The new DJI Mavic Mini truly is a game-changing drone. It is incredibly small and light. In fact, it only weighs 249 grams, meaning that you won’t have to register it with the FAA. The Mavic Mini has a full three-axis gimbal and a 12 MP 2.7K camera. This little marvel has a flight time of up to 30 minutes and a range of 4000 meters. That is 2.5 miles! All of this will only cost you $399. It seems that DJI has killed both their Spark and their Mavic Air with the release of the new Mavic Mini.
DJI Mavic Mini
The Mavic Mini’s most important feature isn’t really a feature at all. It is that it checks in under 250 grams. Because of this, you can avoid a lot of the hassles that come with flying a drone in various countries. If your drone weighs more than 250 grams it is often required that you register it and sometimes is subject to other laws. DJI has avoided the hassle by making it small, compact and lightweight. You can throw this drone in your bag and go.
Mavic Mini Camera
Some people might be upset that it doesn’t have a 4K camera. However, 2.7K is more than good enough for most applications. I know plenty of professional photographers that don’t bother with 4K because of the large file size and the lack of need for 4K video. The 12 MP camera is capable of crisp clean photos and the three-axis gimbal will make sure your footage is buttery smooth. It uses a 1/2.3″ CMOS sensor and has a field of view of 83 degrees. Camera nerds will want to know that the aperture is f/2.8, ISO of 100-3200, and it has an electronic shutter of 4-1/8000.
The 2.7K footage can be 25/30 fps and the 1080p can be 25/30/50/60 fps. There doesn’t seem to be a 720p option. The max video bitrate is 40 Mbps. Photos will be saved as JPEG and video is MP4 (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC). There is no onboard storage so you’ll have to provide your own SD card.
DJI Mavic Mini Flight Modes
The Mavic Mini will utilize the new DJI Fly app and it was designed to be easier to use. Keep in mind that the Mavic Mini was built to be the drone for anyone, not just professional photographers. While this could be used as a photography tool it is likely that most professionals will stick to their Mavic 2 Pro or Mavic 2 Zoom. This drone was built for your dad, your cousin, your next-door neighbor. The intelligent flight modes and easy to use app make it so anyone can capture professional-looking pictures and video. DJI’s quick shots Dronie, Rocket, Circle, and Helix can be performed with a couple of clicks and yield awesome results. You can even have the DJI Fly app edit and tweak the photos and videos for you.
The Mini’s Specs
The Mavic Mini has some other impressive specs outside of its 249-gram weight. It has an impressive 400 meter/2.5 mile range. While we don’t recommend flying that far out it is good to know that you’ll have strong signal strength when you are flying. Having 30 minutes of flight times is also impressive. While the $399 base Mavic Mini only ships with one battery the Fly More package will give you three batteries, a charger, bag, propeller guards and more. We highly recommend picking up the Mavic Mini Fly More package when you order.
The Mavic Mini doesn’t have any obstacle avoidance sensors. It does use GPS and bottom sensors to help keep it stable. It will be your job as the pilot to make sure it doesn’t crash into anything while you are flying.
Should you order the Mavic Mini?
If you are a professional photographer looking for the absolute best drone on the market for pictures and video the Mavic Mini is not for you. If you need obstacle avoidance and all the bells and whistles then the Mavic Mini isn’t for you. However, if you want a small portable drone that is easy to fly and can capture excellent pictures and video the Mavic Mini is absolutely the best option out there for less than $500.
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