Multirotor, multicopter and quadcopter discussion - The Drone thread

Associate
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I got the mini 2 Fly More combo for my lad as an xmas present. Oh my lord, is it fun to fly. Due to the lockdown, we haven't used it a hell of a lot, but living on the edge of the Peak District, we have a list of stuff we plan to do, once weather/travel restrictions lift.

 
Caporegime
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I've had a DJI Mini 2 Fly More Combo in my cart for months now. I just can't bring my self to click 'buy'.

They're a quirky thing to own for sure, if you have good weather and places to go that you can fly them then they're worth a shot. If the weathers crap then they just gather dust in the box, can be for weeks at a time with how the weather is in this part of the world. It's definitely interesting to fly something with a camera on it, but it can in some instances get a bit stale after a while. The first few times flying it is the honeymoon period then it can get a bit "meh".

Then you have the increasingly tight rules and regulations to adhere to which imo is going to make owning a drone almost pointless if they keep clamping down on them.

Giants causeway over here for example would be a great place to get some footage of but it's restricted as a national trust site. Even if you show and there's no one there they cite birds nesting etc as reasons not to fly it. Have to get specific permission and have all types of insurance etc.
 
Soldato
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I have the mini 2 but have never flown the original mini, obviously it will depend on what you plan to do with it as to wether the 2 is worth the extra, to me it was but having said that yet again I barely use it.... I bought mine from a seller on ebay that specialises in refurbss, it arrived and was litterally new still had all the labels etc on it, started it up and was offered to buy DJI refresh which I did, you can get the combo for about £430 atm

I ended up buying myself the Mini 2 Fly More Combo from Amazon a few weeks ago. I've had a few flights with it and it's an amazing little bit of kit. I'm glad I went for the Mini 2 with the better camera. Even 2.7k at 60fps is gorgeous! I'll use 4k some times, but I reckon the 60fps is a better experience vs the better image quality. I can't wait for us to start having better weather and the longer evenings!
 
Soldato
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They're a quirky thing to own for sure, if you have good weather and places to go that you can fly them then they're worth a shot. If the weathers crap then they just gather dust in the box, can be for weeks at a time with how the weather is in this part of the world. It's definitely interesting to fly something with a camera on it, but it can in some instances get a bit stale after a while. The first few times flying it is the honeymoon period then it can get a bit "meh".

Then you have the increasingly tight rules and regulations to adhere to which imo is going to make owning a drone almost pointless if they keep clamping down on them.

Giants causeway over here for example would be a great place to get some footage of but it's restricted as a national trust site. Even if you show and there's no one there they cite birds nesting etc as reasons not to fly it. Have to get specific permission and have all types of insurance etc.

Except you don't need specific permission especially with a sub 250g drone. They don't own the airspace and unless they have bylaws in place that have been specifically listed onsite for you to see, it's not illegal for you to fly over it. Just make sure you take off from public land and you're golden.

Some of the rules I've read about that places are making up about not flying drones above their sites are utterly ridiculous and half of these places are totally misinformed.
 
Soldato
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Yeah, the change in the law from the end of last year actually removed a lot of the restrictions around the <250g drones and hugely opened up the areas they can be flown.

Yep. And so many places seem to make up their own rules and act like it's the law and it absolutely isn't. But they bank on the fact that not everyone is aware of the rules and regulations. Even though to be perfectly honest, those flying drones ought to know because of the process involved in getting ready to fly in the first place.
 
Caporegime
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Yeah, the change in the law from the end of last year actually removed a lot of the restrictions around the <250g drones and hugely opened up the areas they can be flown.

OK for the 250g and under drones but anything heavier still has a lot of restrictions. Always wondered why a parachute system on a drone isn't taken into consideration as to where it can fly. There's a few systems out there for parachutes (pricey) but imo the canopy of the chute is still too small and it still falls on the fast side. Though this one seems reasonable price wise.

 
Soldato
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My interest in drones was peaked yesterday when I saw this -


I'm enjoying making videos while out cycling at the moment, so a drone I could trust to follow me and not to crash into trees would be amazing. Unfortunately you can only buy it in the US and Canada at the moment :(
 
Soldato
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OK for the 250g and under drones but anything heavier still has a lot of restrictions.

A2 CofC reduces the restrictions on heavier drones rather dramatically as well though. The rules have actually become less restrictive from when I last looked into drones, and for an extra £50 to £90 for a day online course the A2 CofC is a good investment because it essentially makes heavier drones the same as sub-250g drones.
 
Caporegime
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Not that it looks really any different to the current air 2 (besides what appears to be 2 upwards sensors). Apparently it's meant to have 10 pre programmed cinematic flight modes as well, which is something that they could also put on the original air 2 with a firmware update, but knowing dji they'll keep that exclusive to the 2s so they can have it be a selling point.
 
Don
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It's more for dynamic range. The Air 2 is OK but struggles a bit when there are big contrasts between light and dark. It's tough to pull the shadows without blowing out the highlights.
 
Caporegime
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Never noticed there's no trace of the Mavic branding on this, it's just called "Air 2S". Wonder what the reason is behind that?


Their commercial for it.
 
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Don
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Same reason as they removed it from the Mini I guess. I expect it's about the branding of DJI. With multiple Mavic models they are in danger of losing the DJI brand when people discuss them.

DJI Mini 2
DJI Air 2S
DJI Mavic 3?
 
Don
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I ordered one, and like a total ******** I didn't check the delivery address that was saved in my DJI account. Yup, they're shipping it to my old house. Tried to cancel it but can't as it's now preparing to ship.
I guess I just bought some people I don't know a nice new drone.
 
Soldato
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I ordered one, and like a total ******** I didn't check the delivery address that was saved in my DJI account. Yup, they're shipping it to my old house. Tried to cancel it but can't as it's now preparing to ship.
I guess I just bought some people I don't know a nice new drone.
If they keep it's stealing but if you send it to me I'll just borrow it till my mavic pro is fixed.
 
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