DJI Mini 4K – Best Budget Drone For Beginners in 2024?
Good day folks, Shawn here from Air Photography. Today, DJI has launched a brand new mini drone and it’s simply called the DJI Mini 4K. Essentially, this is built upon the Mini 2 SE with some imaging enhancements, which can be very beneficial for those with imaging as a priority but still want a budget-friendly drone for beginners.
Video Capabilities
The DJI Mini 4K can now record at 4K 30 frames per second and it can also record at 2.7K at 60 frames per second. On top of that, the bitrate got a boost – it can now capture at 100 megabits per second compared to 40 megabits per second of the Mini 2 SE.
Availability and Pricing
Now the DJI Mini 2 SE is still going to be fully available – this is not replacing the Mini 2 SE. The Mini 2 SE will still be available on the DJI website and, in fact, as a bonus it’s going to be decreased in price slightly as well. Instead, the Mini 4K is going to be positioned in between the Mini 2 SE and the Mini 3, giving you a nice variety of low-cost solutions if you’re in the market for a mini drone but don’t want to spend too much money.
Another thing to make note of is this is not going to be a global release – it’s only going to be available in select Countries, most notably on the US Amazon, the EU Amazon, and it will also be available at US Best Buys. It will not be available for purchase on the official DJI website.
Importance of Mini Drones
These mini drones can be very important for many different reasons. First of all, in many countries, the sub-250g drones are less regulated and in some countries, it’s all you can fly. Here in Canada, if you want to fly a drone over 250g, you have to get a license or a drone pilot certificate and they need to be registered with Transport Canada, whereas with the DJI Mini 4K you can bypass all of that. These mini drones are just a nice, simple way to get up and flying without all the heavy regulations in some countries.
Of course, you should be very well aware of the regulations – make sure you understand them in your area before you purchase any drone. But for many people, a sub-250g drone such as the Mini 4K is going to be the perfect choice, and now that it films in 4K, you don’t have to sacrifice that image quality if that is a feature that’s important to you.
DJI Mini 4K Pricing and Bundles
The Mini 4K is going to be priced very competitively at $299 for the base kit that includes the drone, the RC-N1 controller, and one battery. So that’s a lot of tech you’re getting for $299. On top of that, they’re going to have a Fly More Bundle that comes in at $449. With it, of course, you’re going to get the drone, the controller, a total of three batteries, and a charging hub. So again, that’s another great value.
Safety and Reliability
The really nice thing about these mini drones from DJI is that although they are low cost, you’re still getting a safe and reliable drone. There really is no other drone, especially when it comes to mini drones, that fly like a DJI drone – they’re just solid and reliable. Of course, they have all the safety features that we need. They don’t have obstacle avoidance, but they have the failsafe return-to-home, low battery return-to-home, just a lot of redundancies to make sure that you have a safe and successful flight, especially as a beginner. Some of these failsafes are very important.
Ease of Use
When it comes to flight characteristics and ease of use, there’s really nothing like a DJI drone, which can be very important as a new pilot. With GPS hold, you don’t have to worry about the drone drifting away, and the flight controls are smooth and easy to master.
Capturing Content
When it comes to capturing content, of course, we can capture beautiful video and stunning photos, but it also comes with some intelligent flight features such as QuickShots. So even if you’re a brand new pilot, you’re going to be able to get up and get some engaging content for your social media or to share with family and friends. There are many different options when it comes to capturing photos, such as timed shots and bracketed shots if you want to create some nice HDR imagery. You can even capture beautiful panoramas.
Range and Battery Life
Now with the Mini 4K, it has OcuSync 2.0, so it’s rated for 10 km of range. Now most people aren’t going to be flying that far out with a mini drone, but what that means is that you’re going to have a nice solid connection even if you’re in a congested Wi-Fi area. If you’re flying within a city or with a lot of obstacles, a nice solid connection is very important.
On top of that, it has a battery rating of 31 minutes. Now you’re never going to get 31 minutes in a real-world scenario because you’re going to be contending with things like wind, and it also can depend on your flying style – whether you’re flying aggressively and what mode you’re flying in. But just like the Mini 2 SE, you know you can expect at least 25 to 27 minutes, which is really good for a small, lightweight drone like this. Of course, you can always purchase additional batteries if you want to extend that flight time even longer.
DJI Mini 4K is the Best Budget Drone for Beginners
I think the Mini 4K is going to be a great choice for those who want to purchase a drone but don’t want to spend a lot of money while they test the waters. For some people, this is going to be the only drone they will ever need, and for others, it might be a good starting point to see if it’s a hobby that they’re going to enjoy without investing a lot of money.
Just due to its low cost, this may even be a great choice as a redundant drone for those who like to bring a backup with them but don’t want to spend a lot of money on a backup drone. They want something that might just be small and lightweight and fit in a kit without taking up a lot of room. The Mini 4K is a great choice for that as well.
And again, due to its low cost and being a sub-250g drone – small, lightweight, and easily packable – this could be a great travel drone for some people as well. You might already own something like the Air 3 or the Mavic 3 Series but don’t want to take that when you travel. Something like this might be a great choice – you can still get up and grab beautiful 4K footage, but you’ll be traveling with a drone that doesn’t put so much strain on your wallet.
So yeah, that is the DJI Mini 4K. I think it’s going to be a fantastic choice for some people – affordable and it can capture beautiful content, as you’ve seen by the samples in this video. I want to thank you for watching this video. Hopefully you enjoyed it and got some value out of it. Thanks a lot for watching and we’ll see you in the next one.
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