Drone buying advice

bass_junkie83

bass_junkie83

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I have a birthday that ends in an 0 coming up and am being pestered for what I want.
I recently was forced to give up photography and with the price of cameras/lenses these days I am unlikely to get back into it any time soon. But a video drone has been in the back of my mind as a nice to have for a while now and probably aligns much better with my other activities and free time, particularly if I were to pair it later with an action camera such as a gopro.

Having done a bit of research myself I am fairly settled on a DJI mini 3 with the remote controller with screen. From what I can see a recently software update pretty well equalises the specifications of the camera to the pro model (same hardware) and the only real difference left between them is some additional obstacle avoidance sensors found on the pro.

Looking to use for high view point landscape photos, videos of trips away, mountain bike events etc. Also through work I am involved in the construction of a lot of landmark buildings throughout London so would also be nice at some point to capture construction and completion of some of these projects. Though I accept that is a whole other can of worms with each London borough having their own restrictions and hoops to jump through. Not a deal breaker but something I would like to look at later once a bit more proficient.

So, based on my intended usage, dos it sound like the model I am looking at is a sensible choice, considering that defines the sort of budget I am looking at?
Any other general advise, things to look into/read up on that I should be aware of?
 
It's the best value all round currently and is very easy once initially set up and registered.
You would want the mini 3 pro which has significantly more features than budget mini 3 not least RAW for photos but tracking and sensors etc too.
It's almost essential to have at least one additional battery so probably worth getting what they call fly more kit with two extra - and reasonably well designed bag.
Plus a few other random bits extra props you are very unlikely to need.

While it is on the way watch some youtube tutorials.
A common mistake people make is impatiently trying to use it first time in far too restricted area or even indoors - this very often goes horribly wrong and even very experienced users can come to grief.
First flight be right out in the open so it has good GPS - and don't think wow it is so easy and get over confident - as crashing at that stage is common too.
 
4wd said:
It's the best value all round currently and is very easy once initially set up and registered.
You would want the mini 3 pro which has significantly more features than budget mini 3 not least RAW for photos but tracking and sensors etc too.
It's almost essential to have at least one additional battery so probably worth getting what they call fly more kit with two extra - and reasonably well designed bag.
Plus a few other random bits extra props you are very unlikely to need.

While it is on the way watch some youtube tutorials.
A common mistake people make is impatiently trying to use it first time in far too restricted area or even indoors - this very often goes horribly wrong and even very experienced users can come to grief.
First flight be right out in the open so it has good GPS - and don't think wow it is so easy and get over confident - as crashing at that stage is common too.
Click to expand...
Just looking at the comparison tool on the DJI site, there doesn't seem to be much between the mini 3 and mini 3 pro.

www.dji.com

Consumer Drones Comparison - Compare Mavic Series and Other Consumer Drones - DJI

DJI technology empowers us to see the future of possible. Learn about our consumer drones like DJI Mavic 3 Classic, DJI Mini 3 Pro, DJI Air 2S. Handheld products like DJI OM 5 and DJI Pocket 2 capture smooth photo and video. Our Ronin camera stabilizers and Inspire drones are professional...
www.dji.com www.dji.com

The mini 3 does shoot raw, I think that has come from the recent software update. There are still some differences in the video formats, the transmission system and the GPS. Not sure how these translate into real world differences.

I will look into the pro model but it may be a bit too much of a stretch on the budget.


Thanks
 
Woops. Bit the bullet on the pro.

With the screen remote it works out about £100 more than the base model with screen remote AND fly more kit. But I figured I can get that separately later.

As it turns out, buying from the DJI store direct they are currently giving away 1 additional battery and 2 years of their care plan so should be plenty to get me going!
 
Enjoy your new toy ;)
As suggested watch a few You Tube videos, they are very informative. Take your drone to an open space, lots of room and no people to pester you.
Then lets see some images or videos :)
 
Had no idea how long it would take to arrive, but was greeted with a text this morning saying that it would be delivered at around 10:00am this morning. Very exciting!

Imagine what I have been like all day when it never arrived.

And then an hour ago...

20230629_184708.jpg

Fully charged and firmware updating now. Will be doing lots of reading/watching and if the weather stays good should be ready for the first test flight at some point tomorrow. :D
 
Keep us updated ;)
 
congratz on your mini 3 pro !!! as a fellow mini 3 pro user I would suggest that you get the UAV forecast app if you have a android phone I find its pretty accurate. Also drone assist app is advised to get to. If you want I can give you a few youtube people I find give the best advice. I also suggest that you get the flymore kit, not only do you get the two extra batteries but you get a 3 battery charger that at a push can be used as a power bank for your phone or drone screen.
the mini 3 pro is a fantastic little drone and will provide hours of entertainment. the camera is really good at taking photos and vids.
 
Looking forward to your feedback on this as I've been pondering a drone for a while for some commercial use.
 
gman said:
Looking forward to your feedback on this as I've been pondering a drone for a while for some commercial use.
Click to expand...
It is a great drone, especially with the 249g weight limit. The image quality is very good indeed from the camera. I recently took some images of my BIL house and we had them printed at 14" x 10" and the detail is very very good.
 
Enjoy!

I know some may frown upon this but when you are away on your travels somewhere. Pick up the long life battery. It makes the experience far more enjoyable but it does take you over the weight limit of 249g. At the time, they didn’t sell these in the UK.

So make sure you understand the regulations and happy piloting!
 
Jakemico AE-1P said:
Enjoy!

I know some may frown upon this but when you are away on your travels somewhere. Pick up the long life battery. It makes the experience far more enjoyable but it does take you over the weight limit of 249g. At the time, they didn’t sell these in the UK.

So make sure you understand the regulations and happy piloting!
Click to expand...
They are £50 from ali express.
 
I’ve lost count of how many people tell me to use Ali express. I might just try it at last
 
Jakemico AE-1P said:
Enjoy!

I know some may frown upon this but when you are away on your travels somewhere. Pick up the long life battery. It makes the experience far more enjoyable but it does take you over the weight limit of 249g. At the time, they didn’t sell these in the UK.

So make sure you understand the regulations and happy piloting!
Click to expand...

Aye the 249g was the first thing that came to mind when I saw this thread start as I mind watching some YouTube videos of a guy who flies his over "certain" company properties, perhaps with the intent of encouraging them to come out and challenge him. The <250g was often commented on and he would point to a sticker on the drone showing this and it stuck in my mind.

I wonder if it would be noticed that a bigger battery could take it over the weight limit? Obviously if there was a crash then I'm sure it would be noticed, but I mean more from a general observation? Oh, and what about insurance, would it have an affect on that?
 
It puts it in the next category such as Air 2 S - nothing illegal about it except the rules about flying over people etc are less relaxed.
With under 250g so much more is do-able, but sometimes a longer flight time is highly desirable e.g. Timelapse sequence where 20 minutes is not enough after you get in position and come back.
 
Jakemico AE-1P said:
Would you mind sharing a link? Sorry to hijack the thread
Click to expand...

Don't worry about hijacking the more info the better!
I have been a little apprehensive about even looking into third party batteries. I have had no problem with using them in my cameras but worry that if a dodgy battery doesn't report its state of charge correctly could the drone drop out of the sky god knows where?

But having just had my first fly, straight way know I need to stock up on batteries!

A couple of photos straight out of camera, just because.

DJI_0011 (Large).JPGDJI_0006 (Large).JPGDJI_0008 (Large).JPG



I am going to spend much more time just getting used to the operation and handling before I start looking more into image setting, shooting raw etc.

But so far, very happy!
 
bass_junkie83 said:
I have been a little apprehensive about even looking into third party batteries.
Click to expand...

Likewise - In the past I bought a cheap powerbank and when I looked into why it performed so poorly, the battery inside was far smaller than what was advertised. I thought it might be the same case here.

I just bought an OEM 2nd hand battery from eBay thats supposedly only used twice. Thankfully this can be confirmed on the DJI Remote or app.
 
4wd said:
It puts it in the next category such as Air 2 S - nothing illegal about it except the rules about flying over people etc are less relaxed.
With under 250g so much more is do-able, but sometimes a longer flight time is highly desirable e.g. Timelapse sequence where 20 minutes is not enough after you get in position and come back.
Click to expand...
It's worth expanding on this that the rules are much less relaxed when going over 250g, under this limit the rules are lax allowing flights near buildings and people but the moment you go over this limit it's in the A3 category which means the drone has to be kept at least 150m away from people and buildings. This can be improved down to 50m by completing the A2 course. It's a very stupid set of rules although there's no sign of it changing any time soon.

I think the chances of being caught with the extended battery are extremely low unless doing something obviously dangerous with the drone or flying where it shouldn't be, unsurprisingly I've never even had someone check my ID is on the drone. It's a shame they couldn't sell the bigger batteries here and just have a warning up on the screen you have to accept that you need to fly in the more restrictive category, there's plenty people flying drones over 250g legally already.
 
bass_junkie83 said:
What is aliexpress like for their delivery estimations, are they realistic? All batteries are showing a 3 month delivery time at the moment.
Click to expand...
They are rather like Amazon in that they facilitate other sellers so you can't say it will be here within two weeks - but it usually is.
Often as not any delays are this end.
You can use PayPal so not a lot to lose. I have bought various items from them for years with no problems.
 
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