4 propellers)

 

[brett8883]

Below is a shopping list for a Mavic 2 Pro gear before heading to Southern Africa and the Indian ocean (desert and island aerial shooting). Other than the phone/tablet (not listed), what else I need or should be replaced by something better suited?

1 x DJI Mavic 2 Pro Standard Kit

4 x SanDisk 32GB Extreme PLUS UHS-I microSDHC Memory Card
//use empty card for each flight

3 x DJI Intelligent Flight Battery for Mavic 2 Pro

1 x DJI Battery Charging Hub for Mavic 2 Pro

1 x DJI ND Filter Set for Mavic 2 Pro (4-Pack)

1 x GoScope Go Cases for DJI Mavic 2 Pro
//case for aircraft and controller (to be placed into a large padded Pelican)

SPARES:

1 x DJI Gimbal Protector for Mavic 2 Pro

2 x DJI Low-Noise Propellers for Mavic 2 Pro (total: 2 pairs = 4 propellers)

Those cases look like they’d be a PITA to me. I’d much rather have a case that I can see everything at once and fits all together.

You need a car charger which is key.

See what the cost difference between buying all that stuff separate and the fly more combo is.

4 SD cards seems excessive to me, again another PITA switching them out each flight but that’s up to you.

Get one of those smatree portable chargers instead of a 4th battery and that will extend your flight time per day by hours not just 30 mins.

 

[lomposlapos]

Thank you.
Regarding carrying case, I am looking for a very compact but perfectly fitted hard or semi-hard case that only holds the aircraft and/or the controller. This will go into a large, well-padded Pelican 1637. Having a dedicated hard case for all the drone gear is impractical for me, because it means + 1 luggage (because a small Pelican in a big Pelican is not practical).

 

[zocalo]

If the case for the drone is going in the Pelican, why not just use something like the bag that comes with the FlyMore kit (generally the best way to get everything on your list unless you go down the third party route), or do you want something a bit more rigid for the drone in the field? It's good enough for most of the essentials for a trip, although you'll probably need to figure out where to put some of spare batteries. In a pocket of a day bag, perhaps? It's a little bigger than just drone + controller, but would also let you take everything you need to fly on any short hikes etc.

Definitely seconded on the car charger - if this is a safari style trip you'll probably be out all day so being able to re-charge batteries on the move is a good idea if you want to ensure you're still able to fly by sunset.

 

[Macabre]

Don't know if those filters are polarising, but get polariser filter, since you're going to Africa, I recommend ND32PL at least.

 

[DesertDan]

Some kind of sunshade for the phone screen would be handy. Not sure if you are heading to South Africa but they have weird non-standard electrical plugs/sockets.

 

[DesertDan]

D

Those cases look like they’d be a PITA to me. I’d much rather have a case that I can see everything at once and fits all together.

You need a car charger which is key.

See what the cost difference between buying all that stuff separate and the fly more combo is.

4 SD cards seems excessive to me, again another PITA switching them out each flight but that’s up to you.

Get one of those smatree portable chargers instead of a 4th battery and that will extend your flight time per day by hours not just 30 mins.

Definitely do not recommend bringing a portable charger. Most airlines have a limit of 100 Wh. The Smatree DJI M2 one is 148 Wh so a good chance it will be confiscated.

 

[WithTheBirds]

D

Definitely do not recommend bringing a portable charger. Most airlines have a limit of 100 Wh. The Smatree DJI M2 one is 148 Wh so a good chance it will be confiscated.

What are you talking about? You will find the carry on limit is 100wh.... It has nothing to do with chargers. What about the girl (or perhaps man) with a 2400w hair dryer in carry on?

 

[DesertDan]

What are you talking about? You will find the carry on limit is 100wh.... It has nothing to do with chargers. What about the girl (or perhaps man) with a 2400w hair dryer in carry on?

Hi WithTheBirds, hope you are doing well.

A portable charger is basically a battery which charges other batteries. Similar to a powerbank you use to charge your phone. Instead it is a powerbank to charge drone batteries.

Amazon.com: Smatree Mavic 2 Pro 148Wh Portable Charging Station High Speed Docking Compatible for DJI Mavic 2 Pro/Mavic 2 Zoom Drone Intelligent Flight Battery: Toys & Games

Buy Smatree Mavic 2 Pro 148Wh Portable Charging Station High Speed Docking Compatible for DJI Mavic 2 Pro/Mavic 2 Zoom Drone Intelligent Flight Battery: Battery Chargers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Please let me know if I can clarify this further for you.

 

[WithTheBirds]

Hi WithTheBirds, hope you are doing well.

A portable charger is basically a battery which charges other batteries. Similar to a powerbank you use to charge your phone. Instead it is a powerbank to charge drone batteries.

Amazon.com: Smatree Mavic 2 Pro 148Wh Portable Charging Station High Speed Docking Compatible for DJI Mavic 2 Pro/Mavic 2 Zoom Drone Intelligent Flight Battery: Toys & Games

Buy Smatree Mavic 2 Pro 148Wh Portable Charging Station High Speed Docking Compatible for DJI Mavic 2 Pro/Mavic 2 Zoom Drone Intelligent Flight Battery: Battery Chargers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Please let me know if I can clarify this further for you.

Gotcha- you followed the derailment from the OP’s original question. Not sure how we got to portable power banks. Yes- your concern with that bit of gear seems in the money for a lot of airlines.

 

[jagraphics]

4 x SanDisk 32GB Extreme PLUS UHS-I microSDHC Memory Card
//use empty card for each flight

I agree with the change card every flight and 32GB should be more than enough for a single flight but...

Where I am the sweet spot price wise of SDHC is the 64GB cards so I use those (and change after every flight.

This increased the life of the cards. The Sandisk Extreme Plus have wear levelling. Flash memory has a finite number of write/re-writes. Whilst that number is improving it is still a finite amount. Therefore wear leveling spreads the writes over the card. So if you typically have a 5GB file it will write the next file to a different 5Gb of space. Therefore in 10 flights you won't use the same memory cells twice. Hence a lot longer life.

I keep my micro SDHC cards in the adaptor in their own waterproof case. They too easy to loose otherwise. Also I number both the cards and the adaptors. Easier to keep track. People have bene doing that since it was rolls of film...

Always have more memory cards than batteries. If you have 4 batteries get 5 cards. You can never have too many memory cards or batteries (except as luggage on an aircraft ) especially as you are going to Southern Africa and the Indian ocean (desert and island aerial shooting) When your external hard drive fails/gets stolen/dropped overboard you might need the extra storage.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

• Spare cables, especially the one going from the remote to the phone/tablet. If you have one and it dies (as cables do when you most need them), you're screwed.
• Tablet mount: I much prefer a tablet, something larger than any device that would fit in the controller as is, so that requires a tablet mount.
• Alternative cables: this is especially easy if you use a tablet mount: use the USB port on the bottom of the controller. Save the side port for charging only (if you look at the forums, there are at least 1 or 2 current threads on that port being broken, requiring a big fix).
• Car charger
• Yes to the 'power brick'. You may be diligent charging your Mavic batteries, but still find that you're out in the field with a tablet or controller that you forgot to top off.
• 32GB cards are kind of small, even swapping them out with each battery. At the prices they go for today, why not get 64GB? I actually use 128GB myself (4 of those and 2 64GB). If you do any hyperlapses and turn on the "Save DNG" option, you will need more space.
• If your trip is long, you might want to clear off your cards each night, backing your files up to storage. If you have plenty of laptop storage, that might be okay (although with no backup) ... I use external battery powered drives (WD Passport Pro), a pair of them so there's backup duplication. They come in 1, 2, and 4TB sizes and are relatively inexpensive
• If you fly before you take your big trip and find that the Mavic is hard to keep VLOS at a distance, you might consider getting some strobes, like the Firehouse Dual Intensity Cree Strobe, with leg mounts.
• All the stuff above, with 5 batteries, plus a few other accessories, I ended up needing something more than a hand-carry hard-case. I got the Lowepro Droneguard BP 250 backpack.

 

[jagraphics]

• Spare cables, especially the one going from the remote to the phone/tablet. If you have one and it dies (as cables do when you most need them), you're screwed.
• I use external battery powered drives (WD Passport Pro), a pair of them so there's backup duplication. They come in 1, 2, and 4TB sizes and are relatively inexpensive

I assumed spare cables anyway and I assume the OP did too.

Re external hard drives... I would have taken WD Passport or Buffalo shock resistant drives however 1Tb SSD drives are comparatively inexpensive these days. Lighter, less power and very shock resistant. Usually powered via USB. Which has become the Universal power adaptor these days.

Go for those. But test them before you go (and the SDHC cards)

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Re external hard drives... I would have taken WD Passport or Buffalo shock resistant drives however 1Tb SSD drives are comparatively inexpensive these days.

Nice, but "comparatively inexpensive"? The SSDs are 6 times the price per TB, or more.

I see a 1TB SSD for $500 on Amazon and a 2TB regular for $165.

I carry 4TB regular units and they go for $220. You can't get WD Passport pro SSDs over 1TB, but if you got 4 of the 1TB units, that's $2,000.

They're definitely more rugged though. I would get them if I had disposable income. Edit: but even then, I would worry about the 1TB limit for a long trip.

Chris

 

[jagraphics]

Nice, but "comparatively inexpensive"? The SSDs are 6 times the price per TB, or more.

I see a 1TB SSD for $500 on Amazon and a 2TB regular for $165.

I see a 1TBSSD for £116 (less than $150?) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-MZ-76E1T0B-EU-Solid-State/dp/B078WST5RK/

$20 for a USB housing? So about the same as a 2TB HDD

I carry 4TB regular units and they go for $220. You can't get WD Passport pro SSDs over 1TB,

2TB https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-MZ-76E1T0B-EU-Solid-State/dp/B078WRSSVT/
4TB https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-MZ-76E1T0B-EU-Solid-State/dp/B078WRVNTW/

but if you got 4 of the 1TB units, that's $2,000.
They're definitely more rugged though. I would get them if I had disposable income. Edit: but even then, I would worry about the 1TB limit for a long trip.

By the ACTUAL pricing on Amazon 4* 1TBTB of SSD drives will be $650? and 1* 4TB SSD is £560 ($600?) not "$2,000"
However get 2* 1TB and use one to back up the other. for about $350

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

I see a 1TBSSD for £116 (less than $150?) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-MZ-76E1T0B-EU-Solid-State/dp/B078WST5RK/

$20 for a USB housing? So about the same as a 2TB HDD

Now you're changing the goal posts. That's a bare drive. And yes, you can get a USB enclosure for cheap.

The WD Passport Pros you're comparing that too are dedicated, portable enclosures with drive, interface, ports, 8 hour battery, wireless, etc. They're 2 entirely different solutions.

I carry 4TB regular units and they go for $220. You can't get WD Passport pro SSDs over 1TB

2TB https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-MZ-76E1T0B-EU-Solid-State/dp/B078WRSSVT/
4TB https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-MZ-76E1T0B-EU-Solid-State/dp/B078WRVNTW/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-MZ-76E1T0B-EU-Solid-State/dp/B078WRVNTW/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-MZ-76E1T0B-EU-Solid-State/dp/B078WRVNTW/

Read my words again: "You can't get WD Passport pro SSDs over 1TB", then you post links to bare drives.

Feel free to offer your DIY solutions to the OP, but when responding to me, please read my words more carefully.

Chris

 

[jagraphics]

If you have money to burn then the WD passports for consumers seem reasonable.
However an an electronics engineer I tend to bypass consumer stuff.

Custom SSD solutions seem a lot better.
It is not difficult to put an SSD in to an enclosure and you can pick the case to suite the needs and not pay for stuff you don't need. Also should there be a problem with either the case or the interface it is faily easy to retirve the drive. I wouldn't like to try that with the shock proof Buffalo HDD I have

BTW don't complain about me talking about bare drives when external stoage was mentioned a you were talking about, by your own words "something completey different", with ports, batteries wifi etc etc.... not of which are required. For an African Safari KISS. You want least complex and easiest to service and swap out parts. SO a bunch of self assembled SSD's and sinple rugged cases would be the best option. Leave the complex toys at home.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

To the OP: if you want to save money and get a bare SSD in a USB enclosure, you should know that you will be lacking the following things that you get in a full solution like the WD Passport Pro:

• Built in battery (8 hours)
• Built in storage card slots
• Built in USB input / output (input for import from external devices, such as card readers for formats other than SD -- I do that for XQD cards used in my DSLR)
• Wifi connection from smartphone app to connect to the unit via Wifi to manage storage, delete / move, etc. check free space
• Wifi connectivity from your laptop for the dashboard to configure usage (such as what to do with duplicate files, something it manages for you) and other features.

This seems a lot simpler to me than supplying your own external power bank, card readers. and pretty much needing a laptop for input/output/file management, which is more of a solution to use back at the hotel room, but not in the field. And while I keep several SD cards with me, I do back up to the portable solution in the field.

I use these in long road trips, days away from power (not a toy to use at home). YMMV. Though with the DIY solution, you can get SSD for a lot less money. I hope this info is useful to you.

I'm done here.
Chris