12 ms·

DJI Mavic 3 Pro

91 points by notmysql_ 3y ago

stoicjumbotron 3y ago
This and their latest Inspire 3 are truly a feat of engineering
- smlacy 3y ago
  If only such a statement could be made about their horrible mobile apps needed to fly these drones.
  - bgun 3y ago
    This is because software development still doesn't and has never qualified as capital-E Engineering. If "software engineering" were held to any of the same kind of rigor and responsibility that applies to mechanical, civil, aerospace or nearly any other "Engineering" discipline, we might not be in the technological & sociopolitical hellscape we are in right now.
  - vetinari 3y ago
    Use DJI RC/RC Pro. Still based on Android, but standalone device. DJI Fly is fine there.
  - josefresco 3y ago
    Speaking of that software I resurrected an old DJI drone for a family member and after takeoff the app prompted me with so many warnings/errors/updates/notifications that I crashed. Truly horrifying to see a drone drifting towards you (and others) while you're furiously tapping to close warnings.
- passion__desire 3y ago
  This just popped up in my feed. DJI MAVIC 3 PRO - THE GIFT OF FLYING | Cinematic Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6cgcpfKt3g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6cgcpfKt3g
wand3r 3y ago
Every device manufacturer tends to fib a bit on battery life vs. real world, however, 45 mins of flight time is impressive. Even if its 30-35 mins fully maxed out that can give you a lot of time to creat content and explore
- icholy 3y ago
  I find that DJI fibs about their transmission range, but not battery life.
  - sammyteee 3y ago
    tbh, once you realise you can get in into FCC mode, the advertised distances become a lot more realistic... :)
  - steve_adams_86 3y ago
    I agree. I get fairly bad range in my small city, even with line of site. I get serious lag at around 2km. In places with less interference, it only bumps up to around 2.75–3km. It’s advertised as having 10–15km range or something. On the other hand, 3 batteries in a Mini 3 is pretty much guaranteed to keep it in the air for 90 minutes. It’s very impressive. Our custom quad manages more like 20m per flight with twice the battery capacity (though, twice the weight as well).
- nine_k 3y ago
  Tangentially: I wonder if a really long-flying quad copter can be made using a regular ICE + generator as a source of electricity. Carbohydrates are still more energy-dense.
  - NegativeLatency 3y ago
    Maybe but it becomes a lot less practical to store and manage the gas compared to batteries. I suspect we’ll see tailsitter models come out eventually that combine the benefits of fixed wing aircraft. Someone did make one with a lawnmower but it has death machine vibes: https://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/gas-powered-quadcopter-second-pixhawk-based-finalist-for-the-hack https://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/gas-powered-quadcopter-...
Tepix 3y ago
Awesome new cameras, but how do you land these things safely on a sailboat? It's always tricky and scary.
- andy_ppp 3y ago
  They really should allow auto updating of the Home location, however if you’re moving while landing getting that right is probably quite difficult.
  - ben7799 3y ago
    You can update the home point and have been able to for a long time. And this is zero concern if you're good at manual landing. I've never really ever used their RTH feature the entire time I've been flying, my experience goes back to well before R/C aircraft had any RTH or landing assist. It's more that you just have to remember to update the home point, and if you don't the drone will suddenly fly off far way out to open water, and if you're not playing it safe you could then run out of battery before you can fly back. This stuff is annoying, but anyone being responsible and making sure they budget plenty of reserve power ends up being fine.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
  - Ancapistani 3y ago
    You can, for both DJI and Autel (the largest commercial manufacturers). There is similar functionality for the homebrew flight controller firmwares out there (e.g. iNav/ArduPilot). I'm most familiar with Autel's system, since that's what I fly 99% of the time. It has the option to update your home point, but it also has two modes: RTH to takeoff point, and RTH to the controller. RTH = "Return To Home" The problem with all of the above is the "failsafe". If the quad loses connection to the controller, by default it will return to the takeoff point and land. You can set it up to RTH to either the the takeoff point or the last known position of the controller, then land or hover until connection is re-established. On a boat, you're constantly moving. If you lose connection, the drone immediately loses the current position of the controller, so you have to turn the boat around, manually find the drone, and cross your fingers that you're able to reconnect to it before the batteries die and it descends into a nice, slow, controlled landing in the middle of the ocean. Identifying alternate safe landing sites before taking off is part of the pre-flight checklist for any flight, but it's especially important when operating over water. Doubly so if you're taking off from a boat. Whenever possible, I make sure to end my flights with enough battery that I can make it back to land if I have to. I've planned to use (inactive) oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico in an emergency. I have no idea how I would have gotten ahold of the owners and gotten access to it to retrieve my drone if I'd had to use it, but I'd rather work out those details later than lose it or be forced to ditch it in the water.
bborud 3y ago
"Your Favorite Chinese multi-sensor distributed spying platform".
- nine_k 3y ago
  Why would a drone have any internet access? It may want it, but should not need it, nor given it.
  - 1024core 3y ago
    It needs it to make sure it follows any local flight restrictions, like no-fly zones.
    - FpUser 3y ago
      My drone stayed without connection for more than a year already. Sure it politely says at startup that said zones need an update but other than that keeps functioning without a hitch.
    - Ancapistani 3y ago
      1) Other manufacturers don't have restrictive geofencing like DJI - it's not a regulatory issue, but liability. 2) DJI's flight restrictions are determined by DJI, not the FAA. They don't align with each other, so you end up having to keep track of and comply with two airspace systems. That's why I abandoned DJI for my business use. I wasn't able to take off to cover an event at an airport for which I had FAA approval. DJI gave their approval... but the code didn't work, and it required that I have Internet access on the phone I was using to fly to boot.
      - atourgates 3y ago
        This has been incredibly frustrating for me. DJI arguably makes the best consumer drones - and as a platform I love my Mini Pro 3. It's small and light enough to easily put in a pack, easy to fly, and just works well apart from DJI's geofencing system. HOWEVER - I'm heavily restricted from using it at my own property, not because of the FAA or any other government restrictions, but because of DJI. I live about 10-miles from an airport. Per the FAA's on "B4UFLY" app - my rural property is clear of any restrictions, outside of the altitude restricted zone of the airport. However, DJI draws their own "FlySafe Geo" map differently, and places me in an altitude zone where I'm limited to 150-meters. This wouldn't be so bad, except that I live next to a large hill/small mountain, that's a great place to fly over and take photographs. If I were to go to the top of the mountain (also in DJI's altitude restricted area) and take off, I could fly out 150m from the top of the mountain, no issues. But since DJI takes no note of the ground height changing as you fly, if I take off from my property and try to fly my drone to the top of the mountain, I'd crash into its side long before I got there. There's really no solution to this issue, besides hoping that someone creates a hacked firmware for my drone that ignores DJI's restrictions, like they have for other DJI models. If another manufacturer developed a comparable drone that didn't suffer from DJI's restrictions, I'd buy it in a second.
yreg 3y ago
Would love to get a new shiny thing, but it’s difficult to excuse since my 5 year old Mavic Air still works very well and feels amazing. If you are looking into getting a (no-DIY) drone, consider a second-hand Mavic, they are cheap and great. Maybe get a new battery or two.
- trollied 3y ago
  I agree. They are great fun to fly, and also very beginner friendly.
- Ancapistani 3y ago
  I fly an Autel Evo 2 Pro, and love it - but I still recommend people new to drones pick up a used DJI Mavic Mini (or Mini2) when just getting into aerial photography. You can pick them up barely used, with three batteries, charger, and carrying case for ~$250 if you shop around. I've had five of the things at this point. I keep buying them when I find them cheap, and passing them on to people who are entering the hobby/field. It's always a good idea to have a backup when I'm working a job, and the Mini series is small and light enough that I can throw it in my camera bag even when I'm not planning on flying.
  - coolspot 3y ago
    Don’t recommend Mini 1 which is wi-fi with a very bad range especially in city. Mini 2 is OcuSync with theoretical range of 10km (7mi) FCC.
- raihansaputra 3y ago
  Mavic Air is great but I had the opportunity to also flythe Mavic Air 2 in the same session and it's much better in regards of range and dealing with (heavy, urban) interference. If only I can only upgrade the radio/remote to the newer one..
drcongo 3y ago
Never found the idea of owning a drone appealing before, but this thing does look pretty great.
- Ancapistani 3y ago
  Start with a used Mavic Mini. Seriously. They're like $200, and will teach you what you want in a drone. That way, when you go to spend real money on one, you'll be able to make an informed decision. If you can't spare the $200, I'd argue you probably shouldn't be diving deep into this hobby. You certainly shouldn't be spending $3k on this one.
  - coolspot 3y ago
    Don’t buy Mavic Mini 1 because it uses wi-fi for connection. Rather buy Mini 2 which uses OcuSync and provides 10km range.
seatac76 3y ago
Does anyone have an authoritative source on what data DJI captures and relays to China?. I want to buy a drone but concerned about privacy.
- doodlesdev 3y ago
  Honestly? Assume they collect everything, such as location, the pictures and videos taken (and not taken), flight paths (this one I know for sure), telemetry from the device and drone, etc. Even if they're not doing it now there's no reason they wouldn't in the future, they are basically a monopoly when it comes to consumer drones and they are in China, they don't give a ** about privacy. Ironically, I do recommend them, they simply are the only option in the market right now and all of their drones have something interesting to offer.
  - Ancapistani 3y ago
    If you have log sync turned on - which I think is the default - your entire flight path is sent to the cloud. There are also a number of thumbnails from the flight visible in the web app. They're very low resolution, but I don't know if that's all that's sent or if they're downscaling them server side.
- haunter 3y ago
  There have been some audits including the full network capture with Wireshark https://www.precisionhawk.com/hubfs/Retest_DJI%20Cybersecurity%20Risk%20Assessment%20Final%20Report_03.31.2020%20Executive%20Summary%20(1).pdf https://www.precisionhawk.com/hubfs/Retest_DJI%20Cybersecuri... https://www.auvsi.org/sites/default/files/DHS%20report.pdf https://www.auvsi.org/sites/default/files/DHS%20report.pdf This is from the DOI, see from page 40 https://web.archive.org/web/20190916135227/https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/oas_flight_test_and_technical_evaluation_report_-_dji_uas_data_managment_assurance_evaluation_-_7-2-19_v2.0.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20190916135227/https://www.doi.g... >We did not detect any leakage of data to DJI servers with any of the apps. However, all three apps make a Domain Name System(DNS) request to the computer hosting the WiFi network to resolve the IP address of "www.dji.com" when they are first started. This DNS request goes to the router or a DNS server, and does not actually communicate with any DJI servers, but it does tell the app the IP address of DJI servers. The DJI Pilot Beta app follows this DNS request up with a ping to one ofthe DJI servers, and receives a ping response back. This ping is used by the app to check that the server is up and can receive messages. The ping does not contain any data, but the server could get the IP address of the tablet and the time the app was started (since that’s when the ping is sent)
hintymad 3y ago
Spy drone or not, why can’t US companies design and manufacture better products to compete with DJI?
- cultofmetatron 3y ago
  we gutted most of our manufacturing and outsourced it to china decades ago. we Let our entire non military manufacturing industry die on the vine so there isn't much of a culture of supply chain left. blame harvard business school. The cumulative damage of their Alum to the american economy is astronomical
  - ApolloFortyNine 3y ago
    Meh, there's been fears of imports damaging the home country's manufacturing/economy for hundreds of years. It's why tariffs have existed for ages. If the government valued manufacturing at home, they've had the tools for years to make it happen. Of course, are citizens ready to pay more than double in some cases? Not sure.
    - cultofmetatron 3y ago
      > If the government valued manufacturing at home, they've had the tools for years to make it happen. agreed and thats why I emphasized non military manufacturing.
    - vuln 3y ago
      > If the government valued manufacturing at home, they've had the tools for years to make it happen Well as long as we are “green washing” everything manufacturing will never return to the US. Americans would rather offshore and pollute in other countries instead of attempting to manufacture in the US while be suffocated by regulations.
  - Salgat 3y ago
    Can we stop with this nonsense myth? The US is the second largest manufacturer in the world. Does manufacturing make up as large a share of our economy as it did in the past? No, of course not, that's a normal progression to a service economy, which is why the US is so wealthy.
1024core 3y ago
$2200 ... welp.
- Ancapistani 3y ago
  Not out of line with comparable airframes. Here's what I fly: https://amzn.to/41F7wnL https://amzn.to/41F7wnL It's been out a while, but is roughly comparable in every way except the camera. The Autel camera has a slightly larger sensor, but only one lens: with the DJI you get a telephoto and medium telephoto lens as well. The DJI will also do Apple ProRes RAW output while the Autel doesn't. There are other differences, but I'd argue they're relatively minor, and mostly boil down to personal preference. Autel Evo 2 Pro v3: $2,500 DJI Mavic 3 Pro Cine: $2,999
causality0 3y ago
I'll probably keep my Mini 2 until someone has the semi-legal cojones to put a 4G transceiver in a drone. Now that would be some great fun.
- Ancapistani 3y ago
  It's done in the long range FPV community. Not super common - it's expensive, and you aren't allowed to fly farther than you can see the drone (and safely fly it by sight alone, and monitor the airspace around it) but it's done. I've not specifically kept up with the long range community, but I want to say I've recently seen videos of test flights out to 100km using an independent radio link (i.e., 5.8GHz analog video + 9xx MHz control link). That said, power density is going to be your first limiting factor. You're either going to have to seriously tune your airframe for long-range flight (and greatly compromise performance), or you're going to have to move to a fixed-wing design. Multirotors must maintain thrust (and therefore, expend power) to provide lift; fixed-wing designs provide lift as long as they are moving forward. The flight time of a fixed-wing design that's light enough and has a long enough glide profile is unlimited in practice. You can catch thermals and updrafts to gain speed, altitude, or both. I have a 1m foam glider that I've flown for well over an hour. The vast majority of that time was with the motor turned completely off and the prop folded flat against the fuselage. I'd soar out over the field where I was flying. There was a creek at the edge of the field and a small hill on the other side of it, creating a "barrel" of air. Flying in low, I'd catch the bottom of that current, ride it up the hill side, then pick up speed as I crested the hill and gently turned back toward the field. That particular location is great on chilly spring and fall mornings, because the temperature gradient between the creek and wind coming over the hillside is so great.
- oh_sigh 3y ago
  Why? The range is like 9 miles so it is hard to get the device out of range of the radio on the battery charge.
  - causality0 3y ago
    Not on consumer DJI drones, especially if you live in an area with a lot of trees. I get about a mile on average.
trollied 3y ago
The active tracking is very impressive (see this review, 10 mins in): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejmGSZtLu6I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejmGSZtLu6I The way it flies sideways & dodges obstacles, even while the person is running all over the place, is awesome.
cypherpunks01 3y ago
When will these compact drones become less noisy? I know there are new propeller designs being researched to be much less like a swarm of bees is flying around near you, but don't know how far off they are to retail commercialization. It just makes it hard to stomach flying a drone in a pristine environment knowing you are disturbing all human and non-human animals nearby.
- FpUser 3y ago
  Few deer I saw did not seem to care at all about the drone. Neither have raccoons, beavers, squirrels, chipmunks and birds.
  - Ancapistani 3y ago
    Are you in a relatively urban area? In my experience, a wild deer can hear a photography quadcopter from ~200' away. They "spook" if I approach closer than ~150'.
    - FpUser 3y ago
      There is a farm I regularly pass on my bicycle and closer to the end of the summer they have boatload of deer coming in an wandering on the field. I have zero clue what they do on that field. Anyways those pay zero attention to my drone and go about their business whatever that is.
  - jamies 3y ago
    Cool, yeah, just fly your drone next to wildlife and claim they don't mind.
    - jmspring 3y ago
      Living in a rural area with a lot of deer and other nature, they are one consideration.
  - FpUser 3y ago
    Save the drama, they literally hang out in my backyard (well except beavers) but add foxes and rabbits
eimrine 3y ago
Ukrainians need this for their counteroffencive. They name Mavic 2 as their favourite drone.
- chasd00 3y ago
  is the primary use of drones in the Ukraine war for recon? I know they're also using them to drop grenades and fly into targets. I'm sure every military in the world is watching drone use very carefully. An FPV flying RPG warhead in a dense urban environment sounds like an absolute nightmare to defend against.
  - brokenmachine 3y ago
    Pretty sure competent militaries have much better jamming systems than what we're (not) seeing in Ukraine.
l33tman 3y ago
From a hacking perspective, DJI previously seemed to be pretty nice with SDKs etc allowing you to get the video feed, send controls to the drone etc. But from what I can see they stopped supporting this for most (commercial) drones from Mavic 3 and onwards... Anybody know otherwise? What I'd want is to be able to remote control it from any other device, it doesn't really matter if it's an Android/iOS app or running on linux/windows.
- gotschi_ 3y ago
  One can vnc into the dji rc and control it from wherever you are. Problem is: the remote disables radios when connected to usb/power. So rooting the dji android (which the FCC hack does) is a must and then you only need to enable the radios.. only..
phplovesong 3y ago
[flagged]
- canadiantim 3y ago
  Use of the word orcs is incredibly unfortunate as it's clear you're just trying to dehumanize other people. I get why, but I don't think the ends justify the means.
  - hem777 3y ago
    Are you or your people being, or have been, slaughtered by a fascist, barbaric military? If yes, I’m sorry and I understand your position. If not, gtfo.
    - canadiantim 3y ago
      Anything goes in war eh? Sad, you should reconsider your humanity before it’s too late
- otabdeveloper4 3y ago
  Both sides use them for great effect in the same way.
lofaszvanitt 3y ago
When will this be jailbreaked?
mtlynch 3y ago
I'm surprised the base price is only $2k. I have no experience with drones, but based on the video, I was expecting it to be like a $40k product.
0xfedbee 3y ago
They don't have to copy Apple's website style to sell products.
- justusthane 3y ago
  It really is remarkably similar to Apple’s product pages.
amelius 3y ago
I don't like that the propellers don't have guard rings around them.
- Ancapistani 3y ago
  They make them, they just aren't standard equipment. They also reduce flight time and agility, and in come cases can interfere with your field of view. I've got hundreds of hours flying quadcopters at this point, and the only times I've ever wanted prop guards on a photo drone have been for flying indoors or very near hot air balloons.
  - amelius 3y ago
    And you took the risk of flying without guards? If yes -> This is why they should be there by default.
    - Ancapistani 3y ago
      > And you took the risk of flying without guards? No, I have guards, and use them when I feel like it's worthwhile. FWIW, hot air balloons aren't going to be damaged by the props on the quad that I was flying there - I spoke with the pilots and made sure everyone knew what was up during the pre-flight safety meeting. I used them because I had it set up to hover in place upon loss of connection, and knowing balloons don't have a ton of control over their flight path I didn't want to risk them running into it and knocking it out of the sky. Prop guards would have allowed it to just be pushed out of the way.
RugnirViking 3y ago
I can't see the dang product in the first 5 seconds on the product page. Sure theres a dim shot of it folded if I scroll down (although its covered by popup consent forms), but I want to see the drone clearly without sitting through an artsy video. Something like the second and third picture on https://store.dji.com/dk/product/dji-mavic-3-pro?vid=137691 https://store.dji.com/dk/product/dji-mavic-3-pro?vid=137691 showing it folded and unfolded are SO much better
rektide 3y ago
DJI seems to be the one company that requires sideloading the Android app. DJI makes great products, but there's really few companies who I would trust less to give unvetted access to my phone. I know the Android app sandboxing should help a lot, but there's enough unknowns & potentially lurking security holes that I really wouldn't want to trust them. They also are 100% the most likely company on the planet to self-update & start truly-epic-level spying on the world if China ever gets a little bit more nervous. It's just not a tenable proposition to trust DJI with this security stance; no one at the company has the power nor right to say no, & as such there's no basis for trust to form.
- steve_adams_86 3y ago
  I’m in the same camp. I got my son a Mini 3, which is a stellar quadcopter in its own right, but the DJI ecosystem is a spectacle to behold for some good and many bad reasons. One issue could be that they don’t communicate compatibility between devices very well, so it’s very hard to know if buying one thing will lead to being very limited and locked in — even within the DJI ecosystem. People often find themselves needing to buy more equipment to accomplish seemingly trivial things. For example, the controller we got can’t install apps and it doesn’t work with a multitude of other quads DJI sells. Why not? Are they good reasons or bad? Where can I find clear explanations? I’m sure the controller is very resource constrained, but can’t I just opt into bad performance if I don’t mind? Is the controller incompatible with other quads due to radio protocols, or is this a choice intended to force eventual upgrades? Without being able to tell with certainty, sometimes it begins to seem a little manufactured and nefarious. Otherwise, the fact that their protocols are all proprietary and I can’t use the controller with custom quads is very frustrating. I have a Radio Master TX12 that I can’t use with any DJI products, and a DJI controller I can’t use with any custom quads already built or that I could ever build. That’s all crazy. Sure, tight integration means better performance, but the extent to which it’s closed off is unreal. Although the Mini 3 is a genuinely awesome device, I don’t think I’ll buy DJI again. I think I’d rather buy into open VTX hardware and use my own camera to record footage. It’s a huge compromise in convenience and upfront cost, but if you care a lot about the hobby it’s perhaps well worth it. The flexibility afforded is enormous.

DJI Mavic 3 Pro

91 points by notmysql_ 3y ago

stoicjumbotron 3y ago

This and their latest Inspire 3 are truly a feat of engineering

smlacy 3y ago
If only such a statement could be made about their horrible mobile apps needed to fly these drones.
- bgun 3y ago
  This is because software development still doesn't and has never qualified as capital-E Engineering. If "software engineering" were held to any of the same kind of rigor and responsibility that applies to mechanical, civil, aerospace or nearly any other "Engineering" discipline, we might not be in the technological & sociopolitical hellscape we are in right now.
- vetinari 3y ago
  Use DJI RC/RC Pro. Still based on Android, but standalone device. DJI Fly is fine there.
- josefresco 3y ago
  Speaking of that software I resurrected an old DJI drone for a family member and after takeoff the app prompted me with so many warnings/errors/updates/notifications that I crashed. Truly horrifying to see a drone drifting towards you (and others) while you're furiously tapping to close warnings.
passion__desire 3y ago
This just popped up in my feed. DJI MAVIC 3 PRO - THE GIFT OF FLYING | Cinematic Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6cgcpfKt3g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6cgcpfKt3g

wand3r 3y ago

Every device manufacturer tends to fib a bit on battery life vs. real world, however, 45 mins of flight time is impressive. Even if its 30-35 mins fully maxed out that can give you a lot of time to creat content and explore

icholy 3y ago
I find that DJI fibs about their transmission range, but not battery life.
- sammyteee 3y ago
  tbh, once you realise you can get in into FCC mode, the advertised distances become a lot more realistic... :)
- steve_adams_86 3y ago
  I agree. I get fairly bad range in my small city, even with line of site. I get serious lag at around 2km. In places with less interference, it only bumps up to around 2.75–3km. It’s advertised as having 10–15km range or something. On the other hand, 3 batteries in a Mini 3 is pretty much guaranteed to keep it in the air for 90 minutes. It’s very impressive. Our custom quad manages more like 20m per flight with twice the battery capacity (though, twice the weight as well).
nine_k 3y ago
Tangentially: I wonder if a really long-flying quad copter can be made using a regular ICE + generator as a source of electricity. Carbohydrates are still more energy-dense.
- NegativeLatency 3y ago
  Maybe but it becomes a lot less practical to store and manage the gas compared to batteries. I suspect we’ll see tailsitter models come out eventually that combine the benefits of fixed wing aircraft. Someone did make one with a lawnmower but it has death machine vibes: https://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/gas-powered-quadcopter-second-pixhawk-based-finalist-for-the-hack https://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/gas-powered-quadcopter-...

Tepix 3y ago

Awesome new cameras, but how do you land these things safely on a sailboat? It's always tricky and scary.

andy_ppp 3y ago
They really should allow auto updating of the Home location, however if you’re moving while landing getting that right is probably quite difficult.
- ben7799 3y ago
  You can update the home point and have been able to for a long time. And this is zero concern if you're good at manual landing. I've never really ever used their RTH feature the entire time I've been flying, my experience goes back to well before R/C aircraft had any RTH or landing assist. It's more that you just have to remember to update the home point, and if you don't the drone will suddenly fly off far way out to open water, and if you're not playing it safe you could then run out of battery before you can fly back. This stuff is annoying, but anyone being responsible and making sure they budget plenty of reserve power ends up being fine.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- Ancapistani 3y ago
  You can, for both DJI and Autel (the largest commercial manufacturers). There is similar functionality for the homebrew flight controller firmwares out there (e.g. iNav/ArduPilot). I'm most familiar with Autel's system, since that's what I fly 99% of the time. It has the option to update your home point, but it also has two modes: RTH to takeoff point, and RTH to the controller. RTH = "Return To Home" The problem with all of the above is the "failsafe". If the quad loses connection to the controller, by default it will return to the takeoff point and land. You can set it up to RTH to either the the takeoff point or the last known position of the controller, then land or hover until connection is re-established. On a boat, you're constantly moving. If you lose connection, the drone immediately loses the current position of the controller, so you have to turn the boat around, manually find the drone, and cross your fingers that you're able to reconnect to it before the batteries die and it descends into a nice, slow, controlled landing in the middle of the ocean. Identifying alternate safe landing sites before taking off is part of the pre-flight checklist for any flight, but it's especially important when operating over water. Doubly so if you're taking off from a boat. Whenever possible, I make sure to end my flights with enough battery that I can make it back to land if I have to. I've planned to use (inactive) oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico in an emergency. I have no idea how I would have gotten ahold of the owners and gotten access to it to retrieve my drone if I'd had to use it, but I'd rather work out those details later than lose it or be forced to ditch it in the water.

bborud 3y ago

"Your Favorite Chinese multi-sensor distributed spying platform".

nine_k 3y ago
Why would a drone have any internet access? It may want it, but should not need it, nor given it.
- 1024core 3y ago
  It needs it to make sure it follows any local flight restrictions, like no-fly zones.
  - FpUser 3y ago
    My drone stayed without connection for more than a year already. Sure it politely says at startup that said zones need an update but other than that keeps functioning without a hitch.
  - Ancapistani 3y ago
    1) Other manufacturers don't have restrictive geofencing like DJI - it's not a regulatory issue, but liability. 2) DJI's flight restrictions are determined by DJI, not the FAA. They don't align with each other, so you end up having to keep track of and comply with two airspace systems. That's why I abandoned DJI for my business use. I wasn't able to take off to cover an event at an airport for which I had FAA approval. DJI gave their approval... but the code didn't work, and it required that I have Internet access on the phone I was using to fly to boot.
    - atourgates 3y ago
      This has been incredibly frustrating for me. DJI arguably makes the best consumer drones - and as a platform I love my Mini Pro 3. It's small and light enough to easily put in a pack, easy to fly, and just works well apart from DJI's geofencing system. HOWEVER - I'm heavily restricted from using it at my own property, not because of the FAA or any other government restrictions, but because of DJI. I live about 10-miles from an airport. Per the FAA's on "B4UFLY" app - my rural property is clear of any restrictions, outside of the altitude restricted zone of the airport. However, DJI draws their own "FlySafe Geo" map differently, and places me in an altitude zone where I'm limited to 150-meters. This wouldn't be so bad, except that I live next to a large hill/small mountain, that's a great place to fly over and take photographs. If I were to go to the top of the mountain (also in DJI's altitude restricted area) and take off, I could fly out 150m from the top of the mountain, no issues. But since DJI takes no note of the ground height changing as you fly, if I take off from my property and try to fly my drone to the top of the mountain, I'd crash into its side long before I got there. There's really no solution to this issue, besides hoping that someone creates a hacked firmware for my drone that ignores DJI's restrictions, like they have for other DJI models. If another manufacturer developed a comparable drone that didn't suffer from DJI's restrictions, I'd buy it in a second.

yreg 3y ago

Would love to get a new shiny thing, but it’s difficult to excuse since my 5 year old Mavic Air still works very well and feels amazing. If you are looking into getting a (no-DIY) drone, consider a second-hand Mavic, they are cheap and great. Maybe get a new battery or two.

trollied 3y ago
I agree. They are great fun to fly, and also very beginner friendly.
Ancapistani 3y ago
I fly an Autel Evo 2 Pro, and love it - but I still recommend people new to drones pick up a used DJI Mavic Mini (or Mini2) when just getting into aerial photography. You can pick them up barely used, with three batteries, charger, and carrying case for ~$250 if you shop around. I've had five of the things at this point. I keep buying them when I find them cheap, and passing them on to people who are entering the hobby/field. It's always a good idea to have a backup when I'm working a job, and the Mini series is small and light enough that I can throw it in my camera bag even when I'm not planning on flying.
- coolspot 3y ago
  Don’t recommend Mini 1 which is wi-fi with a very bad range especially in city. Mini 2 is OcuSync with theoretical range of 10km (7mi) FCC.
raihansaputra 3y ago
Mavic Air is great but I had the opportunity to also flythe Mavic Air 2 in the same session and it's much better in regards of range and dealing with (heavy, urban) interference. If only I can only upgrade the radio/remote to the newer one..

drcongo 3y ago

Never found the idea of owning a drone appealing before, but this thing does look pretty great.

Ancapistani 3y ago
Start with a used Mavic Mini. Seriously. They're like $200, and will teach you what you want in a drone. That way, when you go to spend real money on one, you'll be able to make an informed decision. If you can't spare the $200, I'd argue you probably shouldn't be diving deep into this hobby. You certainly shouldn't be spending $3k on this one.
- coolspot 3y ago
  Don’t buy Mavic Mini 1 because it uses wi-fi for connection. Rather buy Mini 2 which uses OcuSync and provides 10km range.

seatac76 3y ago

Does anyone have an authoritative source on what data DJI captures and relays to China?. I want to buy a drone but concerned about privacy.

doodlesdev 3y ago
Honestly? Assume they collect everything, such as location, the pictures and videos taken (and not taken), flight paths (this one I know for sure), telemetry from the device and drone, etc. Even if they're not doing it now there's no reason they wouldn't in the future, they are basically a monopoly when it comes to consumer drones and they are in China, they don't give a ** about privacy. Ironically, I do recommend them, they simply are the only option in the market right now and all of their drones have something interesting to offer.
- Ancapistani 3y ago
  If you have log sync turned on - which I think is the default - your entire flight path is sent to the cloud. There are also a number of thumbnails from the flight visible in the web app. They're very low resolution, but I don't know if that's all that's sent or if they're downscaling them server side.
haunter 3y ago
There have been some audits including the full network capture with Wireshark https://www.precisionhawk.com/hubfs/Retest_DJI%20Cybersecurity%20Risk%20Assessment%20Final%20Report_03.31.2020%20Executive%20Summary%20(1).pdf https://www.precisionhawk.com/hubfs/Retest_DJI%20Cybersecuri... https://www.auvsi.org/sites/default/files/DHS%20report.pdf https://www.auvsi.org/sites/default/files/DHS%20report.pdf This is from the DOI, see from page 40 https://web.archive.org/web/20190916135227/https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/oas_flight_test_and_technical_evaluation_report_-_dji_uas_data_managment_assurance_evaluation_-_7-2-19_v2.0.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20190916135227/https://www.doi.g... >We did not detect any leakage of data to DJI servers with any of the apps. However, all three apps make a Domain Name System(DNS) request to the computer hosting the WiFi network to resolve the IP address of "www.dji.com" when they are first started. This DNS request goes to the router or a DNS server, and does not actually communicate with any DJI servers, but it does tell the app the IP address of DJI servers. The DJI Pilot Beta app follows this DNS request up with a ping to one ofthe DJI servers, and receives a ping response back. This ping is used by the app to check that the server is up and can receive messages. The ping does not contain any data, but the server could get the IP address of the tablet and the time the app was started (since that’s when the ping is sent)

hintymad 3y ago

Spy drone or not, why can’t US companies design and manufacture better products to compete with DJI?

cultofmetatron 3y ago
we gutted most of our manufacturing and outsourced it to china decades ago. we Let our entire non military manufacturing industry die on the vine so there isn't much of a culture of supply chain left. blame harvard business school. The cumulative damage of their Alum to the american economy is astronomical
- ApolloFortyNine 3y ago
  Meh, there's been fears of imports damaging the home country's manufacturing/economy for hundreds of years. It's why tariffs have existed for ages. If the government valued manufacturing at home, they've had the tools for years to make it happen. Of course, are citizens ready to pay more than double in some cases? Not sure.
  - cultofmetatron 3y ago
    > If the government valued manufacturing at home, they've had the tools for years to make it happen. agreed and thats why I emphasized non military manufacturing.
  - vuln 3y ago
    > If the government valued manufacturing at home, they've had the tools for years to make it happen Well as long as we are “green washing” everything manufacturing will never return to the US. Americans would rather offshore and pollute in other countries instead of attempting to manufacture in the US while be suffocated by regulations.
- Salgat 3y ago
  Can we stop with this nonsense myth? The US is the second largest manufacturer in the world. Does manufacturing make up as large a share of our economy as it did in the past? No, of course not, that's a normal progression to a service economy, which is why the US is so wealthy.

1024core 3y ago

$2200 ... welp.

Ancapistani 3y ago
Not out of line with comparable airframes. Here's what I fly: https://amzn.to/41F7wnL https://amzn.to/41F7wnL It's been out a while, but is roughly comparable in every way except the camera. The Autel camera has a slightly larger sensor, but only one lens: with the DJI you get a telephoto and medium telephoto lens as well. The DJI will also do Apple ProRes RAW output while the Autel doesn't. There are other differences, but I'd argue they're relatively minor, and mostly boil down to personal preference. Autel Evo 2 Pro v3: $2,500 DJI Mavic 3 Pro Cine: $2,999

causality0 3y ago

I'll probably keep my Mini 2 until someone has the semi-legal cojones to put a 4G transceiver in a drone. Now that would be some great fun.

Ancapistani 3y ago
It's done in the long range FPV community. Not super common - it's expensive, and you aren't allowed to fly farther than you can see the drone (and safely fly it by sight alone, and monitor the airspace around it) but it's done. I've not specifically kept up with the long range community, but I want to say I've recently seen videos of test flights out to 100km using an independent radio link (i.e., 5.8GHz analog video + 9xx MHz control link). That said, power density is going to be your first limiting factor. You're either going to have to seriously tune your airframe for long-range flight (and greatly compromise performance), or you're going to have to move to a fixed-wing design. Multirotors must maintain thrust (and therefore, expend power) to provide lift; fixed-wing designs provide lift as long as they are moving forward. The flight time of a fixed-wing design that's light enough and has a long enough glide profile is unlimited in practice. You can catch thermals and updrafts to gain speed, altitude, or both. I have a 1m foam glider that I've flown for well over an hour. The vast majority of that time was with the motor turned completely off and the prop folded flat against the fuselage. I'd soar out over the field where I was flying. There was a creek at the edge of the field and a small hill on the other side of it, creating a "barrel" of air. Flying in low, I'd catch the bottom of that current, ride it up the hill side, then pick up speed as I crested the hill and gently turned back toward the field. That particular location is great on chilly spring and fall mornings, because the temperature gradient between the creek and wind coming over the hillside is so great.
oh_sigh 3y ago
Why? The range is like 9 miles so it is hard to get the device out of range of the radio on the battery charge.
- causality0 3y ago
  Not on consumer DJI drones, especially if you live in an area with a lot of trees. I get about a mile on average.

trollied 3y ago

The active tracking is very impressive (see this review, 10 mins in): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejmGSZtLu6I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejmGSZtLu6I The way it flies sideways & dodges obstacles, even while the person is running all over the place, is awesome.

cypherpunks01 3y ago

When will these compact drones become less noisy? I know there are new propeller designs being researched to be much less like a swarm of bees is flying around near you, but don't know how far off they are to retail commercialization. It just makes it hard to stomach flying a drone in a pristine environment knowing you are disturbing all human and non-human animals nearby.

FpUser 3y ago
Few deer I saw did not seem to care at all about the drone. Neither have raccoons, beavers, squirrels, chipmunks and birds.
- Ancapistani 3y ago
  Are you in a relatively urban area? In my experience, a wild deer can hear a photography quadcopter from ~200' away. They "spook" if I approach closer than ~150'.
  - FpUser 3y ago
    There is a farm I regularly pass on my bicycle and closer to the end of the summer they have boatload of deer coming in an wandering on the field. I have zero clue what they do on that field. Anyways those pay zero attention to my drone and go about their business whatever that is.
- jamies 3y ago
  Cool, yeah, just fly your drone next to wildlife and claim they don't mind.
  - jmspring 3y ago
    Living in a rural area with a lot of deer and other nature, they are one consideration.
- FpUser 3y ago
  Save the drama, they literally hang out in my backyard (well except beavers) but add foxes and rabbits

eimrine 3y ago

Ukrainians need this for their counteroffencive. They name Mavic 2 as their favourite drone.

chasd00 3y ago
is the primary use of drones in the Ukraine war for recon? I know they're also using them to drop grenades and fly into targets. I'm sure every military in the world is watching drone use very carefully. An FPV flying RPG warhead in a dense urban environment sounds like an absolute nightmare to defend against.
- brokenmachine 3y ago
  Pretty sure competent militaries have much better jamming systems than what we're (not) seeing in Ukraine.

l33tman 3y ago

From a hacking perspective, DJI previously seemed to be pretty nice with SDKs etc allowing you to get the video feed, send controls to the drone etc. But from what I can see they stopped supporting this for most (commercial) drones from Mavic 3 and onwards... Anybody know otherwise? What I'd want is to be able to remote control it from any other device, it doesn't really matter if it's an Android/iOS app or running on linux/windows.

gotschi_ 3y ago
One can vnc into the dji rc and control it from wherever you are. Problem is: the remote disables radios when connected to usb/power. So rooting the dji android (which the FCC hack does) is a must and then you only need to enable the radios.. only..

phplovesong 3y ago

[flagged]

canadiantim 3y ago
Use of the word orcs is incredibly unfortunate as it's clear you're just trying to dehumanize other people. I get why, but I don't think the ends justify the means.
- hem777 3y ago
  Are you or your people being, or have been, slaughtered by a fascist, barbaric military? If yes, I’m sorry and I understand your position. If not, gtfo.
  - canadiantim 3y ago
    Anything goes in war eh? Sad, you should reconsider your humanity before it’s too late
otabdeveloper4 3y ago
Both sides use them for great effect in the same way.

lofaszvanitt 3y ago

When will this be jailbreaked?

mtlynch 3y ago

I'm surprised the base price is only $2k. I have no experience with drones, but based on the video, I was expecting it to be like a $40k product.

0xfedbee 3y ago

They don't have to copy Apple's website style to sell products.

justusthane 3y ago
It really is remarkably similar to Apple’s product pages.

amelius 3y ago

I don't like that the propellers don't have guard rings around them.

Ancapistani 3y ago
They make them, they just aren't standard equipment. They also reduce flight time and agility, and in come cases can interfere with your field of view. I've got hundreds of hours flying quadcopters at this point, and the only times I've ever wanted prop guards on a photo drone have been for flying indoors or very near hot air balloons.
- amelius 3y ago
  And you took the risk of flying without guards? If yes -> This is why they should be there by default.
  - Ancapistani 3y ago
    > And you took the risk of flying without guards? No, I have guards, and use them when I feel like it's worthwhile. FWIW, hot air balloons aren't going to be damaged by the props on the quad that I was flying there - I spoke with the pilots and made sure everyone knew what was up during the pre-flight safety meeting. I used them because I had it set up to hover in place upon loss of connection, and knowing balloons don't have a ton of control over their flight path I didn't want to risk them running into it and knocking it out of the sky. Prop guards would have allowed it to just be pushed out of the way.

RugnirViking 3y ago

I can't see the dang product in the first 5 seconds on the product page. Sure theres a dim shot of it folded if I scroll down (although its covered by popup consent forms), but I want to see the drone clearly without sitting through an artsy video. Something like the second and third picture on https://store.dji.com/dk/product/dji-mavic-3-pro?vid=137691 https://store.dji.com/dk/product/dji-mavic-3-pro?vid=137691 showing it folded and unfolded are SO much better

rektide 3y ago

DJI seems to be the one company that requires sideloading the Android app. DJI makes great products, but there's really few companies who I would trust less to give unvetted access to my phone. I know the Android app sandboxing should help a lot, but there's enough unknowns & potentially lurking security holes that I really wouldn't want to trust them. They also are 100% the most likely company on the planet to self-update & start truly-epic-level spying on the world if China ever gets a little bit more nervous. It's just not a tenable proposition to trust DJI with this security stance; no one at the company has the power nor right to say no, & as such there's no basis for trust to form.

steve_adams_86 3y ago
I’m in the same camp. I got my son a Mini 3, which is a stellar quadcopter in its own right, but the DJI ecosystem is a spectacle to behold for some good and many bad reasons. One issue could be that they don’t communicate compatibility between devices very well, so it’s very hard to know if buying one thing will lead to being very limited and locked in — even within the DJI ecosystem. People often find themselves needing to buy more equipment to accomplish seemingly trivial things. For example, the controller we got can’t install apps and it doesn’t work with a multitude of other quads DJI sells. Why not? Are they good reasons or bad? Where can I find clear explanations? I’m sure the controller is very resource constrained, but can’t I just opt into bad performance if I don’t mind? Is the controller incompatible with other quads due to radio protocols, or is this a choice intended to force eventual upgrades? Without being able to tell with certainty, sometimes it begins to seem a little manufactured and nefarious. Otherwise, the fact that their protocols are all proprietary and I can’t use the controller with custom quads is very frustrating. I have a Radio Master TX12 that I can’t use with any DJI products, and a DJI controller I can’t use with any custom quads already built or that I could ever build. That’s all crazy. Sure, tight integration means better performance, but the extent to which it’s closed off is unreal. Although the Mini 3 is a genuinely awesome device, I don’t think I’ll buy DJI again. I think I’d rather buy into open VTX hardware and use my own camera to record footage. It’s a huge compromise in convenience and upfront cost, but if you care a lot about the hobby it’s perhaps well worth it. The flexibility afforded is enormous.