DJI Mini 4 Pro Auto & Bike Active Track Test Review - UNEXPECTED!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ธ.ค. 2023
- In-depth Auto & Bike Active Track test review for the DJI Mini 4 Pro. The results were totally UNEXPECTED! Mini 4 Pro amzn.to/45jasat
Wow! I really was not expecting this outcome! DJI says big updates are coming to hopefully improve the shortcoming seen in this video. Don't miss my follow up review.
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Aloha,
- Dustin & Family - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
You said it right there m8. You fly these tests to find the limits so we don't find the limit ourselves by mistake. Thank you for risking you're drone for me and everyone else that watch it 🏴☠️🚁
Thank you! That's exactly why I share these tests... Not because I enjoy crashing these amazing drones, but to share the honest limitations for everyone to be wary of 🍻
By the way, congrats on the pinned comment to the top. This is one of the main reasons I do these reviews. For knowledge to everyone for what these pricey tools can and cannot do 🍻
About ur lost mini 4 i have an theory. What if there was someone that saw the drone and came to It and took it. Or if there were some issues and it just continue to go somewhere and maybe landed on the road?
Maybe a.. portal?
Drones in the 60's 1762
if you go out at dusk or sunrise when there's a large temperature gradient -- you could use an aerial thermal camera to spot the plastic of the drone vs vegetation temps.
Thanks for testing the Mini 4 Pro tracking. I just recently got my Mini 4 Pro and I'm loving it, but I don't plan on trusting it with tracking around obstacles. I really do like flying it with the waypoints though. It really makes nice cinematic videos when you set up a waypoint flight, and my newest video I uploaded shows how it works.
There is no video on your channel about how you set up way points.
You fooled me! 🤣
My DJI Mini 4 Pro is on its way to me for my birthday! Can't wait! 🤩
I also live in a forest with lots of tall trees. I'm disappointed in your test, but glad you did this test. Hopefully, mine will do much better. Thanks for this very informative test.
Happy birthday 🎉. Be careful until the new update coming soon. It should perform much better in 360 tracking 🍻
@@DustinDunnill Thank you, that's good to hear.
If you fly in heavy wooded areas, be sure to use the "low to ground" feature in Focus Track Settings. It will fly among the tree trunks, instead of up in the canopy. Game changer for Active Track. Also, do NOT use "Fast Camera Action" around obstacles. With good lighting the drone will fly fine, avoiding obstacles, but I near had a heart attack with it swooping around branches peeking at me through the gaps!
I have always wanted a Drone but the thought of throwing thousands of dollars away from a simple crash has stopped me from buying one for years. This video has showed me once again just how fragile and easy they are to crash and break. Thanks
Dude. Do what a lot us did years ago. Start with inexpensive brands. Not the cheep ones from walmart. Build your experience and confidence and don’t compare yourself to the pros. By the time your ready to get a good one that fits your needs you’ll have it down. I started with xiami brand and only moved to dji when i was confident. Even then I started with the Spark.
Like he said he’s pushing them to the limits also for like an extra hundred bucks you can get two years of DJI care refresh as long as the drone has pieces to send to them they’ll send you a new one
THIS!@@Brandon-jf9cv
31:45 that's why we love you man.. That's what seperates you from the other channels. Great video man, Happy coming holidays!
Glad you got another. Nobody I trust more with truthful Content!
Hello Dustin, Thank you for your clear explanation of various drone topics. The calm way you explain topics is enlightening to me!
Great testing of the tracking feature on the Mini 4 Pro. I was very impressed. Thanks for sharing.
16:20 Im laughing so hard when his voice slows down too 😂
Oh man, you are getting through a LOT of Mini 4's! Thanks for taking the time to test these to destruction and find their limits :)
No test is a bad test if it gives you information. Nice 17:04
You’re doing a great job. Keep it going 👍🏻
They moved the back-facing sensors towards the front of the drone and that surely gives the controller a huge blind-spot when flying backwards since it can't 'see' through the aircraft body.
Thanks for creating your videos, I'm sure it helps many people avoid such issues themselves. I know that I have been greatly informed by your work, in case I purchase a mini 4, as I am considering.
Thank you for your review
Hopefully DJI acknowledges all that happened in this video and addresses these tracking issues. Because 360° obstacle avoidance is The phone line crash was the one I was curious about.. I previously took my Mini3Pro for a spin in Sicily, tracking me on a motorbike, and it successfully dodged all power lines.
Have they Thought of a little watch battery to run small flashing lights or a homing beacon to make it easier to find the Drones when lost or a bright stripe.
Lost 2 Skydios tracking over water, looks like this would not do any better. Thanks for making this video Dustin!
Great demo of the tracking and obstacle avoidance. Ive had my mini 4 pro for about a month and I havent had the guts to try this on it yet. After this, i think im going to wait for a better firmware update to use it.
Great thorough demonstration. 👍🏾
I should be getting my mini 4 today but man I miss my Skydio drone, they were the king of tracking hands down. This video is nerve wrecking!
Great video. I'm thinking to upgrade from the 3 to the 4, but the omni obstacle avoidance is one of the main reasons, and if it's...well...not exactly great at avoiding obstacles, then perhaps it's best to wait for now.
Great job thanks!! It's good to know its limits before purchase!
Authentic; awesome, thank you!
I can’t believe this DJI needs to fix this bro because that happens to me too , I have my second drone m4p and yesterday crashed so bad in one big tree in active track mode , my mini 3 pro I never had issues like this 😢 I wan my mini 3 pro back 😊
Most funny testing you've done ever Dustin 😃
Glad you enjoyed it
Great information, I just bought mine and I find it frustrating all of you went through!!
I am sorry for the drone repeatedly disappointing you... Your test really discredits this little flying device.
Damn bud, when I saw those wires, I was oooo nooo, just because mine hit them as well, also tree branches with no leaves, aparently if it's thin enough it can't see them
Thank you again for the video, you are teaching us loads
I really enjoy and trust your videos my friend real world work
Thanks! Wouldn't do it any other way. Keep it real 🍻
Best video of drone I ever watched
@DustinDunhill did you consider attaching an airtag to your drones when performing your range tests? It could help to find them in case it doesn't make it back.
Yes but 20grams is a lot of extra weight 🍻
I could very well be wrong but I think the newer air tags are 11 gr....
I just learned the m4p plus battery is about 43 gr. heavier than the standard batt...yikes!
@@DustinDunnill I would remove the outer plastic of the tag and attach it inside of the drone
This was a good review ❤
Lol, “I think we’re done”, as arm is completely deranged. Thanks for pushing the limits and sharing the videos.
Good video, thanks for your efforts. I have an Mini 4 pro and and Air 3 and I like to know how far I can push them. I was amazed the M4 hit a power wire and kept flying! Awesome! If you use superglue on repairs, use either some cement (actual concrete cement) with the superglue. Lay some glue, sprinkle with cement powder, add more glue, and more powder and so on... will be 19 times stronger. Ground up pencil lead or graphite works as good as cement too. Super hard bond. Greetings from Down Under
I heard baking soda works as a good bond with the glue also.
Ví el cable de teléfono antes del accidente mientras estaba pasando el cursor rápido por tu video sin reproducirlo y ahí me dije..."Oh mierda😵nooo..espero que el drone no se enganche con el cable y caiga a la calle! Tuviste mucha, muchisima suerte! Los sensores no detectan esos cables, no lo ven como obstáculo, son demasiados delgados. Hace unos anios, volando con mi Mavic Pro 1, ví los cables recién cuando miré el video en mi televisor...no podía creer lo cerca que había volado sobre esos cables, a penas un par de centímetros.
😲😂 Tengo mi Mini 4 Pro desde navidad, aún no he experimentado nada, solo un par de vuelos normales. Muy buen video, gracias por compartirlo y saludos de un argentino desde Baviera, Alemania!
PD: Lástima que el Skydio no se vende en Europa, no se permite ( no se por que!)..se que es muy bueno!
Subscribed! Just flew my mini4pro for the first time. Like it so far but haven't tried the tracking feature yet. When is new firmware planned to improve this weakness?
Maybe the tracking avoidance would do better with higher density objects. Like trees with leaves instead of needles like pine. Fly above the trees and use your zoom to get a close up shot. Like the power line......just to thin for it to detect and respond. In brushy environment I would have it close as not to loose it's subject as you did. Good test.
Its so crazy how many emotions come up when it goes behind trees not crashing just loosing track.
so sad Sir Dustin, you havent found, but as expected it is what you test the limit and expect for the unexpected.. Fan from Cebu Philippines.. God Bless Sir..
good test!
Have you had a chance to try the tracking over water. I bass fish and want to get one of these for some B footage while I'm fishing. Enjoy your informative videos.
…and I’m just imagining the incredible processing power it has in managing the camera, and 4 props, with the varied limb density of TREES? Holy cow Batman!
Do you recommend this or the air 3?
Are you recording The audio live? If so what are you using to record the audio?
Thank you
Electrical wires, power poles and tree trunks are like magnets for drones.
I'm surprised I never hear anybody else talk about it.
Nice review.
I was stuck to the screen, watching what happens next.
Thinking about purchasing one and was wondering if you have tested the Pro4 over water. I have a TH-cam fishing content channel and was thinking about using one to get some on the water B footage. Enjoy your videos.
Am not a subscriber yet. But I would like to know which one would you recommend me in between the air 2s and the mini 3 pro.
Hmmm I think ill stick with my mini 3 pro and wait for the mini 16 pro to come out! hopefully by then the obstacle avoidance issue would have been sorted?😳
Hey Dustin, when you were doing the dji mavic pro review there wasn't auto focus. I have the mavic pro platinum and I think there is auto focus. What do you do with your old drones? Do u have them in shelfs and only charge batteries
I ment that u did the mavic pro review 7 years ago. U should do an video are old drones usable in 2024
No go for me. Thanks👍🏼👍🏼.
Can it active track under 6feet? Or what's the limit on how low it will active track?
Oh my god i got so excited at start thinking you’d actually found it 😂😂
I think, the M3P did better. They only put now fisheye lenses on the 4 Sensors - Now it sees more angle but that gives the drone less resolution/pixels of the objects in comparison to the mini 3 pro how sees only in the front/back 😢 ...DJI needs 6 cameras or way bigger Obstical Avoidance Sensors to fix those issues!
Hey, there is a new firmware 01.00.0300. Any idea if it became better?
Still an amazing drone
I’m thinking of getting this drone next year for sure. They might have a 5 out by then haha 😂
There will be a 5, a 6, a 7, and so on of course. I bought the Mini 3 Pro on launch, and it's been about a year and a half since then. I've had the Mini since they first had the Mavic Mini with NO GPS, and used Bluetooth. The is really disappointing. It's not like they DON'T have the money to do far more R&D. I hope DJI gets this right, sooner rather than later.
Could it be because your jacket is dark? Might confuse the drone in shadows.
Lol Dustin,, maybe you shouldn't have started the video with a foreshadowing of a crash. Was waiting to see if you found the other mini 4. It has to be in a tree too bad you gave up on her. Great job as usual. That was intense. I think they track better above the treeline height not enough processing power at lower height also the speed of the track slows at lower height.. Great video!!
Haven't given up yet on the lost M4p. Just too much snow on the ground right now 🍻
Any updates on this? Did you eventually find it?
I am trying to further my understanding before I purchase one... my question from yours, as well as others content without you actually making note... when you are on the e-bike and in active tracking, the fact that the display shows two rings for selecting position means it identifies you as a "person" so assumes you are on foot walking...???
1) Doesn't that put the software into a mode thinking you can only walk/run so fast... and that is the cause of it always saying you are moving too fast?
2) Can you change it to think you are an "object" like when in the vehicle so that it drops the "inner ring" and can allow you to travel faster (even tho you are still a person on a bike).
My reason to want one it to capture video of me riding my adventure bike on dirt roads on my travels... seems not being able to track while driving 18-25mph is going to make it unusable for this application...
Last thing... I think you need to have some lower level of expectation. I imagine if you are actually "flying" the drone using a lower resolution display (similar to the object avoidance cameras) and trying to zip along at 20mph AND predict the direction of travel... you as a human "pilot" would probably fly into a tree because you just cannot react fast enough... So, then, why do you expect the drone's reationary software to operate better than a "novice" drone pilot? maybe it is not possible yet...
Great video - My opinion is, at this price range and the poor flight algorithm along with the choice of plastic, makes this a "NO" for me.
I appreciate the hard effort and time you have put into this. I'm now subscribing to your channel. Great work.
Wow! I've been considering getting into drones as a hobby and, after much research, decided my best bet was the DJI mini 4, which I planned to purchase just after Xmas (hoping there's a sale). But now I'm not so sure.
It's a fantastic drone just not there for autonomous obstacle avoidance....yet🍻
@@DustinDunnill I settled on the DJI Mini 3 and am enjoying it.
Good choice. Still a very capable generation 🍻
Looks like the obstacle sensors are still not good. Why can't it detect tree in front and automatically increase height?
It seems like they're using different sensor in front, doesn't it? Or the back & sides aren't programmed to respond with the data as when using the front camera.
When losing tracking of you, I envision a b&w setting and when you pass through the shadows of the trees, you become one with the shadow. It seems like it almost needs a heat signature to focus on... but I do like the changes in the 4 vs the 3, based on the various videos I've watched. I kinda like the mini 4.
Thanks for testing all the sensors. There's always room for improvement. If they fixed everything at once, we'd have nothing to look forward to. LOL
They changed sensors and placement for rear on this one. Perhaps this has something to do with rear obstacle sensing effectiveness not being so great 🍻
@@DustinDunnill definitely something to look into. The rear is off somewhere.
I'll wait for the Mini 9 Pro.
😂🍻🎄
waiting for IPhone 50😂
Gott sei Dank hast Du sie gefunden. Grüße from Germany
That was fun. I had fun anyway.
it didn't see you coz your shirt camouflaged with the asphalt in a way, I guess
Could be part of it. The lighting really affected it but it lost the car pretty easily also 🤔
@@DustinDunnill yes the car thing got me surprised, I expected better behavior.
I'm glad i watched this, I had this drone in my cart and was ready to buy, needless to say, I will not be purchasing it now, thank you for this video!
Hi Dustin. Been watching your videos from the first China knock off drones. 😅.
Curious, what mic set up are you using. Dji? It sounds good. Thanks.
In that corner where the drones keeps losing track, I am speculating that the drone is looking at the road trying to anticipate your forward direction. In the video I noticed there is a driveway at the curve. It possible the drone is calculating that you will continue on the driveway, which is less of a curve, rather than follow the sharper curve in the road (picking between the two). Without the driveway, it is likely the drone would follow the curve. Just an educated guess.
Typically, any semi-pro use of the footage would be edited clips of just a few seconds. In other words, the tracking software is likely optimized for short, and highly controlled, scenarios. Clearly much more improvement can be done.
I think DJI should add a mode like Dronelink that it uses Signal and tracks you from 50-80m
Definitely an extreme test tracking vehicles with trees on all sides. IMHO tracking moving vehicles from the front is never going to work well without a massive increase in computing power. The drone has no way of predicting which way the target or the roadway is going to turn, so it winds up out of position amid the trees. Also attempting an orbit on a moving target, on a narrow road with trees all around, is probably an unrealistic demand. Surviving the first crash mostly unscathed was good. Recovering from hitting the wire without falling to the asphalt was impressive. The final fatal crash goes back to my first comment regarding tracking from the front. You can see the drone failed to predict the turn, flew straight on as the road turned, then attempted to get back out front, ultimately leading to the inevitable fatal crash. Hopefully you had Refresh? $65 & a few days & you'll be back in the air with a new drone.
I agree the Skydio is superior at sport tracking, however, in my opinion the recorded footage from a Skydio is terrible when it comes to cinematic quality. The Skydio dances all over the place like a squirrel in the roadway. It's like hiring the cameraman from the Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield. DJI wins the cinematic award every time. Also the Skydio isn't much fun to fly manually. For the ultimate tracking you need to put Joshua Bardwell in the passenger seat with an FPV quad. Then you'll have awesome tracking at highway speeds! :)
Aw man... But nice chopper though 😊👍
That last crash at the end, I think you had put the avoidance into 'Nifty'? In nifty, the avoidance is a bit optimistic... it takes more risk than usual... hence the warning. I see the avoidance like a rev limiter in a car... the rev limiter is not to notify you when to change gears, it is there to stop you accidentally busting your motor. Many (especially young) drivers seem to change gears about 2 seconds after they hit the rev limiter haha. I reckon the stage we are at with obstacle avoidance, is not yet 'full autonomy'... it is there so if you are about to fly into something, it will warn you at least, then try to get around whatever is in the way... but we still need to be watching. I don't believe we can rely on avoidance at speed in tight places just yet... I am sure DJI are working on it.
You did a great job Dustin but very wrong you needed to put the active track in vehicle mode not person mode even though your on a bike it’s a vehicle and the drone acts way better when following and does a lot better when at higher speeds if you put it in the right mode vehicle mode is not just for cars and efficient the speed and actions of the mini 4 pro drone. It’s also worth noting that it’s had a few more updates on active track since this video. Keep up the great work please your vids are great for people .
I agree.. on the bike he was traveling faster than a person would typically travel making it hard for the drone to see him and track him which was prolly throwing off the obstacle avoidance because Iv seen these drones not avoid well when they have to also try and find you or locate you at the same time.. it doesn’t know whether it should look for you or avoid an obstacle obstacle which causes it to not detect soon/early enough and crash.
I think he should redo this test when he gets his replacement drone and try again
Also it’s well known that the mini 4 doesn’t see pine trees very well.. pine trees for the mini sensors are like trees with no leaves basically so it had that going against it also
Ok I'm thinking of if you are an xgames type guy and going for that jump or that big turn I'm sure it would do so so I believe
Dustin, Question: Why were you setting distance from your target (yourself) with the sticks and camera zoom? It wont hold that way. You have to go into "FocusTrack Settings" under control menu to set inner and outter circle distance and altitude for the 2 circles, plus there is a "Low to Ground Flight" toggle that completely keeps Mini 4 out of the tree canopy.
Also, you are correct about the sun. You will get reduced accuracy under these lighting conditions: The lighting is extremely dark (10,000 lux) - its in the User Manual.
The tracking seems to be not working with the big black marks on the road, and clearly no retracking
I thought it’s better to track you on sport mode ? I saw someone’s vide using sport mode tracking mode at 60kmh (30-35 mph)
Wow does that suck!...
Thats one reason I didn't order the Avata. As much as I wanted to get into the FPV Hobby, I figured they would make the mini 4 compatible with goggles soon (I hope) and I could still experience FPV with that.
I recently crashed my C189 MD500 Helicopter up at Oak Flats about a week ago and that was real discouraging. I think it was defective right out of the box… I hit auto takeoff on its maiden voyage, and it took off to about 60 feet and didn't pay any attention to my control input, until I hit the "oh shit" button, and it fell out of the sky bouncing down a ponderosa pine tree. 😂
I got lucky & it didn't bust it but still… Very discouraging.... look me up...I am one of the water haulers up here (Wht truck w/blue tank)...the name of my business is Aquaman (water hauling).
Hopefully you have the care warr. & DJI will take care of fixing your m4p..
Mine should be here Thurs but Im real concerned about the OA issues you were experiencing..
Hey Joe,
Great to hear from a local. You've probably delivered water to one of my mom's cabins on Bobolink. Anyway, there is an update on its way to enable goggle use and improve 360 tracking. I'd stay away from tracking until it improves 🍻
@@DustinDunnillAwesome!....Thanks for the heds up.., Im sure a few people might be glad to hear that...Thanks for "taking one" for the team Dustin...👍🏻
Nice Eahora choppa E-bike btw! If you still have your Ariel Grissly, we will have to ride some trails this spring... Ive got a Sondors Rockstar thats pretty coo...
Be carefull. Don't trust obstacles avoidance😊
Where you live is gorgeous! Im jealous and I live in the country lol
DJI gives you drones to test ? Cool.I have the mini 4 pro and never use active track,I also have three other DJI drones I fly but not all at the same time.Buy the air2s if you want a good drone or even the air3 the mini pro4 feels like a toy ,my mini2 feels more substantial.I enjoy your videos they are well made and informative .How would you sell a caravan to a dwarf ? Those that have seen will know what I mean.😊
27:59 .... "I think we're done!"
Come on, man! Slap that battery back in, and hit the GO button! Where's your sense of adventure!! 😁😂🤣😆
Someone’s call got disconnected on that hit! 😂😂
Dude that's not funny. I was really hoping you found the last one.
Either way good stuff as always
Waiting for the snow to clear and I'll keep looking 🍻
Maybe try to wear obvious bright clothes , like contrasting orange vest or something that really stands out in nature
with your lost drone on the range test, why not look at the very last frame of the video and fly the new one to the same view and position and land it, it will give you a rough area of where to start lookin for it.
Wow! so this is the same mini 4 you lost on the range test? How many days was it lost?
It's a new one. The other one is still lost. Looking again after snow melts 🍻
Great vid although I never see the point of active tracking makes more sense to just let it hover in one place and walk into shot
It's extremely convenient when reviewing mobile tech. Also give a unique perspective... when it works 🍻
@@DustinDunnill AHH yes I could see that focus great testing btw👍
what's the point of buying a dji mini 3 or 4 with sensors that are unreliable and will crash the drone, my mini 2 is good and i fly manual mode
Ok as a Dji mini 4 pro owner as well I will say far as the obstacle ovoidance it works great but what I will say while doing your test you were in a heavily wooded area and power lines it is hard for it to see and you did a poor job keeping track of your drone also forced the drone to fly around to the front of you even tho it was big trees around. Far trying to drive fast of course it is going to slow down because it senses obstacles around and doesn't want to crash. You need to test in different areas so you can see its full potential. The drone is great this review doesn't show it
Location mini 4 pro drone update the lost 1.....Walking from the park in the direction of the brown tree, start walking from the brown tree towards your left. Around half the distance from the park to get to the brown tree lenght. Its gonna be around that area , the wind pushes the drone it was windy..
Thanks, weather getting better so it's time to do more searching 🍻
@@DustinDunnillreally hope you find it!
I wonder if your replacement drone had issues because it seems your first mini 4 pro did a much better job avoiding obstacles than your replacement drone did. Be great if you can find the original one!
I am in Argentina..I see your drone tracking ...but I think they have 3 position confronting any obstacle...
Oh dear Dji!!
I love these tests because it shows true tests that aren’t really sponsored by DJI.
I have a Mini 4 Pro coming. I'm not going to trust the tracking after watching this video. Thanks.
Wise choice. Apparently there is a big update soon with improvement 🍻