New DJI Mini 2 owner, got a job in a few days...advice on settings!

[lecomputer]

Hi, I've recently bought a Mini 2 after owning the Mavic Mini 1 for a year or so

I've had a job moved forwards, leaving me no time to experiment, so any answered questions here would be great!

- Video settings...4k, 2.7k or 1080? If you shoot lower resolutions does it still use the full 4k sensor and just downscale it? If so, would you go for 4k or 2.7k?
- Frame rates, I am in a PAL country so I shoot everything at 25fps, but I wonder is there any advantage to shooting 30 and putting it on a 25fps timeline?
- Or is it better to shoot 60fps? I read some people saying it was a good idea for taking frame grabs. But how much does natural motion blur matter in drone footage? As much as anything else?

Any other quick tips on initial settings would be great, but these are my main questions
thanks

 

[Robert Prior]

I'd shoot at 4k. Gives you more options for cropping etc if you are delivering the product at a reduced resolution.

For frame rate, depends on your subject. You will get more natural motion blur with 25 fps. If you need stills and are unlikely to see much blur then maybe 60, but I'd be inclined to stick to 25 and take actual photographs for the stills (if that is possible).

 

[vindibona1]

The Mini 2 isn't that different from the Mini 1 except that it has more settings. First, make sure that your micro SD cards have a minimum of a U3 rating. Remember that the files size from the Mini 2 will be larger than the Mini 1. Make sure you have enough card space. Have enough cards so you can change cards when you change batteries and secure your cards well.

Video...
FPS? I would recommend shooting in whatever FPS you're going to edit in. It doesn't make sense to "transpose" frame rates when you don't have to.

Resolution? Unless there is a need to shoot at 60fps, IMO always shoot in 4k. If a project requires a 1080p output you can always output to the lower resolution from the 4k, but not the other way around.

Settings...
Take time to go through the advanced settings of speed and smoothness the flight and gimbal movements. I think it's the same as the Mini 1. DJI has just released an update to adjust EXP. I suggest you leave that setting alone for now. I've done a good amount of testing of EXP and did not changes of any sort in the EXP settings to be of an advantage.

Take time at home to become familiar with the quirks of the Mini 2 controller which is radically different than the Mini 1's. One of the major differences is that on the Mini 2 controller there is only one button for shutter and video record and you have to switch between the video/photo modes with a button on the top right of the controller.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you to do a few practice test flights around home just to get the feel as the controller itself is radically different than the Mini 1 controller in terms of where everything is. But other than the controller, once you get the speed and smoothness setting locked in and you get a feel for the new controller everything will fall into plaice.

Good luck.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I would communicate with the Job Supervisor.
Just ask them if they want more focus on the pictures or the video , and let them dial that in for you.

If they say pictures are important , than you focus on that and I would do 60 frames as that will help you detail in any pictures you might have missed.

If there just looking for a perimeter check, your good to go

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mini 2 in the Rain.

 

[vindibona1]

While I assume you might be prepared already and know what I'm about to say and advise, just to be sure, I have a semi-related question...
Have you checked the fly-over site for geofencing? I've had more than one project require unlocking. The last job I did that required unlocking had issues where they were supposed to unlock for 500meters past the perimeter of the job site, and one side, only got unlocked 120 feet from the center of the request! After multiple communications with DJI one of my drones got unlocked properly, but the second one did not and was stuck at 120 feet. I've learned, luckily the easier way, always if at all possible, even after checking Kittyhawk/Aloft, getting ATC authoriziation and even pre-flight unlocking codes, pre-fly the site because you never know what gremlins might present themselves. Doing that saved me once, big time.

 

[lecomputer]

Thanks everyone, great info

So I will shoot 4k or possibly 2.7k at 25fps for the most part as I know delivery will be in 1080. But just want maximum image quality, and a bit of cropping space is useful. I forgot to mentions I will be using NDs too.

My card is a U3 a2 128gb card so should be fine.

As for Geofencing, I did fly over this site a couple of years ago and no issues. I dont know if its changed. Its in the middle of nowhere in Portugal, it national park land, but nothing for miles around the site. I didnt know about certain places being locked. So what is the process for unlocking in those situations?

Finally, about the controller...its so much better! Its much better having the phone on top, and not having to remove the phone case. And nice to have a switch for the different modes. But most of all....occusync. I had so many issues with the first mini, constant connection problems. It made me nervous all the time

Secondly its much more responsive. The Mini 1 had this weird lag with all movements, even when right in front of me. So I think the upgrade was worth it!

thanks again

 

[Robert Prior]

As for Geofencing, I did fly over this site a couple of years ago and no issues. I dont know if its changed. Its in the middle of nowhere in Portugal, it national park land, but nothing for miles around the site. I didnt know about certain places being locked. So what is the process for unlocking in those situations?

Check your planned location here:

DJI FlySafe

www.dji.com

(It defaults to Canada, but you can change that to Europe/Portugal and you're good to go.)

This page has video instructions and a link to the form for unlocking a flight:

DJI - The World Leader in Camera Drones/Quadcopters for Aerial Photography

As the market leader in easy-to-fly drones and aerial photography systems, DJI quadcopters like the Phantom are the standard in consumer drone technology.

www.dji.com

You can get authorization and load it at home (I've done that). Supposedly you don't need internet connectivity in the field if you do that but I had to connect to a server to take off anyway. I may have made a mistake with the process, though, as I only did it once.

This is a very good video about unlocking the Mini 2.

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[TalesFromOurPocket]

If your flight is in Portugal, you will need explicit permission from the airworthiness authority (ANAC) there to take photos/videos from an aircraft of any sort. Their response time is awful at around 6 weeks. If it is also in a national park, there are additional approvals required. Your best bet is that whomever has hired you has already done all this.

On a recent trip to Portugal, I would've loved to have it for my travel vlog. I simply left my drone at home because of the red tape. Here's is a very detailed how-to video I used a few months ago to make that decision.

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If all of that checks out, I don't think anyone mentioned any of this. Be sure to run your exposure in manual mode so the exposure isn't changing mid shot. Your video editor/customer will curse you if you don't. You want to keep your shutter speed at double the frame rate. For 25fps, use 1/50sec. For 30fps, use 1/60sec. Use ND filters if you are overexposed at ISO 100.

Also, the Mini 2 doesn't have color profiles (D-Log or D-Cinelike). I suggest recording slightly underexposed at around EV -0.3 or -0.7. Use an ND filter to get the exposure you need. This will enable better color grading and won't blow out the highlights. You and your customer will be much happier with the end result.

 

[shadower360]

Hi, I've recently bought a Mini 2 after owning the Mavic Mini 1 for a year or so

I've had a job moved forwards, leaving me no time to experiment, so any answered questions here would be great!

- Video settings...4k, 2.7k or 1080? If you shoot lower resolutions does it still use the full 4k sensor and just downscale it? If so, would you go for 4k or 2.7k?
- Frame rates, I am in a PAL country so I shoot everything at 25fps, but I wonder is there any advantage to shooting 30 and putting it on a 25fps timeline?
- Or is it better to shoot 60fps? I read some people saying it was a good idea for taking frame grabs. But how much does natural motion blur matter in drone footage? As much as anything else?

Any other quick tips on initial settings would be great, but these are my main questions
thanks

It depends, what kind of job is it? Realestate?