Well, I just sold and delivered a few hours ago my first drone ever, Mavic Mini. I am happy I managed to be able to sell it with a loss of 49€ only, that's not too bad. I have now 450€ in my hand instead of the 499€ I had one month ago, but I also got rid of lousy video quality (impossible to get a proper video footage in AUTO mode with white balance changing constantly), got rid of fear of flying with sudden drops from the sky (had one last week in sport mode, still don't know why), got rid of 400 meters interference and lag in video/commands in most urban areas, got rid of having to fly against medium wind for fear of not having my drone back when I pressed the RTH button, got rid of the constant beeping from the RC controller when I still had like 8 minutes of flight, and most importantly got rid of a supposed perfect flying camera for family and vacations that won't allow me or my family to show up in any movie without one of us staring at a control to pilot a drone that should have at least a very basic follow me or look at me mode. I don't even want it to move around following us, to keep us centered in the frame while it's hovering! Is that asking too much for a 499€ entry-level drone for people who most likely never piloted a drone before, or perhaps don't want to do that?

Now I know, I will get bombarded by the usual raging comments saying I should read the specs before buying the Mini, well I did, but only after one-month experiencing all the issues this drone has, I am sure there must be something much better out there for a first time inexperienced drone owner at the same price level or even cheaper.

DJI, you failed my expectations miserably with this Mini, and I believe there are a bunch of people thinking exactly like me. The saddest part of all is that DJI is the ones causing these troubles while refusing to acknowledge the obvious - for the price tag, the Mini is missing most of the features the competition offers.

I wanted to make it work because this drone has many things right, but the wrong ones are just too much.

Thank you to all the people that tried to help me here during the short period I was around.

You all take care.

Thanks for sharing your experience, i think this is the only way that DJI can learn. I kicked around buying one.. but I knew it wasnt for me. I'm happy with my Mavic 2.

adios, felicia,

j/k don't blame you, mm is not for everyone.  this is not a few years ago, there are other options out there.  see what works for you.  the jury is out on my mm, I haven't really had a chance to dig in due to weather but this spring/summer, not just myself but I'm sure others, the mm will be put to test...again.  what I am afraid of is there are good ones and there are bad ones.  so the conflict will never resolve as long as some are complaining of a myriad of problems and others swear their mm is rock solid.

Hi MB Dronie, so glad you were able to get that off your chest. Now you can move on and get what you want.

ofcourse you will not be bombarded by others about selling your MM
Your MM, your descision, so no probs. Good luck with another DJI drone   a M2?

cheers
JJB

SupBro Posted at 1-31 11:42
Thanks for sharing your experience, i think this is the only way that DJI can learn. I kicked around buying one.. but I knew it wasnt for me. I'm happy with my Mavic 2.

slumming with us Mimis??

All of us have different needs and desires...  I bought a Nikon D3400 that fills my needs better than a D5 or D850 (I can still afford food)!

Sorry it didn't work for you.

Flying drones, taking photos and videos is supposed to be fun right...

There are so many drones available these days there is one for everyone. For $400.00 or under now that is another thing.

Father to son advice? Spakr! Apart from battery flight time, it´s a superior drone. And you can buy a Portable Charging Station.

I buy lots of TECH things knowing that if I don't like it I will get most of the money back when selling it (I keep boxes in pristine condition forever).  I also know that their is a cost to me for wanting to try something new and that is the hit that I take when selling.  You shouldn't be mad, you should be happy with what you have done and that for 49euro's you had a go and can pass on your experiences.  Good luck with whatever your next venture is.

It doesn’t say much for you, that you would sell something to some poor unfortunate that you basically think is sh#t, just doesn’t make sense .

HomePoint Posted at 1-31 12:57
I buy lots of TECH things knowing that if I don't like it I will get most of the money back when selling it (I keep boxes in pristine condition forever).  I also know that their is a cost to me for wanting to try something new and that is the hit that I take when selling.  You shouldn't be mad, you should be happy with what you have done and that for 49euro's you had a go and can pass on your experiences.  Good luck with whatever your next venture is.

same here except one thing you forgot to mention.  never, ever pay full price unless it is THAT good and you have absolutely no choice and you have to have one NOW.  

hallmark007 Posted at 1-31 13:10
It doesn’t say much for you, that you would sell something to some poor unfortunate that you basically think is sh#t, just doesn’t make sense .

one man's trash is another man's treasure.

You look quite happy with your Mini. Enjoy it.

Dirty Bird Posted at 1-31 13:52
Perhaps you should buy a Tello & use the extra cash to hire someone to capture videos of you with your family?  You can even splurge & get the Iron Man edition!

Sounds like a plan.

HomePoint Posted at 1-31 12:57
I buy lots of TECH things knowing that if I don't like it I will get most of the money back when selling it (I keep boxes in pristine condition forever).  I also know that their is a cost to me for wanting to try something new and that is the hit that I take when selling.  You shouldn't be mad, you should be happy with what you have done and that for 49euro's you had a go and can pass on your experiences.  Good luck with whatever your next venture is.

Thank man. Appreciate it.

MB Dronie Posted at 1-31 14:47
one man's trash is another man's treasure.

You look quite happy with your Mini. Enjoy it.

I have 6 very happy .

Adriano Araujo Posted at 1-31 12:22
Father to son advice? Spakr! Apart from battery flight time, it´s a superior drone. And you can buy a Portable Charging Station.

Boas Adriano. Já pensei nisso mas DJI nunca mais, pelo menos para já. Estou de olho no Hubsan Zino 2 ou no FIMI X8 SE. Parecem muito bons para o preço. Quando sair em abril o Air 2 os preços destes vai baixar com certeza ou poderão aparecer mais novidades até la. Um abraço e obrigado pela ajuda.

Although your reasoning is clearly articulated and right, keep in mind that there isn't anything better than Mavic Mini in 250g drone category. Basically it's a flying smartphone camera for selfie generation, not much else. And a very first of this kind, let's be fair.

Matthew Dobrski Posted at 1-31 15:40
Although your reasoning is clearly articulated and right, keep in mind that there isn't anything better than Mavic Mini in 250g drone category. Basically it's a flying smartphone camera for selfie generation, not much else. And a very first of this kind, let's be fair.

Agree with you on that. Like I said in OP, Mini has strengths but for the price tag I was expecting a little more than a flying smartphone. Particularly because video and pictures are worse than my iPhone videos and picture quality. Anyway, problem has been solved. Thanks for your feedback.

Adriano Araujo Posted at 1-31 12:22
Father to son advice? Spakr! Apart from battery flight time, it´s a superior drone. And you can buy a Portable Charging Station.

You need a portable charger as battery lasts 12 minutes, I know I paid 799 euro for my combo with only 2 batteries, mini 499 with 3 batteries  25 minutes on each , so if I had that choice today I’d buy the mini and save my €300 and know that I can fly one battery to every 2 of spark, so that’s another €100 saving and I have 2.7k footage and much better connection from remote to device, oops I forgot no connection with spark .

As always it's horses for courses. Whilst I understand your reasoning, in my case the MM is exactly what I need wirhout having to go into "better" and more expensive drones. I only want to show an overall video clip to enhance my bushcraft/canoeing videos

Happy to read you managed to get that out your chest.
While I love my mini for what is, still miss many features, mainly camera options.
Considering you need also an up to date smartphone, the complete combo + phone + basic accessories = 800 eu aprox. easily,  the missing features don't make sense in 2020.

Maybe when DJI was the only drone company, but things are changing fast, just look at the new husban zino 2, some even call it the mini killer:
https://www.gearbest.com/promoti ... qaIMFRoC0aMQAvD_BwE

InspektorGadjet Posted at 2-1 01:21
Happy to read you managed to get that out your chest.
While I love my mini for what is, still miss many features, mainly camera options.
Considering you need also an up to date smartphone, the complete combo + phone + basic accessories = 800 eu aprox. easily,  the missing features don't make sense in 2020.

That could be decent and looks nice, but is certainly heavier and more expensive if you had drone, 3 batteries, charger and a bag.

Unfortunately for the competition DJI is the only company that has the technology to make such a high tech drone with a premium packaging, worldwide availability and distribution beyond the uppermost level of integration and engineering.

While one might argue of why so many problems  still they remain the only company  capable of doing it, but competitors are definitely closing up... and I sincerely hope they come quickly after them for the benefit of all.

HomePoint Posted at 2-1 02:34
That could be decent and looks nice, but is certainly heavier and more expensive if you had drone, 3 batteries, charger and a bag.

Yep, definitely heavier and bigger, but an alternative to the mavic series.

m80116 Posted at 2-1 07:05
Unfortunately for the competition DJI is the only company that has the technology to make such a high tech drone with a premium packaging, worldwide availability and distribution beyond the uppermost level of integration and engineering.

While one might argue of why so many problems  still they remain the only company  capable of doing it, but competitors are definitely closing up... and I sincerely hope they come quickly after them for the benefit of all.

Agree, DJI is years ahead, but that is the issue, they slow down innovations, features and even though I agree their engineering in these drones is amazing, no competition means they can ask what they want, I wouldn't say their drones are overpriced, but definitely not affordable.

I could never justify spending 2000euros on a mavic 2, so cheaper drones even if they lack certain performances options would be good for some.

For me, what I would "look for" in another company making drones would be customer support, supporting smaller manufacturers and a more modular approach.

There is alot of people buying the MM and thinking they will get the video quality of M2Pro just because its a DJI drone.
MM is great if you learn to deal with it, yeah its no manual video mode (yet). But smaller clips and video editing software fixes almost every problem.
The flying problems will probably in the future get fixed (i hope).

SveinDJI Posted at 2-1 12:29
There is alot of people buying the MM and thinking they will get the video quality of M2Pro just because its a DJI drone.
MM is great if you learn to deal with it, yeah its no manual video mode (yet). But smaller clips and video editing software fixes almost every problem.
The flying problems will probably in the future get fixed (i hope).

I fully agree I’ve seen some great stuff here on this forum filmed with mini , and it’s so good because the users work hard to get the best out of their drone .

hallmark007 Posted at 2-1 14:22
I fully agree I’ve seen some great stuff here on this forum filmed with mini , and it’s so good because the users work hard to get the best out of their drone .

True! Seen alot of beautiful videos from MM

I think if weight,  size, and brand, is not an issue there’s plenty out there for Mavic Mini money, and less, that will surpass the performance of the MM.

Some of my recent acquisitions have included:

Blade Chroma, with CGO-3 4K camera, SteadyGrip, ST-10+ Controller,  Wizard Wand, backpack, three healthy batteries, plus spare props and such = £120 or $158.

DJI Phantom 2, with Zenmuse H3-3D gimbal, FPV TX/RX and screen. Spare props and cables, all in a good quality aluminium flight case = £50 or $66.

Unflown Amazon return Parrot Anafi Extended (Fly More) version. Sold as not working, fault was just a loose ribbon cable. £150 or $190.

As new/old stock Yuneec Q500 4K, with CGO3 4K camera, steady Grip, ST-10+ controller. £100 or $132.

Many would argue that all, except the Anafi, are “Old Tech”. But it all works just as well, or better, than a lot of the current products. Batteries and spares are all still readily available. None have flight restrictions. All produce 20minutes, or more, flight time per battery. All have exceptional camera quality, shooting in RAW and with full manual control ( except the P2 which uses GoPro Hero3/4). All, except the P2, have autonomous flight modes.

None, except for the Anafi, have the portability of the Mavic Mini, and none have the false safety blanket of being sub 250grams, but in terms of performance and reliability they all surpass the MM in every way.

Regards

Nidge.

Sorry to hammer on the topic but concerning camera and control there's nothing remotely interesting on the market beyond heftier stuff, price and weight wise. Everything below MM price is a joke... or does the drone just for the sake of it, MM is advertised as the everyday Flycam... I was sold on the idea.

I also picked MM because of the weight... I don't really want to quality for a drone license.

I guess you need to spend a bit more money and get a drone with more features. For the money you can't beat the mini.

Check out Autel EVO... I dare say that Autel will knock DJI off the pedestool... and do it soon... the customer support at Autel is 100X better than at DJI... and their drones are every bit as good and better than DJI, look up EVO II.... awesome.

If you have the CrystalSky monitor... no worries.. the LATEST EVO app runs on the CrystalSky beautifully.

mAIRs Posted at 2-4 13:26
Check out Autel EVO... I dare say that Autel will knock DJI off the pedestool... and do it soon... the customer support at Autel is 100X better than at DJI... and their drones are every bit as good and better than DJI, look up EVO II.... awesome.

If you have the CrystalSky monitor... no worries.. the LATEST EVO app runs on the CrystalSky beautifully.

I guess you haven't seen the photo and video comparison videos on youtube yet. The MP2 blows it out of the water with it's quality of images compared to the new evo.

mAIRs Posted at 2-4 13:26
Check out Autel EVO... I dare say that Autel will knock DJI off the pedestool... and do it soon... the customer support at Autel is 100X better than at DJI... and their drones are every bit as good and better than DJI, look up EVO II.... awesome.

If you have the CrystalSky monitor... no worries.. the LATEST EVO app runs on the CrystalSky beautifully.

Your right, they just cancelled their promised release date of their two new products, Evo 1 was 9 months late and then took 6 months to fix major tilt horizon I wonder how long a delay for evo2 , maybe not such great service in any shape or form mmmmmm !!!!!

mAIRs Posted at 2-4 13:26
Check out Autel EVO... I dare say that Autel will knock DJI off the pedestool... and do it soon... the customer support at Autel is 100X better than at DJI... and their drones are every bit as good and better than DJI, look up EVO II.... awesome.

If you have the CrystalSky monitor... no worries.. the LATEST EVO app runs on the CrystalSky beautifully.

I dont much care for dji customer service BUT over a €1000 when i already have the (for me) perfect drone?
No thanks

hallmark007 Posted at 2-4 13:32
Your right, they just cancelled their promised release date of their two new products, Evo 1 was 9 months late and then took 6 months to fix major tilt horizon I wonder how long a delay for evo2 , maybe not such great service in any shape or form mmmmmm !!!!!

Still better than DJI.

Ingo Sundowner Posted at 2-4 13:36
I dont much care for dji customer service BUT over a €1000 when i already have the (for me) perfect drone?
No thanks

OK.........

deathsquad Posted at 2-4 13:31
I guess you haven't seen the photo and video comparison videos on youtube yet. The MP2 blows it out of the water with it's quality of images compared to the new evo.

I bet that this comparison was financed by DJI...

mAIRs Posted at 2-4 13:44
Still better than DJI.

I see you just don’t know how ;+):::::

hallmark007 Posted at 2-4 13:54
I see you just don’t know how ;+):::::

What ever that means....