Mini Vulture Peak Close Calls

Paleomanjim · Mar 21, 2021

JoostGT3 · Mar 21, 2021

Amazingly tantalizing shots! Really loved when you came over the peaks and the bit where you look down on the summit... Must have been a blast to fly there!

Sky Wombat · Mar 21, 2021

OK Paleo clear out the garage, I'm on my way to fly the area with you. Or I would be if international flights were back on. Looks like you're safe.
Like the clip especially the drop off's and shots of the ridges. Nice job as usual.

Thomas B · Mar 21, 2021

Yep... almost taken out by those agave flowers at the very beginning!
cool video...

Capt KO · Mar 22, 2021

Beautiful location but tough place for “find my drone” lol

tlswift58 · Mar 22, 2021

Being a "cowboy" is cool for great videos like this. But like Capt Ko, losing the drone out there would be no fun on a search and rescue op.

Paleomanjim · Mar 22, 2021

Thanks folks. Its probably not as risky as it looks. I have hit small twigs like those seen in the video and the drone usually continues unharmed. That said I have had the drone go down several times and used the find my drone function which works fairly well in saving the coordinates of the drones position. I take the GPS coordinates and transfer them into a GPS tracker on my phone which for me works better in finding the drone. The area in this video is not as bad as it looks, faily easy to hike anywhere here, the only area being challenging is the actual summit. What I like about this area is the variety of plant life and contrasting landscapes and of course the Saguaro cactus. Most of this area is non wilderness area and drone friendly. I ordered the DJI FPV drone which arrives tommorrow. Getting excited about that, a whole new experience!

Dale D · Mar 22, 2021

JoostGT3 said:
Amazingly tantalizing shots! Really loved when you came over the peaks and the bit where you look down on the summit... Must have been a blast to fly there!

I am VERY impressed! Wonderful flying. I cannot believe this was the MINI!!!

MGVision · Mar 22, 2021

The image from mini 2 in good light condition looks great. The main problem is this small gimbal which sometimes cant handle the wind and behave inconsistent

Dale D · Mar 22, 2021

macius said:
The image from mini 2 in good light condition looks great. The main problem is this small gimbal which sometimes cant handle the wind and behave inconsistent

I have been considering buying a mini- 2 for travel on safari in Tanzania and Kenya. (September). Most camps do not want drones flying over the animals and the government is afraid of drones because of the poaching problem. I really, just want a small drone to put in my camera bag to record shots of the lodges from above and maybe a few shots of our vehicle traveling through the bush with a following mode (which I do not know if the mini has). Also if it is confiscated at customs, it would not be such a great loss as my Mavic 2 Pro.

MGVision · Mar 22, 2021

I sold my air 2 for mini 2 just to have as much freedom as i can with drone flying
Still waiting for mavic 3

Paleomanjim · Mar 22, 2021

Dale D said:
I have been considering buying a mini- 2 for travel on safari in Tanzania and Kenya. (September). Most camps do not want drones flying over the animals and the government is afraid of drones because of the poaching problem. I really, just want a small drone to put in my camera bag to record shots of the lodges from above and maybe a few shots of our vehicle traveling through the bush with a following mode (which I do not know if the mini has). Also if it is confiscated at customs, it would not be such a great loss as my Mavic 2 Pro.

I highly reccomend the Mini 2. I only have the mini 1 and 2 so I dont have much to compare it to, but it surely meets my needs well. We travel and backpack a lot so the small size works well. I can say the Mini 2 is far better than the Mini 1. The Occusync is fantastic and stays strong even when flying through trees and near obstacles. The extra speed allows for wind penetration that can be an issue with the Mini 1. The 4K seems pretty good. Flight times are around 3 mihutes longer. The controller is much more comfortable. The Yaw is much smoother on the Mini 2 allowing for smoother turns. The Mini 1 is a great drone too, but the small added cost of the Mini 2 is well worth it. As for Africa there are other places outside the Parks that your tour guides might let you fly, some of the places are on private reserves and lakes. A lot of Warthogs and antelope and even elephant are observed crossing roads outside the parks and the jeeps usually stop to allow everyone to take pics. With the Mini 2 being so quiet it would be the perfect drone to use so long as it is kept high enough and well away from the animals.

Dale D · Mar 22, 2021

Paleomanjim said:
I highly reccomend the Mini 2. I only have the mini 1 and 2 so I dont have much to compare it to, but it surely meets my needs well. We travel and backpack a lot so the small size works well. I can say the Mini 2 is far better than the Mini 1. The Occusync is fantastic and stays strong even when flying through trees and near obstacles. The extra speed allows for wind penetration that can be an issue with the Mini 1. The 4K seems pretty good. Flight times are around 3 mihutes longer. The controller is much more comfortable. The Yaw is much smoother on the Mini 2 allowing for smoother turns. The Mini 1 is a great drone too, but the small added cost of the Mini 2 is well worth it. As for Africa there are other places outside the Parks that your tour guides might let you fly, some of the places are on private reserves and lakes. A lot of Warthogs and antelope and even elephant are observed crossing roads outside the parks and the jeeps usually stop to allow everyone to take pics. With the Mini 2 being so quiet it would be the perfect drone to use so long as it is kept high enough and well away from the animals.

Thanks for that quick reply . I have flown the Mavic Air, the Mavic Air 2 (which I only flew for a flew flights since it was a refurbished one that I sold immediately in order to pay for the Mavic 2 Pro. I watched some of the beginner's You Tube videos and it looks pretty easy to learn. I have no intention of flying in the wind or far from me. Just about 150-160 feet above me for short clips for my overall Africa video. As long as it has 4K I am happy. My only fear is that there are hardly any sensors!! Yikes! That scares the heck out of me. Just a downward sensor as far as I can tell. No forward sensor. No side sensor like my Mavic 2 pro. What do you think about that?

Paleomanjim · Mar 22, 2021

I'm OK with the lack of sensors, but then again I have never had a drone with them. If you are flyng close and in C Mode there is not much need for them imo. Not sure which countrty you are going to, but I think Tanzania will be a lot more relaxed about drone flying than South Africa. If you visit Tanzania you will likely visit the Masai villages and I'm pretty sure they will not mind you flying a drone over the village, in fact the kids will love it no doubt and it will be a big hit!

Dale D · Mar 22, 2021

Paleomanjim said:
I'm OK with the lack of sensors, but then again I have never had a drone with them. If you are flyng close and in C Mode there is not much need for them imo. Not sure which countrty you are going to, but I think Tanzania will be a lot more relaxed about drone flying than South Africa. If you visit Tanzania you will likely visit the Masai villages and I'm pretty sure they will not mind you flying a drone over the village, in fact the kids will love it no doubt and it will be a big hit!

I like it!!! Yes- only going to fly near me, in line of sight. Sensors have saved my drone many times!