DJI Mini 4 Pro – One Year Long Term Review

Good day, folks! Sean here from Air Photography. This is my one-year review of the DJI Mini 4 Pro. It’s such a capable drone, and I just wanted to showcase its capabilities. I’ve decided to film the entirety of this Review on the Mini 4 Pro, so the video you’re seeing right now is coming from it. I’m recording audio on the DJI Mic too, with noise reduction turned on to help get rid of most of the drone noise.

All the footage you see in this video is shot on the Mini 4 Pro, unless it’s video of the drone itself. That was shot on the Pocket 3 or my iPhone.

Versatility in Videography

Not only is the Mini 4 Pro great for capturing stunning aerial photos and videos, it’s also great for scenarios like this. If you just want to capture some dynamic footage, perhaps you’re a vlogger and you want to capture some B-roll footage, or what we’re doing right now – kind of like a dolly cam shot. It’s a great tool for creators in many different aspects, whether you’re doing hiking or other activities. It’s just a great tool for those types of scenarios.

Popularity Among Canadian Users

Being a Canadian, I tend to fly my mini drones more than any other type of drone just because they are less restrictive here in Canada. I recently made a long-term review of the DJI Air 3, which is also a phenomenal drone, but I did mention that I tend to fly my Mini 4 Pro just a little more for that reason.

DJI Mini 4 Pro Quality and Features

The nice thing about these mini drones is that you no longer have to sacrifice quality, video quality, and features because they’ve come such a long way since the early days when the first mini drone was released by DJI. The Mini 4 Pro is just a great all-around drone. It can capture some pretty stunning videos and photos as you’ll see throughout this video.

That can be really important to creators because in the past, we had to choose between light and portable over a larger drone if we wanted quality. But now we can have the best of both worlds.

Intelligent Flight Features

The Mini 4 Pro is a full-feature drone. It has all the intelligent flight features such as Master Shots, Night Mode, and Focus Track, which includes Point of Interest, Spotlight, and ActiveTrack. So you don’t have to sacrifice those intelligent flight modes either.

The Mini 4 Pro is also capable of capturing and creating waypoint missions, which can be important for some people if you need to repeat a shot over and over again.

Advanced Capabilities

The Mini 4 Pro can also capture in 10-bit D-Log, and it’s the first mini drone by DJI to include omnidirectional obstacle avoidance. That’s super important, especially for scenarios like this where the drone is flying backwards, or if you’re using some of the intelligent flight modes and the drone is going to be flying sideways and you can’t really see what’s coming up.

The cruise control feature, which is what I’m using right now, is again a great tool for creators and for creating shots like this.

Transmission System and Range

The DJI Mini 4 Pro comes with the O4 transmission system, and that is rated for 20 km of range. Now, you’re never really going to fly that far, but it is super important because it can guarantee that you’re going to have a good connection back to the controller even in complex environments or if there’s a lot of obstacles around.

Portability and Travel-Friendliness

The Mini 4 Pro is a great choice for those who want to travel light or pack light. If you’re going to be doing any kind of backpacking or day trips and you just don’t want a big bulky drone to bring along with you, the Mini 4 Pro is a good choice because it’s super lightweight. The batteries are lightweight, so you’ll be able to go out and enjoy yourself without being bogged down by gear, which can be really important. Whether you end up using the drone or not that day, it’s not inconvenient to take along.

Vertical Video Capabilities of the DJI Mini 4 Pro

One of the really nice features of the DJI Mini 4 Pro is the ability to capture vertical video, which we’re capturing in right now. Vertical video is not important to everybody, but for some creators, it can be very important. Social media is becoming a very important part of growing a business and growing your online presence.

Any traditional drone footage can be cropped into a vertical format, but the problem doing it that way is that you’re going to lose some of that precious resolution. Sometimes when editing, you need to crop in, and the more resolution you have to play with, the more cropping you can do without losing quality. So having a camera or drone that can shoot native vertical using the full sensor’s full resolution can be very important to some types of creators.

AR Safety Features

The Mini 4 Pro also supports all of the AR safety features that DJI has been introducing. It supports the visual return to home, so you always know the path that the drone is going to be taking home, which can be very important. It also supports the drone shadow, and that can be very important when you need to land the drone in a very precise spot.

On top of that, we also have the option of using the obstacle avoidance cameras to take a look around. That can be really important in some scenarios if you can’t see what’s behind you or beside you and you just want to take a quick look. Now, it’s only in black and white and the resolution is not very high, but it’s enough to see if there are any obstacles coming up.

Compatibility with DJI Goggles

The DJI Mini 4 Pro is also fully compatible with DJI goggles, including the new Goggles 3 and the Motion Controller 3. Flying with goggles can be a really immersive experience, especially when paired with the Motion 3 controller. It’s really a whole different flight experience.

Conclusion and Recommendation

I don’t want this video to go on too long. This is just more of a user experience video after flying the Mini 4 Pro for the past year. It’s definitely been my go-to drone, and when I have friends and family ask me if they’re going to be buying their first drone, what drone they should get, it’s usually the Mini 4 Pro that I recommend. It’s a nice, powerful drone, it’s affordable for most people, and they don’t have to sacrifice the features and quality of video.

These mini drones used to be considered an entry-level drone, but I don’t really think that’s the case now with the Mini 4 Pro. For most people buying the Mini 4 Pro, that’s going to be the only drone they’ll ever need. It is super capable, it is powerful, and it can capture some really incredible footage.

Well, folks, that is basically it – just a quick and simple one-year updated user experience review of the DJI Mini 4 Pro. I’ve made many videos about it over the past year, including a full review with all the features and specs, including a full beginner guide. If you are going to be purchasing the Mini 4 Pro as your very first drone, you’ve never flown one, and you want to learn how to use it, definitely go and check that out. I have a whole playlist all about my Mini 4.

Well, folks, I want to thank you for taking the time to watch this video. Hopefully, you enjoyed it and got some value. Thanks a lot for watching, and we’ll see you in the next one.