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DJI Mavic Mini

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Re: DJI Mavic Mini

#101

Post by Scoundreller »

roywiggins wrote: post #90
cookiecaper wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a great reason to exercise caution when setting up rules and definitions. Whatever distinction gets established, however arbitrary, casts a tint on everything else on either side of it, for better or worse. This is true even in things as routine daily chit-chat and conversation. Think about how often tacitly express your opinion through the way you frame a discussion and how often those environmental cues bias o…

I'll just note that laws and regulations can get struck down for vagueness. If there's no hard rule about what kind of drones are regulated how, then it becomes more burdensome- or even impossible- to know whether you're complying with the law.

Or the law is perfectly clear, but the police and prosecutors pick and choose which cases they put forward.

Or the intensity of enforcement varies in the first place.

And chances are you’re doing something else illegal anyway.

Or can be followed until you do.

And if you don’t, there’s always the routine traffic stop.

Re: DJI Mavic Mini

#102

Post by bsamuels »

SpikeDad wrote: post #82
bsamuels wrote: post #49

I want to know how big the motors are going to be compared to the Mavic Pro. I've flown 5" race quads that were 10mph. Traditionally DJI drones have had very underpowered motors so they can get those high flight time numbers; seeing the 30 minute flight time quote here doesn't give me much confidence that it will fly well with anything other than perfect wind conditions. I can't wait to tear one apart and see what ki…

It's not a race drone. That's a completely different audience. What do you mean underpowered? Compared to what?

Let's say you're flying a race drone in windy conditions. you're aiming for a gate that you're going to fly straight through when a large gust of wind hits. You now have to compensate for that wind to correct your trajectory, and that can take a LOT of thrust depending on how large the gust was and how fast you need to correct the trajectory.

It's possible for the maneuver to require so much sideways thrust that you will bleed some altitude and start to fall to the ground (granted on a racing drone this is probably measured in centimeters for most maneuvers, but you get the idea)

Racing drones usually have a thrust:weight ratio of 8:1 or so, but the large Mavik Pro has a thrust:weight of 2.5:1, and their smaller Spark a ratio of ~2:1. You need a minimum TWR of about 2:1 to be flyable.

If the Mavic Mini has a similar TWR as the spark, then it's very unlikely you'll be able to fly it in any sort of windy conditions.

Re: DJI Mavic Mini

#103

Post by bitL »

rimliu wrote: post #92
bitL wrote: post #78

Mavic and its variations are fine, but when will we finally get Phantom 5? Mavic is still far from functionality offered by Phantom 5, whether it comes to stability, ease of use and most importantly video quality. Going to new Mavic feels like downgrade with the only advantage being portability, which is a moot point as one has to carry multiple batteries in a separate bag anyway. DJI, come on, give us something!

Mavic is very far ahead in terms of functionality compared to Phantom 5, given that Phantom 5 does not exist. If you compare Mavic 2 Pro to Phantom 4 Pro, then the only arguable advantage the latter has is the mechanical shutter. No problems with stability, and despite being lighter the smaller aerodynamic cross-section actually helps Mavic to fight the wind. Not sure what advantages P4 has against Mavic wrt ease of…

I am hearing that often from Mavic Pro users, but both video quality and stability in stronger winds is lacking comparing to P4 series. It's good you are happy, many people like me aren't.

Re: DJI Mavic Mini

#104

Post by bsamuels »

prawn wrote: post #99
bsamuels wrote: post #49

I want to know how big the motors are going to be compared to the Mavic Pro. I've flown 5" race quads that were 10mph. Traditionally DJI drones have had very underpowered motors so they can get those high flight time numbers; seeing the 30 minute flight time quote here doesn't give me much confidence that it will fly well with anything other than perfect wind conditions. I can't wait to tear one apart and see what ki…

Can’t speak for this one, but I have the Mavic 1 and 2 and both can handle very high winds well IMO.

The full size Mavik drones benefit from having much more mass holding them against the wind. The amount of drone surface that interacts with the air scales roughly squared, and the mass scales roughly cubic.

A simpler way of stating it is that when you have a heavy drone and a light drone with the same thrust to weigh ratio, the heavier drone will be able to hold its position much easier than the lighter drone in a gust.

Re: DJI Mavic Mini

#105

Post by leetcrew »

vannevar wrote: post #85
sneak wrote: post #15

As someone who wants hardware that does what I instruct it to after I have purchased it, regardless of the manufacturer's wishes, I don't think I can support buying DJI's otherwise-excellent products any longer. The firmware updates and activation locks and flight restrictions imposed by the DJI Go app are too onerous. If I buy a tool, and the tool now belongs to me, the manufacturer attempting to restrict my use of…

I upvoted you, not because I agree, but because you raised a reasonable point that clearly generated some intelligent debate. I think the problem is that modern technology has resulted in cheaply available "tools" (to use your term) that have the capacity to cause great and irreparable harm to large numbers of other people (see the comments regarding drones and airplanes, for instance), and consequently must be proac…

I strongly disagree.

as a matter of principle, I don't accept that a device I own should do anything more or less that what I tell it to do.

I don't expect HN to agree with me on this principle, so I will also present a practical argument. these kinds of controls that protect users from wrongdoing tend to be implemented incredibly crudely. my house is close enough to a major airport that it triggers DJI's flight restriction. if the drone happens to get a GPS fix inside my house it will deactivate itself and land. there's no way a small drone can be a threat to the public when it's hovering inside my living room, and I'm pretty sure the legal restrictions don't apply inside of a structure anyway.

Re: DJI Mavic Mini

#106

Post by president »

rb808 wrote: post #65
folli wrote: post #57

I feel like an old man, when I say this (and maybe I am), but I'm starting to feel increasingly annoyed by drones in public. You hear the whirring of drones on a nice day by the lake, and sometimes even on some more popular mountain peaks here in Switzerland. For me it's almost as annoying as a mosquito in your bedroom.

You're not the only one. In the US they're banned from most national parks.

Yet I see people fly them all the time in Yosemite. It seems like nothing is enforceable these days.

Re: DJI Mavic Mini

#107

Post by diminoten »

leetcrew wrote: post #105
vannevar wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I upvoted you, not because I agree, but because you raised a reasonable point that clearly generated some intelligent debate. I think the problem is that modern technology has resulted in cheaply available "tools" (to use your term) that have the capacity to cause great and irreparable harm to large numbers of other people (see the comments regarding drones and airplanes, for instance), and consequently must be proac…

I strongly disagree. as a matter of principle, I don't accept that a device I own should do anything more or less that what I tell it to do. I don't expect HN to agree with me on this principle, so I will also present a practical argument. these kinds of controls that protect users from wrongdoing tend to be implemented incredibly crudely. my house is close enough to a major airport that it triggers DJI's flight rest…

I, as a member of the public, am glad you don't get to decide, with your own judgement, what is and isn't safe to do around an airport in this specific case. Honestly, I wish more laws could be enforced this way.

Your judgement, in aggregate, can safely be assumed to suck, by me, someone who doesn't know you. It may not actually suck, but in situations where you can clearly and obviously harm me (hitting a plane with your drone), I don't want you to have any choices in the matter. Sorry, but others have ruined the fun for both of us.

Re: DJI Mavic Mini

#108

Post by mithr »

Looks pretty cool!

Had to laugh at this bit though:

> “My girlfriend and I can simply enjoy our time together making memories and leave the rest to Mavic Mini.”

... followed by a lengthy video of them either centering their entire attention on the drone taking the video, or standing to "enjoy nature" while discretely flying the drone at the same time, so that it can take a video of them serenely enjoying their perfect moment in nature.

Re: DJI Mavic Mini

#109

Post by bcheung »

headcanon wrote: post #7
bcheung wrote: post #4

I have the Mavic Pro and have issues with the wind carrying it away and not being able to navigate where I want. Is a smaller drone going to even more issue with wind or have they improved this?

How windy is it where you live? I've flown the Mavic Pro over the Pacific and Lake Michigan through what I would describe as a "healthy breeze". I think its max wind speed is approx 22mph, but can't find a reference for it. I'd say rule of thumb is if you wouldn't want to eat a nice brunch in it, you don't want to fly in it. edit: Pretty sure it uses GPS, compass, and gyro to stabilize itself relative to the wind.If…

It was in the desert outside of Las Vegas. It was a pretty strong wind.

Re: DJI Mavic Mini

#110

Post by frabbit »

spike021 wrote: post #43

That's actually a surprisingly great price. Only thing I'd be worried about a bit is if they have the potential to go the same way as GoPro. DJI reminds me a lot of how GoPro was a few years ago.

Do you mind explaining that further? I don't know what happened with GoPro.
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