Got to love Rick's enthusiasm, it's amazing how drones make us act like little kids sometimes. Nice video as usual Rick. I just got a mini 3 and I love it.
You’re right, I’m 70 years old, and I feel like a kid with this new hobby of mine. I come home from work every day, and I run out to fly, this is the same feeling I had as a youngster coming home from school and flying my cox 049 gas planes.
Brigscott, I can't contain the excitement when flying. It's the one hobby that keeps things thrilling for me, even after all of these years of RC. I'm glad you're enjoying it too.
Herb, the hobby is ageless and I can't imagine a bright sunny day in the future where I won't want to get outside and fly. I love the tech and controlling a flying robot over a beautiful lake in the summer is my happy place.
@@Siamect Wow, if you hate the tech and the hobby this much, why follow the channel and post nonsense. By any measure, a remote controlled flying robot like the Mini 3 pro that can capture pin-sharp video from thousands of feet away, avoid objects and returns to home when issues arrive is something that should not exist. At my core, I'm a technologist and get excited every time I see a company push the limit of what's possible. Time and again DJI pushes this envelope and it's impossible to not get excited.
Great video. I would like to see you discuss in one of your next tests if, while using APAS, it is able bypass obstacles and not colide with obstacles to the side, up and down - considering it doesn't have sensors in those directions. For example - as your moving forward toward a tree with APAS, might it shift sideways into another tree?
Great video I always find you very informative. I have a mini two which I love and next week I’m going to put in an order for the mini three pro. I’m like a little kid. I purchased all the accessories ….hard case, landing gear, silicone controller cover, battery bag etc. so now I’m pumped for the drone and fly more combo. At 70 this hobby keeps me young!
Well Rick, I found one of the limitations of APAS, the hard way! I was flying my Mini 3 Pro along the edge of a wooded area and it clipped some small thin branches. APAS is not sensitive enough to see them. Of course I broke a prop, but when the Mini 3 hit the ground it also broke the front right arm rotating axis. This was back in mid October and there wasn't one single replacement arm axis to be found in the US or Canada. Had to wait on that proverbial slow boat from China. Now, they are in stock again at several suppliers and I ordered some spares. Luckily there was no damage to the arm itself. Although there is very little room to work, you can replace the arm axis without having to open up the main body! Watched a guy on TH-cam totally abusing a Mini 3 (running head first into trees, dumping water and dirt on it while hovering ... I clipped a twig and I was down for the count!!! Enjoy your videos and appreciate the "to the point" tutorials!!!
Walt. sorry to hear about your crash and the APAS can miss small wires and thin branches that are almost impossible to avoid, especially if they're coming in at an angle off center. It's also a little less reactionary in darker environments where it has a hard time with shadows. Even still, it's an amazing tech that I'm still impressed they were able to include in a drone this small. I really appreciate your support and I hope you'll stop back soon for the Christmas giveaways.
@@thomashardy9994 ,probably from getting broken but sometimes they can cause your front if too close to a tree can cause it to get stuck from my experience
Hi Rik, great video buddy. My Mini 2 has exact same features as of brake and APAS.... Would my mini 2 work just as good at this? I know mini 3 pro is more advanced, but again will my mini 2 cope quite well in same conditions buddy?
I've been using SanDisk Extreme Pro SD cards for my drones up to now. Which specific SD card do you recommend? I also noticed that the SanDisk Extreme 128 GB and 256 GB each claim a read speed of up to 190 MB/s and a write speeds of up to 130 MB/s and the Extreme Pro 256 GB respectively have a read speed of up to 200 MB/s and a write speed of up to 140 MB/s. Will either of these options work? According to DJI they will, but will they yield optimal performance?
We have 2 levels of APAS on Mavic 3. Plus it interfaces with Active Track 5.0, providing directional track a'la Skydio 8 directional point compass/parallel tracking (switchable) Anyway the new addition, somewhere around v01.00.0600 brought "Nifty and standard" APAS. "Nifty" pops up a warning ⚠️ stating it will be smoother (much needed as Mavic 3 can be ridiculously twitchy in close quarters with obstacles) -and fly CLOSER and more steady past objects. This is best experienced when flying line of sight, and/or slower speeds -NOT as DC Rainmaker did on his bike running it through the gauntlet! Mini 3 is smoother than most DJI in this type of scenario. It's always Nifty. Lol 😆
@@h_d_ I've been using SanDisk Extreme Pro SD cards for my drones up to now. Which specific SD card do you recommend? I also noticed that the SanDisk Extreme 128 GB and 256 GB each claim a read speed of up to with card offload speeds of up to 190 MB/s and a write speeds of up to 130 MB/s and the Extreme Pro 256 GB respectively have a read speed of up to 200 MB/s and a write speed of up to 140 MB/s. Will either of these options work? According to DJI they will, but will they yield optimal performance?
Thank you for this video. I'm considering the mini 3 pro, would be my first drone. What's holding me back is l'm a quadriplegic in a wheelchair and if I crash it wouldn't be able to retrieve it. And just like this video, I would want to fly it through the state forest. These features might make it worth the purchase for me.
Can you do a video explaining what the forced remote ID update from DJI to the Mini 3 Pro entails for the hobbyist flyer? Will the hobbyist that has not registered their Mini 3 Pro with the FAA still be tracked with remote ID?
I contacted DJI support specifically regarding this, being forced Remote ID firmware when a person flies sub-250 and recreational, thus outside of the registration requirements. DJI wanted me to confirm that I only had "standard" batteries. I didn't get farther with them because I had a "plus" battery and I have since decided that flying with Remote ID just isn't that big of a deal to me considering I typically fly in very remote areas where there is nobody to receive the signal anyway. It's less of a hassle for me personally to just register and be done with it and use whatever batteries and landing gear (added weight) I want. But to someone who refuses Remote ID on principle, I know you can contact DJI about it. Their customer support is actually usually pretty easy to reach. They may want to confirm what batteries you have, to ensure you are exempt from the remote ID requirements. Another thing is I didn't want my device hamstrung in any way or prevented from using the "plus" batteries if I ever decided to. So I opted out of my pursuit to fly without remote ID.
@@adcraziness1501 So I spoke directly to a DJI supervisor and they didn't care if I had the extended batteries or not. They said since they can't differentiate between the professional (part 107) flyer vs the recreational hobbyist, they are turning on Remote ID for everyone. They also said that every single new drone that they make from December 2022 and into the future, will have Remote ID. They didn't care about the FAA not requiring the hobbyist under 250g being exempt from Remote ID. It's absolutely rediculous what they are forcing. They will surely lose some sales over this.
Hi, I just got the batt plus pack kit and wondering what is the maximum voltage when it is 100% charged, because mine have different voltage, for example batt plus no. 1 voltage for cell 1 and cell 2 are the same on 4.20V on the other hand the no. 2 batt plus for cell 1 is 4,20V and for cell 2 is 4,19V...is these normal? thanks in advance
I learned something there. Make some videos about when you have more things turned on like 4 k it slows the by pass down. I didn't know that but makes perfect sense.
I'm working on a clip covering that detail this week. I just finished another clip explaining the difference between Crash Detection and Obstacle Avoidance that will post in a day or two. Be sure to check that one out, it's got some pretty cool footage in it.
Do you have any info about the upcoming mini 3? Obstacle avoidance, apas being dropped to lower price to the consumer. I'm guessing these features must be dropped to make a more affordable version of the 3 pro.
Hey Rick, one thing that will prevent your obstacle avoidance from working properly, is trying to fly the drone in your house. Especially in the evening, even with all the lights on. It will prevent obstacle avoidance from operating at all
Hi Rick ! Long time we haven't talk to each other Brother Rick ! Nice to see you doing your Stuff , my Computer has gone through the Edoes , hahaaa , that is what we say down here , I don't get much of a chance to shout you but I am using my phone right now as I am at home today . Take Care Rick .
Hey. This video makes me want to get it even more. If it wasn’t so expensive, I would have it already. I enjoyed it. Thanks for the content and hard work.
Thanks for the post and it's an amazing drone and a ton of fun to fly. The APAS tech is like something from NASA and really helps to protect the drone. I know it's pricey but a boatload of fun for the money. It's one of the few hobbies that you'll never outgrow. Stay tuned for more clips posting soon to lure you into the Mini 3 Pro camp.
Get the Mini 2! A used Mini 2 is the single greatest value in electronics history. Without exaggerating. I’m a professional drone cinematographer and love my Mini 2, probably more than my Mini 3. No question the Mini 3 is better at night, but otherwise, they’re almost exactly the same. Join the flying camera gang Stephanie!
I have had my DJI Mavic 2 Zoom for over 3 years without any problem. The other day I was out flying around grain elevators they were tearing down. I got all my video and stills I need and changed the battery. I wanted to run that battery down to about 50% so I started flying around about 20' in a vacant parking lot. I did not see that small power wire running over the lights in the parking lot. I looked up from my iPad and saw what looked like a buzzard that had exploded. I looked back at the iPad and my camera was pointing at the asphalt. I had insurance from State Farm so we picked up the pieces and headed to their office. I showed the insurance agent what had happened. She told me get it fixed and send them a bill. The damage was the front left collision sensor and several propellers. I also broke my #4 ND filter. I sent the drone back to DJI in Fort Worth, Tx. They said they were going to fix it but when I got it back it was a brand new drone. I paired it up, went through all the menu settings, did the updates and I was good to go. It's great that State Farm insures drones and treated me as I expected. That's the best insurance for drone flying I have ever seen. I went ahead and put my cars and home onto State Farm.
Great to have you stopping by and I hope you;re still getting a lot of good airtime! The APAS tech is pretty amazing and I love when a company innovates like this to make flying safer. I'll have another clip posting soon with more APAS details. Have a great holiday!
Thanks, I did send it pretty far in with the section at the end and will have another clip on APAS soon with more examples so stay tuned for that one. Amazing tech!
Sorry to hear that but it's blind to the sides and top so you have to be careful. Even still, it does have some sensing on the sides since the front and rear sensors can detect a pretty wide range in the horizontal direction. APAS helps out when you're flying into a crowded space and can help you safely navigate through it. Stop back soon for more content. Rick
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! I crash-landed mine. Here's what happened.. I flew it out about 300 feet out and 200 feet up to film fireworks about a mile away. yeah.. going out did not do much. I had it on cinematic. I hit Return-to-Home and it started back,, but I canceled that because there were MORE FIREWORKS.. they fooled me with a faux finale. When it was over I hit what I thought was the RTH button again.. but it was the LAND button. So it came straight down.. and it gave me some error on the screen about ALTITUDE.. forget teh exact language. But it came down fast.. was a good 15 feet away from my landing pad and it did not slow down and assk for approval to land (apparently I had just given my approval was it was about 50 feet up). But now I am away that, should I cancel RTH.. I need to be careful and, perhaps, manually bring it in. I had some cheal landing gear on it. nothing broke but the drone did flip over. It is fine.
I have tested the APAS on the Mavic 3 and it works the same but can't fit through the tight spaces like the Mini 3 Pro. APAS creates a safety "bubble" around the drone and uses that to judge the clearance it needs. With the Mini 3 Pro being smaller, it can fit through really small gaps like I showed at the end of that clip. I was really surprised to see that DJI was able to build that into the Mini 3 Pro and still keep it under the 250 grams. I'll have more APAS content posting soon so be sure to stop back for that. Rick
Side sensors vs no side sensors. As someone who "circle strafes" a lot, I wish my mini 3 had side sensors. The mini3pro is blind when flying left/right. That's why it allows you to "disable sideways flight" in the menu.
Thanks for the post and it's interesting that you mentioned that because I'm working on a clip comparing the two. The short answer is that Skydio is great for avoiding objects in open spaces but stops dead in its tracks in tight locations like this. Because the Mini 3 Pro is small, it can scoot in between the trees better than the Skydio. I fly (and love) them both but they are different animals.
Thanks for the post and DJI did the best they could with 3 directional sensing. The Mini 4 Pro is a full 360 degree protection so that one is bulletproof. With the Mini 3 Pro, it;s hard to crash it if you have APAS turned on and don't come down on something.
Sorry Rick but you can crash this drone. Albeit it avoided obstacles, I had signal loss within 50 metres distance at 3 metres high and instead of returning home or hovering it landed and it ripped its arm from the body of the drone. DJI have replaced the aircraft but haven’t given an explanation as to why it landed.
Crashed mine twice in 3weeks, first one was definitely my fault. Second crash was the one they sent me threw DJI Care refresh. Was flying and it just shut the front two motors off... contacted DJI and they sent me a new one asap. Getting it today! 100% rate DJI costomer service 10 out of 10
Thanks for the post but I sent it into the woods over 30 times and never hit a tree. Once you turn on APAS, the Mini 3 Pro devotes most of it's processing power to detecting and avoiding objects. if it's unsure, it reverts back to OA and stops the drone in its tracks. The only thing it could miss would be a thin wire or small branch but other than that, it's foolproof.
@@Dronevalley Thanks for the reply Rick. My point was after reading the title. "You can't crash this drone", and the comment you wrote back. "The only thing it could miss would be a thin wire or small branch". Love your channel Rick. Thanks for keeping us informed on the latest tech stuff.
@@shsechas Chas, no worries and nothing is 100%. The new APAS 4.0 is amazing and most fliers use it in a more open space. I was trying to really test it by flying through the forest. I purposely picked the Pine Barrens because of the gnarly trees and brush in there for the test to really push it. I'd trust it, but I always check the area for wires and other "snags" before flying.
@@Dronevalley Thanks again Rick for reading your followers comments and replying. Just though the title was off. You have a great channel. I have learned over the years. Think with your head! Not with your heart! Sometimes hard to do that. Appreciate You!!!
If you want good video footage obstacle avoidance should be off. If you look for lost kids it should probably be on... But the problem is that you can't trust it.
Nope, I'm just blown away at how well it can predict movement through a very complex environment. You have to admit that it's spooky good in dodging those trees. And DJI fit all of that tech into a drone that weighs less than 250g.
LOL, what I meant with the title is that if you have APAS turned on, you can fly through a really complex environment and not worry about hitting something. You can see from the video examples that the drone will located and avoid obstacles while flying forward and keep you from crashing. I didn't mean that you couldn't EVER crash the drone, just that it does all it can to help you avoid that. Stay tuned for more as I have a clip posting this week that talks about the 2 most common reasons for a crash near the ground.
Doug, APAS isn't as good to the sides and when I fly in tight locations like that I turn off sideways flight in the app to avoid movements to the side. Even still, you see it sliding a little when flying since it can still detect larger objects to the sides in flight.
@SECRET CREEK PROSPECTING Right, that's because there isn't any. That's my point. It won't let you fly it forward, backward, or upward into a tree, but it will absolutely let you fly it sideways into a tree.
Thanks for the post and it almost foolproof. The only thing you might hit is a small wire or tiny branch that the cameras can't pick up. It's also not great in darker settings and I was really pushing it in the late afternoon sunlight, but it still dodged those trees.
James, thanks for the post and I just went and watched his clip. There were three issues with that flight that I've talked about on the channel. He was flying over/near water - that drives the VIO sensors crazy, he had limited GPS - causes drifting and he's flying in a heavily wooded area - trees have a high water content (which is like kryptonite to a radio signal). I can't blame him as the location was amazing and I would have flown it myself but he was up against a lot. I'm also not sure that he had APAS enabled as it would have helped.
Title: You can’t crash this drone. Reality: I crashed it in my first flight and broke it. Obs: I have a Mavic Mini for 3 years and never crashed it 🤡🤡🤡🤡 Conclusion: DJI Mini 3 Pro obstacle avoidance is not trustable, specially that this drone doesn’t have side and upper sensors, doesn’t work in sport mode and some tracking modes.
Luis, most crashes are directly related to pilot error so you must have been doing something a little risky. As for the Mini 3, it has 2 different detection technologies it provides. Crash detection will stop the quad well in advance of it hitting something. This only works in 3 directions so you still have to be careful when flying sideways. The other feature is called APAS and when you turn this one on it will dodge obstacles in front and behind it like I showed in the video. Both of these are to aid the pilot in avoiding crashes. Neither work to the sides or in Sport mode so be super careful in those situations. I hope that helps and happy flying!
Jason, thanks for the post but as I showed in the clip, the APAS detects objects in front, below and behind the drone to craft a path between them. There are no side or top sensors so if you fly in those directions it will still stop before hitting most objects but you have to be a little more careful. Even still, that APAS is amazing for a small drone.
You might not be able to crash this drone, but you also can’t fly it in controlled airspace without jumping through a bunch of annoying & ridiculous steps with DJI to do so. I don't care how great their drones are, I refuse to buy another DJI drone until they offer a permanent NFZ unlock for licensed drone pilots. There's no way I will deal with having to unlock the drone from the manufacturer every time I need to fly in controlled airspace. I get LAANC authorization from the FAA and only fly in controlled airspace when authorized. It makes absolutely zero sense for DJI to restrict their drones like this, and it has cost me a job once where I couldn't get it unlocked in the field, even though I had gotten FAA authorization to fly there. Imagine if a company like Boeing required pilots to unlock the ability to fly in controlled airspace with ridiculous painstaking steps on the Boeing website even though they were licensed to fly and had FAA clearance to do so. This is exactly what DJI is doing to its customers and for the life of me I can’t understand why the majority of people just put up with it. It is beyond stupid and ridiculous.
Thanks for the post but I appreciate the fact that DJI has hard NFZ restrictions embedded in their drones because it prevents the casual hobbyist (80% of the market) from wandering into controlled airspace. All of these approved NFZ's are places that a drone should never be flying without authorization and with DJI they reduce the chances of this happening. They are basically digital fences that stop a drone from violating airspace that is protected and that's a good thing. All of these areas can be unlocked as needed and its a pretty simple process. I don't mean to sound harsh but if you lost a job because you couldn't get the drone unlocked, you were probably rushing the process. DJI may have been the first to take the step of adding NFZ maps to their drones but I'll bet all of the major companies will be adding them as well as soon as RID is in effect. I can tell you that Autel already has them in their software but have not activated them yet. I know it's a pain to have to unlock, but it keeps the skies safer and creates less of hassle for our hobby.
@@Dronevalley It may be fine for unlicensed users, but it’s ridiculous for them not to offer a one time process to unlock it for licensed pilots.. it’s a royal pain in the ass.
@@Dronevalley Also, RID should make it LESS likely to require NFZ restrictions on the drone because the drone will be identifying who is flying, where and when and it will be much easier to catch people flying where they shouldn’t be.
@@billjohnsonseattle I understand that its an extra step but these areas are restricted and the LAANC process grants you a temporary unlock for a specific mission, at a specific time. The FAA needs to control this airspace and by completing the request they know whose flying there and when in case they need to issue a TFR. If they have you a blanket clearance they would never know when drones were in the air or who was flying there.
@@Dronevalley The LAANC process is separate from the DJI unlock and does not unlock the drone. If DJI could incorporate their system into the LAANC system and unlock the drone when you get FAA authorization that would be great, but they don’t. It makes no sense to have to get authorization from two different organizations just to fly one mission, it’s completely stupid, and ridiculous to be double regulated.
Got to love Rick's enthusiasm, it's amazing how drones make us act like little kids sometimes. Nice video as usual Rick. I just got a mini 3 and I love it.
You’re right, I’m 70 years old, and I feel like a kid with this new hobby of mine. I come home from work every day, and I run out to fly, this is the same feeling I had as a youngster coming home from school and flying my cox 049 gas planes.
Brigscott, I can't contain the excitement when flying. It's the one hobby that keeps things thrilling for me, even after all of these years of RC. I'm glad you're enjoying it too.
Herb, the hobby is ageless and I can't imagine a bright sunny day in the future where I won't want to get outside and fly. I love the tech and controlling a flying robot over a beautiful lake in the summer is my happy place.
An incredible gift he has being able to be enthusiastic about yet another a boring DJI drone... Over and over again 😅
@@Siamect Wow, if you hate the tech and the hobby this much, why follow the channel and post nonsense. By any measure, a remote controlled flying robot like the Mini 3 pro that can capture pin-sharp video from thousands of feet away, avoid objects and returns to home when issues arrive is something that should not exist. At my core, I'm a technologist and get excited every time I see a company push the limit of what's possible. Time and again DJI pushes this envelope and it's impossible to not get excited.
Great video. I would like to see you discuss in one of your next tests if, while using APAS, it is able bypass obstacles and not colide with obstacles to the side, up and down - considering it doesn't have sensors in those directions. For example - as your moving forward toward a tree with APAS, might it shift sideways into another tree?
Great demo of how APAS works on the Mini 3 Pro. Pretty amazing stuff really. Thanks for sharing Rick.
Great video I always find you very informative. I have a mini two which I love and next week I’m going to put in an order for the mini three pro. I’m like a little kid. I purchased all the accessories ….hard case, landing gear, silicone controller cover, battery bag etc. so now I’m pumped for the drone and fly more combo.
At 70 this hobby keeps me young!
Fellow 70 YO...Sing it LOUD, brother!
Well Rick, I found one of the limitations of APAS, the hard way!
I was flying my Mini 3 Pro along the edge of a wooded area and it clipped some small thin branches. APAS is not sensitive enough to see them. Of course I broke a prop, but when the Mini 3 hit the ground it also broke the front right arm rotating axis. This was back in mid October and there wasn't one single replacement arm axis to be found in the US or Canada. Had to wait on that proverbial slow boat from China. Now, they are in stock again at several suppliers and I ordered some spares. Luckily there was no damage to the arm itself. Although there is very little room to work, you can replace the arm axis without having to open up the main body!
Watched a guy on TH-cam totally abusing a Mini 3 (running head first into trees, dumping water and dirt on it while hovering ... I clipped a twig and I was down for the count!!!
Enjoy your videos and appreciate the "to the point" tutorials!!!
Walt. sorry to hear about your crash and the APAS can miss small wires and thin branches that are almost impossible to avoid, especially if they're coming in at an angle off center. It's also a little less reactionary in darker environments where it has a hard time with shadows. Even still, it's an amazing tech that I'm still impressed they were able to include in a drone this small. I really appreciate your support and I hope you'll stop back soon for the Christmas giveaways.
I've that guys video, he does it frequently with different drones
I wonder if prop guards would help that?
@@thomashardy9994 ,probably from getting broken but sometimes they can cause your front if too close to a tree can cause it to get stuck from my experience
@@thomashardy9994 They might, but that takes some of the fun out of it! HA! Seriously, I don't think any solution is fool-proof.
Excellent demonstration thanks!
Thanks for the vid. Just purchased and looking forward to many “crashless” adventures
As usual, a great video! I’m hoping to upgrade from my mini two to this drone from Santa.
Hi Rik, great video buddy. My Mini 2 has exact same features as of brake and APAS.... Would my mini 2 work just as good at this? I know mini 3 pro is more advanced, but again will my mini 2 cope quite well in same conditions buddy?
I utilize this drone at its fullest and love love it great video
Subscribed. Looking forward to your follow-up video on APAS and its limitations on the drone.
I've been using SanDisk Extreme Pro SD cards for my drones up to now. Which specific SD card do you recommend?
I also noticed that the SanDisk Extreme 128 GB and 256 GB each claim a read speed of up to 190 MB/s and a write speeds of up to 130 MB/s and the Extreme Pro 256 GB respectively have a read speed of up to 200 MB/s and a write speed of up to 140 MB/s. Will either of these options work? According to DJI they will, but will they yield optimal performance?
Excellent Tutorial Video. Thank You Rick.
That was excellent!
excellent video..thanks
That is truly incredible. Great video
Pretty cool now how does this updated system compares to that of the Mavic Air?
We have 2 levels of APAS on Mavic 3. Plus it interfaces with Active Track 5.0, providing directional track a'la Skydio 8 directional point compass/parallel tracking (switchable)
Anyway the new addition, somewhere around v01.00.0600 brought "Nifty and standard" APAS. "Nifty" pops up a warning ⚠️ stating it will be smoother (much needed as Mavic 3 can be ridiculously twitchy in close quarters with obstacles) -and fly CLOSER and more steady past objects. This is best experienced when flying line of sight, and/or slower speeds -NOT as DC Rainmaker did on his bike running it through the gauntlet!
Mini 3 is smoother than most DJI in this type of scenario. It's always Nifty. Lol 😆
The laugh at 3:11 is the best part of the video😂
Wow. That’s amazing!
great and logic deduction about apas stealling cpu power, will see your next video about that. suuuuper interesting topic
What micro SD card do you recommend to fully capture the potential of this drone?
a faster one, and bigger....
@@h_d_ I've been using SanDisk Extreme Pro SD cards for my drones up to now. Which specific SD card do you recommend?
I also noticed that the SanDisk Extreme 128 GB and 256 GB each claim a read speed of up to with card offload speeds of up to 190 MB/s and a write speeds of up to 130 MB/s and the Extreme Pro 256 GB respectively have a read speed of up to 200 MB/s and a write speed of up to 140 MB/s. Will either of these options work? According to DJI they will, but will they yield optimal performance?
Thank you for this video. I'm considering the mini 3 pro, would be my first drone. What's holding me back is l'm a quadriplegic in a wheelchair and if I crash it wouldn't be able to retrieve it. And just like this video, I would want to fly it through the state forest. These features might make it worth the purchase for me.
Nice review Rick, works very well. I am amazed. 👍
Can you do a video explaining what the forced remote ID update from DJI to the Mini 3 Pro entails for the hobbyist flyer? Will the hobbyist that has not registered their Mini 3 Pro with the FAA still be tracked with remote ID?
I contacted DJI support specifically regarding this, being forced Remote ID firmware when a person flies sub-250 and recreational, thus outside of the registration requirements. DJI wanted me to confirm that I only had "standard" batteries. I didn't get farther with them because I had a "plus" battery and I have since decided that flying with Remote ID just isn't that big of a deal to me considering I typically fly in very remote areas where there is nobody to receive the signal anyway. It's less of a hassle for me personally to just register and be done with it and use whatever batteries and landing gear (added weight) I want. But to someone who refuses Remote ID on principle, I know you can contact DJI about it. Their customer support is actually usually pretty easy to reach. They may want to confirm what batteries you have, to ensure you are exempt from the remote ID requirements. Another thing is I didn't want my device hamstrung in any way or prevented from using the "plus" batteries if I ever decided to. So I opted out of my pursuit to fly without remote ID.
@@adcraziness1501 Thanks so much. That's good to know!
So by using the fly more batteries, you technically would have to register the drone due to the battery weight pushing the drone above 249g. Wow.
@@adcraziness1501 So I spoke directly to a DJI supervisor and they didn't care if I had the extended batteries or not. They said since they can't differentiate between the professional (part 107) flyer vs the recreational hobbyist, they are turning on Remote ID for everyone. They also said that every single new drone that they make from December 2022 and into the future, will have Remote ID. They didn't care about the FAA not requiring the hobbyist under 250g being exempt from Remote ID. It's absolutely rediculous what they are forcing. They will surely lose some sales over this.
@@thomza Oh wow, well it seems the Chinese company has made its position clear. I think this will be my last DJI device, then.
Hi, I just got the batt plus pack kit and wondering what is the maximum voltage when it is 100% charged, because mine have different voltage, for example batt plus no. 1 voltage for cell 1 and cell 2 are the same on 4.20V on the other hand the no. 2 batt plus for cell 1 is 4,20V and for cell 2 is 4,19V...is these normal? thanks in advance
I learned something there. Make some videos about when you have more things turned on like 4 k it slows the by pass down. I didn't know that but makes perfect sense.
I'm working on a clip covering that detail this week. I just finished another clip explaining the difference between Crash Detection and Obstacle Avoidance that will post in a day or two. Be sure to check that one out, it's got some pretty cool footage in it.
You are a braver man than me! hahahaha. Thanks for testing
Do you have any info about the upcoming mini 3? Obstacle avoidance, apas being dropped to lower price to the consumer. I'm guessing these features must be dropped to make a more affordable version of the 3 pro.
Hey Rick, one thing that will prevent your obstacle avoidance from working properly, is trying to fly the drone in your house. Especially in the evening, even with all the lights on. It will prevent obstacle avoidance from operating at all
Thanks for sharing keep it up 👍🙏
Good video Rick
Lyn, thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great Holiday! Be sure to stop back soon for the 12 Days of Drone Valley Christmas.
APAS om Mavic Air 2 is ridiculous! I HATE the decisions it makes on its own....this is very impressive!
Hi Rick ! Long time we haven't talk to each other Brother Rick ! Nice to see you doing your Stuff , my Computer has gone through the Edoes , hahaaa , that is what we say down here , I don't get much of a chance to shout you but I am using my phone right now as I am at home today . Take Care Rick .
Hey. This video makes me want to get it even more. If it wasn’t so expensive, I would have it already. I enjoyed it. Thanks for the content and hard work.
Thanks for the post and it's an amazing drone and a ton of fun to fly. The APAS tech is like something from NASA and really helps to protect the drone. I know it's pricey but a boatload of fun for the money. It's one of the few hobbies that you'll never outgrow. Stay tuned for more clips posting soon to lure you into the Mini 3 Pro camp.
Get the Mini 2! A used Mini 2 is the single greatest value in electronics history. Without exaggerating. I’m a professional drone cinematographer and love my Mini 2, probably more than my Mini 3. No question the Mini 3 is better at night, but otherwise, they’re almost exactly the same. Join the flying camera gang Stephanie!
I have had my DJI Mavic 2 Zoom for over 3 years without any problem. The other day I was out flying around grain elevators they were tearing down. I got all my video and stills I need and changed the battery. I wanted to run that battery down to about 50% so I started flying around about 20' in a vacant parking lot. I did not see that small power wire running over the lights in the parking lot. I looked up from my iPad and saw what looked like a buzzard that had exploded. I looked back at the iPad and my camera was pointing at the asphalt.
I had insurance from State Farm so we picked up the pieces and headed to their office. I showed the insurance agent what had happened. She told me get it fixed and send them a bill. The damage was the front left collision sensor and several propellers. I also broke my #4 ND filter.
I sent the drone back to DJI in Fort Worth, Tx. They said they were going to fix it but when I got it back it was a brand new drone. I paired it up, went through all the menu settings, did the updates and I was good to go.
It's great that State Farm insures drones and treated me as I expected. That's the best insurance for drone flying I have ever seen.
I went ahead and put my cars and home onto State Farm.
Was looking at the mini 2… u may have just sold me on the 3
Very cool informative video 👍
A wonderful "Mini" I fly this more than my "Air 2 S
can you fly this thing inside?
Man that’s pretty cool Rick hope your doing well old buddy
Great to have you stopping by and I hope you;re still getting a lot of good airtime! The APAS tech is pretty amazing and I love when a company innovates like this to make flying safer. I'll have another clip posting soon with more APAS details. Have a great holiday!
he sounded like an NFL play by play guy for a sec LOL
Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment and only wish I was paid that well.
Nice one DV... Should have sent it a little further though...
Thanks, I did send it pretty far in with the section at the end and will have another clip on APAS soon with more examples so stay tuned for that one. Amazing tech!
I crashed my m3p. In sports mode as it disables the crash avoidance.
Touchdown!
So cool 🤝😎
Thanks for the post and I'm glad that you enjoyed the clip!
Its Not good with small/thin branches
the problem is when its tracking you and avoiding stuff it slows down and it loses you some times, a good thing to note
Rick, would you consider the Mini 3 Pro to be an upgrade over the Air 2S?
I'll be happier when I get mine,probably after Christmas
Nice video
but I crashed it under a tree when going up to the sky ...
No proximity sensor when going up ...
The drone fell on the ground loudly
Sorry to hear that but it's blind to the sides and top so you have to be careful. Even still, it does have some sensing on the sides since the front and rear sensors can detect a pretty wide range in the horizontal direction. APAS helps out when you're flying into a crowded space and can help you safely navigate through it. Stop back soon for more content. Rick
Nice video, but how many times did you say Mavic 3 Pro at the end? Lol.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! I crash-landed mine. Here's what happened.. I flew it out about 300 feet out and 200 feet up to film fireworks about a mile away. yeah.. going out did not do much. I had it on cinematic. I hit Return-to-Home and it started back,, but I canceled that because there were MORE FIREWORKS.. they fooled me with a faux finale. When it was over I hit what I thought was the RTH button again.. but it was the LAND button. So it came straight down.. and it gave me some error on the screen about ALTITUDE.. forget teh exact language. But it came down fast.. was a good 15 feet away from my landing pad and it did not slow down and assk for approval to land (apparently I had just given my approval was it was about 50 feet up). But now I am away that, should I cancel RTH.. I need to be careful and, perhaps, manually bring it in. I had some cheal landing gear on it. nothing broke but the drone did flip over. It is fine.
I heard apas does not work when recording at any 4k fps
That's not true. It only doesn't work in sport mode.
@@scottytdrone Thanks for responding 🙂 That's what I'd hoped, part of the reason I bought the 3pro is cuz it had that 👍
I just came to respond to the title and say that I have crashed my drone only 4 days in...... shipped to DJI and waiting for an answer......
My broke 5 days in. My replacement arrives Monday 🎉 will be very cautious second time around!!
Have you compared the mini 3 vs the mavic 3 apas systems?
I have tested the APAS on the Mavic 3 and it works the same but can't fit through the tight spaces like the Mini 3 Pro. APAS creates a safety "bubble" around the drone and uses that to judge the clearance it needs. With the Mini 3 Pro being smaller, it can fit through really small gaps like I showed at the end of that clip. I was really surprised to see that DJI was able to build that into the Mini 3 Pro and still keep it under the 250 grams. I'll have more APAS content posting soon so be sure to stop back for that. Rick
Side sensors vs no side sensors. As someone who "circle strafes" a lot, I wish my mini 3 had side sensors. The mini3pro is blind when flying left/right. That's why it allows you to "disable sideways flight" in the menu.
You keep calling it a Mavic 3 Pro. Which is it, Mavic or Mini?
Nothing beats Skydio
Thanks for the post and it's interesting that you mentioned that because I'm working on a clip comparing the two. The short answer is that Skydio is great for avoiding objects in open spaces but stops dead in its tracks in tight locations like this. Because the Mini 3 Pro is small, it can scoot in between the trees better than the Skydio. I fly (and love) them both but they are different animals.
*except when flying sideways
I beg to differ...voice of experience
Thanks for the post and DJI did the best they could with 3 directional sensing. The Mini 4 Pro is a full 360 degree protection so that one is bulletproof. With the Mini 3 Pro, it;s hard to crash it if you have APAS turned on and don't come down on something.
👍
I sure as heck can! 😂🤣😂🤣
🙂👍
Sorry Rick but you can crash this drone. Albeit it avoided obstacles, I had signal loss within 50 metres distance at 3 metres high and instead of returning home or hovering it landed and it ripped its arm from the body of the drone. DJI have replaced the aircraft but haven’t given an explanation as to why it landed.
Well bro guess what ? Mine crashed 😪
Crashed mine twice in 3weeks, first one was definitely my fault. Second crash was the one they sent me threw DJI Care refresh. Was flying and it just shut the front two motors off... contacted DJI and they sent me a new one asap. Getting it today! 100% rate DJI costomer service 10 out of 10
Flying it sideways...
Not true, I crashed and destroyed 2 of them, one into tree beaches and the other into a river.
The OA on drones have come a long way. Can you crash your Mini3. Of course you can! Even with OA turned on.
Thanks for the post but I sent it into the woods over 30 times and never hit a tree. Once you turn on APAS, the Mini 3 Pro devotes most of it's processing power to detecting and avoiding objects. if it's unsure, it reverts back to OA and stops the drone in its tracks. The only thing it could miss would be a thin wire or small branch but other than that, it's foolproof.
@@Dronevalley Thanks for the reply Rick. My point was after reading the title. "You can't crash this drone", and the comment you wrote back. "The only thing it could miss would be a thin wire or small branch". Love your channel Rick. Thanks for keeping us informed on the latest tech stuff.
@@shsechas Chas, no worries and nothing is 100%. The new APAS 4.0 is amazing and most fliers use it in a more open space. I was trying to really test it by flying through the forest. I purposely picked the Pine Barrens because of the gnarly trees and brush in there for the test to really push it. I'd trust it, but I always check the area for wires and other "snags" before flying.
@@Dronevalley Thanks again Rick for reading your followers comments and replying. Just though the title was off. You have a great channel. I have learned over the years. Think with your head! Not with your heart! Sometimes hard to do that. Appreciate You!!!
@@shsechas Thanks Chas, I appreciate you following the channel for so long and all of your support. Looking forward to a great 2023!
they all crash buddy haha
👍👍✌️
If you want good video footage obstacle avoidance should be off. If you look for lost kids it should probably be on... But the problem is that you can't trust it.
Did DJI pay You to write that title?
Okey, the protective algoritms are impressive, but......
Nope, I'm just blown away at how well it can predict movement through a very complex environment. You have to admit that it's spooky good in dodging those trees. And DJI fit all of that tech into a drone that weighs less than 250g.
You can't crash? You CAN'T crash? YOU CAN'T crash? You don't know me very well, do you? 😉
LOL, what I meant with the title is that if you have APAS turned on, you can fly through a really complex environment and not worry about hitting something. You can see from the video examples that the drone will located and avoid obstacles while flying forward and keep you from crashing. I didn't mean that you couldn't EVER crash the drone, just that it does all it can to help you avoid that. Stay tuned for more as I have a clip posting this week that talks about the 2 most common reasons for a crash near the ground.
Fly it sideways in those trees and you'll be posting a new video entitled "You CAN crash this drone!"😁
Doug, APAS isn't as good to the sides and when I fly in tight locations like that I turn off sideways flight in the app to avoid movements to the side. Even still, you see it sliding a little when flying since it can still detect larger objects to the sides in flight.
@SECRET CREEK PROSPECTING Right, that's because there isn't any. That's my point. It won't let you fly it forward, backward, or upward into a tree, but it will absolutely let you fly it sideways into a tree.
🤔... I hate to say it man but it can be crashed but you literally have to try to crash it
Thanks for the post and it almost foolproof. The only thing you might hit is a small wire or tiny branch that the cameras can't pick up. It's also not great in darker settings and I was really pushing it in the late afternoon sunlight, but it still dodged those trees.
me who crashed it the first day i got it: 💀
Love your vlogs but, no intentions of bursting your bubble you obviously haven’t watched Ian in London last couple of vid’s on this drone…
James, thanks for the post and I just went and watched his clip. There were three issues with that flight that I've talked about on the channel. He was flying over/near water - that drives the VIO sensors crazy, he had limited GPS - causes drifting and he's flying in a heavily wooded area - trees have a high water content (which is like kryptonite to a radio signal). I can't blame him as the location was amazing and I would have flown it myself but he was up against a lot. I'm also not sure that he had APAS enabled as it would have helped.
Go Sportz!
Title: You can’t crash this drone.
Reality: I crashed it in my first flight and broke it.
Obs: I have a Mavic Mini for 3 years and never crashed it 🤡🤡🤡🤡
Conclusion: DJI Mini 3 Pro obstacle avoidance is not trustable, specially that this drone doesn’t have side and upper sensors, doesn’t work in sport mode and some tracking modes.
Luis, most crashes are directly related to pilot error so you must have been doing something a little risky. As for the Mini 3, it has 2 different detection technologies it provides. Crash detection will stop the quad well in advance of it hitting something. This only works in 3 directions so you still have to be careful when flying sideways. The other feature is called APAS and when you turn this one on it will dodge obstacles in front and behind it like I showed in the video. Both of these are to aid the pilot in avoiding crashes. Neither work to the sides or in Sport mode so be super careful in those situations. I hope that helps and happy flying!
you can crash this drone.
Jason, thanks for the post but as I showed in the clip, the APAS detects objects in front, below and behind the drone to craft a path between them. There are no side or top sensors so if you fly in those directions it will still stop before hitting most objects but you have to be a little more careful. Even still, that APAS is amazing for a small drone.
You might not be able to crash this drone, but you also can’t fly it in controlled airspace without jumping through a bunch of annoying & ridiculous steps with DJI to do so.
I don't care how great their drones are, I refuse to buy another DJI drone until they offer a permanent NFZ unlock for licensed drone pilots. There's no way I will deal with having to unlock the drone from the manufacturer every time I need to fly in controlled airspace. I get LAANC authorization from the FAA and only fly in controlled airspace when authorized. It makes absolutely zero sense for DJI to restrict their drones like this, and it has cost me a job once where I couldn't get it unlocked in the field, even though I had gotten FAA authorization to fly there. Imagine if a company like Boeing required pilots to unlock the ability to fly in controlled airspace with ridiculous painstaking steps on the Boeing website even though they were licensed to fly and had FAA clearance to do so. This is exactly what DJI is doing to its customers and for the life of me I can’t understand why the majority of people just put up with it. It is beyond stupid and ridiculous.
Thanks for the post but I appreciate the fact that DJI has hard NFZ restrictions embedded in their drones because it prevents the casual hobbyist (80% of the market) from wandering into controlled airspace. All of these approved NFZ's are places that a drone should never be flying without authorization and with DJI they reduce the chances of this happening. They are basically digital fences that stop a drone from violating airspace that is protected and that's a good thing. All of these areas can be unlocked as needed and its a pretty simple process. I don't mean to sound harsh but if you lost a job because you couldn't get the drone unlocked, you were probably rushing the process. DJI may have been the first to take the step of adding NFZ maps to their drones but I'll bet all of the major companies will be adding them as well as soon as RID is in effect. I can tell you that Autel already has them in their software but have not activated them yet. I know it's a pain to have to unlock, but it keeps the skies safer and creates less of hassle for our hobby.
@@Dronevalley It may be fine for unlicensed users, but it’s ridiculous for them not to offer a one time process to unlock it for licensed pilots.. it’s a royal pain in the ass.
@@Dronevalley Also, RID should make it LESS likely to require NFZ restrictions on the drone because the drone will be identifying who is flying, where and when and it will be much easier to catch people flying where they shouldn’t be.
@@billjohnsonseattle I understand that its an extra step but these areas are restricted and the LAANC process grants you a temporary unlock for a specific mission, at a specific time. The FAA needs to control this airspace and by completing the request they know whose flying there and when in case they need to issue a TFR. If they have you a blanket clearance they would never know when drones were in the air or who was flying there.
@@Dronevalley The LAANC process is separate from the DJI unlock and does not unlock the drone. If DJI could incorporate their system into the LAANC system and unlock the drone when you get FAA authorization that would be great, but they don’t. It makes no sense to have to get authorization from two different organizations just to fly one mission, it’s completely stupid, and ridiculous to be double regulated.
Fly it sideways and see if it crashes
Actually he talks too much
Dude, if you’re not enjoying these densely packed technical clips, just pass and wait for the next exciting and enlightening installment.
Naw I disagree. I watched tons of videos on drones before purchasing. He speaks a perfect amount.