The Mavic Mini is probably the most interesting drone in the market right now. With its 249 grams of weight it opens new possibilities at the level of recreational flights. Thanks to that, it is the first DJI drone that you can fly in urban environments and over crowds of people without the need for permits as long as it is for recreational purposes. Although there are some important clarifications to be made that will help you decide whether or not it is really worth it.
Mavic Mini and current regulations
The presentation of the Mavic Mini revolved basically around its weight and size. Not exceeding 250 grams allows you, with current regulations in Spain, to fly within cities and over people. It is in fact the first drone of the brand that can do it without the need of permits as long as it is for recreational purposes.
Thus, together with its good flight capabilities and quality when recording and capturing photographs, it makes it a very interesting drone. The problem is that an important detail is obvious that some have jumped over, getting to confuse users interested in it and that could put them in a good mess.
Mavic Mini can be flown in cities and where there can be people as long as it is done for recreational purposes, the basic safety standards are respected and they do not exceed 20 meters in height. In addition it was necessary to comment that on agglomerations the protectors would have to be placed and the weight would rise from 250 gr, so it would no longer be possible. But at the moment and after consulting experts there is no 100% exact clarification on the subject.
Therefore, leaving that last section, if all this makes a big difference with what was before, since no type of permission is needed if there is no professional activity involved, the problem and its great limitation is still that you cannot fly within controlled airspace .
The 249 gram drone
Leaving the regulations clear, let’s talk about the product itself. How is the Mavic Mini and how does DJI achieve a drone so light and not like one of those toy ones that already exist? Well here are several points to comment.
Physically the Mavic Mini is identical to the Mavic Pro only smaller. It fits practically in a pocket, weighs very little and is very comfortable to transport from one side to another. The materials are of good quality and with a plastic with a pretty pleasant touch, the most important thing is that it conveys a feeling of being flexible and durable. That in the face of possible mishaps that may suffer in flight is an advantage.
And regarding the question of how to place the product below 250 grams, the answer is easy. DJI has eliminated all electronics that are not strictly necessary in order to fly and maintain basic safety measures. Therefore, there are no sensors to detect obstacles or objects as in other models, nor the system with internal fan of higher models.
The first is true that the less expert user can harm you, because you lose that sense of security that is enjoyed with the Mavic Air or Pro, for example. The second is that if they are your first flights you must take extreme precautions and fly in open spaces and nothing to do complicated flights or maneuvers. If you want an orbital plane, use the QuickShot modes that will also give you a much better result.
Therefore, it is true that DJI has eliminated components, but the product continues to maintain that level of quality that is requested of its products and is undoubtedly a drone that will last.
Driving the Mavic Mini
Flying the Mavic Mini when you have experience in drone handling is very simple. The stability of the flight, how it responds to control and the different modes make anyone with a little practice be able to do so. Even so, if it is the first time you are going to fly it, it is important that you do not lose sight of it or try to make flights too complicated and with objects or people nearby.
For the rest, I can tell you little more because there isn’t much really new. Depending on the flight mode, the drone will respond faster or slower, but in all of them it behaves very well. And that being so small and weighing so little one would think that the slightest wind would make it wobble. Well no, and along with the good performance of the gimbal both flight and video recording or photo capture is of remarkable high. Likewise, if you are afraid of the first flights you can always use the protectors for their propellers. Also recommended if you are going to fly indoors.
Moving on to the application, DJI Fly is much simpler than the applications for the rest of the DJI family of drones. It does not have so many modes, neither the flight planner and some advanced features, but it does need to adjust basic flight parameters such as maximum distance and maximum height (attention, if you do not log in you will not be able to separate the drone more than 50m from the point of take off) or other aspects that affect the control mode of its levers, battery level, etc.
Speaking of its photo and video capabilities, we have to take pictures of up to 12 MP resolution and video at a resolution of 1080p at 60p maximum or at a resolution of 2.7K at 30p . As you can see there are limitations if you compare it with drones of greater caliber. The overall quality would be similar to that of the Osmo Pocket, only with less resolution-level capabilities and frames per second. But just for being aerial shots and with a bit of editing, very striking and interesting results can be achieved for any production. If you are not very demanding even for some professional work you could use it.
Finally, batteries are one of his big surprises. By using smaller engines, not having to lift so much weight and the efficiency of their propellers make each of them have about 25 minutes of autonomy . That added to the pack analyzed with three batteries allow you to fly for more than two hours. It is likely that the autonomy of the command is over before the three batteries.
You’ll want one, another thing is that you can fly it freely
The Mavic Mini is one of those kind of products that you crave. You see it, you have it in your hand and … you want one yes or yes. As a drone and as a device for photo and video capture, it has many possibilities and the quality of the material is also high considering its own technical limitations. But the problem remains the same as always: the legislation.
While it is true that the Mavic Mini with its 249 grams of weight improves in terms of laws that apply to fly it for recreational purposes, not being able to do so in areas of controlled airspace limit it.
It is obvious that there is a compelling reason for all these limitations: security and privacy . But refining and clarifying where it could be if it did not exceed that maximum height of 20 meters, there was civil liability insurance and the minimum security measures were taken would be great. Because in some parks in many cities it could be done without risking anything or anyone.
Until that happens, the Mavic Mini will remain a whim product. With many theoretical possibilities but few practices, although if you have the opportunity to try it, we warn you that you will like it very much. Because for 399 euros the basic pack and 499 this pack flies more is the perfect drone to serve as a gateway to many users interested in the world of drones and aerial captures.
