I recently acquired my first drone - the DJI Mini 3 Pro. There were several factors that caught my attention:
- Size - the device itself is quite small making it easy to pack no matter the adventure.
- Weight - with the original battery it comes in at 249 grams which is right under the 250 gram cutoff for registration and licensing with the FAA (always check local regulations and abide by them)
- Shooting capabilities - 48mp camera makes for great quality photos and true vertical shooting mode for social media means that you no longer have to crop a landscape shot/video and lose out of quality if you're doing it for the 'gram
- Safety features - the drone comes with tri-directional obstacle sensing for peace of mind for first time operators like myself
To prep prior to going out I watched DC Rainmaker's youtube tutorial for beginners. It's a wealth of information especially for first time drone operators and he goes over all of the features in detail. My favorite tip is how to grab the drone out of the air in case you can't quite land it on the surface you happen to be on. It's a handy technique if you're on a boat or kayak and don't want the drone to end up in the water by accident.
My first few flights were in a local park with little foot traffic just to get the hang of the controls. Once I felt comfortable enough I took it down to the lakefront where the real magic began. The following shots are from my second day of flying. Takeoff and landing were pretty easy and the drone itself flew very well. The wind was only around 10mph so I'd have wait for a windier day to speak to the aircraft's handling in weather.
The battery life was actually quite good. I did get close to the advertised flight times of 30ish minutes with the regular battery and close to 40ish minutes with the larger batteries from the flymore combo from DJI. The only annoyance/safety feature that got in my way was that once the battery was down to about 15% the controller would beep incessantly that I needed to land/return to home.
Reviewing the footage, I'm thoroughly impressed. Maybe even starstruck! I should've gotten one of these a long time ago!
Verdict so far: 10/10 would recommend
For video footage, check out my instagram reels. I'll be editing and posting in the coming weeks.
