Drones | GTAMotorcycle.com

Drones

jc100

Well-known member
No, not politicians...

Thinking about getting a DJI Mavic Mini. I can see the video being useful, the <250g limit looks good for less restrictions, I enjoy flying the toy drones too. This would be good for my rocket launches unless one hits it.

Anyone got one? Any comments?
 
I have a phantom 4... awesome. Don’t use it much as I live in an urban area with a lot of restrictions. Mine has a 5km range, and it’s basically idiot proof to operate, requires much less skill than a $20 toy drone. Won’t crash, comes home automatically before it it runs out of power, won’t fly into anything, lands automatically.

Get 3 batteries, mine run about 20 minutes and need an hour to recharge so 3 will let me run it pretty much non stop.

Unless you have a real purpose for the things, they might stay in your closet for years between use. A few friends have them, like me they are rarely used.
 
I have a phantom 4... awesome. Don’t use it much as I live in an urban area with a lot of restrictions. Mine has a 5km range, and it’s basically idiot proof to operate, requires much less skill than a $20 toy drone. Won’t crash, comes home automatically before it it runs out of power, won’t fly into anything, lands automatically.

Get 3 batteries, mine run about 20 minutes and need an hour to recharge so 3 will let me run it pretty much non stop.

Unless you have a real purpose for the things, they might stay in your closet for years between use. A few friends have them, like me they are rarely used.

The Mavic mini is about $500 and doesn’t have lateral avoidance or auto follow. You can fly it in a lot more places as long as you’re not acting like an ass as it’s under 250g

Its light enough that I can take it on vacation too, whenever that will be.
 
Mavic Mini is nice in that it fits in the <250g (therefore much less hassle/licencing/restriction) standard.

I used to have a DJI Phantom3. Great drone, but colossal PITA to bring on the motorcycle as it was in a big case.

Since sold it about 2 years ago and bought a DJI Spark which could be considered very much comparable to the Mavic Mini short of having only a 2 axis gimble...and is over 250g. But it's a fraction of the size of the Phantom and the whole kit (drone, 3 batteries, charger, controller) and fits into 1 of 2 cases I have...on soft case that's about the size of a box of tissues and the other a semi rigid (but far more protective) case I have that will still fit in a saddle bag.

The lack of the third axis on the gimble makes it more challenging to shoot smooth video in some situations, no question, (roll and pitch are gimbled and nice and smooth, but yaw isn't) however several years of ownership on the Phantom showed me in no uncertain terms that 90% of the time I was using it for photos. The Spark takes perfectly good photos for everyday use. Here's one I snapped south of Chapleau a few weeks ago.

IMG_4595.jpeg

Yes, it requires a licence and registration but both are silly easy and cheap. My point is you can probably find one for a fraction of the cost of a new Mavic Mini.
 
Mavic Mini is nice in that it fits in the <250g (therefore much less hassle/licencing/restriction) standard.

I used to have a DJI Phantom3. Great drone, but colossal PITA to bring on the motorcycle as it was in a big case.

Since sold it about 2 years ago and bought a DJI Spark which could be considered very much comparable to the Mavic Mini short of having only a 2 axis gimble...and is over 250g. But it's a fraction of the size of the Phantom and the whole kit (drone, 3 batteries, charger, controller) and fits into 1 of 2 cases I have...on soft case that's about the size of a box of tissues and the other a semi rigid (but far more protective) case I have that will still fit in a saddle bag.

The lack of the third axis on the gimble makes it more challenging to shoot smooth video in some situations, no question, (roll and pitch are gimbled and nice and smooth, but yaw isn't) however several years of ownership on the Phantom showed me in no uncertain terms that 90% of the time I was using it for photos. The Spark takes perfectly good photos for everyday use. Here's one I snapped south of Chapleau a few weeks ago.

View attachment 44804

Yes, it requires a licence and registration but both are silly easy and cheap. My point is you can probably find one for a fraction of the cost of a new Mavic Mini.

Where can you fly the mini and not the spark assuming all the licenses are obtained etc. Is it still restrictive with a drone over 250g? For instance, at a local schoolyard, a fair distance from any airport, I launch model rockets. Can I fly either drone there?
 
Shhh, don’t tell anyone, trying to sell my Spark - the Mavic mini and used Mavic Air Gen1’s have really trashed the residual value of Sparks, despite how great a drone they are.

If anyone sees any sales on the Mavic Air 2 with or without the fly more kit, let me know.
 
** Cries in FPV **

i wanted to get into drones but realized i didnt need another expensive hobby

deep down inside though, i wish i was building and flying them
 
$400-$500 for a Spark now with a fly more kit, some even less if you catch a right place right time deal. Have seen them for as little as $200-$250 if just a solo battery unit.

Just gotta sort through the cruft - as with many things, some people have zero clue about market value and depreciation. There’s some out there right now with people asking $600-$800 for a Spark with the fly more kit, realistic market value is drastically less, especially with the Mavic Mini being less than that now.
 
Spark is sold. Will miss if, had some adventures together. But I want something with a full 3 axis gimbal again for video.
 
Spark is sold. Will miss if, had some adventures together. But I want something with a full 3 axis gimbal again for video.
Damn it! How did I not see this!? I was looking at a drone today and thought 'I should really get one now that I'm goin home'....son of a b$@#h....
 
..should add, to get the special price you need to be a prime member but you can join free for a month and cancel immediately afterwards
 
Mavic Mini with the fly more kit is $499 at Costco right now.

I’m seriously thinking about going that route myself vs the Mavic Air2 (or a used Mavic Pro or something) but the Mini is missing a few functions, which in typical DJI form, seem to be artificially restricted as it should be perfectly capable of doing things like 360 panos and some of the follow-me modes. And no obstacle avoidance features either. Or occusync.

it does have the 3 axis gimble that the Spark was missing though. Never mattered for photos, but made getting any cinematic quality video difficult if there was any wind (or you wanted to change directions) as the resulting video would be jerky jerky when any yaw input was directed. I did everything possible to dampen yaw commands in the advanced DJI software even, but it still doesn’t make up for a proper gimbal.

I’d like the air2 but the $1100 for even the base kit is a lot to swallow for what’s effectively a toy. Also debating a few used Mavic Pro’s with the fly more kit in the $1000 range.
 
Mavic Mini with the fly more kit is $499 at Costco right now.

I’m seriously thinking about going that route myself vs the Mavic Air2 (or a used Mavic Pro or something) but the Mini is missing a few functions, which in typical DJI form, seem to be artificially restricted as it should be perfectly capable of doing things like 360 panos and some of the follow-me modes. And no obstacle avoidance features either. Or occusync.

it does have the 3 axis gimble that the Spark was missing though. Never mattered for photos, but made getting any cinematic quality video difficult if there was any wind (or you wanted to change directions) as the resulting video would be jerky jerky when any yaw input was directed. I did everything possible to dampen yaw commands in the advanced DJI software even, but it still doesn’t make up for a proper gimbal.

I’d like the air2 but the $1100 for even the base kit is a lot to swallow for what’s effectively a toy. Also debating a few used Mavic Pro’s with the fly more kit in the $1000 range.

Double check...I don’t think it’s the flymore kit at Costco. It has an extra battery but not the charger, case and three batteries of the flymore.

Visions have the flymore kit for $499 on their 48h sale unless it’s just finished.
 
Double check...I don’t think it’s the flymore kit at Costco. It has an extra battery but not the charger, case and three batteries of the flymore.

Visions have the flymore kit for $499 on their 48h sale unless it’s just finished.
Could be wrong, just saw it in passing at the Oshawa Costco when I was there a few nights ago but IIRC it was $499 as well which seemed inline with the fly more kit pricing, especially if Visions is offering it at the same price point.

I may still go get one. The whole reason I sold my old Phantom and bought the Spark to begin with was size..and now I'm eyeballing the Air and Pro's which go back up in size again, albeit still far smaller than the Phantom. I guess the difference being now is that with the new bike, the top box gives me so much more storage than my old VTX - before it *had* to fit in a saddlebag...now, not so much.
 
Could be wrong, just saw it in passing at the Oshawa Costco when I was there a few nights ago but IIRC it was $499 as well which seemed inline with the fly more kit pricing, especially if Visions is offering it at the same price point.

I may still go get one. The whole reason I sold my old Phantom and bought the Spark to begin with was size..and now I'm eyeballing the Air and Pro's which go back up in size again, albeit still far smaller than the Phantom. I guess the difference being now is that with the new bike, the top box gives me so much more storage than my old VTX - before it *had* to fit in a saddlebag...now, not so much.

on rfd they are saying it’s not the flymore but it’s still a good price. If you have access to an education email you can get educational pricing direct from dji which works out to be slightly cheaper than the amazon or visions price. Shipping is reported to be pretty quick too, several days, via courier.
 

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