Thoughts on Mavic Mini, if you own a Mavic Air.

[scott rand]

Hi all,

Just wondering if any of you come from the Mavic Air community. I bought the Mavic Air the day it was announced ($799 back then), even though I already had a Mavic Pro at the time. I was intrigued by the safety features, the smaller size, and by the camera, some felt it was better than the Mavic Pro. When I got it, I flew it much more than the Pro for the first 6 months.

That being said, I became frustrated by 2 things, the lesser battery life, and the poor distance of the WiFi, therefore I found myself using my Mavic Pro more often. In fact, I was stoked about the Skydio 2, but what is holding me back is the poor WiFi connection and the lesser battery life.

Which brings me to the Mavic Mini. I’m really intrigued about the Fly More package, for $100 more you get so much more. Also intrigued by the battery life, and what seems like improved WiFi on the Mini. I’ve seen many videos comparing the WiFi connection and distance of the Mini vs the Air.

Any Mini owners coming from the Air community ? Do you find the WiFi connection/distance to be a big improvement over the Air ? Received $500 in gift cards for Christmas and I think the Mini Fly More package is a no brainer (was gonna put the $ towards a Skydio 2, but changed my mind due to the issues I mentioned). What are your thoughts ? Any comments would be appreciated, thinking of taking the plunge tomorrow.

 

[Starz]

If you’re unhappy with the range the air has, don’t waste your money on the mini.

 

[Lastrexking]

Looking at the number of lost minis they can’t handle a decent breeze, so that’s a big no for me. But, an inferior camera system, and bit rate would be the main reasons I’d avoid it.
to me, the mini is for taking personal shots at close distance. It seems anyone trying to use it like an actual Mavic, or an Air is in real danger of losing it. Even the Spark seems more capable of handling wind.

 

[Starz]

Target market was(my opinion) just what you mentioned.
Flying selfie cam.

 

[Lastrexking]

Target market was(my opinion) just what you mentioned.
Flying selfie cam.

Absolutely. Unfortunately, the Youtube influencers that DJI sent models for review all made points of stating how good it was in the wind, and took footage at distance. Now the model is in the wild it’s clear that it can’t handle wind or distance.

 

[MavicAyr]

Hi,
I have the Mavic Pro, Mavic Air, Spark and now the Mini. The Mini is far from perfect but for myself who travels constantly through my job - its pretty good. I work offshore and don't need a long range drone, one patch of sea is pretty much the same as the next.

Yes, wind can be an issue. In fact every time I have flown while offshore it's been with quite a bit of trepidation, but if you pick the calmer days I've so far been lucky.

For a drone so small that I can pop into my hand luggage or a large trouser pocket while travelling through Africa it's ideal.

 

[sirbadger]

Now the model is in the wild it’s clear that it can’t handle wind or distance.

Not sure you can blame the MM entirely, it's price point is attractive for beginners and they're getting caught out by inexperience.

 

[lannes]

If you have an MA and a MP , I wouldn't waste money on the Mini
The extra battery life doesn't compensate for the poor flight performance

The lack of confidence it inspires, makes me leave it at home all the time

The other approach I'm going to try is to be totally reckless with it and use reverse psycology on it LOL !!

 

[appleguy010]

Got a MM for Christmas and it handles wind fairly well. The problem with fly always is that RTH on the mini is slow so trying to RTH up wind is a no go. In strong winds the pilot should only use RTH to adjust heading then fly back in sport mode. Inexperienced pilots have been flying it down wind very long distances, then just waiting for it to come back. I haven’t seen a single fly away that isn’t attributed to pilot error.

I’d say if you don’t need the small size or live somewhere where it’s always windy, go with the mavic pro of course. I just feel it unfair to completely blame the drone for the fly aways, when the pilots are at fault.

That said here are my complaints about the mini.
1. No intelligent flight modes. No course lock, home lock, follow me, and waypoints. This is why I’m anxiously awaiting the Mobile SDK release so I can use the drone with litchi.
2. ATTI mode is missing. I realize this isn’t a feature on mavic drones, but it can be turned on with the mavic pro. Instead with the MM you have to block gps and the vps sensors for it to turn on.
3. DJI Fly. I understand why they choose to simplify the app, but I wish they would have kept support for DJI GO. DJI Fly is just isn’t feature complete. Just another reason to wait for the SDK I guess.

Anyways those are my thoughts. Unless you need a very small bird, I’d say stick with your current drone.

 

[atsphenomenon]

Got a MM for Christmas and it handles wind fairly well. The problem with fly always is that RTH on the mini is slow so trying to RTH up wind is a no go. In strong winds the pilot should only use RTH to adjust heading then fly back in sport mode. Inexperienced pilots have been flying it down wind very long distances, then just waiting for it to come back. I haven’t seen a single fly away that isn’t attributed to pilot error.

I’d say if you don’t need the small size or live somewhere where it’s always windy, go with the mavic pro of course. I just feel it unfair to completely blame the drone for the fly aways, when the pilots are at fault.

That said here are my complaints about the mini.
1. No intelligent flight modes. No course lock, home lock, follow me, and waypoints. This is why I’m anxiously awaiting the Mobile SDK release so I can use the drone with litchi.
2. ATTI mode is missing. I realize this isn’t a feature on mavic drones, but it can be turned on with the mavic pro. Instead with the MM you have to block gps and the vps sensors for it to turn on.
3. DJI Fly. I understand why they choose to simplify the app, but I wish they would have kept support for DJI GO. DJI Fly is just isn’t feature complete. Just another reason to wait for the SDK I guess.

Anyways those are my thoughts. Unless you need a very small bird, I’d say stick with your current drone.

Hi @appleguy010, while i agree with misses on the ask front, could you throw a little more light on why you would want the atti mode control? I dread the mode since the AC becomes difficult to handle and always prefer gps lock. I'm new to drone flying, is why I'm curious why one would specifically want to activate the atti mode instead of gps lock.

 

[TheRock]

For a drone so small that I can pop into my hand luggage or a large trouser pocket while traveling through Africa it's ideal.

I totally agree. I just got it for a trip through Western Papua and part of Raja Ampat. Flying judiciously I had very acceptable results in handling and in imaging. I wanted it as I had to use planes with luggage - weight restrictions so my MP2 was out. This MINI all packed up (iPad mini, controller, base, drone, charger, 3 batts, spare iPhone, hood) into a small pelican case and I flew from boats, mother ship and beaches with minimal problems (ship's radar seemed to affect the WiFi a couple of times). It really is amazingly handy. I am not so sure all of these fly-aways due to wind are really caused by wind, either. I flew getting wind warnings and it made it's way back. I pretty much kept it below 350 ft and 1000 ft away and was fine. Lost signal after 1400 ft distance once but got it back and got the drone back. As MavicAyr says, pick your conditions. The little drone is pretty special for such a tiny package.

 

[Lastrexking]

Not sure you can blame the MM entirely, it's price point is attractive for beginners and they're getting caught out by inexperience.

I'm not blaming the MM - if you read my post I'm stating that Youtube influencers are doing things with the Mini that it generally isn't capable of, and this is misleading consumers.

 

[Dave Maine]

The better camera in the Air makes the Air a better choice for me, in addition to the various additional flight modes and being able to use Litchi.

 

[dkuhne]

100% don’t get a MM if you’ve got an Air. you don’t gain anything, other than having slightly better battery time.

Save the 500 for the M3P! (I think this'll blow Skydio 2 out the water when it comes)

 

[scott rand]

100% don’t get a MM if you’ve got an Air. you don’t gain anything, other than having slightly better battery time.

Save the 500 for the M3P! (I think this'll blow Skydio 2 out the water when it comes)

May just do that. There are rumors that an announcement will come in January. You know how it is when you have $500 burning in your pocket, and the fly more costs exactly that. But that's exactly why I started this thread like this. To get advice from some great drone owners. Despite things I've seen on YouTube, such as better WiFi on the Mini than the Air, and obviously better battery life, not one of you have convinced me that it is a major difference.

I was seduced by the Skydio 2, I REALLY like the obstacle avoidance on that drone, and the tracking as well. Camera looks great, has 4k at 60 FPS. It truly is way past anything that is currently out there as far as the obstacle avoidance and tracking. But I think DJI has something up their sleeves for the M3P in that department. Holding off until the announcement. Though I think the price may drive me back towards the Skydio. $1700 is an extremely high price for a drone, unless I used it professionally, which I currently don't do.

 

[dkuhne]

May just do that. There are rumors that an announcement will come in January. You know how it is when you have $500 burning in your pocket, and the fly more costs exactly that. But that's exactly why I started this thread like this. To get advice from some great drone owners. Despite things I've seen on YouTube, such as better WiFi on the Mini than the Air, and obviously better battery life, not one of you have convinced me that it is a major difference.

I was seduced by the Skydio 2, I REALLY like the obstacle avoidance on that drone, and the tracking as well. Camera looks great, has 4k at 60 FPS. It truly is way past anything that is currently out there as far as the obstacle avoidance and tracking. But I think DJI has something up their sleeves for the M3P in that department. Holding off until the announcement. Though I think the price may drive me back towards the Skydio. $1700 is an extremely high price for a drone, unless I used it professionally, which I currently don't do.

The inability to take RAW pictures makes me wonder why anyone would get the MM if they've already got a DJI bird. I'm interested to see if they make this a feature in a future update.

Agree on the Skydio 2, watched some youtube videos recently and it seems basically impossible to crash! Even tree branches without leaves it can somehow spot. - Only ownside is youd have to find yourself a new forum ;-)

 

[TDZHDTV]

If you’re unhappy with the range the air has, don’t waste your money on the mini.

I get better range with my Mini, turned back at 1300m.

 

[TDZHDTV]

Personally I’m more relaxed with the MM over the MA due to not feeling rushed during flight and significantly lower noise. If DJI add the Spark features moving forward or Litchi adds supports I’ll be very happy. You’ve just got to be sensible with it in winds

 

[Red Ryder 85]

Hi all,

Just wondering if any of you come from the Mavic Air community. I bought the Mavic Air the day it was announced ($799 back then), even though I already had a Mavic Pro at the time. I was intrigued by the safety features, the smaller size, and by the camera, some felt it was better than the Mavic Pro. When I got it, I flew it much more than the Pro for the first 6 months.

That being said, I became frustrated by 2 things, the lesser battery life, and the poor distance of the WiFi, therefore I found myself using my Mavic Pro more often. In fact, I was stoked about the Skydio 2, but what is holding me back is the poor WiFi connection and the lesser battery life.

Which brings me to the Mavic Mini. I’m really intrigued about the Fly More package, for $100 more you get so much more. Also intrigued by the battery life, and what seems like improved WiFi on the Mini. I’ve seen many videos comparing the WiFi connection and distance of the Mini vs the Air.

Any Mini owners coming from the Air community ? Do you find the WiFi connection/distance to be a big improvement over the Air ? Received $500 in gift cards for Christmas and I think the Mini Fly More package is a no brainer (was gonna put the $ towards a Skydio 2, but changed my mind due to the issues I mentioned). What are your thoughts ? Any comments would be appreciated, thinking of taking the plunge tomorrow.

I own a Mavic Air and a Mavic Mini. The mini is great in low wind conditions. The wifi is about the same in both quads. The Mavic Air is much better in almost all other aspects. Go ahead and get the MM with the fly more kit. It's will worth the investment. Happy Flying!!

 

[scott rand]

The inability to take RAW pictures makes me wonder why anyone would get the MM if they've already got a DJI bird. I'm interested to see if they make this a feature in a future update.

Agree on the Skydio 2, watched some youtube videos recently and it seems basically impossible to crash! Even tree branches without leaves it can somehow spot. - Only ownside is youd have to find yourself a new forum ;-)

I don't really publish my videos or pics, or color code them, or make any edits, so I don't really care about RAW.

I fly for the mere enjoyment of flying and getting a different perspective of things from the sky, and finding beautiful places to fly. I just enjoy the feeling of flying, if that makes sense. I remember my 1st drone, The Yuneec Q500+ (a massive beast compared to most drones now), and the 1st time I ever flew it, it was a real rush, so exciting to control the drone and watch it fly.

And since you talked me out of getting the MM, probably will leave this specific forum anyway, lol.