Drone advice?

[tight fart]

I’ve got the itch for a drone, the top of my shopping list is the DJI mini 4 pro. Would this be a silly choice for a first drone?
I’d like one for travel photography mainly.
Or should I spend £100 on a cheap beginners one to see how I get on?

Edited to add the features I think I’d like,
Follow me
Collision avoidance
10km range
30 min flight time
Under 250g

Edited by tight fart on Monday 22 January 21:35

[Caddyshack]

I bought an fpv dji, did the proper test, used the drone twice in my garden and then never touched it again….sold it eventually.

[slopes]

tight fart said:

I’ve got the itch for a drone, the top of my shopping list is the DJI mini 4 pro. Would this be a silly choice for a first drone?
I’d like one for travel photography mainly.
Or should I spend £100 on a cheap beginners one to see how I get on?

Edited to add the features I think I’d like,
Follow me
Collision avoidance
10km range
30 min flight time
Under 250g

Edited by tight fart on Monday 22 January 21:35

No is the short answer.
It would be an ideal drone for the first one for the features you want is the longer answer

[Byker28i]

I have a mini 2 - easy to fly, really no effort required, so I can see the 4 would be even better with the anti collision, plus the nice features like follow me.

[NormalWisdom]

I have the Mini 3 Pro - Fabulous piece of kit, loads of videos on YouTube to show how to do everything. It's spent a lot of the past 3 months in its case because of the UK weather

ETA - It is my first drone and a doddle to operate

Edited by NormalWisdom on Tuesday 23 January 13:14

[StevieBee]

Any of the DJi range will serve you well.

Careful on this though:

tight fart said:

10km range

Whilst this range is possible, you really wouldn't want to be flying that far from where you are. You should always be able to see the drone when it's in flight. The wind conditions can change enormously just a few miles away too and any number of other hazards can be out of your immediate sight.

[Fordo]

I agree with Stevie there - what do you need 10km for?

I highly recommend going to where you want to fly, rather than staying at home at flying in from there

You should always really have a clear line of sight to your drone. - I have a mini pro 3, fantastic bit of kit.

Furthest i've flown it was halfway across the severn, for shots of the bridge. Went about 2.5km, and i lost signal when i went near a radar bouy. A slightly nervous few minutes ensued as i ran up and down the beach waving the controller frantically pressing the return to home button, until the signal got through. Only just made it back, as it was flying into the wind on the way back.

If you want to save a little money, go for the 3 over the 4. The camera sensor and gimbal are all the same - the 4 has some extra bells and whistles in the software, and a few extra collision detection sensors (the 3 doesn't have side detection). But you'll be able to get the same kind of results on the 3, at a much cheaper price (theres loads of offers about now the 4 has come out).

Also, dont forget to read up on the drone rules and regs - for a sub 250 gram done, you need to register with CAA to get an operator ID (think it costs a tenner), and your operator ID has to be stuck on your drone. Never fly above 120m, and always check multiple maps online, as to where no fly and restricted zones are. Don't just assume the drone controller software will tell you - the responsibility is on the pilot, to fly safely and in accordance with the rules

[Buzz84]

For years I fancied a drone, for no other reason that its cool tech and I like cool tech!. Had a cheap toy one years ago and it was rubbish, hard to control went all over the place.

But it didn't put me off and I wanted a decent one, so my family must have got bored of me talking about them and never doing anything so this Christmas they clubbed together and came up with some money as a contribution. Which I added to and bought a Mini 4 Pro.

Its very cool, went for it opposed to the 3 as it had the upgraded collision system and additional shooting/tracking modes (that I may never use!) the price increase wasn't massive either for the 4.
I got the drone with the non-screen RC-N2 controller which is about £180 cheaper than with RC2 screen controller - which makes it a little more fugal for occasional use. (also my phone screen is bigger and brighter than the built in screen controllers screen).

I now have some lovely photos of my house from high up and every conceivable angle... not sure what I will use it for next, probably just keep flying It around learning, practicing and testing out all the functions and abilities as I haven't scratched the surface. I believe that it can be programmed to fly a route so I think I could make some interesting long term timelapse photos by sending it up at regular intervals over time. (there are plans for a housing estate behind our house - a time lapse from up high as creeps closer and closer it gets build)

Fordo said:

I agree with Stevie there - what do you need 10km for?

I highly recommend going to where you want to fly, rather than staying at home at flying in from there

You should always really have a clear line of sight to your drone.

Also, don't forget to read up on the drone rules and regs - for a sub 250 gram done, you need to register with CAA to get an operator ID (think it costs a tenner), and your operator ID has to be stuck on your drone. Never fly above 120m, and always check multiple maps online, as to where no fly and restricted zones are. Don't just assume the drone controller software will tell you - the responsibility is on the pilot, to fly safely and in accordance with the rules

The 10km is a bit pointless really considering it must be within sight, I took mine up to 120m above me and could barely see it, the tiny dot that it was.

Its interesting regarding the restricted zones, DJI have removed loads of them, I work next to Gatwick and the DJI fly app no longer shows it as a red restricted no fly zone it's just an enhanced warning area and implies I just follow the on screen prompt to fly (obviously I haven't actually tried)

[Grey_Area]

Don't forget for example, if you travel other countries have varying flight rules; the USA for example requires you to sit an online recreational UAS safety test. Easy enough to do, but worth remembering rules are different.

[StevieBee]

Buzz84 said:

Its interesting regarding the restricted zones, DJI have removed loads of them, I work next to Gatwick and the DJI fly app no longer shows it as a red restricted no fly zone it's just an enhanced warning area and implies I just follow the on screen prompt to fly (obviously I haven't actually tried)

Had a pro gig at the Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Training centre the other side of the road to RAF Waddington where the Red Arrows are based, last year. My job was to film a disaster training exercise. They have some impressive 'built' set-ups there - crashed trains, collapsed buildings and the like. Ideal for a bit of drone work. Surprisingly easy to get the green light from RAF Waddington but on the day, the thing wouldn't fly - completely geofenced. I ended up duct-taping a gimbled go-pro to a long bit of wood I found - got some cracking shots! Who needs a Drone?

[nordboy]

I have the non pro mini 3 with the DJI RC (with built in screen). Seems like a great starter drone, easy to fly but doesn't have a load of the extras such as collision avoidance.

I would have liked a 3 or 4 pro but just couldn't justify the price. I think the mini 3 is brilliant.

[tight fart]

Thanks for all the advice, the 10km bit was my thinking it would be better suited to follow me etc, rather than sending it of that far away.

[StevieBee]

tight fart said:

Thanks for all the advice, the 10km bit was my thinking it would be better suited to follow me etc, rather than sending it of that far away.

Flight time is the metric of interest for this. When the battery gets low, the controller will beep to alert you to the need to land it. Unless you do so within a couple of minutes, it will set off on its own back to where it took off from and land itself. So, if you're on a mountain bike burning up a trail and don't hear the beep, you could be a couple of miles away from where the drone has landed.

One other thing to consider....

A drone is a flying camera so the basics of photography and videography still apply (frame rate, F-stops, composition, etc.). I see a lot of people posting clips on various Drone facebook groups saying they're not happy with the shots they're getting. This is almost always as a result of failing to apply thought to the imagery and set up. There's a reason why pros seldom use Auto settings and this will be more obvious with drones.

There's some good tutorials on You Tube on how to set it up to get really lovely cinematic scenes so have a mooch round there.

[Buzz84]

tight fart said:

Thanks for all the advice, the 10km bit was my thinking it would be better suited to follow me etc, rather than sending it of that far away.

I believe that 10km will be the maximum transmission range from the controller to the drone, which presumably you would have with you if doing follow me presumably. But again even if the drone is flying using any "automatic mode" the pilot still needs to have the controller to hand and the drone must be in sight of them (or a spotter if flying FPV)

All detailed here: https://register-drones.caa.co.uk/drone-code/the_d...
Good reading and has all you need to know and do, and get a flyer ID (which isn't technically needed for a sub 249g - but its free to do so why not!

Generally even if the drone is very capable the the regulations are more restrictive and mean it can't/shouldn't be used to its full extents (just like a 155mph capable car is restricted by UK speed limits...)

[Byker28i]

10Km would be a push, considering the battery life of 20-30 mins and wind conditions. I've gone about 1km away but that was nervous, because it is a little drone.

I have a bright cree strobe on mine, to help spot from further away. I've tried different colour skins but size just means its easily lost in the sky. Using a strobe helps

https://store.flytron.com/collections/led-light-sy...

[Stevil]

Been pretty tempted by one myself for some time, saw that DronesDirect had a Mini Pro 4 Fly More combo with an opened box (otherwise new) for just under £900 and that was enough for the bargain-seeker in me to pull few trigger.

Just got my operator ID and flyer ID sorted out and looking forward to having a play.

[a311]

Generally you get what you pay for. Cheap drones are very difficult to fly IMO. As a minimum you want something that doesn't need constant user input to keep it in the air e.g. ones with GPS will keep themselves in position whilst in the air when you take your fingers off the controls.

As you move up the DJI mini range you get more collision avoidance which as a beginner is handy. Something under 250g gives you more freedom of where and how you can fly. I believe the main draw back with Mini 4 Pro is you can't go above 120m as in the software won't let you (I'd verify that yourself though). Note you're also not meant to go above that number anyhow.

10 KM is a bit pointless as you're meant to maintain visual line of sight with the drone. I've seen you tube videos get 6+km in the right sort of terrain/conditions. Main thing is to register your return to home point, and if you're moving yourself make sure you update the RTH point that was if you loose signal, battery etc it will come to you rather than where you were.

You can save money if youbuy get a controller you plug a smart phone/tablet in to use as a screen. Personally I'd recommend have a RC with a built in screen.

The DJI's are impressive peices of kit. I've a mini 3 Pro and for the weight of it, handles winds etc extremely well. Like a lot of people I had a lots of use out of mine initially and then it's mostly sat in a cupboard unused for months. They're very portable so I tend to take mine out walking or when I go away to get a different view/perspective on places.

[tight fart]

Can you apply for a license before buying a drone or are they linked together?

[Caddyshack]

tight fart said:

Can you apply for a license before buying a drone or are they linked together?

Yes you can apply before.


I took the full operators licence which means revision and a full test in front of an examiner. Once you look at all the rules it is really hard to actually fray a drone and not break a rule.

Want to fly and look down at a crowd in a field: you need every single persons express consent and it cannot be a blanket sign on a gate etc….technically, if a drone flies over a festival you would need every person to opt in and it cannot just be printed on the ticket that there may be a drone.

[alangla]

And, if flying over a festival, try not to crash into Fatboy Slim, or his equipment https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/26/watch-...