Been lurking in the forums, and eagerly anticipating self-unlock / lift restrictions - I don't understand why there would be any in Canada, since no flight restrictions apply to <250g drones - DJI should really make an effort to not prevent people from legally using their own property. A warning in the app should be suffcieint.
In the meantine, I've put together some video of my (limited) flying around Toronto...

Hello and good day droneTO. Thank you for reaching out and for sharing your insights with regards to this matter. I will cascade these information to the designated DJI department for further attention. In addition, thank you for sharing this wonderful video you have created using your DJI Mavic Mini. Have a safe and a happy flying always.

" ...  in Canada ... no flight restrictions apply to <250g drones ..."

You're wrong. Flight restrictions apply to any UAV in Canada, and in most of civilized countries. The only difference is that you don't need a pilot certificate to operate drones weighing less than 250 g.

DJI has taken the position to implement their own system of geofencing that they is based upon common flight safety principals rather than on legal requirements.  

DJI's goal is not to keep you legal, but to keep you out of the headlines in order to prevent an emotional government over reaction to a potential situation and thus hurt the industry and their bottom line.  

I believe that DJI is 1000% committed in this direction, so don't expect it to suddenly go away any time soon.

Video is not showing?

Matthew Dobrski Posted at 12-29 20:51
" ...  in Canada ... no flight restrictions apply to

I don't think that I am. I've read Part IX of the CAR thoroughly, as well as Trasport Canada's own website states what I'm saying:

"Micro drones (under 250 grams) and drones that weigh more than 25 kilograms do not fall into the basic or advanced operations categories. If you have a micro drone, you must never put people or aircraft in danger. Always fly responsibly."

InspektorGadjet Posted at 12-30 04:35
Video is not showing?

Click through to YouTube - https://youtu.be/e5-UunLyS8o

droneTO Posted at 12-30 07:59
Click through to YouTube - https://youtu.be/e5-UunLyS8o

Absolutely amazing!
What software you used to edit and settings?
Looks fantastic and the night shots... Impressive!

InspektorGadjet Posted at 12-30 08:11
Absolutely amazing!
What software you used to edit and settings?
Looks fantastic and the night shots... Impressive!

Settings in drone are standard - 2.7K 30FPS

Editing was done in DaVinci Resolve (learning it) with some color grading, some transitions, etc. Playing around.

The biggest thing I noticed, is that YouTube destroys your footage through re-encoding. If you feed it higher bitrates, it does much better, so I upscaled to 4K and uploaded at very high bitrate - end result is much less compressed!

droneTO Posted at 12-30 08:49
Settings in drone are standard - 2.7K 30FPS

Editing was done in DaVinci Resolve (learning it) with some color grading, some transitions, etc. Playing around.

Nice one! Im using the Mini to learn Davinci Reaolve too!
Interesting about the 4K up scaling, may I ask what bit-rate did you use?
My first video was exported at 2.7k 30fps and 30MB/s bit-rate and YouTube really messed it up...

InspektorGadjet Publicado el 30/12 08:56
Nice one! ¡Estoy usando el Mini para aprender Davinci Reaolve también!
Interesante sobre la ampliación de 4K, ¿puedo preguntar qué tasa de bits utilizó?
Mi primer video se exportó a 2.7k 30 fps y 30 MB / s de velocidad de bits y YouTube realmente lo estropeó ...

Paisano, mírate este vídeo, puede ser que te ayude.
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Countryman, mira este video, se podría ayudarte

JM.REYES Posted at 12-30 09:21
Paisano, mírate este vídeo, puede ser que te ayude.
--------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------

Thanks a lot! that is actually very helpful and it makes sense I was using too low bit rate for 2,7K. I was also using quicktime format vs mp4.

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Muchas gracias paisano! muy interesante y tiene sentido estaba usando  una tasa de bits muy baja para 2.7K. Y estaba usando el formato quicktime en lugar de mp4.

InspektorGadjet Posted at 12-30 08:56
Nice one! Im using the Mini to learn Davinci Reaolve too!
Interesting about the 4K up scaling, may I ask what bit-rate did you use?
My first video was exported at 2.7k 30fps and 30MB/s bit-rate and YouTube really messed it up...

I exported at 80Mbps - seemed to be good enough.

InspektorGadjet Posted at 12-30 09:41
Thanks a lot! that is actually very helpful and it makes sense I was using too low bit rate for 2,7K. I was also using quicktime format vs mp4.

/////

Este en Latino, también lo explica con menos lío, para la versión 16 (la ultima, es la que yo uso)

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This in Latin, also explains it with less trouble, for version 16 (the last one, is the one I use)

droneTO Posted at 12-30 09:55
I exported at 80Mbps - seemed to be good enough.

Thanks for the info, that makes sense for 2.7K.
Will try it in my next render.

JM.REYES Posted at 12-30 09:57
Este en Latino, también lo explica con menos lío, para la versión 16 (la ultima, es la que yo uso)

--------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the tip!
Gracias por la info!

droneTO Posted at 12-30 07:58
I don't think that I am. I've read Part IX of the CAR thoroughly, as well as Trasport Canada's own website states what I'm saying:

"Micro drones (under 250 grams) and drones that weigh more than 25 kilograms do not fall into the basic or advanced operations categories. If you have a micro drone, you must never put people or aircraft in danger. Always fly responsibly."

Oh, I'm sure you don't think ... If flying above densely populated area and busy highways is what you call responsibility, than go ahead and enjoy it while you can ...

Great video!!! Very nice city.

Great video with some super night shots.  Very impressive.  Thanks for sharing.

Matthew Dobrski Posted at 12-30 12:26
Oh, I'm sure you don't think ... If flying above densely populated area and busy highways is what you call responsibility, than go ahead and enjoy it while you can ...

The question is about law & how it applies. Simply put, these regulations do NOT apply to the Mavic Mini.

We don't have to like it or agree with it, but that's not a reason to misinform others.

Everything I've done in my video is fully legal. It's hard to take advice from yourself, when you have videos flying in prohibited areas (https://www.albertaparks.ca/media/445808/regulations-brochure-web.pdf) , which isn't legal...

In terms or real risk, driving our cars everyday is many times more likely to cause harm or death to us or others, than occasionally flying a micro drone...

KlooGee Posted at 12-29 21:15
DJI has taken the position to implement their own system of geofencing that they is based upon common flight safety principals rather than on legal requirements.  

DJI's goal is not to keep you legal, but to keep you out of the headlines in order to prevent an emotional government over reaction to a potential situation and thus hurt the industry and their bottom line.  

Seems that way, but it's a shotgun approach and goes against the whole marketing of the 249g weight! How is their newest and smallest drone more limited than an Inspire / Mavic Pro / Phantom?

We can't even take off in a "blue" zone, but any other drone from DJI can...

Imagine if Toyota decided to keep you safe, and implemented speed limiting on all of their cars, based on what they consider safe - so let's say 40mph in the city and 65mph on the highway. Then they implemented an engine shutoff if you went off-road, because that's not a legal roadway and might not be safe for you, the car and others? Pretty silly, right? But over 3 THOUSAND people DIE every day in car crashes.

droneTO Posted at 12-30 15:24
The question is about law & how it applies. Simply put, these regulations do NOT apply to the Mavic Mini.

We don't have to like it or agree with it, but that's not a reason to misinform others.

Oh, lecturing you is absolutely not my intention whatsoever! I've read literally thousands identical cries about flight restrictions, range crippling, attitude limits, geofencing, freedom etc., hundreds arguments about much more dangerous car as compared to a harmless, featherweight and cute drone. You've done your homework and you know better, right? Please ignore me, my bad ...

droneTO Posted at 12-30 15:46
Seems that way, but it's a shotgun approach and goes against the whole marketing of the 249g weight! How is their newest and smallest drone more limited than an Inspire / Mavic Pro / Phantom?

We can't even take off in a "blue" zone, but any other drone from DJI can...

I'm not justifying it, just explaining DJI's position on their DJI geo fencing system and why people shouldn't expect them to drastically change it any time in the near future.  We can all want 100% freedom to make our own choices on where our drones fly, but the fact of the matter is that we all bought into products that work a certain way.

In your Toyota scenario, if you bought it knowing full well it had that system built into it, then you voted with your wallet to go along with it just like we have all done thus far with DJI and buying their drones with a built in geo-fencing system.

In regards to the lack of ability to unlock a blue authorization zone on the Mini.  According to DJI, that is only a temporary situation in which DJI has promised to resolve by "late December".  Hopefully they live up to that promise by the end of the day tomorrow.  If they don't live up to that, then I feel like they have very easily earned the criticism of not living up to promises.  It was a business decision they decided to go with to launch the drone without that feature.  It sounds like they've really put a bad taste into the mouths of a lot of new customers to their brand.  I guess only time will tell from their perspective whether they made the right choice or not.

Cheers!

KlooGee Posted at 12-30 17:55
I'm not justifying it, just explaining DJI's position on their DJI geo fencing system and why people shouldn't expect them to drastically change it any time in the near future.  We can all want 100% freedom to make our own choices on where our drones fly, but the fact of the matter is that we all bought into products that work a certain way.

In your Toyota scenario, if you bought it knowing full well it had that system built into it, then you voted with your wallet to go along with it just like we have all done thus far with DJI and buying their drones with a built in geo-fencing system.

I get it. I I don't think that you're defending / justifying. I agree that it seems that they're being overly cautious at the expense of their products.

I would say that, myself and many others, were not aware of these limitations at the time of purchase. There was no effort made by DJI to inform the customer. There was no disclaimer or notice on the box or product page.

In fact, the only hype was around pushing the 249g point and implying the freedom of it...

Just really sad, because I can't vote with my wallet now that it's no longer refundable. I think that people rightfully feel ripped off.

I still think that it's an amazing piece of hardware and the value is there - I'm not in the camp of demanding features / capabilities that were never promised, like full manual controls,  RAW capture, active tracking, etc. That makes total sense to me to have limited to some extent.

I'm truly impressed by what the little drone can do, and am excited for the possibilities it presents!

droneTO Posted at 12-30 15:46
Seems that way, but it's a shotgun approach and goes against the whole marketing of the 249g weight! How is their newest and smallest drone more limited than an Inspire / Mavic Pro / Phantom?

We can't even take off in a "blue" zone, but any other drone from DJI can...

Your analogy is not the same. DJI does allow you to fly in an unsafe manner by flying into trees, buildings, over people, highways, etc...

Toyota doesn't need to disable your vehicle because on the ground there are physical fences and signs designating no drive areas and if you do drive your Toyota through a fence there are people on the ground who can strop you, ticket you, or arrest you.

Not defending DJI just pointing out the difference between a drone and a car.