Santa baby, you're too good to me!

[GadgetGuy]

Gave a stocking stuffer list to Mrs. PB, she told me to just order it myself. I ended up ordering three Lexar Pro 1066x cards, 128GB each. That capacity will hold over 80 minutes of video (two batteries worth), far more than I'd normally shoot in one outing. A second card, just in case. The third one will go into the RC-Pro, which is probably overkill, but the card was only $14.49 (a 64GB card was $9.99).

I've had very good luck (no issues) with Lexar cards in my DSLR.

This is the lanyard I ordered:

Amazon.com

I like the V shape of the fixing screws on that model of lanyard. I also like that the ends of the strap attach to the fixing screws via nylon cord. Some of the lanyards I looked at had metal or plastic clips that attach to the fixing screws. That just adds additional metal or plastic that would get in the way when storing the RC-Pro in the carrying case. The short lengths of nylon cord should allow me to fold up the lanyard and place it UNDER the RC-Pro in the carrying case I ordered. Easy peasy and the lanyard will be out of the way.

I have experience with exactly this type of arrangement on my digital SLR. Loops of nylon cord to loop through the D rings on the SLR. Quick disconnects between the nylon cord and the strap in case I want to remove the strap temporarily. It has worked out very well.

Mark

I have the same lanyard! Works exactly as you described, and folding down the V's lets them fit into any case, with the lanyard folded on top, and the quick release allows easy lanyard removal if you want to store it separately.

You might consider swapping cards every time you swap batteries. It's good practice. "Cloud storage" of your prior flight’s recordings in the air is an unnecessary risk, when using the card for multiple flights. This limits your losses to a single flight’s recordings, should everything go horribly wrong, and the drone becomes unrecoverable!

 

[Mrprop365]

Now I need to find a home for my Mavic Pro Platinum and all of its accessories and extra batteries. I guess eBay is the way to go.

you might find a buyer in the classifieds section

 

[Photo Booth]

I can't make up my mind whether I should get Care Refresh for my Mavic 3 Pro. I did not purchase it for my Mavic Pro Platinum and I didn't have a crash until the third year of ownership. I repaired the Pro Platinum myself, buying the part via Amazon. The part was less than the cost of one year of Care Refresh.

That said, the 3 Pro is a significantly more expensive drone. And I expect I'll be flying it more than I previously flew the MPP. Also, reading the old topics here in the forum, it seems a LOT of people are glad they invested in Care Refresh. Crap happens.

Since I won't be able to get the first flight in until Christmas day, I have more time to think about it.

Mark

 

[Photo Booth]

The RLSOCO semi-hard case arrived. Its interior configuration is slightly different than the one pictured on Amazon's website. Here's a photo of the interior of the case I received.

And the one at Amazon.

The difference is at the third battery slot from the left. The one I received has an added notch at that spot.

I am assuming/guessing that the notch was added so DJI's 100-watt charging brick could fit into that slot? I won't know until I open the Mavic 3 Pro on Christmas morning.

Also, the case's dimensions on Amazon's site are incorrect. The site has reversed Y & Z axises. In reality, the case measure 16.2 wide x 10.6 deep x 5.9 tall.

Here's Idaho Quadcopter's review of the same case I ordered (but his doesn't have the extra notch):

Mark

 

[mswlogo]

Without the bra on the drone my drone flops around a lot in my case. With it on it doesn’t flop around. With that mini gimbal cover I suspect it will wobble with it.

I got a 512GB card and never plan to take it oh out .

 

[Photo Booth]

A short video of a lonely Mavic 3 Pro, still in its box, waiting for Christmas morning.

Under the tree - Mark

Photography by Mark Booth

www.thephotobooth.net

I don't think my wife is going to bother wrapping it. Monday, hurry up and get here!

Mark

 

[mswlogo]

A short video of a lonely Mavic 3 Pro, still in its box, waiting for Christmas morning.

Under the tree - Mark

Photography by Mark Booth

www.thephotobooth.net

I don't think my wife is going to bother wrapping it. Monday, hurry up and get here!

Mark

I think that Train got way to close.

 

[Photo Booth]

I think that Train got way to close.

Mark

 

[Photo Booth]

The RLSOCO semi-hard case arrived. Its interior configuration is slightly different than the one pictured on Amazon's website. Here's a photo of the interior of the case I received.

The difference is at the third battery slot from the left. The one I received has an added notch at that spot.

I reached out to RLSOCO regarding the extra notch in their case for the Mavic 3 Pro. This is the reply I received:

Hi Mark,
Thanks for your support to RLSOCO store. It's my pleasure to assist you with your questions.
The case you received is the newest version of our case for Mavic 3 pro. The purpose of the extra slot is for more flexible in use, which could hold DJI 100w battery charger now, or just the battery if you don't have that. Honestly speaking, many of our customers gave us the feedback that they prefer a slot for DJI 100w battery charger than just put it on the top pouch, and our team quickly made the improvements on our product. Also this new design idea is applied to our case for DJI Air 3 drone.
Hope you will like this new version case. Thank you


Mark

 

[Photo Booth]

I decided to get Care Refresh for the new drone. I purchased it directly from DJI and, after receiving the contract, was surprised to see that coverage started on the day of purchase. I haven't even activated the drone yet (still sealed in box and now wrapped under the tree). I thought I had read that coverage starts on the day the drone is activated?

Luckily, it's only a couple of days of coverage lost.

Mark

 

[mswlogo]

I decided to get Care Refresh for the new drone. I purchased it directly from DJI and, after receiving the contract, was surprised to see that coverage started on the day of purchase. I haven't even activated the drone yet (still sealed in box and now wrapped under the tree). I thought I had read that coverage starts on the day the drone is activated?

Luckily, it's only a couple of days of coverage lost.

Mark

I think it usually is. Because you usually get it after you activate it. It might update after you activate it. Since it has no idea when you will.

 

[Photo Booth]

We had guests for Christmas dinner and I was the cook, I didn't have a chance to fly the new Mavic 3 Pro yesterday. She had her maiden flight (and several more) today. I flew her only in our area, primarily above open land. I shot a few test photos in both JPEG and RAW, as well as shot some video at both 4K and 1080p.

Everything looks great. It's a kinda hazy day so I had to take that into consideration while looking at the 3x and 7x images. Under heavy scrutiny (cropping and pixel peeping) it's obvious that the 7x lens could use more pixels, but uncropped images look fine.

In normal mode she zoomed back and forth at a top speed of 34 mph. In sport mode she was able to do 46.5 mph.

One thing that I also tested was whether I could track her (and me) via Remote ID with the Drone Scanner app. Nope! I guess the Mavic 3 Pro transmits RID via WiFi, not Bluetooth. Drone Scanner for the iPhone is limited to only Bluetooth scanning (Apple won't allow 3rd party apps to use the WiFi for such purposes).

So... for now, anyway, I guess that means only Android users will be tracking me via Remote ID? I'm not aware of another Remote ID scanner app that can use WiFi on an iOS device. Anyone?

I'm VERY pleased with my new toy. I went through three batteries getting a feel for her. In the next few days I'll drive out to a more scenic area and get some shots to share.

Mark

 

[Photo Booth]

P.S. Getting the microSD card out of the back of the drone is kind of a pain. I need to use tweezers to grab it after I've got it partially ejected using my thumbnail. Bad placement/design on DJI's part.

Mark

 

[GadgetGuy]

P.S. Getting the microSD card out of the back of the drone is kind of a pain. I need to use tweezers to grab it after I've got it partially ejected using my thumbnail. Bad placement/design on DJI's part.

Mark

Removing the battery first makes it easy.

 

[mswlogo]

P.S. Getting the microSD card out of the back of the drone is kind of a pain. I need to use tweezers to grab it after I've got it partially ejected using my thumbnail. Bad placement/design on DJI's part.

Mark

Mine is never coming out. Transfer to iPhone is really fast.

 

[Photo Booth]

It's been two days since I activated my M3P and the Care Refresh plan on my account has not been updated to reflect the activation date. I am currently losing 3 days of coverage during which my M3P was still in its box. I realize it is "only" 3 days but I do not feel it is unreasonable to expect the coverage to start on the day of drone activation.

I reached out to DJI Support this morning, using the chat feature. Bottom line: The rep said they cannot change the start date of the Care Refresh plan. I requested that the situation be escalated to a supervisor (which the rep was happy to do), I'm supposed to get an answer in 2-3 days.

Since the M3P and the Care Refresh were both purchased directly from DJI, they can clearly see all the dates in their system. Hopefully, DJI will do the right thing.

EDIT: Well, right after I posted the message above, I received an updated Care Refresh policy via email from DJI with the dates adjusted to reflect start of coverage on the aircraft activation date.

Mark

 

[Photo Booth]

I shot a bunch of photos to test the sharpness of the 3 lenses. I am pleased to report that all images are nice and sharp across the entire frame. No blurring in corners on any of the lenses. From 300 feet with 7x zoom it is easy to read the house numbers painted on curbs.

Mark