I have wanted a drone for a long time. Several years ago, I purchased a cheap drone on Amazon for $75. It was near impossible to fly and anything but stable. I kept it for two years until it no longer worked. While it was not the most spectacular drone, it got me hooked and got me dreaming of a better quality drone.
This year I asked for a new drone for Christmas. I didn’t do too much research. My biggest qualification was finding one that was affordable. Enter Mavic Mini! I found the Mavic Mini on Amazon and told my wife that was what I wanted.
On Christmas morning I opened up my new Mavic Mini. How exciting! I could not wait for my first flight.
For the first flight, I took it to our church’s parking lot, where I knew I would have plenty of room to fly. I was so worried I would crash it. But DJI makes their drones incredibly easy to fly. Check out my maiden voyage.
Get the Fly More Kit
Very quickly, I realized that I would need additional batteries. I was only able to get a little over 20 minutes of flight time. So if I wanted to fly for any length of time, I would need that extra power.
In hindsight, had I done a bit more research, I would have asked for the Fly More Kit that provides additional accessories like a carrying case, battery charger, propellers, and batteries.
Fortunately, I have a January birthday, and I got the additional and necessary accessories as gifts. I now have four batteries in total. To go along, I received the DJI battery charger, extra propellers, and a carrying case. I now have everything I need.
I also purchased the DJI refresh. This is basically an insurance plan. If I crash or break my drone, DJI will replace it for free. But the big thing to realize about this plan is that you are not covered if you lose your drone. This is problematic if you fly over water a lot.
Get the Mini 2
Again, if I had done a little more research, I would have probably asked for a Mavic Mini 2. The cost was not much more, but I did not realize that there was a Mini 2 at the time. The Mini 2 has an updated controller and has a stronger motor that can better manage windy conditions.
The biggest challenge with the Mini is the wind. The thing about the Mini is that it is light-weight. Therefore, it easily gets blown around. There are times I have been reluctant to fly because of the wind. I have done a lot of work in Final Cut to get the video footage stabilized when I have flown on windier days.
The other issue I find is the Mini is prone to interference with the video feed. There are safety features built into the drone that it will return to home if it loses the signal. But it makes it difficult to get the footage you want if your signal is sporadic. It would be great to have a drone with a more solid video feed. I have read about signal boosters and will probably check them out.
Video Work
My main interest in the drone is video. Since the Covid pandemic began, I have learned so much about live-streaming and video production. It is something I have actually enjoyed about the pandemic. I have grown with my Final Cut skills, and the drone gives me another tool in my bag of tricks. It was probably because I have been doing so much video work that I finally asked for a drone.
If nothing else, the drone allows me to work with Final Cut a bit more. There are already some new things that I have learned in Final Cut that I did not know about until I started working with drone footage.
The Purpose of this Site
I started this website as a way of documenting my journey. I wanted to keep a journal of my droning. I could have started a personal journal, but I wanted to share with others what I am doing. Maybe it will encourage you to take up this wonderful hobby. Or maybe you are already into droning and can learn from some of my discoveries or even some of my mistakes.
A good number of links on this site are affiliate links. That means I will receive a small compensation if you were to buy some of the products found in the links. When you purchase a product using these links, it is a way that you can help support this site and this new hobby of mine. Maybe you can help me save up to get the Mavic 3 Pro (when it comes out).
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