Instant upgrades DJI Mavic Mini

DJI MAVIC MINI

FIRST ADD THESE…

ONE DJI FLY MORE COMBO

If you can stump up an extra R2 000 when you pick up your drone, go for the Fly More bundle. In addition to the Mini itself, it comes with a protective propeller guard, two extra batteries for an extra hour’s fl ight time, a charging hub that can double up as a portable power bank, a carry case and more. R9 000 / ormsdirect.co.za

TWO SANDISK EXTREME 128GB

 e Mavic Mini captures 2.7K footage on microSD cards. Five minutes of footage will take up about 1.5GB of storage, so you’ll want to be packing a decent card that can hack high-resolution footage. Sandisk’s Extreme cards are a perfect balance of space and speed, and 128GB should keep you busy. R690 / incredible.co.za

THREE WD MY PASSPORT WIRELESS PRO

You’re in the fi eld, fl ying high and loving life, until you get an alert: your Mavic Mini’s memory card is full and playtime is over. Not so fast! Stick your memory card into one of these and all your photos and videos will be backed up on the spot – no laptop needed – so you can get right back in the air. from R3 500 / bhphotovideo.com

NOW TRY THIS… AND DOWNLOAD THESE…

STANT UPGRADESINSTANT UPGRADES

1 CARRY THAT WEIGHT

If you’re new to drones or plan on fl ying your Mavic indoors, propeller guards (included in the DJI Fly More Combo) are a must; but you should tweak a setting in the DJI Fly app to help the drone adjust its fl ight style for the extra weight. In the camera view, tap the three dots at the top-right to open the app settings, scroll down to Advanced Safety Settings, then select Payload Mode.

2 BRING IT HOME

A drone’s take-off point is usually set as its ‘home’. Should its battery die or the connection to the controller be lost, it can be set to return to a home point in the settings menu: Safety > Advanced Safety Settings > Signal Lost > Return To Home. If you’ve been trekking a long way with your drone, you might need to change that home point. Scroll down to Update Home Point in the settings menu.

3 MAKE IT QUICK

Quickshots are automatic one-button-press manoeuvres that grab high-impact footage while you take centre stage. “ ey can be fi red up within the app, and there are fi ve to experiment with. To try them out, have the drone hover at least 2m above the ground; then, while you’re in the camera UI, tap the 2.7K icon above the record button and choose the Quickshot you’re after.

4 PICK A MODE

“ e Mavic Mini can shoot in three fl ight modes: Sport, Position or CineSmooth. As the name suggests, Sport mode is fast, whipping across fi elds like a greyhound. Never use this indoors! Position might well be your default mode, gliding with purpose but at a moderate pace. CineSmooth is your choice for silky cinematic pans. Modes can be accessed under the Control tab in settings.

5 SAVE YOUR SKIN

It may be mini, but DJI’s pocket drone can still be a fi nger-slicing quadcopter: if you grab it before its blades stop spinning, it’ll cut right through skin. So if you’re using it around kids or pets, best prepare to deploy the emergency propeller stop. To activate it, pull both joysticks diagonally down towards each other and hold. Of course, if you do this in mid-air your drone will plummet to earth.

6 FIND MY DRONE

It’s a reliably hardy drone in most conditions, but an angry gust of wind, a sudden rain shower or a mid-air collision can still throw the Mavic Mini maydaying to a crash landing. Luckily, DJI has put a transmitter inside its dinky drone. In the DJI Fly app settings, scroll down to Find My Drone – it’ll show you where it was last active and can even activate a fl ashing light and beep.

DJI FLY The DJI Fly app is your hub for all things Mavic Mini. It’s what you launch to activate pairing with the drone, and also has tutorial videos and guides for novice flyers. Free

AIRMAP Local restrictions on flying drones can vary from one park to another, so you’ll need to do your homework. This app is the simplest way to check you’re not in a no-fly zone. Free

UAV FORECAST Wet or windy weather can put the kibosh on any aerial shoot, which is why this one is a vital addition to your app arsenal, letting you know at a glance if it’s safe to fly. Free