DJIMavic Mini - Drone FlyCam Quadcopter UAV with 2.7K Camera 3-Axis Gimbal GPS 30min Flight Time, less than 0.55lbs, Gray

The media could not be loaded. I built a quad several years ago. It was very difficult to fly and had no camera, gimbal, etc... I've heard a lot about DJI over the years, so I decided to try the Mavic Mini with the $400 price (this was double what the parts cost me for my first drone!) My phone didn't support the DJI Play app, so after BUYING A NEWER PHONE I was able to fly the Mavic Mini. I am blown away! Stable, smooth, I am VERY happy with my purchase. Video is clear, sharp, and excellent frame rate. More than enough for personal use, or even YouTube videos.

I've spent quite some time (and too much money) trying to find a good drone to learn with. Trying to save money, I learned that the cheaper ones are actually quite difficult to handle - they don't hover steadily and they can be difficult to control the altitude and attitude.Not so with the Mavic Mini.On first takeoff, it rose to about three feet and hung there steadily, and didn't fly off all over while I tried out the controls. Within just a few minutes, I was able to control it well enough to fly around the house and land it on my (not very large) front porch just by referencing the video feed.I've flown it several times since then and it gets easier every time. I have several acres of property and a long private road, and I've been able to cover all of it and get a good view of everything. The Return-to-home feature makes me comfortable flying higher and farther out over the trees than I would otherwise be, since I know if I lose contact it will come back, so I won't have to try searching in the woods.Also, the controls are fine enough that you can even fly it indoors.I spent almost as much trying out others with horrible luck - I should have just started with this one. Highly recommended for beginners.Edit:I see a lot of complaints about not being able to fly the drone in certain places. To those people I suggest you take it up with the FAA and your local government - those no-fly zones are not determined by DJI. Like it or not, there are government regulations related to flying these things and you should probably learn about those regulations if you're thinking of getting one. At least the Mavic Mini is designed to be below the weight limit where you're required to REGISTER it.

I had the Spark for 9 months, but the three things that drew me to the Mini were double the range, double the flight time and 2.7k video. I bought the Mini and am very happy with these three things, plus the Mini feels a little better to fly and is quieter when hovering and going slow. I miss the collision avoidance on the Spark a little, but it was quite limited. I live in open country so I like to fly far. The Spark was hard to get over 1/2 mile reliably, but I've gone 1 1/2 miles away with minimal difficulty with the Mini. I'm sure it could go much farther but havent pushed it yet. I think the video is smoother with the three axis gimbal but you can't manually control the third axis, which is fine with me. Construction is a little more delicate on the Mini. It fell onto the grass after clipping a branch and broke its front arm. I have the part ordered, but still can fly with an electrical tape bandage, and amazingly everything still works flawlessly. The return to home feature works great. I've had it engage for both low battery level (adjustable %) and lost signal. Plus, it can be delayed or overridden if you're sure you know what you're doing. Parts are hard to get now. I've wanted propeller guards for weeks but they are only available in the fly more kit, which by the way I highly recommend buying, if for nothing more than the case and propeller guards. Propeller guards are only needed when you fly in the house I think. As soon as the drone's blade touches something, that motor shuts down and it tumbles into whatever stuff happens to be in the way.

I've always wanted a drone but never wanted to pay the big price for one. DJI has really made great strides in keeping their drones affordable over the years and more for hobbyists which I like. Anyways, I was extremely impressed with the DJI Mavic Mini. The night before, I had watched hours of videos about it and decided to purchase one as pretty much everybody had good things to say about it.Pros:- It's affordable compared to other models, DJI's least expensive drone.- It's SUPER lightweight, without the battery you can tell they put a lot of thought into keeping this thing lightweight.- It's really easy to fly, just be an an open field for your first flight.- It can go REALLY far (theoretically several miles away from you) depending on signal interference. If you want to go further, get yagi antennas for 5.8GHz.- It can fly for a really long time (20-30 mins), I was quite surprised considering how small and powerful it was.- It can withstand strong wind gusts (think 30mph) and remain relatively level.- It's intelligent, the stabilization of the aircraft and the gimbal is impressive to say the least.- It can return home with GPS, this is honestly one of the most amazing features. It's scary flying something miles away from you, but if you lose signal it'll return home to where it took off using GPS all on its own.Cons:- No waterproofing, although this is likely due to DJI trying to keep it under 250 grams. A lot of components are exposed (although guarded by some plastic) when you look at it closely. Do NOT fly it in the rain.- Can only land safely on a flat surface with no protruding objects (like grass). Easily solved with a landing pad though.- The controller takes a crazy amount of time to charge which is annoying. It seems to take 8 hours or so to get a full charge. Compared to the aircraft's battery charging it's much much slower. You can get maybe 2-4 flights with the controller's battery though.- The base package ($400) doesn't come with much and you'll probably want to get the $500 package. A carrying case is almost a must if you want to keep the drone safe. If you don't get extra batteries you'll end up wanting more too...- If you don't get the battery charger that charges 3 batteries, the battery is charged while inside the drone. This makes it a bit tedious if you have multiple batteries. I wish they would have included an external charger by default.- The base package ($400) doesn't come with a power brick. This was surprising as they recommend batteries get charged at 18W, which a lot of wall chargers DONT do. I'd recommend getting your own 18W or 24W charger instead of their more expensive (branded) one.Overall, the drone is amazing for the price. I really couldn't complain about much. Be sure to watch a lot of videos and reviews on YouTube before buying. This really is a serious aircraft, and it could hurt someone it you flew it recklessly. Be careful and fly safe!