The Mavic Mini in the lousy climate of Denmark! (See my PS)

[creamand]

Hi!

I am the happy owner of a DJI Mavic Mini (version 1) - which is a great toy!

During the winter I have played with my Litchi app looking forward to spring, when I could get my drone in the air again.

I am allowed to fly around many places in Denmark with my Mavic Mini as it weights below 250g.

But the weather conditions in Denmark is not optimal for the Mini; that is no moist, no freezing, and only gust up to 8 meters/sec.

Now I wish I had an extra drone, which I could use in cold and windy weather as well – I have been flying only two times this year, mostly due to the restricting weather conditions.

I first thought about selling the Mini and buy a larger drone, but the rules for a +250g drone are more restrictive, so now I am looking for an extra drone, larger and more resistant to the Danish weather.

Any suggestions?

I am hoping for the DJI Mavic Air 2 (not the 2S-model) to get down to an affordable amount of money.

I am not excellent at flying (not yet); I do not get much “in air”-time, and crash avoidance would be appreciated.

4K video (60fps) would be fine, and 48MP camera is super. HDR is also on my wish list.

The Air 2 can be used down to –10 degrees Celsius (or do I miss some information?), which would increase the possibilities for flying in Denmark in spring, fall and maybe even sometimes in winter. It might be a great big brother for the Mini.

I like the hour around sunrise for photographing, and this is the cold part of the day.

I have just seen the Air 2 Fly More Combo for about € 860 in a Danish shop, but if Air2 is on its way out, would that be one stupid investment?

I am looking forward to hearing some advice from this forum.

Thanks in advance!

./creamand (who is not good at keeping things short!)

PS:
*) About the climate in Denmark; I actually enjoy it - it gives a lot of diversity in photographing and documenting nature and weather.

PPS:
Attached "weather conditions" says that I have a chance to fly to Mini today from 6pm to 6.20pm .. 20 minutes of fun, which I am looking forward to.

 

[Gagey52]

Hi there, you obviously put some thought into your wish list. Did you make a final decision? Where I fly is the exact opposite of your conditions, I have to find equipment that can handle the heat. Look forward to hearing what your final decision was.
Regards

 

[creamand]

Hello Gagey,
Thank you for answering my post.

And the quick answer to your question is: Yes!
But "only" for this climate: "0° to 40°C (32° to 104°F)" - no rain, no fog, no snow and no temperatures below freezing.
(Also no heatwaves in your warm climate!)

My original Mavic Mini (1) could only handle wind/gusts to up about 8 m/s, but the Mini 2 is capable up to 10 m/s (maybe 10.7 m/s).

The wind will be the major trouble for me (until around November, where temperatures might drops below freezing). And at this point of time I might be looking at the Mini 3 (nobody knows).

Yet the Rules for EU (and Denmark) got the final word for me choosing a Mini 2:
As of now the rules says that Mavic Air 2 will not be allowed to fly in residential areas from 2022-12-31 - not as a private person. There has to be a distance of 150 meters to buildings from 2023-01-01. These rules _might_ be given a dispensation because no drones have the C-labels yet (they are all legacy drones), but again nobody knows for sure. I would rather not pay € 860 for flying a drone in nine months. Then it feels better to do a little upgrade (2.5 m/s in wind resistance), have a 4K camera, and be able to fly for the years to come.
The weight of the Mini's below 249 grams makes it legally to fly in residential zones, without having to evacuate people first. ;-) This should be the rules in EU/DK - also in 2023 and following years.

These were the thoughts about buying a new DJI drone for fun, and within my budget.

I have looked at some other drone-companies as well. Only on the internet, that is - and only for a couple of days.
For the same amount of money, the cameras were not as good as the ones on DJI. And I knew I would regret it - my primary goal for the drone(s) is to take nice, and sometimes beautiful, images and videos.

Still not good at writing: "Yes, the Mini 2 was chosen!" ..

./creamand

PS. I have only tried the Mini 2 twice, so no conclusions on my thoughts yet. Also no video uploads yet.

 

[WV. Rootman]

You could always get a raincoat for it.