Since we cannot legally fly further than VLOS without a part-107 waiver here in the USA, I went with the mini-se for my first drone ever. I have zero regrets and am amazed at all the tech built into it.
I’m new to this and in the market. I read/heard certain rules-laws don’t apply to drones under 250 grams. I guess I’ll go google 107 waiver and look into rules and laws before I purchase. TY
I crashed my mini 2, sent in for repair, had a photo gig and got the mini se just for 1 shot. The quality on the mini 2 is much better. The se always chokes on connection even with the antenna extenders with parabolics is a little better but chokes. Got the mini 2 back and jumped on the insurance offer. I have to say that I believe my time spent with the se made me a better drone driver because it lacked the mini 2 features. I can now do a circle shot without the mini 2’s feature. I’m on the fence returning the se but it really trained me to perfect the shots. The only thing I really hate is the video feed choking on the se. But you’re right that my confidence in flying the mini 2 is 95% worry free. But what’s really important is whichever drone one chooses, get the insurance. I went 9 months without crashing the mini 2 and didn’t have the insurance. I’m so glad they offered it after the first repair.
Great video Mattheww! I actually bought the Mini SE, and then got the Mini 2. I like the phone screen below better than on top even thought the Mini 2 controller is nicer. There is more glare on top. The range difference is huge.
Probably the best video I've seen comparing the drones - most just talk about the tech specs, which I can look up online - but your point about transmission was really useful, especially your experiences. Top work!
Very good summary of why I chose the Mini 2 Fly More Combo as my first camera drone. The Mini 2 has a greater tilt angle of 40° in all modes (double the angle in N&S) which I think may be what gives it the higher speed and higher wind resistance than the Mini 1 and SE. Mini 2 40° (S Mode) 25° (N Mode)* 25° (C Mode)* * Up to 40° under strong winds 16m/s Mini 1 30° (S Mode) 20° (P Mode) 20° (C Mode) 13m/s Can’t get any info direct from DJI site on the Mini SE, just gives 404 error when I try, but other review sites list the SE top speed as 13m/s, so chances are it’ll be the same tilt angle as the Mini 1.
@@dosomestuff1949DJI UK now have the SE specs listed. SE has lower tilt angle and groundspeed than the 2 but both have the same wind resistance listed.
@@dosomestuff1949 horizontal speed is determined by tilt angle in combination with motor power. Increasing thrust without a corresponding increase in tilt angle does not increase horizontal speed, it increases climb rate.
I have both I use the mini to for cinematic and for range. My mini se for fun I feel the se is has a quicker response and acceleration but I love both drones.
A Most brilliant point Matt bought up for the new drone flier. One needs to under stand that the range of your drone is not how far away it can fly. The range of one's drone is where communication fails. I agree again with Matt in that having one's quad-copter deep out and having all comms go dark in stressful AF I've heard. 10 kilometers range ? Can be done in the right hands. But as mentioned the batteries would not make the trip home w/o divine intervention. And expert flight planning.
Love the Mini 2 because of its transportability and video quality. However I did lose transmission recently and RTH didn't kick in. Only 150m away within VLOS! Found the next morning using Find My Drone facility and older Mavic Pro to overfly wooded area. Relieved is an understatement.
Did you check the RTH settings in the DJI Fly app, it could have been set to Hover or Land instead of RTH? I've noticed this does change sometimes when DJI Fly app updates! I also check the setting as part of my pre flight checks.
@@pdtech4524 I had and I refuse any further app updates for the time being. They seem to bring more features ( which I don't need) but do not appear to improve stability (based on the reviews).
@@cliffterpher Completely agree! I very much from.the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' camp. My DJI Fly app is a very old version, before it stopped auto updating, so I don't even have the new compass display on my version. Everything works just fine without issue so have no need to update. Updates often bring new features but also introduce bugs sometimes! It's like 1 step forward and 2 steps back each time they update it.
I got the Mini SE because I couldn't really go for the 150 dollar difference. It still hasn't arrived but I bet it will be worth it! I'll always buy that rage extender if needed
For me, mini SE is better, because you don't need to fly too far as long as the important thing is the video or photo you take. I'm satisfied with the shots, the big prob doesn't have any problems. It's just that I see when he's near cellular towers, the signal is really strong and there's a signal interrupt
Great Review, been undecided which one to go for as this is my first drone, have googled it so much but after watching this I have made my mind up. your clear explanation of the differences was spot on and totally understandable.
Rarely do I Google something and get EXACTLY the information I'm looking for; this video was spot on! I'm in Thailand and I'm trying to decide between the 2. So far, I've only found the SE available on Lazada which is my preferred vendor. Thai (required) drone licenses are expensive so every $ counts. Thanks again.
These past 4 days I’ve been watching a lot of drone videos, specifically yours. And after a few, I bought the SE. long story short, I realized it’s definitely worth the extra $100 for the mini 2 because of Ocusync 2.0. Mini SE has terrible range and doesn’t have this, and it is CRUCIAL. I’ve just returned the SE and I’m waiting for the mini 2 now
Not sure why people are pissing on the range of the Mini SE, if you consider that laws/regulations require you to keep the drone in sight while flying it. Most of the time you aren't able to see it beyond 250-300m / 820-980ft anyway. It is a great starter Drone. You can watch some real tests on other channels, 1km or 0.7 miles in highly populated areas with lots of Wi-Fi is still possible.
@@ColdieHU Because no one keeps it in sight I couldn't fly it down a river ,never even got 100m And 98m high it lost reception Had se 8 days used it 3 times,it's rubbish, Got mini 2 1,800m in same place Still has full reception 😎
@@S-O-T i have mini se and i got 1.4km with it in an open area, however mini 3 is a good drone for me and it's better than mini 2 and se... Because it has more features and also have forward backward sensors which i like👍👍
@@mylesolson4734 yep, why need to go far... I've seen someone do a range test at the sea with the mini 2 (got about 4km) and the battery is not enough to RTH so the mini 2 lands on the water
love my mini 2 after 2 years still my favorite portable compared to the spark mavic and phantom ... i can take this anywhere and have eought power even in high winds ... mini 2 ( or 4k) the best ever for anytime use ... ANYTIME!
When I finally got the mini 2 in June, the occusync, controller, and wind capability were key for me. I usually shoot 2.7k and mostly 24 FPS for cinematic / motion blur etc... I honestly can't tell 2.7k from 4k so smaller files is the winner imho
Well my mini2 is in the box back to DJI for repair after suffering a motor block mid flight and falling from the sky only the 3rd flight took off from clean surface wasn't expecting to be using the care refresh on a brand-new drone gutted mate 😔
Had my first flight with the Mini SE today. The signal got pretty bad well under 200m even in an open field, I had to aim the remote to get the signal back. That's probably because the transmission power is severely limited here in the EU at the 5 and 2.4 ghz frequencies. Not sure how it is with occusync. However, I was losing sight of it at that distance anyway. I probably won't fly it with lots of stuff in the way either, and if I end up getting serious about the hobby, I might end up getting the mini 3 or something anyway...
Had the same problem a couple of weeks ago, bought the Se and had a lot of problem with range and signal stability even at very short distances. Sold it, bought a mini 2 and the difference is like night and day. Reached 2km without problems and the connection is rock solid
So the SE has the upgraded props etc but then is slower? So there actively throttling it? Anyway I am looking for the Mini 2 as a first drone, but I keep hearing the Mini 3 should be around anytime. So I just don’t know what to do. I can’t afford to buy one now and then another in the future. I just hope if I wait the upgrade will be worth it.
Now I'd say go for a used mini 2 if budget is the barrier. I'm seeing fly more combos going for ~$500 on the secondary market. I'd probably try and talk someone down to $350-400
I was so close to buying a mini 2 se fly more combo. But what put me off in this review was the transmission cutting in and out compared to the mini 2. Thanks again for your in depth review.
Mini 2 SE have the same Occusync with Mini 2, so same range and signal quality. The video here compares the Mini 2 with the first Mini SE, not Mini 2 SE.
Thanks for the video. Regarding editing videos while on the move, what stops me from putting drone's sd card into my phone and edit videos that way? So Quick Transfer or not, is that even an advantage/disadvantage? The latter is true of course, if you don't have free sd card slot on your mobile..
I just bought the dji mini 2 SE I want to use the third party up for following mode as this drone not compatible with the app which confuse which one to get between dji mini se dji mini 2 I really appreciate if someone can advice me
have an se, i just use a micro sd card reader to usb-c adapter to edit on the fly. might upgrade to a mini 2 in the future solely for the occusync. Quite handy that my accessories and spare batteries will carry over
Great advice i still have the mavic mini i love it but a fly farting is enough to trigger wind warnings would love a mini 2 but always kinda felt it wasn't enough of a jump then i bought an autel evo 1 lol i do the 2nd hand thing but i still hanker for a mini 2.
Hi Mattheww would you please make a video on best software for editing photos and videos also software for mapping and maybe a tutorial on each? thanks for great content.
Hi, great video!! This may sound silly but within local range could I control my drone from my chair in sitting room watching it on tv through the iPhone…
I was led to believe the only difference on the Wi-Fi signal is the fact their version can on the fly change frequency for less interference. Because you still have the same legal requirements for transmitter strength and that is the only difference I believe. Where is the original Wi-Fi and hands cannot change frequency on the fly. And so obviously when flying over built-up areas you lose your signal more than what you would on the other version
All about money at the end of the day. I have the Mini 2, had the SE been available at the time i would have been happy with it as well. But i do prefer the Mini 2 controller and ocusync. In ending, never been interested or would i dare or want fly more than a kilometre or so.
Hello , which one would you suggest best for a seafarer . Who takes shots of ships from a moving ship mostly and fly it out in different countries and terrain . Ever changing scenes.
I'm hearing you can only take pictures and video if you have a part 107 license that's what all the youtubers are saying so who cares a about the camera they all return in 720 or 1080p they only take 2.7k or 4k images
I don't know how it is around the world, but certainly in most of the EU, you always need line of sight to your drone. Here you don't NEED a license to fly these smaller drones, but it's very restricted where you're allowed to fly if you don't have one. Like the smallest hobby license, you still need line of sight, but you can fly closer to buildings and stuff. Just saying, if you're not a pro (And you probably isn't, if you're looking at videos of the Mini SE and 2), and you wanna stay within the laws, you can do just fine with the SE. Of course, I can't speak for every country. But those are some of the basic EU laws.
@@TheDroneCreative I can't beOIve it 😂 my goodness within just a distance of few kilometres accents differentiate noticeably 🤗🤗🤗 p.s. I'm choosing the mini 2 😂😂
All three mini drones use the same camera hardware. The difference lies in the onboard video processor which is faster on the mini 2. As to range, a Yagi or parabolic antenna on the SE gives about the same range. I any event it is illegal to fly a drone in the US outside of line of sight.
I bet if they listed the SE as the M2 and vise versa and swapped the prices very few would even tell a difference honesty. I've flown both over hours and hours and each one has me thinking wow why can't yall just combine into each other lol truth is they exactly do. They can't give them exact features on paper otherwise DJI wouldn't make money on the new prospect lol. They keep what's working..... working while simplifying one while dumbing the other down very slightly. That then gets the $150 money savers into a drone just to step up to a simple extended feature on the same drone and its a snowball effect from there. Lol its like weed for drugs its a gateway and DJI does it very well. I'm actually proud of them. 😄 simple terms if you're new at drones buy the SE if you have the SE and have money for another one fuck it buy the 2 its all up from there anyway now quit whining and complaining 😆
1st off, if you can't fly beyond VLOS what the frick difference does it make if you have a 2km connection and 2nd - how fast do you need the dang thing to fly anyway?? Blowing hundreds of pounds more on a drone (when most cannot really afford to anyway , they're just being snobby) other than the SE seems a bit nuts. The differences in video quality is indistinguishable, especially in IG etc, and what can't be done 'in camera' can mostly be recreated in post, so I don't (personally) feel the need to pay more for something than is really required.
2 km connection is an overstatement. If you often fly in highly urbanized areas, you could easily lose connection with the SE even within VLOS. That's why the Ocusync 2.0 alone is enough to justify the price difference as it's generally more reliable regardless of range.
I know, I know. I tried a new setup, putting my notes below the camera on an iPad and it actually made things worse. I have since moved back to the setup I was using and it makes for a much more natural presentation. Thanks for the feedback though, appreciate it.
Why like many others RU-vidrs do you keep popping in and out of your video like a mini zoom it's really annoying if you've got content people want to watch you don't need these gimmicks of popping in and out I'm autistic and it absolutely does my head in if you contents rubbish don't post it online you don't need to keep popping in and out and in and out to get peoples attention , Attention and viewing is what your content is not the video popping in and out to zoom in a little bit and zoom out a little bit it's really annoying no matter how many people do it it's all annoying