I received my Mini 4 Pro late afternoon today. Ordered from DJI. I've been a bit apprehensive because I've never been such an early adopter with a drone. I had a Mavic 3 Zoom, which I swapped out for a M3Pro, and I've lived happily ever after until getting a Mini 3 Pro in early Sept because I wanted a lighter weight, quick launch setup, and I thought Remote ID would be mandatory on 9/16.
When the Mini 4 Pro got "reliably" leaked, I waited for initial reports of the changes. I liked the enhancements. So I returned the Mini 3 Pro in the return window and ordered the Mini 4 Pro direct from DJI. I've watched all the first reports -- function and quality -- with interest. I realize that early adopters often pay a price and have wondered if I would have to go through growing pains on this drone.
I've seen DOA reports, concerns about gimbal operation, and other reports of initial quality issues. So I thought I'd report my experiece.
Which, I'm happy to say, is a full thumb's up for my initial experience. I charged the controller and the batteries, then fired up the little guy. I activated. Then I activated my Care Refresh (decided to go for it since its a new model). Firmware updates were immediately called for. I waited for them to install. Finally, all was ready to go.
It was dusk and I'm near an airport where I'm limited to 50 feet. So my first flight was a limited one. But I can report that the drone flew flawlessly. Excellent on the controls. Camera for video and stills both so far looks tack sharp. Out of the box, it looks like it is operating at 100%. The only slight concern: it seems slightly more sensitive to wind than the Mini 3 Pro that I returned. Odd. The breeze I flew in was definitely light, but the drone did a lot of adjusting, more than I recall the Mini 3 Pro doing when the breeze seemed at unconcerning levels. Even so, the Mini 4 Pro didn't complain, and the bit of vide I took and photos I shot were all unaffected.
The only feature I noticed that I haven't seen discussed anywhere is the "Eco" mode. When the drone is on but not flying, it enters that mode, perhaps to save battery power but definitely to keep the battery cooler. I was able to do all the updating and spend some time indoors setting up the controller without the warning that I got on the Mini 3 Pro that the battery was overheating. Nice.
Lots more to test and tryout in the next few days. But I can say that I'm not disappointed. Out of the box, this drone is working great. It does seem that DJI have sorted out a lot of the usual early shakedown issues well, since this model is a follow-on to the Mini 3 Pro. Also, there seem to be undocumented minor improvements, like echo mode, that understandably aren't being crowed about, but are definite upgrades that are nice to have.
All in all, a totally positive experience. I wanted to post it since early shakedown experiences are out there. Happy to say that I haven't had any. My first experience has been rock solid and I'm excited to see more of what this lightweight drone can do.
When the Mini 4 Pro got "reliably" leaked, I waited for initial reports of the changes. I liked the enhancements. So I returned the Mini 3 Pro in the return window and ordered the Mini 4 Pro direct from DJI. I've watched all the first reports -- function and quality -- with interest. I realize that early adopters often pay a price and have wondered if I would have to go through growing pains on this drone.
I've seen DOA reports, concerns about gimbal operation, and other reports of initial quality issues. So I thought I'd report my experiece.
Which, I'm happy to say, is a full thumb's up for my initial experience. I charged the controller and the batteries, then fired up the little guy. I activated. Then I activated my Care Refresh (decided to go for it since its a new model). Firmware updates were immediately called for. I waited for them to install. Finally, all was ready to go.
It was dusk and I'm near an airport where I'm limited to 50 feet. So my first flight was a limited one. But I can report that the drone flew flawlessly. Excellent on the controls. Camera for video and stills both so far looks tack sharp. Out of the box, it looks like it is operating at 100%. The only slight concern: it seems slightly more sensitive to wind than the Mini 3 Pro that I returned. Odd. The breeze I flew in was definitely light, but the drone did a lot of adjusting, more than I recall the Mini 3 Pro doing when the breeze seemed at unconcerning levels. Even so, the Mini 4 Pro didn't complain, and the bit of vide I took and photos I shot were all unaffected.
The only feature I noticed that I haven't seen discussed anywhere is the "Eco" mode. When the drone is on but not flying, it enters that mode, perhaps to save battery power but definitely to keep the battery cooler. I was able to do all the updating and spend some time indoors setting up the controller without the warning that I got on the Mini 3 Pro that the battery was overheating. Nice.
Lots more to test and tryout in the next few days. But I can say that I'm not disappointed. Out of the box, this drone is working great. It does seem that DJI have sorted out a lot of the usual early shakedown issues well, since this model is a follow-on to the Mini 3 Pro. Also, there seem to be undocumented minor improvements, like echo mode, that understandably aren't being crowed about, but are definite upgrades that are nice to have.
All in all, a totally positive experience. I wanted to post it since early shakedown experiences are out there. Happy to say that I haven't had any. My first experience has been rock solid and I'm excited to see more of what this lightweight drone can do.
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