[meetarin]

How does it sound to check off your wish-list one at a time, on your birthdays? Well, this is exactly what I have been following since last few years as soon as I stopped living paycheck to paycheck life

2015 - My first DSLR
2016 - Ladakh
2017 - Macbook Air
2018 - Meghalaya solo
2019 - RE Thunderbird 350x
2020 - GoPro Hero 8

And then of course, I could not wait for my birthdays for some dreams to come true. So essentially, I have ticked off quite a few things off my list so far and was left wondering what to buy this birthday. With the flooding of You-tubers and Instagrammers, appreciating drone shots was never easier than now and I always admired the alluring drone shots - so many of them - boats in a lake, a serpentine road amidst snow clad mountains or just a busy city street!

With that thought, I realised exploring aerial photography was the way to go to give better perspectives to my travel. My research started on the whats and hows. While there are not many brands to choose from in India (DJI being the most significant player), the mode of buying was trickier. I started tracking the prices of the DJI Mini 2 Fly More combo (a no brainer, given its superiority over DJI Mavic Mini, other drones on the offering are much pricier!) on Amazon everyday but the prices always hovered between 77000 to 80000 INR versus the actual price of 599 USD on DJI Website (unfortunate they dont ship to India). I also got a lead in Bangalore (their Instagram handle is @djibangalore) and they quoted me a price of 62000. I was a little hesitant to put in my money because I didnt have any first hand reviews of their service. While I was almost giving up hope, a friend advised me to check in Metro Gully, Kolkata since he heard that drones are available there. With this, the offline search began and I called up a couple of old and renowned stores in the business. Both the stores mentioned that the Mini 2 Fly More combo was in stock and was retailing at 56000. I was elated and made an immediate plan with my friend for the following Sunday.

On the D-day, I headed to MM Photographic Store and Professional Photographic Store and both quoted a price of 55500. I was leaning towards the former, since they accepted online payment while the latter would charge a 2% extra on online payments or I will have to pay in cash. However, as luck would have it, the guy who was getting the drone from the storehouse was stuck in heavy rain and asked us to wait for half an hour, which in no time became a couple of hours. Realising that it might not arrive at all, we headed to Professional Photographic Store. They quickly got the drone over, and I promised to come back from the ATM with the cash. Soon we were back, I had few more accessories to buy for my GoPro which took the overall bill to 62000 and finally we settled the deal for 60500! I came back home happy and excited and could not wait to unbox and fly the beauty.

The next morning, I opened up the neat packaging. On opening the box, there is a plush and premium looking bag with DJI branding that will catch your eyes and this bag houses:

• The DJI Mini 2
• The remote controller
• The charging hub
• Charging adapter
• Spare cables (which connects your phone and the remote controller)
• Documentation
• Spare propellers, spare joysticks, screw-driver for propellers

The complete package

Fly me!

The drone is an absolute delight to hold and beautifully fits in a palm. Must give credit to DJI for achieving this extraordinary feat.

A portrait shot of the beauty

The packaging of the drone is fabulous as well and it has instructions all over which makes the user experience easy and great. Heck, they have even instructed how to unfold the propellers!

The 4K gimbal also comes with a protector, which needs to be removed before flying. As soon as you turn on the drone, the gimbal does a funny quick dance. While it comes to capturing photos or videos, the gimbal is capable of rotating 90 degrees downwards and 20 degrees upwards, which I think is great, given the fact that you get a perspective of the sky from high up in the air. Beneath the drone is the Power On button along with battery indicator. There is a Front LED whose color can be customised from the DJI FLy app, while at the back, there is an Aircraft LED indicator. The USB-C charging socket and the micro SD slot are also at the back. Point to note is, the micro SD card doesn't come with the Fly More combo and needs to be purchased separately. The operating instructions of the drone are there in the Quick Start documentation. DJI has also created quite few educational videos (available on DJI website and YouTube) which are great for the beginners. Alongside, there is a detailed manual available for download in the DJI website.

The remote controller is a sturdy and nice to hold brick which immediately makes you feel in absolute control.

The Remote Controller

On the surface, there are provisions for the joysticks, the fly modes button (Normal, Cinematic and Sports), the Power On button, the Pause/Return to Home button and the battery indicator.

On the top, one will find the mobile holder space, the cable to connect the controller to the mobile (this is an iOS lightning cable by default, USB-C and normal android cable are in the accessories box).

At the bottom, there are slots to tuck in the joysticks while not in use, and the USB-C charging port.

The two-way charging hub is the best part of the Fly More combo in my view, as it comes with two extra batteries and can charge three batteries, one after the other.

Honestly, this is the sensible option to go for as you dont want to be left hanging while shooting a beautiful sequence. The three batteries in all offer a flight time of 93 mins, which would cover a lot of scenes of the day. What's more, the charging hub also doubles up as a power bank and you can charge your mobile phone by plugging in a charging cable.

There is a DJI branded charging adapter and USB-C cable which can charge the drone, the remote controller and the charging hub. Additionally, there are 3 pairs of spare propellers, a spare pair of joysticks and a screw driver to engage/disengage the propellers.

To fly the drone, you would need to connect the phone to the remote controller, turn on the drone and launch the DJI Fly app on your phone. The app UI is really lucid and the onscreen instructions give away valuable information with respect to the drone and flying. As I mentioned earlier, the tutorial videos are of great help while flying for the first time. Additionally, there are scores of videos on YouTube which are very good tutorials. In the limited time I flew the drone, I found the stability to be spectacular even in moderate windspeed and during dusk under a bit of dimmed daylight. Transferring the files to your phone is also a high-speed cakewalk. You could export the whole footage or just send trimmed portions as you wish.

In the coming days, I definitely wish to use this beauty extensively, especially during my trips. The first impressions are great and I believe its good value for money for drone enthusiasts, given the features vis-a-vis price point. The only complaint is the 15m restriction in the air which I heard the Government is planning to do away with. There are loads of YouTube videos hacking around this restriction, however I am yet to try any of these.

Would be happy to help fellow BHPians with any questions!

A Test shot


Video:

https://youtu.be/jZ-Qa57rwg0

[izzikio_rage]

Congratulations, that is an amazing purchase. Looking forward to more news once you try it out.

One thing to note is that in india the flight height of the DJI mini and mini 2 is capped at 50ft so try to fly it from a high place like a building rooftop

[Devansh88]

From a legal perspective, while you don't need a license or permit for this drone, please do the following steps to safeguard yourself:
1. Register on drone enlistment website of dhca and get your OAN and DANM
2. Visit the WPC section of Saralsanchar website and check if your specific model number has been approved. If not, you are technically not allowed to operate equipment that's not been cleared by the Wireless Planning Commission. Please apply for the certificate, and keep it handy. Once certified, anyone else can also use the same as proof.

With both these in place, cops can't trouble you, as long as you're not flying in a red zone or above 50 ft. Happy flying!

[jkrishnakj]

Congratulations, this is a very good buy. I got this a year back and have enjoyed it everytime I had a chance to use it.

The 15m restriction is the big bummer. For some reason, I am not able to even hack it or set the app to its previous versions, and therefore, the usage has drastically shrunk these days.

[Fillmore]

Awesome

This is something that is still on my wishlist.
Btw how about putting some videos of some arial shots that you took ?

Also just came to know about the 15m restriction.. that is indeed a big show stopper.

[kartoosh]

Very nice purchase, please post some more shots/youtube links.

[meetarin]

Originally Posted by izzikio_rage

Congratulations, that is an amazing purchase. Looking forward to more news once you try it out.

@izzikio_rage: thank you! Yes, the 15m height is a bummer but I heard there's some plan to do away with it. I will update this thread soon with new videos

Originally Posted by Devansh88

From a legal perspective, while you don't need a license or permit for this drone, please do the following steps to safeguard yourself:

@Devansh88 - Yes, thank you! Another friend also advised me to do the enlisting to avoid potential troubles. Can you advise if an invoice is required to go about the process, coz I dont have one.

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Congratulations, this is a very good buy. I got this a year back and have enjoyed it everytime I had a chance to use it.

@jkrishnakj - Thank you! Would love to see some of your shots. yes, the 15m restriction is stupid, doesnt even give the perspective to the shots. Hope, the govt does away with this!

Originally Posted by Fillmore

Awesome

@Fillmore - Thank you! I will upload some shots soon And yes, the 15m rule sucks :(

[AtheK]

Great buy, I like the new joystick more then the current one I have from the previous version.

The last time I updated my DJI app was almost 10 months back, so I am still able to fly over 15m, but not sure when that will also be patched. I will probably sell it after that, as 15m rule really takes away the entire joy of being able to own a drone.

[Sidban85]

If it is app related, does setting the app store country as not India work around this? Or does it track via GPS?

[a_chelat]

Originally Posted by Sidban85

If it is app related, does setting the app store country as not India work around this? Or does it track via GPS?

I was looking at the Mini 2 and was told its tracked via gps, but there are ways around it. YouTube is full of workarounds.

Also, while the Mavic Mini can be used with a previous version of the DJI Flyapp to get around this restrictions, these earlier versions do not support the Mini 2 and the hacks/patches are the only options you are left with.

[meetarin]

Originally Posted by kartoosh

Very nice purchase, please post some more shots/Youtube links.

Hi, I will try to upload more shots very soon!

Originally Posted by AtheK

Great buy, I like the new joystick more then the current one I have from the previous version.

@AtheK - Thank you, yes the joysticks are great to hold and the grip of the controller is really good. Lucky you! I am yet to try out the hacks, not sure though if it will work.

[ambarkhan]

Congratulations on your purchase
55000 is a very good price
Can you please share the seller’s detail

[desidino]

Congratulations !

Any idea on how to bring drone in India from outside (UAE specifically)?

Apparently permission is needed from Ministry of Communications (Wireless Planning and Coordination Department). But, can't find anything on the Ministry website on how to get the permission.

[Samfromindia]

Originally Posted by meetarin

I started tracking the prices of the DJI Mini 2 Fly More combo (a no brainer, given its superiority over DJI Mavic Mini, other drones on the offering are much pricier!) on Amazon everyday but the prices always hovered between 77000 to 80000 INR versus the actual price of 599 USD on DJI Website (unfortunate they dont ship to India)

Well the only time I saw DJI Mini getting sold by Amazon Official Seller (Appario) was a couple of yrs back i think and it had a mouth watering price of 30K only through some lighting sale ! I regret not buying that time. These days its mostly available through 3rd party sellers who charge a big premium.

Just curious, are you staying in Bangalore or Kolkata and doesn't Bangalore has its own equivalent of Metro Gully ? Btw are you aware of the price of Mini 2 drone only ? (Without the fly more combo)

Congrats on your purchase and thanks for writing down this detailed thread ! It reignited my urge for getting a drone again I hope there is a way to bypass the measly 50Ft limit imposed by government and unlock its full potential.

Originally Posted by ambarkhan

Congratulations on your purchase
55000 is a very good price
Can you please share the seller’s detail

MM Photographic Store and Professional Photographic Store like he mentioned in details. This area is very popular for camera gear and other gadgets in Kolkata.

https://g.page/m-m--photographic-stores?share

https://g.page/pp-stores?share

[Shantanu1970]

Originally Posted by AtheK

The last time I updated my DJI app was almost 10 months back, so I am still able to fly over 15m, but not sure when that will also be patched. I will probably sell it after that, as 15m rule really takes away the entire joy of being able to own a drone.

You can buy the Litchi app. it's for 2k. You wont have any restrictions on flying the mini1. It's still not compatible with the mini2.

Also you get many more features like waypoints, Orbit, follow me etc. It's totally worth it. I use the DJI fly app only to download videos on the phone.