Table of Contents
Highlights
- Weighs 249g that is less than the guidelines laid down by DGCA. So, need for its registration.
- Has an amazing flight time of estimated 27 minutes.
- HD transmission upto 2.5 miles (Nearly 4kms).
- 3-axis Gimbal with 12MP Camera and 2.7K resolution.
- Easy recording and instant editing with the help of DJI Fly App.
The Best Drone for Beginners India 2020-DJI Mavic Mini
Want some perfect aerial shots for professional photography and videography vlogs? Aspire of exploring this world from the top as if seeing from the eyes of a bird? All these aspirations and fantasies can be fulfilled with the help of the DJI Mavic Mini Fly Cam Drone-The Best Drone for Beginners India 2020.
This stunning entry-level professional drone by DJI (the global leader in civilian drones, aerial imaging, and creative camera technology) is capable of providing the best cinematic shots up to 2.5 miles (4kms), with its 12MP camera for aerial shots and 2.7k HD video quality. When fully charged, it has a decent maximum flight time of 30 minutes, which completely depends on its usage and environment. Making a compact and ultra-light weighted drone of 249g with great features at a cheaper price leads to some compromises as well. Let’s get to know more about this palm-sized powerful fly cam in detail.
#The Best Drone for Beginners India 2020-DJI Mavic Mini
First Impressions And Unboxing:
What you get in the box:
- 1 Mavic Mini
- Quadcopter
- 1 Remote Controller
- 3 Intelligent Flight
- Battery
- Two Way Charging Hub
- A DJI 18W USB
- Charger
- 3 x Pairs of Spare
- Propellers
- 2 Micro USB Cable
- 1 Gimbal Protector
- RC Cable (Lightning
- connector)
- RC Cable (Standard Micro USB connector)
- RC Cable (USB Type-C connector)
- Set Of 360° Propeller Guards
- Spare Control Sticks (Pair)
- 1 Screwdriver
- 18 x Spare Screws
- User Manuals
- Carry Bag
Design & Build
The Mavic Mini comes in a better-looking design than its elder siblings, and is so compact and light weighted that it can be easily carried in your backpack or luggage while traveling. It is palm sized when folded and holding it just feels as if holding a smartphone.
 With a premium color finishing of grey and dark grey, the Mavic mini looks like a spider with four legs. Its front end is featured with the camera with three axis gimble, which is protected by a cover that can be removed when ready to fly. But the front, back and side-end lacks any obstacle avoidance sensors which proves that this fly cam is not crash proof. It does have some sensors at the bottom which will help Mavic mini to fly with stability, especially in indoors and ensure smooth and perfect landings.
 It also has the micro USB slot for charging along with a micro SD card in its slot at the bottom. Just above that is its back panel, which can be opened for sliding in its battery for its functioning. While its main power button is placed at the bottom near its camera.
Mavic Mini’s arms are very thin but still manages to work perfectly and efficiently, thus ensuring stability while flying. But if you’re just starting up fresh with fly cams, do put the 360° propellers, while flying it indoors as well as outdoors as they safeguard drone’s arms and fans.
This fly cam’s ultra-light weight of 249g gives it an advantage of skipping the time-consuming registration with the federal aviation agency of India (DGCA) and agencies of other countries. This is because most of the countries have rules to register a drone above nano category (above 250g). Same rules are also laid down by DGCA in India. Mini requires no need of such registration. Its weight 249g comprises of-drone weight i.e. around 150g and battery weight which is equivalent to 99g. Though Mini doesn’t shakes or becomes unstable in wind during a flight, but still I recommend not to use it in gales or storms because it will definitely lose its control in such situation due to its light weight.
Camera
Talking about its camera, DJI Mavic Mini is mounted on its three-axis gimbal with 1/ 2.3-inches CMOS image sensor for capturing HD stills of 12 MP in three different modes:
- P-Mode (Position Mode)-Default flight mode which makes your aircraft hover at one place for capturing stable shots.
- S-Mode (Sports Mode)-Enable high speed flight for quick travel to the locations of interest for perfect shots.
- C-Mode (Cine Smooth Mode)-Ideal flight mode by slowing down the rotational movement and increasing its control sensitivity for some of the stunning and stable cinematic footage.
The image quality is as best as the image captured by premium smartphones like iPhone 11 Pro or other. It is also capable of capturing low-lights shots by manually changing the shutter speed as long as 4 seconds and keeping the ISO levels upto 3200. But there is a absence of HDR mode in this drone cam unlike its other elder siblings.
It shoots 2.7K HD videos at 30fps and 1080p videos at 60fps. However, it lacks 4K shooting, which its high-end models possess, but still shoots crystal clear casual videos that can be used for vlogging and other purposes. It is not compatible for professional filmmaking as for that, its higher versions like Inspire 1, Inspire 2 and Phantom series are considered the best. But it is the best drone for beginners India 2020.
Mavic Mini offers best shots as if they came from the Bollywood/Hollywood set with its outstanding quick shot modes:
- Dronie-Ascend with the camera pointing downwards for great shots.
- Rocket-Flies upward like a rocket, with camera focusing on the subject.
- Circle-Goes round and round in a circle.
- Helix-Fly upwards and going round and round spiralling around the subject.
These quick shot modes give a professional touch to your videos without any further editing.
Recently, DJI released the Mavic Mini Firmware v01.100.0500 which added manual exposure for videos and manual white balance adjustments to the camera, for giving you command over shutter speed, aperture and ISO for video.
#The Best Drone for Beginners India 2020-DJI Mavic Mini
Controller
Mavic Mini’s controller is equivalent to the size of the drone and is very handy. But unlike the other drone controllers, it doesn’t have an in-built screen for the camera view. Instead, you can attach your phone in the panel provided in the remote control and explore the world through its camera view using the DJI fly app.Â
The clips on the controller holds the phone firmly without letting it go. It is capable of holding large sized phones like iPhone 11 pro max but you may have to remove its hefty and thick cover which may create problem while fitting.
The controller is equipped with removable joysticks, which can be removed when not in use. The left joystick controls the altitude and rotation of the drone while the right one is responsible for its mobility-left, right, forward and backward. Its left palm features a record button while its right palm has a photo capturing button. Its left side also has a micro USB port for charging and connecting phone. All types of phones which have micro USB, type-C and lightning cables can be connected in it. But no button or wheel is there in the controller for adjusting the brightness of the scene which is a drawback. However, you can do such modifications from the DJI fly app.
DJI Fly App
DJI Fly App is the heart of this drone. It provides tutorials for first time drone users. You can take a look on its signal strength, flying mode, altitude, distance, and battery level during the flight, with the help of this app. It also provides an expanded view for composition and shooting by enabling users to do camera adjustments with a single tap, quickly switch between shooting modes, and adjust the gimbal angle on the screen for the perfect shot that the user desires of.
DJI Fly App has plenty of creator templates and special effects for its users so that beginners with no editing experience can win laurels with their videos on social media and other platforms. These templates help its users in instant edit of their shots with just one tap. You can also add predefined music in your shots from this app.
It also helps its customers to discover popular spots near them by offering integrated access to Skypixel, a social media platform where people of different areas and location post their aerial images and shots.
After the edit you can easily share your work to Skypixel and other social media platforms instantly with the help of this app.
Moreover, the app has special safety features like Geofence and Find my drone for helping you out in trouble. Geofence will prevent the take off of the drone if it is in restricted airspace and prevents legal matters. Find My Drone function gives you the exact location of the drone wherever it is if any mishap occurs.
This app is available for both-Android and iOS users and runs perfectly fine on all devices. However, there had been some issues where some android users faced problems regarding the compatibility of app with their devices. So, it’s advisable to check the supported devices for this app on DJI’s website.
Click here to know more about DJI Fly App and its compatibility.
Connectivity & Coverage
Mavic Mini connects through Wi-Fi connection, so that it can show you live camera view from it in the DJI Fly App installed in the phone connected to the controller. Its connection can be maintained upto 2.5 miles (4 kms), that is the last reach of this drone, which seems to be extremely impressive. However, it does undergo spotty signals sometimes when there are lots of obstacles like various Wi-Fi connections in the area.
Its vertical limit is 1600 feet but in India, nano drones are only allowed to go up till 50 feet. However, it does perform well at such heights provided that the wind is not so strong and there are no other obstacles. It has no difficulty in travelling upto 2.5 miles (4kms), but becomes out of sight due to its small size and light weight. However, the Mavic Mini has some inbuilt safety features such as GPS and GLONASS for preventing mishaps and maintaining the stability. It also has an automated return-to-home function so that if the battery of drone is at low levels, one single tap can return it back to home automatically. It also includes a Geofence function in the app, preventing the drone from taking off in restricted airspace so that no legal matters arise.
Moreover, the app’s Find My Drone function works perfectly in locating your Mavic mini if due to any reason your drone is not in sight or has fallen somewhere.
So it makes it a perfect and best drone for beginners India 2020.
Battery
Mavic Mini has a massive battery capacity of 2400mAh in its segment. The company quotes the maximum flight time when fully charged is 30 minutes, which depends on the usage, temperature and other environmental factors. However, it has been noticed that it works properly for 27 minutes if flown in sports mode which is also really impressive as its higher models work only for 18 minutes. There’s the threesome charging case, allowing three batteries to party all night long and get charged.But it lacks the USB type-C charging, which is its drawback.Â
On the other side, its controller has a 2400mAh battery and works constantly for couple of hours during the flight.
#The Best Drone for Beginners India 2020-DJI Mavic MiniÂ
Price and Availability
Being a beginner’s professional drone, the DJI Mavic Mini is priced much lesser than its higher professional variants like the DJI Mavic Pro 2, Mavic Air 2, Phantom series, Inspire 2, etc. Although it has comparatively less features than its elder siblings, still it has a monopoly in its price segment and is the best drone for beginners India 2020
The DJI Mavic Mini Fly More Combo is available on Amazon.in at a price of Rs 67,990 which may update time to time.
Verdict
For vloggers and new photographers, the DJI Mavic Mini, as our title says is the best drone for beginners India 2020. You can take marvellous cinematic shots and clicks with the help of this tiny and light weighted drone.
The main advantage of this drone is its weight, that is, 249g which is less that of the guidelines provided by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). So, anyone can buy this drone and start their take off with it without any legal formalities. Though its lightweight and size may bother you, but believe it that this drone can sustain in normal breezes and winds flawlessly. However, it will not be able to control itself during a rainy or stormy climate due to its lightweight. The main drawback is that its not rain proof, but considering its price, we should ignore it.
Overall, DJI Mavic Mini is a perfect choice for everyone. Though the basic drone, but still it has cool features that you would definitely love. That’s why we named our article “The Best Drone for Beginners India 2020.”