Mini 5 Pro: What all that know…knows so far.

[mavic3usa]

re: Mini 5 might be > 250g?

I don't have a lot of experience with this but it seems to me the <250g drone for traveling is overrated in so many ways. Maybe it's dated. Here are my observations:

1.The expectation that you can grab your 250g drone and off you go no worries basically turns out to mean you get over the first hard hurdle but with 10 more hurdles to go many of which you *cannot* get over, you might not even get to fly with your little drone so why bother?
2.The expectation that you can fly a 250g drone and you'll be left alone by the public and by the government is ridiculous....I mean even in the UK, your 250g might be legal but being left alone is a myth. Isn't the 250g rule changing in the UK?
3.Some of the best and most popular videos I've seen from all over the world have come from mostly >250g drone so....why not? Seems to me flyers have decided to fly whatever they want instead of being boxed in. The vast majority seem not be following the rules so you may as well not follow the rules with the good stuff.
4.If I was convinced I could grab my 250g drone and then go flying all over the world, I'd have two but that's a fantasy and the sooner we abandon that nonsense the quicker we move on to things that matter which is a nice drone. <- my opinion
5.The Mini 4 Pro continues to live to see another day maybe even a brighter future with the Mini 4 Classic or a Mini 4 Plus. And I'm pretty sure DJI is not as much interested in continuing to populate the world with a non-RID drone that is quickly going away, the writing is on the wall. Would you enjoy a sub-250g Mini 5 + RID?

 

[Split-Infinitive]

re: Mini 5 might be > 250g?

I don't have a lot of experience with this but it seems to me the <250g drone for traveling is overrated in so many ways. Maybe it's dated. Here are my observations:

1.The expectation that you can grab your 250g drone and off you go no worries basically turns out to mean you get over the first hard hurdle but with 10 more hurdles to go many of which you *cannot* get over, you might not even get to fly with your little drone so why bother?

Not the case.
Sub 250g in many countries, including all of EASA means you can fly in popular areas where overthat is banned. UK the same.
In other countries over 250g needs registration and in lots of those, that isnt available to foreigners (Indonesia for example). Those where it is available it still takes days of running around to do (Singapore etc).

Travel with a sub 250g is easy and where you can operate it is far less restricted. There really aren't many hurdles in many countries at all for under 250g.

Ive used mine in 40 or so so countries so far. Sub 250 is far far easier from that point of view in many.

2.The expectation that you can fly a 250g drone and you'll be left alone by the public and by the government is ridiculous....I mean even in the UK, your 250g might be legal but being left alone is a myth. Isn't the 250g rule changing in the UK?

I dont get that expectation at all. Left alone by legal authorities is the goal. You still shouldnt be flying it like an idiot in ways to annoy people. Find somewhere quiet to launch, dont buzz beaches.
Ive had 2 angry Karens exactly twice in the UK in a decade. Not an issue.
UK rules are out for consultation, they might change, might not. They still wont allow the full freedom of sub 250g.

3.Some of the best and most popular videos I've seen from all over the world have come from mostly >250g drone so....why not?

Not all, or even many, of those are legal flights or legal now given law changes.

Seems to me flyers have decided to fly whatever they want instead of being boxed in. The vast majority seem not be following the rules so you may as well not follow the rules with the good stuff.

Foreign jails aren't nice places. Neither are 10,000+ Euro fines in Italy for example. And neither are even more draconian enforcement or bans when idiots cant follow the rules that already apply.

4.If I was convinced I could grab my 250g drone and then go flying all over the world, I'd have two but that's a fantasy

It really isnt. You really dont travel much. Yes you have to do some "stuff" but that "stuff" is far far less restrictive in terms of admin and ease of locations than an over 250g.

5.The Mini 4 Pro continues to live to see another day maybe even a brighter future with the Mini 4 Classic or a Mini 4 Plus. And I'm pretty sure DJI is not as much interested in continuing to populate the world with a non-RID drone that is quickly going away, the writing is on the wall. Would you enjoy a sub-250g Mini 5 + RID?

Yes. Why not? RID isnt rare, its in many countries and has been for years. My Mini 3 Pro has it, my Air3S has it. It turns on when needed and has no impact on my flying at all. All DJI series 3 and later drones already have RID.
Would i enjoy a Mini 5 with RID? Yup. If its under 250g meaning i can actually operate it in places where my Air3s Or Mavic 2 Pro cant.

 

[mavic3usa]

Not the case.
Sub 250g in many countries, including all of EASA means you can fly in popular areas where overthat is banned. UK the same.
In other countries over 250g needs registration and in lots of those, that isnt available to foreigners (Indonesia for example). Those where it is available it still takes days of running around to do (Singapore etc).

Travel with a sub 250g is easy and where you can operate it is far less restricted. There really aren't many hurdles in many countries at all for under 250g.

Ive used mine in 40 or so so countries so far. Sub 250 is far far easier from that point of view in many.



I dont get that expectation at all. Left alone by legal authorities is the goal. You still shouldnt be flying it like an idiot in ways to annoy people. Find somewhere quiet to launch, dont buzz beaches.
Ive had 2 angry Karens exactly twice in the UK in a decade. Not an issue.
UK rules are out for consultation, they might change, might not. They still wont allow the full freedom of sub 250g.




Not all, or even many, of those are legal flights or legal now given law changes.



Foreign jails aren't nice places. Neither are 10,000+ Euro fines in Italy for example. And neither are even more draconian enforcement or bans when idiots cant follow the rules that already apply.



It really isnt. You really dont travel much. Yes you have to do some "stuff" but that "stuff" is far far less restrictive in terms of admin and ease of locations than an over 250g.


Yes. Why not? RID isnt rare, its in many countries and has been for years. My Mini 3 Pro has it, my Air3S has it. It turns on when needed and has no impact on my flying at all. All DJI series 3 and later drones already have RID.
Would i enjoy a Mini 5 with RID? Yup. If its under 250g meaning i can actually operate it in places where my Air3s Or Mavic 2 Pro cant.

I agree with you, on paper the sub 250g drone is "easier" for the honest flyer to utilize in foreign countries.

However, I can't even begin to cite all the examples to the contrary in the long run. Sorry, just living in the real world.

 

[Split-Infinitive]

Real world? Sub 250g is far less restrictive to use in most countries and as a visitor to many countries is the only option you can use as registration of over 250g is often restricted to nationals OR involves long, hard or near impossible paperwork and time.

 

[mavic3usa]

Real world? Sub 250g is far less restrictive to use in most countries and as a visitor to many countries is the only option you can use as registration of over 250g is often restricted to nationals OR involves long, hard or near impossible paperwork and time.

Here's a popular thread that comes up in the real world often, would you say these pilots need to choose the <250g because it is far less restrictive or maybe their only option? Is the <250g drone what they are doing wrong?

Flying drones in Portugal

May 22, 2023

Hi There,

I am visiting Portugal in September. I started to research what is required to fly the drone in Portugal and it is very confusing. Some say, if you are flying recreational you do not need to have register the drone or to get any authorizations to fly. Other say you need to register the drone, go through the training course and pass a test, and then get various authorizations. I am in US, tried registering, but could not. Has anyone from US was able to successfully register? Or, I do not need to go through the whole process?

• astroprojector
• Replies: 12
• Forum: Other International

 

[Chrislaf]

@mavic3usa I agreed with your recommendation of the Mini 4 Pro as the best option for the OP and outlined why I thought so in my post #20. I however don't agree with many of your other points you have made in following posts. @Split-Infinitive has made many of the points that I would agree with so it's not necessary for me to mention them again.

5.The Mini 4 Pro continues to live to see another day maybe even a brighter future with the Mini 4 Classic or a Mini 4 Plus. And I'm pretty sure DJI is not as much interested in continuing to populate the world with a non-RID drone that is quickly going away, the writing is on the wall. Would you enjoy a sub-250g Mini 5 + RID?

I disagree. I think the sub-250g Mini drones are one of the most popular categories of drones DJI has and it would be a bad decision to phase them out or get rid of them. As far as RID is concerned, not every country has RID or is planning on implementing it. Here in Canada there is NO RID.

Chris

 

[ryguy80]

I have the Mini 3 (non pro) and the mini 4 pro. The mini's are awesome little drones but will always be limited by their size. I honestly see no need for a mini 5, if you want improvements over the mini4 pro go bigger. My Mavic 3 is still my goto aircraft for serious longer range photography and always will be due to its superior stability in wind.

I did the same thing and went for the Air& Mavic series to “upgrade”.

The challenges I have with the Mini Pro series is flying in wind with stronger gusts and the smaller form factor made it more difficult to keep visual on as height and distance increase.

I like my Mini 3 & 4 Pro, but I don’t think I would ever get another Mini one. I reach for the larger drones in my fleet first.

 

[Wreckhunter]

Just sharing what I’ve found. I’ve decided I’ll be waiting on this since I have some other reasons to wait as well.

What’s people’s thoughts?

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it will suffer the same fate as the Mavic 4 pro,not released in the US.

 

[Rchawks]

Every Drone has it's Nitch. Do you live in the country or in a crowded city. Those two factors can have a big effect on where you will be comfortable flying as well as how you want to fly. Being behind on the form factor can be annoying as I've done it a few times. I purchased the Mavic Air 2 as my 2nd drone then the MA2S came out. I purchased a m3P then the upgrade came out with the m4p. The m4p can even be flown FPV where the m3p cannot. I did wait long enough on the Avata 2 and very happy with it. Thing is each drone feels different according to it's design, and I enjoy the fact that their features are different. As a new flyer you'll need to learn the basics. Smaller drones are much easier and safer to operate. If you've never flown before this is something to consider. What kind of flyer will you be. Do you want to fly high and take video and pictures. Or are you just more interested in the flying part of it. Are you comfortable viewing a screen size of a display for your flying information on a phone or would a iPad display suit you better for viewing? All things have a trade off. Bigger displays will mean more setup time and weight with mounts and cables to connect. Flying in bright sunlight effects your ability to see the display and there are times I use a sun cover for that. Again more weight and bother with setting up and flying. I also have several neo's which are fun to fly and it's nice to go from flying my neo with my goggles 3 and or FPV3 or MC3 to flying my neo with the RC2 by itself. But of course the range and power are totally different from flying my A3S and RC2 controller. You might want to think about compatibility among the different drones so you can switch up your flying when you decide to purchase you 2nd drone (and you buy more than one, you'll see, lol). I always told myself I'd never need more than two ( I now have 7).
Something else to consider is how windy is it where you live? Some areas have more wind than others and is something to consider.

 

[1gratedulflyingdawg]

Thanks. Excellent points to consider as is all the information that others have offered up.

Although I have yet to decide between a Mi4P or M4P as my first drone I have decided that I will definitely get an RC2-Pro controller, that seems to be a no brainer.

Just as you say each drone has its own unique characteristics and that is what is making my decision difficult as I really know absolutely nothing about drones. All I know is what I have researched and learned here. I am going out next week as an observer with a pilot I met on this forum. This way I can get a better understanding of piloting, processes and procedures. Also I’ll actually see a Mi4P. Hope to go more than once.

A concern I have is how well the Mi4P will handle the swirling winds. Even though the M4P is larger it is more powerful. Maybe the Mi5P if available will be more powerful.

Noise wise from what I have heard on videos the Mi4P is a little quieter than the M4P but the M4P has a slightly lower tone which I like and think is less annoying. Much quieter than an electric weed eater .

Then there is the cost. Is $5k+ too much to spend on a M4P as my first drone? The Mi4P is currently about 50% less than the M4P on Adorama. Comparing base models with RC2 controllers. Using these prices just for comparison as I have no idea what costs will be when I do buy one.

I doubt I will own more than one drone as I know my tendencies when it comes to hobbies/obsessions. I do plan to get my part 107 and prepping with Pilot Institute.

A question I have to those of you who have multiple drones…IF you could only have one which one would it be?

Happy flying.

 

[mavic3usa]

A question I have to those of you who have multiple drones…IF you could only have one which one would it be?

DJI Mavic 3 Pro

 

[1gratedulflyingdawg]

DJI Mavic 3 Pro

Mavic 1 - Mini 0

 

[Split-Infinitive]

A question I have to those of you who have multiple drones…IF you could only have one which one would it be?

Mini 4 Pro. Because its under 250g so can be flown in many more places globally. Yes you sacrifice camera quality but it can fly places a heavier one cant.

 

[1gratedulflyingdawg]

Mini 4 Pro. Because it’s under 250g so can be flown in many more places globally. Yes you sacrifice camera quality but it can fly places a heavier one cant.

Good points, let me add, I will only be flying in the US and probably only flying in a couple of states. I am not concerned about maintaining a drone under 250g. Can you tell me where I could fly a Mini but not a Mavic in the US if I have a part 107? Thanks

 

[Rchawks]

I'm very happy with my Air 3S it's flys very smooth and isn't as loud as my MA2. Lots of features. I think having a meetup with someone so you can see what's involved with the whole process. That way you can get a sense of the size and power in person. It will make choosing alot easier.