To buy or to wait?

[John Murray]

Hi all. I am some what new to the drone world. I have 2 Tellos and have been wanting to upgrade for a while now but haven't pulled the trigger yet on the Mavic Mini. I purchased a used iPhone 7+ last month so that I would be able to use the app. I wanted to download the app so I could learn and read everything before hand. Just went into the app yesterday and it all changed over to Chinese from English. Must have been because of the update? So I uninstalled and reinstalled to fix it. I'm still learning. The reason for this post is that I have seen many threads and u tube posts that talk about fly away problems and lost minis. I realize many are pilot errors because they didn't read everything or that they were pushed in very windy conditions. My question is this just happening because of these reasons or are there some real problems with the mini as it is and that maybe I should wait until they are corrected. I don't want to be telling the wife my $500 toy just flew away. I might have to start sleeping in the shed. Do I buy or do I wait. Looking for some advice from some experienced pilots. Thanks

 

[Starz]

Pilot error 98%
Hardware 2%
(unverified)
(my take on what I’ve read)

 

[old man mavic]

Hi all. I am some what new to the drone world. I have 2 Tellos and have been wanting to upgrade for a while now but haven't pulled the trigger yet on the Mavic Mini. I purchased a used iPhone 7+ last month so that I would be able to use the app. I wanted to download the app so I could learn and read everything before hand. Just went into the app yesterday and it all changed over to Chinese from English. Must have been because of the update? So I uninstalled and reinstalled to fix it. I'm still learning. The reason for this post is that I have seen many threads and u tube posts that talk about fly away problems and lost minis. I realize many are pilot errors because they didn't read everything or that they were pushed in very windy conditions. My question is this just happening because of these reasons or are there some real problems with the mini as it is and that maybe I should wait until they are corrected. I don't want to be telling the wife my $500 toy just flew away. I might have to start sleeping in the shed. Do I buy or do I wait. Looking for some advice from some experienced pilots. Thanks

with the mini you have to remember its size and specs,it may look like a mavic but it lacks a lot of the features and power of its big brothers,
it is perfectly capable of producing some good pics and video and will fly very well if you respect its flight envelope
it is an affordable way to get into the hobby, just learn its capabilities and before long you will want to be upgrading to something more accomplished
as time goes by there will be plenty of updates to come which will improve the overall MM experience

 

[Thomas B]

Buy now... there will always be a newer version on the horizon.

 

[Alx]

Go ahead , safer u ll be , more u could appreciate your MM , dont be afraid , you have more chance to damage it in your pocket than in the air. Fly safe and enjoy.

 

[Keule]

I would wait until CES opens its gates in Las Vegas on January 7th, 2020.
DJI is there as an exhibitor and might present some news - or not ...

 

[John Murray]

I would wait until CES opens its gates in Las Vegas on January 7th, 2020.
DJI is there as an exhibitor and might present some news - or not ...

 

[John Murray]

I may just do that. I wasn't aware of the CES. Thanks everyone for the info.

 

[DanMan32]

If OP's budget is in the range of the Mini, I doubt DJI will be announcing anything close to that range. However something in the price range of an M2 is possible.

 

[Dave Maine]

Depending on what you want to do, new drones may not give you any advantages. I have a P3 4K, a Mavic Air, and a P4 adv. I fly them all quite happily. The oldest one, the P3 4K is probably the most reliable, as it has been around the longest, and has had the longest period for the bugs to get worked out of the system. The pictures and video it takes aren’t quite as good as the newer ones, but unless you stand closer than 6 feet from the 4K Sony tv they are displayed on, you cannot really see the difference.

 

[lohr500]

I just got my first drone, a MM, last month. I would say go ahead and buy one.

I am very impressed with the video & photo quality and so far with the behaviour of the MM.
Read all the comments on the forums about pre-flight checks and making sure you have good GPS lock on.
Make sure you don't fly in strong winds, remembering that wind speed up there could well be greater than at ground level.
And take out the DJI Care Package. It's not expensive and gives you peace of mind should you end up with a crash or two. (Just make sure you don't crash into deep water and lose the MM as I don't think you can claim unless you can send the damaged MM back first).

 

[Scooped]

I have had a spark for a year, awesome drone. Read alot on the Mini and ended up buying the Mavic air. No mini in my collection. They seem to be a bit flimsy as they cut so much weight to make the 250 gram limit. The Spark is more or less indestructible

 

[wjkrysak]

I enjoy my MM, while recognizing it's flight characteristics and limits. This is a good entry drone, that may have you looking to upgrade in time. I would also recommend the Fly More Combo and the DJI Care package.
I also own a MA, more features, at more cost. Both have their place in my flight bag.
Waiting and you are losing flying time. Enjoy your flying.

 

[deathmajor]

Got mine today and as Scooped pointed out, I was struck by how flimsy it is due to the weight limit.

This combined with how vulnerable it is for wind, lack of sensors and no action tracking makes me question the longevity of the drone. Then after purchasing DJI Care, I went through their terms more in-depth and saw that you have to pay an additional €40-49 to get a broken drone replaced and they do not cover flights made in "unsuitable environments" - i.e. wind.

I got the Fly More edition for €400 and will se it as "fun/learning money" once it crashes but if you already own a toy drone, maybe consider getting a better one used instead.

 

[Scooped]

The active track is a big thing for me so that is another thumbs down. Might be a good one to learn on but Spark is a better drone in my opinion.

 

[DanMan32]

They will cover refresh for just about any reason, as long as you can send all of the AC back to them, even accidentally backing over it with a car. It's warranty coverage that won't be covered for pilot error.
If you subsequently get Refresh Plus, then you get one refresh on the 2nd year, and warranty is extended until the end of the Plus term, typically 2 years.

 

[Deleted member 109934]

Hi all. I am some what new to the drone world. I have 2 Tellos and have been wanting to upgrade for a while now but haven't pulled the trigger yet on the Mavic Mini. I purchased a used iPhone 7+ last month so that I would be able to use the app. I wanted to download the app so I could learn and read everything before hand. Just went into the app yesterday and it all changed over to Chinese from English. Must have been because of the update? So I uninstalled and reinstalled to fix it. I'm still learning. The reason for this post is that I have seen many threads and u tube posts that talk about fly away problems and lost minis. I realize many are pilot errors because they didn't read everything or that they were pushed in very windy conditions. My question is this just happening because of these reasons or are there some real problems with the mini as it is and that maybe I should wait until they are corrected. I don't want to be telling the wife my $500 toy just flew away. I might have to start sleeping in the shed. Do I buy or do I wait. Looking for some advice from some experienced pilots. Thanks

If you are looking for a drone get a drone, MM is a flycam...I flew 30hrs 125 flights, on it so far, and there are no issues with it. People are just stupid or have wrong expectations, mostly stupid. Starting flights on 50% of battery in 20m/h winds without GPS lock etc...then not posting logs because they knew they f#$$ up.

I only got MM because of its weight and ability to fly in Canada, if I would be in US or Canadian laws would be different, I would get few bigger drone Mavic 2 pro or Evo or Inspire, if on the budget I would really think about fimi x8 se.
If you need a small portable camera in the sky, get it, there is nothing wrong with MM, if you need a drone with all capabilities get something a bit bigger.