I have had the DJI MINI 2 SE and it is my first drone. It has been amazing. I have had it for a month and I fly it around 45 minutes per day. I have crashed it 2-3 times with nothing to fix other than a busted prop. learned a lot. Fantastic product.
I've had my DJI mini 2 se for nearly a month now, and I can't express with enough emphasis how pleased I am with it so far. It's been great, and I'm learning more each day thanks to content from good folks like yourself. Thanks!
Thanks for this comparison. I have had both a DJI P3 and 4 fly away and NOT return home. In rural areas both times. Once only 350' away. No wifi around. When they worked, great, but the loss of connection was documented and yet the DJI customer service basically assumes you are lying and you must prove everything, only to get no help from them, so very happy to see some decent competition. I had a Bebop Parrot 2 for my son during the same time period and never had it fail to return. A Holy Stone went underwater twice and IT never failed to come home, although it had a few other issues :-)
And also for the Potensic atom, even the fact that people are comparing it to DJI's mini drone, really shows they're somewhat on the right track. They have the potential.
Marcus for auto return home altitude, there is a little > symbol on the minium return home altitude text line... If you press the > symbol you will have option for the ERTH altitude
@@IdahoQuadcopter sorry Marcus it's the > above that were you select what to do when signal lost. Then the setting appears Have no idea why they have it hidden
I just get the Potensic SE and I have to say that Im impressed. My first drone ever and Im 51yrs. Im learning little by little and hit hit 3 times with trees. I was thinking the drone was done but no, still strong 😅. Now doing better and I want to try the different modes like follow me. Great for beginners.
Im an amateur radio operator here in Sydney Australia. I own both the atom and the dji mini 3 pro, both work very well, i’ve never experience the issues you had at all. Im thinking maybe a radio operator in that vicinity operating on the microwave bands while you were flying could have been the problem….. as i said ive used both drones and never experienced the problems you had. Just a thought mate….
Thanks for this. It’s interesting because I’ve had the exact opposite experience with my DJI Mini v1 vs my Potensic. I still haven’t lost either signal with the Potensic, but have lost video plenty with my DJI. That said, I’ve never used any wireless equipment while flying my drone, and the mini I’m comparing it to is fairly old at this point.
I could be wrong but I would guess that the majority of reviewers having issues with the range on the Potensic has a lot to do with them not taking into consideration that their Wireless DJI mic as well as the WiFi from their phone is causing interference with the drone. The phone should be on airplane mode for starters and get rid of any other wireless devices that is using the 2.4 ghz band.
After the firmware updates with the Potensic atom , I have noticed the battery burn out faster and also I had more glitches on my screen flying it than before. I think they can take a look at fixing it with a new firmware
There's a reason DJI is the market dominant 😅 they just cram the best technology in their mini drones! And the price isn't even that bad. However, the mini 2 se lacks active track,which is a dealbreaker for some people. Anyway,amazing video man!
Love your videos. Just bought my first drone ever...the mini 2 se and I love it. Everything I learned, I learned from you. Thank you so much for teaching us all the drones got. Keep up the great work!! Greetings from the Netherlands
I noticed that there is someone flying a drone at 25:02, not far from you! He's flying low or it could be a wheeled drone, but it could be interfering with your transmissions. I was quite interested in getting the Potensic Atom because I am looking for a three way gimbaled stabilized camera, and had seen several videos and most all had good things to say about it! This is the first video where it failed. I also considered the HolyStone 720R, but it fails every in video.
The signal interference is more than likely from every house having wifi, etc. Wireless smart electric meters can cause interference as well. I find flying in cities difficult to say the least..
Regarding the RTH at 400 feet for loss of control. This is the default for loss of control, presumably to compensate for lack of collision avoidance. The menu on the settings has a little dropdown arrow which will allow you to choose a different altitude if desired .
I think I’ll wait for this November 2024 to buy a more expensive drone. I’ve seen really good reviews on the Potensic drone. I haven’t see one this bad. I would encourage anyone to restart your phone and have all apps closed before flying any drone. The loss of connection or interferance could be a bad cable. I really like the dji video and camera quality. I’m not interested so much in distance because I live in California where there are so many restrictions.
I have a 4DRC F4. For an inexpensive drone, it does pretty good. A half mile is about all I can expect for pictures or video. I was flying near a construction site where they were using a concrete pump that was radio controlled. That drone went crazy. I just bought a DJI Mini 3 Pro. I have lots to learn. Thanks for your videos.
Now your in the pro leagues. I played with a LOT of other brands, from Ruko to 4DRS, to better brands such as Autel, Parrot, etc. I swore SOME manufacturer must be able to provde DJI stability, features and range over or equal to DJI. Unfortunately, that's simply not the case. DJI is head and shoulders ahead, and by offering drones in every segment from SE budget to $17K Inspire 3 and T40 Agricultural models, they dont plan on giving up market leadership.
I believe the connection issues have to deal with the 2.5ghz connections. I was using the 2.5ghz WiFi while flying getting choppy video, switched to 5ghz band and the video was good again.
Thanks for your answer. Would the Atom be a comparable drone to DJI? I live in the Sierra Mountains and own several drones, including a Yuneek Typhoon. I have not flown any since I crashed my Typhoon 3 years ago. I am considering a DJI Mini 4 Pro. Would you recommend it? I need something that has obstacle avoidance. Too many trees and wires around here.
nice comparison. I had similar frozen issues with the ATOM, but I found it was my GoPro, it works well when I turn off the GoPro, it's weird. I'll try again once the weather permits
Hi on two occasions I left the gimble foam support and gimble protector installed when starting up the drone. I did though shut it down a while after on both occasions. After noticing my neglect I removed the protection and it seems that the was no damage caused.
I love your videos. Looking for a entry level drone similar to these two. There is a new third party app for the DJI Mini SE that has some of the tracking features. Could you do a video of the app and is it worth it? Litchi is the app that I know of.
What happened to the potensic? I was planning on buying it but I don't know if I should seeing the problems it's having? Could you let me know if you still recommend it? Mini 2 SE is a bit out of budget. So should I still buy the potensic?
@@IdahoQuadcopter Can you send a link for where the mini 2 SE is $299 because I can't find that. All I found was $339. It would be helpful if you could send the link for where the mini 2 is $299. Thanks
Hi Marcus. Thanks for the enlightening video! I think the best thing you could do with your Potensic is to crash land it into a dumpster! Your video shows yet again that DJI is hard to beat!
I have an Atom. I would concede, however, that Dji are better in terms of build quality. I bought on the strength of cost though. The equivalent dji was over £100 more. You just cannot ignore the cost difference. It's a huge factor. I have been very impressed by it so far.
I would say the gopro could be causing some interference, I fly long range FPV drones and when I have my GoPro on board for hd recording I can tell a clear range difference. But also not much beats dji signal quality especially with their new o3 and o4 video systems.
Had a brief exchange with a commenter on Captain Drones Channel - We agreed Potensic has gotten competitive, but I insisted that DJI had an edge in refinement, precision and QC, and as long as the Atom could undercut the SE (by a fair amount IMO) they were viable. He insisted the Atom was worth spending MORE than DJI prices, because no geofencing. He commented that the Mini 2 looked like the Atom... au contrare mon ami! Everyone has an opinion, just like a certain body part 😮 and everyone thinks everyone else's stinks. For equal money, or even a bit more, I'll take DJI's offering. Every time. I didnt always feel this way, but over many flight hours over the years, certain truths become self evident!
Yes, I often see purchase bias from some commenters. They just don't want to accept flaws in the product that they purchase. Thank you for stopping by John!
You are so Right ! DJI , would have gotten some Real cussing from me over the years but i find it very very Hard to buy another Drone other than a DJI Drone ! Quality and Reliability ! They are Really Good at what they do .😊
DJI is in a whole class of their own time and time again you cannot compare this drone to DJI. I’m sorry that’s just the way I see it the technology is five years outdated when looking at the performance picture video and it’s flight characteristic
Nice review Marcus. Potensic have made some great entry level drones over the years. I have a Mini 2SE and i love it. I film in 1080p probably 99% of the time as i don't see the difference. Same goes for my Mini 2. Also filming in 4K with the Mini 2 i found it uses so much SD card memory, so 1080p is the way i film. The Potensic Atom is way more expensive than the Mini 2SE, where i am. So the Mini 2SE, is the way to go in my book.
If I may....I have a Gorale X38 3 axis gimble drone that flies great and has flawless FPV feed with a Motorola GPower 2021....I got a new Motorola Moto G Play (locked) just for drones and the FPV feed is total crap....freezes and crashes and even crashes the APP....Fire up the older GPower and problem solved....Maybe the Potensic Atom doesn't like your mobile devise??? Just a thought.
You sounded a little bias IMO towards the DJI,whydidnt you fly the Atom the same Height, you gave ut only a Short Flight too, the Atom now has Several great Upgrades Are you Sponsered in any way by DJI?
Most of us don't want to Admit it but we like Drones so so much that we just love to have them in our Collection ! This might not be a DJI Drone but just having it in your Arsonal of Drones , is kind of Satisfying 😂 it's not all that Bad ! Potensic has come a Long Way and that alone will make me get one just to Compliment them !😅
Another very useful video for people in the market; particularly relevant give the season. Appreciate your work. Would you happen to know the transmission power and data rates of the two drones? I assume Potensic must be inferior to DJI OS2 in one or both of these regards given the difference in range and performance.
Hi Marcus it’s a shame the Atom get’s the interference on screen because it seems a great little drone but as you say it will give you a good flight one time and not the next where as the DJI will give you a guaranteed flight every time so if I was a person looking at this video who was looking to buy a drone in this category I would lean towards the DJI that’s for sure so video’s like this really helps people to make their minds up maybe which one to get 👍 so keep up the good work you do 👌🇬🇧
Hey Marcus ya i mean think the mini 2 se is the winner here even the vid quality seems to look better i dont have the 2 se but do have the mini 2 and had the M M ((gave it away) i ts a great drone also had the M 3 P but crashed it this summer what a bummer but anyway great review.
Great review, Marcus; have a co-worker looking to get into a camera drone 38:17 and this still looks a best contender for him. Way to extra frame the "DJI total package" getting to use the wireless system in comparison with that leaf blower dropping away mostly 41:07
If the Atom is lower then the RTH setpoint it will go up to the altitude and So if you are higher than the RTH altitude it will (wrong point: - stay @ that hight) It will goto the max hight! and first fly Horizontal till Home position and then come down. Hope it makes sense
You were higher than the RTH setpoint so it will climb to the max altitude This guy explains it: th-cam.com/video/7zhgAArMg_8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ImYA43uKcUUmB-wm
The reason it returns at max altitude ,da, is that it's disconnected from the the controller so it must rely on the drones default setting to return saftly.....
that's weird, my ATOM gets 3km distance easily, video feed never interrupted. Could it be some sort of radio device nearby that interfering with the signal?
The Potensic flies nice, looks stable and has a good camera but I'm not going to buy any drone using a wifi connection from phone to remote. None of them work and I've tried a lot of them. If it's not a direct wired connection, I'm not buying it. By the way, the Mini only has 2.7 K but the Mini 2 (not the SE model) has full 4K and an awesome range of about 4 to 6 kilometers (Verified by myself - multiple test flights). The Mini 2 flies almost as good as my Air 2. It's definitely worth the upgrade. The Mini 2 also has much better wind resistance than the Mini. So thanks for the comparison video. Hopefully what your viewers get out of this is that if it's a drone that uses a wifi connection to the phone it's basically a dud. So don't waste your time or money. I suspect that when the potensic first connects to the wifi, it randomly chooses a frequency in the wifi band. Sometimes the channel it selects is far enough away and is not a harmonic frequency. then the drone flies better. but if the channel is to close, it will definitely interfere Cheers.
The Atom was very disappointing. I thought it ought to have good signal strength as close as you were to it. DJI's mojo seems to be the best there is! I'm on my third DJI drone. I'm waiting to see what features the Air 3(?) has when it is announced. I suspect it might have a 1" sensor and variable aperture. Either one would be good.
@@IdahoQuadcopter I noticed when the Mini 2 was in automatic RTH, it happened to be at 50 meters. It passed fairly close to HV power lines that ran along the road by Wal-Mart. You had RTH altitude set at 30 meters. If it had been at 30 meters it seems likely that it might have crashed. Maybe not, but I watched you crash one drone and don't want to watch another one go down.
I'm a complete newbie drone flier - grand total of three flights before today. My Atom worked perfectly in a challenging mountain pass in southern Nevada today, going over 6,000 feet LOS without any signal loss. At one point, I lost signal over a ridge, the drone did exactly what it should - commenced return to home. Your results are perplexing, and completely conflict with mine, and that of most of the reviews on TH-cam by experienced drone pilots.
The Potensic Atom appears to be experiencing some disturbances. I also own one, and it flies with remarkable ease. Actually, in this comparison, I found the picture quality of the Mini 2 SE to be excessively dark, and lacking visual tracking capabilities.
I can only imagine a major radio interference on the atoms frequency. I have flown mine easily over a kilometer with 30kV power lines in the vicinity and not the slightest stuttering in the FPV or even connection losses.
Any advantage the Atom has in features, is defeated by the MIni 2 SE superior video connection. And the difference in audio quality between the wired setup and the DJI Wireless Mic was night and day. DJI Mic for the win in this test. Great testing, and thanks for sharing Marcus.
🧐 34:43 (there it was again) wish i spoke metric... note to self: what a great opportunity to splash a knowledge bubble on the screen... (Sorry Marcus just talking notes as i'm gearing a a vlog attempt 😊
I use metric for a couple of reasons. It really makes sense because everything is in multiples of ten. The other reason is the drone manuals use metric. Thank you!
Love my atom but the 2 things i don't like is it auto overexposes the ground and blows out the sky and you can't hand launch but very impressive drone for the price.
That Atom was pretty underwhelming the first time with the constant freezing, although it did a bit better the second time around. You can't really beat DJI. Great video, Marcus 👍
Hi bro greetings. I can see it has its own problems. It's better you compare Fimi X8 mini 1 or 2 to DJI mini 2 instead. We tested one in urban areas it was giving us signal interference until we travel to a village which gave a little stability. Fimi X8 mini 1 is better of. DJI mini 2 is excellent drone under 250g so far. My thoughts sir. My regards to the family Bill and Your friend Ted. Stay safe Sir
Tengo un potensic y un dji mini 3. Mi posensic vuela hasta los 600 o 700 mts y puedo más. El dji, wow qué lo lanzó lejos y su cámara es divina. Pero solo llega hasta los 500 mts de altura . Como lo dice su marca es potente y vale la pena si tienes un presupuesto ajustado. DJI tiene un competidor fuerte si la marca sigue así. Las ventajas del control. Es ergonómico, práctico, hermoso. Las baterías llevan las cargas individualmente, no ocupas centros de cargas. 👌👌👌👌👌
The Atom , is still growing on me but Price still seems around the range of a Mini-2 or the SE cause a Good Used one is about the same price and that makes my decision quite hard and this Comparison has just set the Atom back a bit !😮 Still Considering though !!!! Somehow I like the look . Take Care Marcus .
On a positive note, you did give some good insight that all the sponsored whitewash reviews leave out. When I was using my iPhone with the Atom, the video glitches were basically eliminated by putting the phone in airplane mode. I went to a mini Android tablet as a dedicated device for drone flying and even leaving my phone in my back pocket, no airplane mode, with Bluetooth earbuds in, had no issues. Forgive me for the criticism, constructive or otherwise…but please try to focus on providing a little more substantive, on-topic commentary. We don’t need to hear you fuss about people driving on the park grass “making you mad” and giving us your forensic evaluation of it, a half-dozen times. It just colors your otherwise informative, reasonably enjoyable video with an “Uncle Karen” vibe, and I don’t think a likable guy like you is trying to put forth that kind of image.
True or not, that's completely illegal here in the US. If you're operating in violation of our rather specifically cited altitude restrictions here in the US, thanks for making the rest of us look bad.
Idaho I’m a little confused on how you do your reviews. Why the use of metric everything when here in the lower 48 we use imperial?. Second question. Since legally we can only fly LOS why the constant worrying about how far you can fly and FPV. Having that law constantly broken is why DJI had to Geofence there drones. The new regulations are because people keep trying to fly outside of LOS. All AMA airfields have banned Drones for this very reason. If you live in the middle of nothing, great , fly on. Even that park you flew over has houses on all 4 sides, Cell Phone towers and AC Power Lines and transmissions. You have cars circling around that park. You have no idea what’s being transmitted by and within those cars. Hospitals, Libraries, Fire Houses, Churches, Police Stations all effect flight
The metric system just makes a lot of sense to me. We should adopt it in the US, our military has. FPV is important in order to frame up a shot with a camera drone. 👍
Does anyone ever just review the drone instead of comparing them to DJI? Its like comparing an F-22 to a Cessna. Potensic is a decent BEGINNER drone, it is NOT a professional photography drone, it is a "for fun" drone.
I won't argue with your point that DJI drones are way more sophisticated. In this case both of these drones are priced identically, and are perfect for comparison.
I‘ll bring in another point to prefer the Mini 2 SE. Let’s say it’s a beginner drone. So a drone enthusiast will go for an update. Let’s say one year later. I would pretend the selling price of a used Mini 2 SE is much higher than the expected price for the Potensic Atom. I don‘t know if DJI is more durable. But maybe it’s just related to a well known and trusted brand. If you don’t crash within this time this makes the Mini SE cheaper overall.
@@allegriach DJI makes you side-load their Android app because they refuse to abide by Google's security rules. It's entirely unacceptable. DJI gives us a bullshit story about it being part of their compatibility strategy. It's ridiculous. So yeah, no wonder that the US government banned DJI for government use. All this side loading and then their app automatically pulling in updates at will, it's bad.
Why would anyone in their right mind get the competition when the mini se 2 is the same price or cost a lil more?...oh and it's by far a more superior product 😆
Well if them guys can fire a home made rocket into the sky like that, and I think thats f..king awesome in it's self to be able to do that without fear of the law getting all up in you're face about it, as long as no one gets hurt no one should care. Enjoy your drone, enjoy the day, enjoy life, you only have 1 so don't stuff it up.
I have had the DJI MINI 2 SE and it is my first drone. It has been amazing. I have had it for a month and I fly it around 45 minutes per day. I have crashed it 2-3 times with nothing to fix other than a busted prop. learned a lot. Fantastic product.
I've had my DJI mini 2 se for nearly a month now, and I can't express with enough emphasis how pleased I am with it so far. It's been great, and I'm learning more each day thanks to content from good folks like yourself. Thanks!
Thank you! I agree the Mini 2 SE is just a great little drone, and a fantastic value too.
It's really awesome that people like you go through all these efforts like this, so, thanks !
I'm glad you enjoy it, thank you!
Man I just love this guy. TH-cam and probably the world needs more practical and highly skilled craftsman like this gent.
Thank you very much Robert!
Thanks for this comparison. I have had both a DJI P3 and 4 fly away and NOT return home. In rural areas both times. Once only 350' away. No wifi around. When they worked, great, but the loss of connection was documented and yet the DJI customer service basically assumes you are lying and you must prove everything, only to get no help from them, so very happy to see some decent competition. I had a Bebop Parrot 2 for my son during the same time period and never had it fail to return. A Holy Stone went underwater twice and IT never failed to come home, although it had a few other issues :-)
I still fly my Parrot Anafi! Love that drone!
And also for the Potensic atom, even the fact that people are comparing it to DJI's mini drone, really shows they're somewhat on the right track. They have the potential.
Yes, Potensic is on the right track!
Great video as usual. When you give the drone speed in metric speed can u follow the metric speed up with what that is in m.p.h. thx. Marcus
Thank you. Yes, just multiply by 2.2 to get MPH. That will be close anyway.
Marcus for auto return home altitude, there is a little > symbol on the minium return home altitude text line... If you press the > symbol you will have option for the ERTH altitude
Thank you for letting me know. I wonder why they would have a secret RTH altitude for loss of connection?
@@IdahoQuadcopter sorry Marcus it's the > above that were you select what to do when signal lost.
Then the setting appears
Have no idea why they have it hidden
I just get the Potensic SE and I have to say that Im impressed. My first drone ever and Im 51yrs. Im learning little by little and hit hit 3 times with trees. I was thinking the drone was done but no, still strong 😅. Now doing better and I want to try the different modes like follow me. Great for beginners.
That is awesome! Enjoy that drone!
Im an amateur radio operator here in Sydney Australia. I own both the atom and the dji mini 3 pro, both work very well, i’ve never experience the issues you had at all. Im thinking maybe a radio operator in that vicinity operating on the microwave bands while you were flying could have been the problem….. as i said ive used both drones and never experienced the problems you had. Just a thought mate….
That makes sense. There was sure something that was interfering. Thank you!
Thanks for this. It’s interesting because I’ve had the exact opposite experience with my DJI Mini v1 vs my Potensic. I still haven’t lost either signal with the Potensic, but have lost video plenty with my DJI. That said, I’ve never used any wireless equipment while flying my drone, and the mini I’m comparing it to is fairly old at this point.
That's good news. I'm glad your Atom is working well!
I could be wrong but I would guess that the majority of reviewers having issues with the range on the Potensic has a lot to do with them not taking into consideration that their Wireless DJI mic as well as the WiFi from their phone is causing interference with the drone. The phone should be on airplane mode for starters and get rid of any other wireless devices that is using the 2.4 ghz band.
@npc2480 good to know as I'll be purchasing one soon
After the firmware updates with the Potensic atom , I have noticed the battery burn out faster and also I had more glitches on my screen flying it than before. I think they can take a look at fixing it with a new firmware
Yes, let's hope so! 🙂
There's a reason DJI is the market dominant 😅 they just cram the best technology in their mini drones! And the price isn't even that bad. However, the mini 2 se lacks active track,which is a dealbreaker for some people. Anyway,amazing video man!
Thank you very much! I agree, DJI give us a lot of bang for the buck!
Love your videos. Just bought my first drone ever...the mini 2 se and I love it. Everything I learned, I learned from you. Thank you so much for teaching us all the drones got. Keep up the great work!! Greetings from the Netherlands
Thank you! The Mini 2 SE is really a great little drone!
I noticed that there is someone flying a drone at 25:02, not far from you! He's flying low or it could be a wheeled drone, but it could be interfering with your transmissions.
I was quite interested in getting the Potensic Atom because I am looking for a three way gimbaled stabilized camera, and had seen several videos and most all had good things to say about it! This is the first video where it failed. I also considered the HolyStone 720R, but it fails every in video.
I agree, the Atom is a better choice than the 720R. 👍
The signal interference is more than likely from every house having wifi, etc. Wireless smart electric meters can cause interference as well. I find flying in cities difficult to say the least..
I understand, it is a challenging RF interference environment.
Regarding the RTH at 400 feet for loss of control. This is the default for loss of control, presumably to compensate for lack of collision avoidance. The menu on the settings has a little dropdown arrow which will allow you to choose a different altitude if desired .
Yes, I found that. You have to re-set it each take off.
I think I’ll wait for this November 2024 to buy a more expensive drone. I’ve seen really good reviews on the Potensic drone. I haven’t see one this bad. I would encourage anyone to restart your phone and have all apps closed before flying any drone. The loss of connection or interferance could be a bad cable. I really like the dji video and camera quality. I’m not interested so much in distance because I live in California where there are so many restrictions.
Thank you for your input. 👍
Interesting flights as always, Marcus.
Thank you George!!
I have a 4DRC F4. For an inexpensive drone, it does pretty good. A half mile is about all I can expect for pictures or video. I was flying near a construction site where they were using a concrete pump that was radio controlled. That drone went crazy. I just bought a DJI Mini 3 Pro. I have lots to learn. Thanks for your videos.
Thank you for watching! No doubt something was interfering with the Atom drone. 👍
Now your in the pro leagues. I played with a LOT of other brands, from Ruko to 4DRS, to better brands such as Autel, Parrot, etc. I swore SOME manufacturer must be able to provde DJI stability, features and range over or equal to DJI. Unfortunately, that's simply not the case. DJI is head and shoulders ahead, and by offering drones in every segment from SE budget to $17K Inspire 3 and T40 Agricultural models, they dont plan on giving up market leadership.
I believe the connection issues have to deal with the 2.5ghz connections. I was using the 2.5ghz WiFi while flying getting choppy video, switched to 5ghz band and the video was good again.
I'll take a look at that. Thank you!!
Thanks for your answer. Would the Atom be a comparable drone to DJI? I live in the Sierra Mountains and own several drones, including a Yuneek Typhoon. I have not flown any since I crashed my Typhoon 3 years ago. I am considering a DJI Mini 4 Pro. Would you recommend it? I need something that has obstacle avoidance. Too many trees and wires around here.
You would not regret the Mini 4 Pro. The OA is one of its best features.
nice comparison. I had similar frozen issues with the ATOM, but I found it was my GoPro, it works well when I turn off the GoPro, it's weird. I'll try again once the weather permits
Thank you! That's good to know. I'll experiment with my GoPro too.
Hi on two occasions I left the gimble foam support and gimble protector installed when starting up the drone. I did though shut it down a while after on both occasions. After noticing my neglect I removed the protection and it seems that the was no damage caused.
In a situation like that I believe the gimbal puts itself into a safe mode. 👍
@@IdahoQuadcopter thanks very much. Im from South Africa and just joined the Drone community. Dji Mini 3 pro. Like you videos on youtube
I love your videos. Looking for a entry level drone similar to these two. There is a new third party app for the DJI Mini SE that has some of the tracking features. Could you do a video of the app and is it worth it? Litchi is the app that I know of.
I know Litchi works on the Mini SE, I'm not sure about the Mini 2 SE. I've never used it. 🤷♂️
I got the DJI drone. What a game changer from my old Parrot drone. Thanks for all your videos.
Hi Marcus....Thanks for getting out there for the comparison.............👍
Thank you Jim!
What happened to the potensic? I was planning on buying it but I don't know if I should seeing the problems it's having? Could you let me know if you still recommend it? Mini 2 SE is a bit out of budget. So should I still buy the potensic?
Both drones are currently $299 for the basic kit. Which on you choose depends on what your use case is.
@@IdahoQuadcopter Can you send a link for where the mini 2 SE is $299 because I can't find that. All I found was $339. It would be helpful if you could send the link for where the mini 2 is $299. Thanks
@@BlueJPlayzyt It looks like they raised the price back up. 👍
Hi Marcus. Thanks for the enlightening video! I think the best thing you could do with your Potensic is to crash land it into a dumpster! Your video shows yet again that DJI is hard to beat!
😁 I hear that.
I have an Atom. I would concede, however, that Dji are better in terms of build quality. I bought on the strength of cost though. The equivalent dji was over £100 more. You just cannot ignore the cost difference. It's a huge factor. I have been very impressed by it so far.
The Atom is a good buy and a capable little drone. 👍
I would say the gopro could be causing some interference, I fly long range FPV drones and when I have my GoPro on board for hd recording I can tell a clear range difference. But also not much beats dji signal quality especially with their new o3 and o4 video systems.
Thank you, I've tried everything with my Atom, but continue to have connection problems.
Had a brief exchange with a commenter on Captain Drones Channel - We agreed Potensic has gotten competitive, but I insisted that DJI had an edge in refinement, precision and QC, and as long as the Atom could undercut the SE (by a fair amount IMO) they were viable. He insisted the Atom was worth spending MORE than DJI prices, because no geofencing. He commented that the Mini 2 looked like the Atom... au contrare mon ami! Everyone has an opinion, just like a certain body part 😮 and everyone thinks everyone else's stinks. For equal money, or even a bit more, I'll take DJI's offering. Every time. I didnt always feel this way, but over many flight hours over the years, certain truths become self evident!
Yes, I often see purchase bias from some commenters. They just don't want to accept flaws in the product that they purchase. Thank you for stopping by John!
You are so Right ! DJI , would have gotten some Real cussing from me over the years but i find it very very Hard to buy another Drone other than a DJI Drone ! Quality and Reliability ! They are Really Good at what they do .😊
Steve has an excellent point- geofence is such a pain in the ass and the mini 2 se is great but Geo fence might push the atom over the edge
DJI is in a whole class of their own time and time again you cannot compare this drone to DJI. I’m sorry that’s just the way I see it the technology is five years outdated when looking at the performance picture video and it’s flight characteristic
I’ve tried the cheaper ones and they’ve broken or flown away, once you add all the costs up you could have purchased a DJI 🤷🏽♂️
@Idaho Quadcopter Awesome adventure, that Potensic sure does suck, you may have tempted me to get the DJI Mini 2 SE.
You would love the Mini 2 SE! 👍
Great video Marcus. It helped me a lot, thanks!
Thank you, I'm glad you found the video helpful.
how many satellites did the Potensic connect to when testing?
18
thanks for the dual. def going with the DJI
I'm with you!
You are a real trooper in the cold! Too many "ifs" in the Atom. DJI wins hands down IMO.
Thank you, John! As you say, the Atom is just not quite there.
Nice review Marcus. Potensic have made some great entry level drones over the years. I have a Mini 2SE and i love it. I film in 1080p probably 99% of the time as i don't see the difference. Same goes for my Mini 2. Also filming in 4K with the Mini 2 i found it uses so much SD card memory, so 1080p is the way i film. The Potensic Atom is way more expensive than the Mini 2SE, where i am. So the Mini 2SE, is the way to go in my book.
Thank you! Yes, I remember when we all thought 1080p was all we ever needed. Now they're talking about 8K!
OK, my friend Marcus, let’s get this bird in the air. Great video.
Thank you Robert!
The horizon tilting issue is still there, the video transmission sucks also.
That's true. 👍
Just curious Marcus, In your opinion, which drone is the quietest. I want to buy a drone that's under the 249 grams that has minimal prop noise.
The Mini 2 SE is more quiet. 👍
If I may....I have a Gorale X38 3 axis gimble drone that flies great and has flawless FPV feed with a Motorola GPower 2021....I got a new Motorola Moto G Play (locked) just for drones and the FPV feed is total crap....freezes and crashes and even crashes the APP....Fire up the older GPower and problem solved....Maybe the Potensic Atom doesn't like your mobile devise??? Just a thought.
In my case the drone was defective. Potensic sent me a replacement and it worked much better.
You sounded a little bias IMO towards the DJI,whydidnt you fly the Atom the same Height, you gave ut only a Short Flight too, the Atom now has Several great Upgrades
Are you Sponsered in any way by DJI?
I wish! I'm not sponsered by DJI, but Potensic sends me drones for review.
it's a new return option when the signal is lost, you should uncheck it on the setting page, or it will ascend to 120m and return
Thank you very much! That is good to know. I'll check it out.
Most of us don't want to Admit it but we like Drones so so much that we just love to have them in our Collection ! This might not be a DJI Drone but just having it in your Arsonal of Drones , is kind of Satisfying 😂 it's not all that Bad ! Potensic has come a Long Way and that alone will make me get one just to Compliment them !😅
I agree Jeremy. I often tell people I'm a drone enthusiast.
@@IdahoQuadcopter,yep !!!!😊
Another very useful video for people in the market; particularly relevant give the season. Appreciate your work.
Would you happen to know the transmission power and data rates of the two drones? I assume Potensic must be inferior to DJI OS2 in one or both of these regards given the difference in range and performance.
Thank you! OS2 works really great, I wish I knew what the problem was with the Atom.
@@IdahoQuadcopter The 2 SE has dual band auto switching enabled by default. Is it possible the Atom was set to single band or not to auto switch?
Hi Marcus it’s a shame the Atom get’s the interference on screen because it seems a great little drone but as you say it will give you a good flight one time and not the next where as the DJI will give you a guaranteed flight every time so if I was a person looking at this video who was looking to buy a drone in this category I would lean towards the DJI that’s for sure so video’s like this really helps people to make their minds up maybe which one to get 👍 so keep up the good work you do 👌🇬🇧
Thank you Clive! I agree with your assessment.
Hey Marcus ya i mean think the mini 2 se is the winner here even the vid quality seems to look better i dont have the 2 se but do have the mini 2 and had the M M ((gave it away) i ts a great drone also had the M 3 P but crashed it this summer what a bummer but anyway great review.
Oh wow Rick, sorry about your Mini 3 Pro. I agree the Mini 2 SE is a great little drone.
Great review, Marcus; have a co-worker looking to get into a camera drone 38:17 and this still looks a best contender for him.
Way to extra frame the "DJI total package" getting to use the wireless system in comparison with that leaf blower dropping away mostly 41:07
Yes, indeed, the little Mini 2 SE really shows it's value here.
Great video 👍🏻. But for nearly the same price I wouldn’t buy a DJI knock off. I’m a true DJI fan boy… lol.
Ha! 😄 I hear that!
Thanks Marcus. I guess I will stay DJI for awhile more.
Ha! Me too Bob! 😀
If the Atom is lower then the RTH setpoint it will go up to the altitude and So if you are higher than the RTH altitude it will (wrong point: - stay @ that hight)
It will goto the max hight!
and first fly Horizontal till Home position and then come down. Hope it makes sense
In this case the drone cimbed up to max legal without and pilot input. 👍
You were higher than the RTH setpoint so it will climb to the max altitude
This guy explains it:
th-cam.com/video/7zhgAArMg_8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ImYA43uKcUUmB-wm
@@John-tz2wy In test flew it again today. There is a box that you must uncheck in the app.
I am new to this and find a lot of repeating and "I don't know" in an area claimed to be wifi problematic.
Thank you for watching.
The reason it returns at max altitude ,da, is that it's disconnected from the the controller so it must rely on the drones default setting to return saftly.....
Then why offer an RTH setting to begin with. 🤷♂️
that's weird, my ATOM gets 3km distance easily, video feed never interrupted. Could it be some sort of radio device nearby that interfering with the signal?
Anything is possible? I tried some troubleshooting today, and still had porblems. 🤷♂️
Was that the atom or the atom SE?
No, the Atom.
Between rockets going up, low flying aircraft, and miscellaneous workers, this guy is taking landmines.
Ha! It was an interesting day! 🙂
Another win for the DJI mini.
Yes, I'd say it is. 🙂
NOT
Hahaha potensic atom > mini 2 se lol
I would have liked to see some night time comparisons...
I doubt either of these drones do well at night.
I'm glad I bought the se instead of the Atom
Spot on! 😄
Hi Marcus, nice comparison between the Atom and Mini 2 SE, thanks for sharing. The Atom should be renamed quark, a subatomic particle.
Ha! 🤣 It's tough to beat DJI.
What’s with all the comments referring to this dude by his first name in their first sentence? Maybe they’re all loyal fans idk…but it’s odd
Hello BR. I think it's perfectly normal. 🙂
Thanks
Potensic have improved but not enough, still got bad gimbal tilt, resolve the tilt then it might be worth a punt.
Yes, they're close, but not there yet.
If you know that area has Wi-Fi problems why don't you choose a different area to test?
The Mini 2 SE handled the venue without any problems. 🤷♂️
Great video! Hands down DJI is the best
I have to agree! 🙂🙂
@@IdahoQuadcopter NOT DJI 2.7 K POTENSIC 4K
What is FTV?
FPV stands for First Person View. It's what you see through the drone's camera.
The Potensic flies nice, looks stable and has a good camera but I'm not going to buy any drone using a wifi connection from phone to remote. None of them work and I've tried a lot of them. If it's not a direct wired connection, I'm not buying it. By the way, the Mini only has 2.7 K but the Mini 2 (not the SE model) has full 4K and an awesome range of about 4 to 6 kilometers (Verified by myself - multiple test flights). The Mini 2 flies almost as good as my Air 2. It's definitely worth the upgrade. The Mini 2 also has much better wind resistance than the Mini. So thanks for the comparison video. Hopefully what your viewers get out of this is that if it's a drone that uses a wifi connection to the phone it's basically a dud. So don't waste your time or money. I suspect that when the potensic first connects to the wifi, it randomly chooses a frequency in the wifi band. Sometimes the channel it selects is far enough away and is not a harmonic frequency. then the drone flies better. but if the channel is to close, it will definitely interfere Cheers.
Thank you! The Potensic is connected to the mobile device via cable. It's still just a wonky control connection though.
You shouldn't point the controller antennas at the drone, instead make sure the long flat side of the antenna is facing the drone.
Yes, that is true.
The Atom was very disappointing. I thought it ought to have good signal strength as close as you were to it. DJI's mojo seems to be the best there is! I'm on my third DJI drone. I'm waiting to see what features the Air 3(?) has when it is announced. I suspect it might have a 1" sensor and variable aperture. Either one would be good.
Yes, Fred, the Atom needs some work..... 👍
@@IdahoQuadcopter I noticed when the Mini 2 was in automatic RTH, it happened to be at 50 meters. It passed fairly close to HV power lines that ran along the road by Wal-Mart.
You had RTH altitude set at 30 meters. If it had been at 30 meters it seems likely that it might have crashed. Maybe not, but I watched you crash one drone and don't want to watch another one go down.
hello marcus ...contact potensic some flou at right of picture and saccade sometime.....
Thank you for watching!
I'm a complete newbie drone flier - grand total of three flights before today. My Atom worked perfectly in a challenging mountain pass in southern Nevada today, going over 6,000 feet LOS without any signal loss. At one point, I lost signal over a ridge, the drone did exactly what it should - commenced return to home. Your results are perplexing, and completely conflict with mine, and that of most of the reviews on TH-cam by experienced drone pilots.
I'm glad your drone is working well. Congratulations.
The Potensic Atom appears to be experiencing some disturbances. I also own one, and it flies with remarkable ease. Actually, in this comparison, I found the picture quality of the Mini 2 SE to be excessively dark, and lacking visual tracking capabilities.
I can only imagine a major radio interference on the atoms frequency. I have flown mine easily over a kilometer with 30kV power lines in the vicinity and not the slightest stuttering in the FPV or even connection losses.
Yes, it was not coping well on this flight. Whatever it was didn't seem to bother the Mini 2 SE. 👍
Wireless microphone?
Nevermind. You spoke about it
I'm glad I stuck to the DJI mini 2 se as it flys great take nice video and photos. Tbh I'm not very impressed with the Atom. Cheers...
The Mini 2 SE is a wonderful drone! 👍
Talking about frustration, I give you credit Marcus I would grab the nearest trashcan myself.
It sure was disapointing. 🙂
Whichnone is better
I like them both. 👍
@@IdahoQuadcopter are you in Melbourne now
Any advantage the Atom has in features, is defeated by the MIni 2 SE superior video connection. And the difference in audio quality between the wired setup and the DJI Wireless Mic was night and day. DJI Mic for the win in this test. Great testing, and thanks for sharing Marcus.
Thank you Ron! You are correct on all counts! 🙂
10:26 yup. 🤔
🧐 34:43 (there it was again) wish i spoke metric... note to self: what a great opportunity to splash a knowledge bubble on the screen... (Sorry Marcus just talking notes as i'm gearing a a vlog attempt 😊
I use metric for a couple of reasons. It really makes sense because everything is in multiples of ten. The other reason is the drone manuals use metric. Thank you!
Probably a closer match between the Mini 2… This is very interesting.. I love the Potensic even though I am a DJI guy 😂
The Atom has so much potential. It's priced right too. The connection issues are a problem though.
You need to keep it pointing at the drone not in the other direction.
Great advice!
Love my atom but the 2 things i don't like is it auto overexposes the ground and blows out the sky and you can't hand launch but very impressive drone for the price.
I agree, they got the price right.
That Atom was pretty underwhelming the first time with the constant freezing, although it did a bit better the second time around. You can't really beat DJI. Great video, Marcus 👍
I agree Alan. Underwhelming is a good way to describe it.
Hi bro greetings. I can see it has its own problems. It's better you compare Fimi X8 mini 1 or 2 to DJI mini 2 instead. We tested one in urban areas it was giving us signal interference until we travel to a village which gave a little stability. Fimi X8 mini 1 is better of. DJI mini 2 is excellent drone under 250g so far. My thoughts sir. My regards to the family Bill and Your friend Ted. Stay safe Sir
Thank you, Welbeck! Happy holidays!
Tengo un potensic y un dji mini 3. Mi posensic vuela hasta los 600 o 700 mts y puedo más. El dji, wow qué lo lanzó lejos y su cámara es divina. Pero solo llega hasta los 500 mts de altura . Como lo dice su marca es potente y vale la pena si tienes un presupuesto ajustado. DJI tiene un competidor fuerte si la marca sigue así. Las ventajas del control. Es ergonómico, práctico, hermoso. Las baterías llevan las cargas individualmente, no ocupas centros de cargas. 👌👌👌👌👌
Thank you! I agree Potensic continues to improve their products!
Never had mine have that problem . It has to be something local to you
I'm glad yours works well.
I have the mini 2 se and it has 4k
That's great news! Mine does not.
Nice 😎🤝
I agree! Thank you! 🙂
The Atom , is still growing on me but Price still seems around the range of a Mini-2 or the SE cause a Good Used one is about the same price and that makes my decision quite hard and this Comparison has just set the Atom back a bit !😮 Still Considering though !!!! Somehow I like the look . Take Care Marcus .
It's an interesting drone. It has some great features. I've just seen some problems.
On a positive note, you did give some good insight that all the sponsored whitewash reviews leave out.
When I was using my iPhone with the Atom, the video glitches were basically eliminated by putting the phone in airplane mode. I went to a mini Android tablet as a dedicated device for drone flying and even leaving my phone in my back pocket, no airplane mode, with Bluetooth earbuds in, had no issues.
Forgive me for the criticism, constructive or otherwise…but please try to focus on providing a little more substantive, on-topic commentary. We don’t need to hear you fuss about people driving on the park grass “making you mad” and giving us your forensic evaluation of it, a half-dozen times. It just colors your otherwise informative, reasonably enjoyable video with an “Uncle Karen” vibe, and I don’t think a likable guy like you is trying to put forth that kind of image.
Thank you. I tried airplane mode tooday and still had a lot of FPV break up. It's a problematic little drone.
Dji better ,really accurate, video quality also sharp than potensic
I agree. 👍
I'm really happy with my Mini 2 SE. And look forward to acquiring more DJI drones in the future as my experience grows.
Enjoy that new Mini 2 SE! It's a wonderful little drone!
@@IdahoQuadcopter I am. And it's just a hoot to fly. Amazing that something so small and reasonably priced has such capabilities at this price point.
My ATOM flies up to 16000ft without issue. Maybe change your location and try again😂
I'm glad yours works well.
True or not, that's completely illegal here in the US. If you're operating in violation of our rather specifically cited altitude restrictions here in the US, thanks for making the rest of us look bad.
Idaho I’m a little confused on how you do your reviews. Why the use of metric everything when here in the lower 48 we use imperial?.
Second question. Since legally we can only fly LOS why the constant worrying about how far you can fly and FPV. Having that law constantly broken is why DJI had to Geofence there drones. The new regulations are because people keep trying to fly outside of LOS. All AMA airfields have banned Drones for this very reason. If you live in the middle of nothing, great , fly on. Even that park you flew over has houses on all 4 sides, Cell Phone towers and AC Power Lines and transmissions. You have cars circling around that park. You have no idea what’s being transmitted by and within those cars. Hospitals, Libraries, Fire Houses, Churches, Police Stations all effect flight
The metric system just makes a lot of sense to me. We should adopt it in the US, our military has. FPV is important in order to frame up a shot with a camera drone. 👍
Does anyone ever just review the drone instead of comparing them to DJI? Its like comparing an F-22 to a Cessna. Potensic is a decent BEGINNER drone, it is NOT a professional photography drone, it is a "for fun" drone.
I won't argue with your point that DJI drones are way more sophisticated. In this case both of these drones are priced identically, and are perfect for comparison.
There are standalone reviews of the Potensic Atom all over TH-cam. This adds valuable context given that these two drones are similarly priced.
Gosh the potensic seem to be very moody.
Thank you for the content.
Best wishes on the holidays Marcus.
I have an ATOM SE 4k and goes up to 3000 feet no problem, video and pictures are amazing! Also no registration and no restrictions. 17:51
They say in Bluetooth will mess with those
Yes, it was troubled.
I‘ll bring in another point to prefer the Mini 2 SE. Let’s say it’s a beginner drone. So a drone enthusiast will go for an update. Let’s say one year later. I would pretend the selling price of a used Mini 2 SE is much higher than the expected price for the Potensic Atom. I don‘t know if DJI is more durable. But maybe it’s just related to a well known and trusted brand. If you don’t crash within this time this makes the Mini SE cheaper overall.
I really like the DJI Mini SE! It's one of my favorite drones!
DJI's Android support is a total trainwreck. I'll go for any non-DJI one thank you very much.
@@Antiorganizer Good to know the other are better in support. Though I doubt this, those are very good news…
@@allegriach DJI makes you side-load their Android app because they refuse to abide by Google's security rules. It's entirely unacceptable.
DJI gives us a bullshit story about it being part of their compatibility strategy. It's ridiculous.
So yeah, no wonder that the US government banned DJI for government use. All this side loading and then their app automatically pulling in updates at will, it's bad.
I guess the Atom isn’t a contender after all. Thanks.
Sad but true. I had high hope for the Atom.
I just want a competent 249 gram drone that has an app on the Google Play store.
The Autel Nano is another option. amzn.to/3N96N93
Why would anyone in their right mind get the competition when the mini se 2 is the same price or cost a lil more?...oh and it's by far a more superior product 😆
I'm a big fan of the Mini 2 SE. 😄
Well if them guys can fire a home made rocket into the sky like that, and I think thats f..king awesome in it's self to be able to do that without fear of the law getting all up in you're face about it, as long as no one gets hurt no one should care. Enjoy your drone, enjoy the day, enjoy life, you only have 1 so don't stuff it up.
Thank you, and yes, have fun with your drone!