pros and cons of the new mini 4 pro

[MikeyST1957]

What I’d really like to do ( if it’s possible)
Is hook up a min4 to
My old white DJI goggles

Have my grandson next to me wearing the goggles while I fly off the controller screen

Is that possible?

 

[GerdS]

Yes, it was ok for flying. More worse than the strtched image was the flickering caused by pixel binning, especially when flying over gras or acre. This almost disappeared when using the Mini's digital zoom at its max.

 

[MikeyST1957]

Thanks!

 

[SlavaVisuals]

Hi Guys, new owner here! Got the drone month ago and crashed it few times after flying, then. I did YouTube review of its issues and some concerns about so called "360 omni directional avoidance sensors"
This video

is the short compilation of crashes and verdict. I also have Ultimate crash test of 37 long, where I cover all details and how it happened.
From my experience it has great camera and all features you can think of, however their promo and advertisement of 360 degrees sensors is little bit deceptive statement. It seems like it doesn't see small twigs and leafless branches. It crashed 6 times during the test in the forest. Finally it broke the shaft axis of one of the arm and I had to send it for repair. I'm not sure if it is just my unit or other people experienced that but I proved it that front sensors work better then backward and sides. Most of the crashes happened during when the drone was tracking me on the bike flying backwards. Did you experience any similar situations?

 

[simmoji]

Swappable lenses is the only thing I'd jump at a Mini 5 for. Just need some longer focal lengths under 250g like the 70mm on the Air 3.

 

[Luckyguy9]

Here's something I wasn't expecting. I ordered the Fly More Plus package. All 3 batteries that came with it are the extended flight batteries. A standard battery was not included.

Not a huge deal, I guess, since I live in the USA and was planning to register the drone anyway. But since even the standard Mini 3 Pro battery puts the weight of the Mini 4 over 249g, I don't have a <249g option without ordering another battery.

I wonder if this was intentional or a mistake? My M3P Fly More Plus package shipped with the standard <249g battery installed in the drone, and the 2 additional batteries were the heavier extended flight batteries.

They have 2 Mini 4 pro packages. One with screen (RC2) and one with out.
They also have 2 flymore packages. One with 249 batteries and one with batteryPlus batteries.
You must ave ordered the flymore package with the extended batteries.

 

[Droning on and on...]

It seems like it doesn't see small twigs and leafless branches. It crashed 6 times during the test in the forest.

Yup. And DJI isn't sneaky or mendacious about this. It's clearly stated in the manual.

All features on the drone obviously have limitations. I see the same advertising you do but somehow don't see the same claims you do. Advertising is subjective; it's not a spec sheet and testing report, it's telling a story, and in a very limited channel.

Advertising and marketing are not a source for precise operational behavior or parameters. I'm surprised again and again that people seem to need to be reminded of this. DJI told you this in the common source for detailed operational capabilities and limitations – the manual – and you pushed beyond those limits and it predictably failed. From p. 59:

The vision systems cannot work properly near surfaces without clear pattern variations or where the light is too weak or too strong. The vision systems cannot work properly in the following situations:​

[...]​

j. Flying near obstacles with small surface areas (e.g., tree branches, and power lines).​

Demonstrating Obstacle Avoidance fails when DJI says it will doesn't mean anything.

 

[boldblue737]

True. I'm not really upset about it. I was mostly just calling it out because it could make a difference to someone who lives in the US and is planning to travel abroad with it to someplace where exceeding 249g has a lot more implications than a registration requirement.

And like I say, it's different than how my Mini 3 Pro plus kit shipped. The M3P had one standard and 2 extended batteries in the box.

they did indeed change it from the Mini 3 Pro, where you got a sub 249 battery in the box and the Fly More Combo came in a separate box and you could get it as a regular or Plus version... the Plus version had 2 of the extended batteries. DJI went back to the all in one Fly more option and now standardize around a type of battery. If you need a sub 249 battery as a Fly More Plus owner you have to buy an extra one.

 

[AngiT]

I have a Mavic Pro, a Mini 2, since two weeks the Mini 4 and have compared flight behaviour.
The Mini 2 was always a bit unexact on stick reaction, it was difficult to move it accurately around in tight space. It felt a bit unwilling to follow stick inputs and there was a noticable delay, especially for yawing.
The old Mavic Pro feels much better coupled to the sticks, reacts more smooth, but tends to show slight deviation from the commanded course.
The Mini 4 in contrast is more similar to the Mavic Pro than to the Mini 2. It reacts smooth and goes exactly into the intended direction. So it is a big progress in the Mini series. As I never have flown a Mini 3 I cannot tell if this better stick coupling has been already introduced with Mini 3 or just now with Mini 4.
Range (CE) is also much better than with Mini 2, more equal to Mavic Pro.

I am used flying with goggles most time, that's the reason I have kept my Mavic Pro with the white DJI goggles for so long. When flying the Mini 2 I have used Litchi with cardboard-type goggles.
As DJI is quite slow with updating their SDK for new drones and maybe an update for Mini 4 Pro might never come, I had to find another solution instead of Litchi. So I bought it with the RC2 radio which supports display port protocol over USB.
In the first approach I successfully connected a USB-to-HDMI adapter and the white DJI goggles. It worked well, but the image was a bit streched horizontally and there were pixel binning artefacts. Then I got attention to the Rokid Max AR Headset RM201 and bought it for testing. And wow, it works great!
The FOV is at least 40°, somewhere between Fatshark goggles and DJI goggles, the image is bright and clearly visible even in bright sunlight (shielding attached). So I can now send my old Mavic Pro and white goggles to retirement.

 

[izometric]

I just flew the Mini 4 Pro at the same location with Mini 3 Pro, in a highly wifi polluted area.

OS4 is a significant upgrade over the OS3. The signal remains strong where the OS3 would turn red and initiate RTH.

Very happy with the Mini 4 Pro upgrade.

It burns through the plus batteries a lot faster though. I can barely get 25-30 minutes of flight time from a plus battery. With Mini 3 Pro I would get 40 minutes with no sweat.

The waypoints and 360 obstacle avoidance are a godsend. I will take this any day over 10 minutes of extra flight time.