DJI Mini 3 Pro - How Good Is The Obstacle Avoidance?

[@Troy-Echo]

Amazing video. I've shared this many times as it is the best example, I've found of just how well the APAS is on this drone. I have the M3P, but I've never pushed it into the woods this hard.

[@spicer3595]

Looks like DJI has hit the perfect spot and setup of the sensors on the Mini 3 Pro! Amazing results!

[@KendallGray1]

Use this comment for the “I just crashed my drone” button

[@danielsantos8625]

What are you doing here lol😂

[@Zandian]

Great test. This is plenty good OA for a mini drone. I’m impressed at how smoothly it did it. This is the kind of stuff everyone was impressed the Skydio 2 could do, now its being done by a mini drone with far fewer sensors. Pretty great for the limited number of sensors the little guy has. What I haven’t seen yet is what the difference is between the front and rear sensors. The front seem so much larger and positioned differently. What is the reason for this and how are they different than the rear? In your test it seemed the minimal looking rear sensors did just was well getting the drone back out of the woods. I wouldn’t have expected that. Any comments on that?

[@npc2255]

Thanks for the demo! I never imagined the feature would be as impressive as that in the video! That's great to know!

[@mrwolfery]

Love your energy!!!!!!

[@BillTheDroneReviewer]

Fantastic test Rick ! You brought up an excellent point about OA needing light to work. Keep up the great work my friend !

[@alienbob5595]

You got a thumbs up from me in the 1st minute, when you gave a shout to Springsteens' Swamps of Jersey. Kudos

[@Dronevalley]

Lol, thanks for the post and it was on my mind because I was listening to him on the drive down to the pines. I'm glad you enjoyed the clip and I'll have more posting this week. Rick

[@ck6804]

Thanks for the DJI review. I'm about to purchase the mini 3 to promote our fence business

[@Filmaking123]

Well done, very good work, I wish you continued success

[@Dronevalley]

Thank you very much! I appreciate the kind words and really enjoy discussing tech and creating clips to help others understand it. Stay tuned for more content this week. Rick

[@12perosje]

Thanks grt from the Netherlands

[@54macdog]

This was fantastic! Love your approach!

[@scottannunziata8265]

Thanks for the video Rick. Great demonstration.

[@Dronevalley]

Thanks for watching! I'll have a lot more content posting this week so stay tuned.

[@kimtyson7908]

Wow. Way better than I expected.

[@bobmugge]

Amazing. Your video’s are best. Short and to the point with all the BS…. Thanks!

[@conga205]

Bought the FPVtosky holder. The only thing I didn't like about it was that the lanyard holder prevented the arm from being folded down. I just removed the holder, and it works as well as you said. Thanks for all the great advice on drones and products!

[@conga205]

If this is a joke, man....that's COLD!! 😎

[@hey9784]

Excellent performance from this drone! At least now I know where it works efficiently and where it's functions are limited!

[@babajao]

pretty good 👍🏾. thanks for the video Rick!

[@dougcooper4917]

Excellent Test Video! Thank You Rick.

[@Dronevalley]

Glad you liked it! I have a lot more testing that I'll be posting this week so be sure to stop back and thanks a lot for your support Doug.

[@Leeroy67.]

Well done Ricky baby, ..... Impressive.

[@KevFPV]

tnx, awesome test and info.

[@Dronevalley]

Glad you liked it! I'll have more content posting soon so be sure to check back.

[@hiranhorta]

Hi from Brazil!

[@thnqolo9667]

Best review and thank you. The best drone in the price range. Value for money.

[@Dronevalley]

Couldn't agree more! As I said, I don't know how you build a better drone at this point. Stay tuned for more testing this week. Rick

[@bownsaway]

Love your tests and reviews so clearly expressed thank you. UK viewer and subscriber.

[@mananddroneuk]

Amazing detailed test, can't wait to try this. New subscriber here, thanks

[@rickracine9758]

Great test and great name

[@Dronevalley]

Thanks for the post and I appreciate the support!

[@markylon]

Thank you so much for doing this

[@Dronevalley]

Thanks for the post and I'm glad you enjoyed the video. APAS is pretty amazing!

[@aryansarin6954]

Love your energy! 👍👍

[@Dronevalley]

Thank you!! 😁 I get pretty excited when reviewing tech and will have a lot more content posting this week.

[@aryansarin6954]

@@Dronevalley Will be looking forward to it!

[@Glenrsi]

It really works well Rick. 👍

[@lynsmith1096]

Good video and test Rick.

[@Dronevalley]

Glad you enjoyed it and I'll have more posting this week. Be sure to stop back and thanks for your support! Rick

[@shsechas]

Great test Rick. I was basically a Autel fanboy even though I only own the Evo1, however after longing for a smaller drone I'm thinking about getting the DJI mini3. I can't find any of the big reviewers having one bad thing to say about it. Just want you to know that your my go to guy when I make a final decision. THANK YOU!!!

[@RonaldBrown59]

Great testing Rick, the new Mini 3 Pro did very well, I really impressed. I thought for sure if was going clip a tree branch. This isn't your Father's Mini drone. Thanks for sharing.

[@falklumo]

Spectacular content! :)

[@Filmaking123]

THANK YOU !!!

[@Eddie-yc5yd]

I bought the mini se. A great drone especially for the price. And it was my first real drone. Not those cheap ones that are junk. My next one will be the mini 3 pro

[@dennisbrooks240]

Flying in 20+ winds with my original MINI, I flew into and back out of my Bradford Pear. I don't recommend using a MINI as a tree trimmer or weed wacker, but it did fly in, toss a LOT of leaves out and backed out with only sap on the blades. The actual movie showed the rapid approach, penetration with full back stick and the drone stopping about six inches from a one inch diameter limb. Great movie, but I don't recommend trying to repeat. I did not pay attention to the wind break my two story house provided and did not react quick enough when the wind quit with full power on the drone. A lesson learned and fun to watch, after the fact. I really need to get a GOPRO on my hat to record these little OOPS from my point of view. So far, lost in a pond one dark still morning, flown through a fountain in a pond, into a fine limbed (twigs bush) and now into the soft Bradford Pear trimming leaves. Earning my "Daredevil" handle in the club! If I can free up some money on a disabled veterans fixed income, I will look for a used GOPRO or similar that will do the job. Leaves were flying out of that tree in large quantities at high speed. The drone view shows the approach, penetration and lots of leaf blurs, but the effect from my perspective on the ground was interesting. I was amazed the original MINI came out with no damage. With the winds here in North Texas, I cannot justify the costs of a MINI 3, too light for the winds. Marcus at Utah Quadcopter says DJI is looking at dropping the price of the Air 2S by $300. Not sure why, but a much better buy for Texas winds. Not quite the camera and features, but has the inertia and power to fly more often.

[@mosesjh8272]

This is super great drone worth it! Forward and reverse obstacles very good!

[@Dronevalley]

Totally agree! It's amazing how capable it is for a drone weighing only 249g. Stay tuned for more content this week. Rick

[@mosesjh8272]

@@Dronevalley Thank you Mr Rick Sir 🙏

[@BigDThatsMe]

DJI is it when it comes to drones (in my opinion). I have been flying them since Gen 1. I now have the Mavic Pro. Have not flown it I. A while because I went to android, but now am back with the 13Pro Max, so I need to get back out again. But yea, I love DJI.

[@wollins2]

Hey Rick, quick question about obstacle avoidance. What's the distance that it stops in front of an object? (not using the go around feature)

[@mdfarizal]

Let say in the front of the drone is a big wall obstacle without any hole at all. What the drone will do in this “bypass” mode? Tq

[@dennisbrooks240]

Any chance of a Drone Valley golf shirt with the logo embroidered above the pocket? I don't wear t-shirts, but the holographic decal and key chain fob are proudly displayed on my cart/wheelchair.

[@The.2.Minute-Man]

100% Liked A Big thanks

[@paulvel4158]

Thanks, great job!

[@Dronevalley]

Thanks for the post and I'll have a lot more content posting this week so be sure to stop back soon.

[@paulvel4158]

We will, greetings from the Netherlands!

[@sirtubemaster]

I don't like the avoidance sensors for Air-2 it seems to choose badly at times. this looked great in comparison!

[@cfgiii8584]

Can you please tell me the Name of the charger oh can plug 4or 5 things at one time

[@thomza]

Does APAS work in 4k 60 and 30fps?

[@scrambler350]

Very cool.

[@leonsealey8345]

Great myfriend I'm landed just got my drone yesterday and was worried about normal flying kind words leon South Wales in the UK 🇬🇧

[@yourturningpoint777]

You are awesome

[@vinestreetimages]

Awesome video as usual! Thanks, Rick! I could tell by the tone of your voice that you truly love and enjoy flying drones. Will be ordering mine shortly. By the way, would you please point me to a resource (on the web or otherwise) where I can learn how, when and where to legally fly this thing? (My location: Southern California) Do i need to register this drone or need to pass a test and obtain a license? Thanks.

[@FREEDOMFPV84]

Can I put strobe on top of this drone to fly at night or will it interfere with the obstacle avoidance sensor

[@mike57bryant]

Do'es the standard controller coupled with a mobile phone enable caching the video at 480p, 720p or hopefully full 1080p ? I know its only 480p on the screened controller.

[@jlawr4427]

Cool video! Thanx. Do you think the M3P will be able to automatically avoid eectrical wires?

[@Dronevalley]

Wires and small branches are a challenge for any OA system and I wouldn't trust it100%. In this clip you can see that I knocked a branch with the OA on. If that had been at 200' I would have destroyed the quad. It helps but still needs a pilot controlling it. Thanks for the post.

[@batchboy999]

@@Dronevalley perhaps slower speeds twigs & wires are ok, did these kind of tests with Skydio2 and she always goes around.

[@Dronevalley]

@@batchboy999 The Skydio is definitely better than the Mini 3 Pro with obstacle avoidance in general but the smaller size of the Mini 3 allows it to get through tighter spots. The other difference is that the Skydio feels like it's "fighting" me a lot when flying and actually controls the drone more than I do in these crowded flights. Both are great but to fit this tech in a drone of 249g is astounding.

[@TheRealTaiwanTV]

​ @Drone Valley We have a lot of powerlines crossing very drone-worth terrain in Taiwan. Flying and filming up nearly any river with stunning mountain views will always have wires in your video. I turned off all my screen grid lines except the center crosshair. Those lines are a major distraction when looking for something like wires in your path. Once I was horrified to review footage I took in the Fuxing Valley, only to find that I had flown very close over high-tension wires that were the same color on the screen as the grid lines. I flew over the wires but didn't get any warning. I need to do some more controlled tests (if there is such a thing!)

[@batchboy999]

@@Dronevalley I have my doubts Skydio will ever get their tech method in a

[@teerawattang5071]

Tough test. Can you confirm if you did a backward fly for obstacle avoidance test or just a reverse video playback ? I assume sideway fly was disabled, right ? With Obstacle Bypass mode, will the drone fly Over/ Under obstacle as well ?

[@Pauley_in_GP]

Very helpful video. Thanks. Question: do you have sideways flying disabled in your settings?

[@WiljanWiljan]

Excellent test, great video! How did you do the reverse?

[@Dronevalley]

Thanks for the post and the reverse was automatic as well. All I did was pull the joystick back and it used the rear OA to avoid the trees. Stay tuned for more content this week.

[@WiljanWiljan]

@@Dronevalley thank you! Really appreciate!

[@Dronevalley]

@@WiljanWiljan You're welcome and I'm happy to help.

[@tyalderdice4980]

So not to sound like a dork but if I understand correctly you stood outside the trees and flew into the trees? You just kept pushing the direction stick forward and it did the rest? An$ the reverse, did it take itself out or did you rewind the video? Much appreciated for the help in this because I can think of a lot of cool things to film with this drone

[@ErrolKane2331]

Wait a minute Rick, I love all you do & say but I need to know what is your definition of you having the drone on full speed? How fast were u flying the drone going through the woods?

[@joepowers3731]

I am blown away by the reverse Obstacle Avoidance I think it went faster in reverse through all those trees.

[@andarthome142]

Just reverse video.

[@Dronevalley]

Joe, thanks for the post and I have to say that the rear OA system is as good as the front-facing ones. I was really nervous that it wouldn't make it out OK but it did great. Stay tuned for more content this week.

[@Dronevalley]

Andart, nope all I did was pull back on the joystick and it came home. If you watch closely you'll see that it took a different path on the way out. Since there is no camera in the rear, I could not have seen the trees to avoid them. Thanks for the post and stop back for more content this week.

[@edoardo7554]

Hi this is my first drone and it doesn’t avoid the obstacles, what I’m missing? :(

[@valetdecour]

I'm impress !!!!

[@Dronevalley]

I agree and appreciate the post. It's an amazing little quad that just keeps impressing me. Stay tuned for more testing this week. Rick

[@ModernistPC]

Pine Barrens is my favourite Sopranos episode.

[@Dronevalley]

I loved that show and really miss it. It was great seeing them shoot episodes all over Jersey and the Pine Barrens one was one of the best.

[@spookymap6533]

Hi would it be worth putting a small light facing forward on the drone I know it would take it over 249 g but in dark forest i thinking

[@Dronevalley]

That's a great idea and it might help with the OA. I'll have to head back down there at dusk one day soon to try that. I can only imagine how creepy that will be with this light flying through the dark trees. Thanks for the suggestion and be sure to sub the channel so you don't miss any of the new Mini 3 Pro content I'll be posting this week.

[@systemler44]

Incredibly drone

[@epsonexxon1088]

Hello, will the RCN1 controller emit Ocusync 3.0 on Mini3pro, i presume its software based depending on what drone you will be flying? Thanks!

[@Dronevalley]

Yes, the Flight Management software in the app makes changes for connection type and features depending on what drone you choose to bind it to. Pretty cool that you can use it for multiple drones. Thanks for the post.

[@skim163]

Were you able to reverse fly drone backwards out of the thick trees?

[@Dronevalley]

The exit from the woods was automatic as well and all I did was pull the joystick back and it found its way home. Amazing quad!

[@skim163]

@@Dronevalley That's awesome...

[@Dronevalley]

@@skim163 I know and I was worried because I flew it in there without really knowing how I'd get it back out and just decided on the first flight to pull back to see what happened. To my surprise it perfectly navigated using the rear OA sensors. Very, very cool.

[@skim163]

@@Dronevalley 👍🏾😎...

[@BlairAir]

Not bad. You didn't say if you toggled "disable sideways flight" on your tests. You did mention sideways flight, but not if that was on or off. Combined with Air 2/Air 2S "disable sideways flight" and your reasonably protected. This class of drone NEEDS OA more than higher end models.

[@Dronevalley]

There's actually no switch for turning off sideways flight when APAS is on for the Mini 3 Pro. It's the default once you put it in Bypass mode. Any movement by the quad at that point side to side is done by the software and the joystick is non-responsive.

[@BlairAir]

@@Dronevalley Really? Are you sure? It's there in this video at 4:05, directly under APAS Off/Brake/ Bypass just like on my Air 2. I would suspect pre-release version, but the video was made yesterday with the new version of DJI Fly. Mine hasn't arrived yet to confirm, but somebody has something different 🤔

[@Dronevalley]

@@BlairAir I'll check again but I'm running Beta firmware to help test out some of the newer features so I might have a different interface than the currently released unit. A lot of times the Beta code highlights the features that DJI wants tested and may not include every switch that appears in the final version.

[@BlairAir]

@@Dronevalley ahh right. I actually thought it might be the other way, and Darren at DM was running s beta. Your explanation makes more sense! Not a huge deal, but I am a stickler for precision!

[@fj1100mark]

Full speed in which mode Sydney or normal and did you fly back out backwards or just reverse video. Which ever way it’s goddamned awesome I can’t wait till mine arrives within the next 2 week

[@Dronevalley]

Mark, thanks for the post and OA is turned off in Sport mode so these were done flying normally. The exit from the woods was all due to the rear OA sensors and all I did was pull the joystick back. If you compare the entry to the exit you'll see the drone took different routes. I was actually blown away at how good it was. One other small detail, it got a lot more sensitive when recording in 4K and more adventurous in 1080p so I'll be doing another clip comparing the 2. Good luck with your new Mini 3 Pro and check our site if you need accessories. Rick

[@fj1100mark]

@@Dronevalley Oh I’ve ordered two sets of spare sticks the charging block the Flymo kit and screen protector and the ND filters to go along with the drone with the RC controller from Drone Safe in the south of England and they have also thrown in for free a 64 GB extreme pro as I am in Manchester in the UK I think you might be just a touch too far away but do like the videos

[@np_production]

Nice 👍

[@danielelse3914]

Rick, the drone adjusted altitude as well as direction during the flights. Was that due to stick input or is this thing maneuvering autonomously in all 3 dimensions?

[@Dronevalley]

Daniel, thanks for the post and every adjustment that was made in that video was done by the drone. All I did was push forward on the joystick and cross my fingers. APAS 4.0 is pretty amazing. Stay tuned for more Mini 3 content this week. Rick

[@johnk7649]

Hi Rick, how do you think the Air2S would do on a similar test? The same, better, or not as good? Thanks

[@Dronevalley]

John, I'll have to do a comparison and I think it will be similar. The big advantage to the Mini 3 Pro is that it's smaller and can fit through more narrow gaps in the trees. The Air 2S and Mavic 3 will have a harder time navigating those dense woods. Stay tuned for more content this week and consider subbing the channel so you don't miss anything. Rick

[@BlairAir]

Actually 3:33 -> 3:37 you did plenty of sideways flight. It looked like perhaps 8-10 feet of it, though angling forward to be fair, but definitely NOT with "sideways flight disabled" for APAS 4.0, correct I am not sure where Mavic 3 went wrong but it would probably not come close to this with the glass lens wide angle sensors, and the big blind spot directly above and forward of the drone (due to upward facing sensors mounted at rear top, and being the only 2 that aren't super wide.) That plus releasing hardware to production before APAS 5.0 was out of Alpha. This wasn't DJI's best effort, and they have yet to offer any improvement for Mavic 3's fancy "360 degree OA"

[@Dronevalley]

The drone did all of that flying and the OA on the front is wider than the drone so it can do a little sideways jog if needed to avoid the trees. It's small size makes it perfect for these tight spaces and can get through messier areas than the larger drones.

[@BlairAir]

@@Dronevalley absolutely. That DJI was able to resolve the issues of all these features in a sub 250 gram drone is them at their absolute best. They knew how critical this drone is for their image, and all the would-be challengers to the throne. Perfect? Hardly, but super impressive how they can cool all that processing without an onboard fan, and control feature usage to make it all transparent to the end user. Simply incredible. 👏

[@badmad6817]

How to activate obstacle avoidance for the first time for mini 3 pro? The lower ones work for me but the front and rear ones don't respond in either brake mode or bypass mode.

[@Air_Devil_Leader_One]

Hya Rick, The old Jersey boy here in Florida transplanted, Very imoressive web site you sell at. I actually found an odd cable I searched 2 months to find and after several tries I said to myself "try Rick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Genius I am finally got to your site. With my brain on the correct rails I found the cable and had it ordered in 13 seconds. I must have taken smart pills by accident or lost 40 years of wear. Now, for the mini 3 test!!!!!!!!!! Did you actually reverse and fly out of the mess it was in and just reversed and it backed out? If yes, that means it is as smart flying backwards as it is fying in to the point where it decides it can no longer find a way forward!!! I am correct, yes or no? That was very impressive as living in Jersey for 44 years before moving to Florida or Flooooor-da as they say in some places, I remember the pine barrens as I drove a special truck to what was Called Wheaton which ran some kind of seafood growing and injection using plastic molding machines and saw many places on those long trip from Pompton Lakes NJ which was basically destroyed by the DuPont Pollution. Long story on that as our family knew the man who created the explosive charge that started ittle Boy and move to Pompton to become a plumber and ran the secret pipes under a river, then the bed, and the under a dam to release all the killer toxins that killed many young kids and old folks. Luckily I was operating a computer store there and worked with the testing company installing analog to digital convertors to read the well testing results. One day I was buiding a new machine for a customer and had the idea to get a demo of the testing software as I could not get into the machine I was installing boards for the testing company, so I setup the demo on a new machine and deleted the demo data files and replaced them using the same filename of the REAL data from the test machine. Wlaaaaaaaa, I saw the test results and immediately setup my home sale, retired and sold the pc store to my partner. I then moved out and left for Florida ASAP! Several months later the you know what hit the fan. I got my Mom out as well and was safe! Phew. So now I wait the CORRECT cable from you and will have my tablet for all my other DJI drones working well. So the man who probably saved a half of million lived invading Japan murdered many others in the NYC area all the way down to the Meadowlands by the stinky drive in I used to go to and luckily never drank the water or ate any fish. A lot of my high school friends did and their ives were ruined for sure. Any way I thought you might enjoy a little north Jersey history from an old guy who avoided the castasrophy of years ago. I am healthy at 75 and will probably live to 130 like my friend I met in 1964 with the initials D.T. from Kinnelon NJ (Smoke Rise). Just a short thank you and some old info for you to think about. My punishment is no trip to China to see great friends for 4 years now because of work & covid jargon. DARN. Ray C Florida

[@atgoins3]

WOW!!!!!

[@-lowdown-4698]

Wow🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿✌🏼

[@Dronevalley]

Thanks for the post and it's a pretty awesome feature!

[@randalldillion6061]

Hey Rick, Great Test, pretty impressive i think. How about doing a Range Test sure a lot of chatter out there on this

[@batchboy999]

Yea, DJI says its even better now at occusync 3.0.

[@akshayd211]

Very impressive for such a small drone under 1000 dollars.

[@Dronevalley]

I totally agree and am not sure what DJI can do to make a better small drone than the Mini 3 Pro with their next release.

[@kodak_jack]

Are we to assume that the drone did the entire reverse flight on its own? Did you just pull the right stick back and it did the rest? There are MANY aftermarket companies that design their software products to work with DJI quads, including all kinds of government agencies, and DJI will not release the software to them. I hope they realize this is going to kill sales!

[@FlyingwithStan]

The first part of this is my question too - on the reverse flights, were you just pulling back?

[@Dronevalley]

John, that's exactly what happened and I only pushed the joystick forward on the way in and pulled it back on the way out. I was amazed at how well it did. I honestly couldn't crash it. Stay tuned for more content this week and consider subbing the channel so you don't miss it. Rick

[@Dronevalley]

Stan, yep I was just pulling back on the joystick and the rear facing OA sensors did the rest. The A.P.A.S 4.0 system on this drone is incredible. Stay tuned for more content this week.

[@donaldmartin4620]

Well to me it noe put s the phantom 4 pro out fact smaller compact strong and sensors to yep

[@billhowes5871]

Thanks for doing this video. You gave me an interesting problem. Do I get The Mini 3 and not buy two of The iFlight drones I was going to get. I already have one w/ the DJI FPV remote. The whole idea for me is to do just what you're doing. Flying slowly in the woods. DJI goggles and FPV drones was the way I was doing to go. But, now, this Mini 3 with 47 min. flight time. Altitude hold and GPS. I'm already partially involved with FPV drones so I'm not going to stop. but, what a fun problem. As far as the darkness problem with lighting. DJI has already taken care of that with their FPV cameras. It's called Caddx Polar Vista Digital HD System which lights up the night skies. (To a point). FOOTNOTE: I'm skilled at flying LOS FPV drones. I've been doing it for over two years w/ three Walkera F210's & two Geprc Tinygo.

[@Dronevalley]

Bill, that's a tough question and you're really comparing two different tools. There are times I want to fly my FPV quads for a particular shot and other times the camera drone is a better choice. All I can say is that the Mini 3 Pro is small, wicked smart and shoots amazing footage. I hope that helps and if you decide to go with the Mini 3 Pro, please use this link to support the channel - amzn.to/39RGOCg

[@billhowes5871]

@@Dronevalley Lol. Don't worry about me. I'm a brat and will be getting all of them and more. To add complexity to the "Problem". I just learned that DJI is dropping $300. off The Air 2 S. Now what? Lol. :)

[@belovedLion80]

mini 3 pro did great

[@Dronevalley]

It's an amazing little quad and has a ton of tech packed into a tiny little air frame. I'm constantly amazed at how well it flies. Stay tuned for more content this week.

[@alienpixelgaming3803]

Hi Rick, I agree, range test aren't important but if Tesla says their electric cars will go 500 miles between charges we want proof. If DJI says mini 3 will go 10 miles we want proof. A youtuber named Fly Zone has listed you as an influencer not willing to test its range out. Please use a spotter and do a range test for us..

[@Dronevalley]

Thanks for the post and I'll never do a range test because they are irresponsible and reckless. There's absolutely no need to verify any distance beyond 2500' since you'd have to be Superman to see a tiny drone any farther than that. Since we have a hard VLOS limit in the U.S., anyone doing these ridiculous range tests are just doing them for clicks, are in direct violation of an FAA regulation and should be worried about fines. There's no way to do this legally, even with spotters because they'd have to close enough to you for you to hear them. A responsible pilot follows the rules and many new fliers (and KZbinrs) forget that flying a drone is a privilege, not a right, and could be taken away from all of us with a single crash during a range test. I hope that explains my reasons and hope you'll stop back soon.

[@dheller777]

@@Dronevalley I agree with the Vlos rule but I have been the Mini 3 have many signal strength problems within line of sight videos. I would like the strongest signal possible in your own words within Vlos. I am wondering if antenna placement in the from itself might be the reason for some of these problems people are experiencing?

[@Dronevalley]

@@dheller777 I think some of the channels are always looking for some "issue" to exaggerate for clicks. I've been flying the Mini 3 far longer than most of the channels and haven't had a single issue with connections. I've flown it in urban areas, in heavily forested areas and at the shore and not a single connection problem within VLOS (about 2000 feet with a beacon). I'm not saying that there will never be dropouts but you have to be aware of the issues at the location you're flying. The O3 tech is top notch and only the move to 5G will improve the connection strength.

[@mattvmani]

Thank you for doing this so I didn’t have to lol

[@raykeogh1972]

Sorry Rick that looked awful footage, I thought it must be my eye because the trees looked so out of focus so I put my glasses on in which I don't normally use but it was still out of focus. I don't know if anybody else notice that. Thanks for taking the time to do the video I know you do an awful lot to help us guys. Ray K UK. YNWA.

[@hrvsmart]

It's due to KZbins compression. Because theres so much going on in the shot. It won't like this straight from the drone, because the camera uses a much higher nitrate that KZbin does. Tom Scott does a good video explaining this if you're interested

[@BlairAir]

@@hrvsmart It was also low light conditions in the trees, not ideal. It looked fine to me.

[@Dronevalley]

Ray, any artifacts in the video are due to the compression with KZbin. The shots looked amazing off of the card and sometimes don't look that great once they get posted to KZbin. I'll have a clip posting this week with some 4K footage I shot all over NJ and I'm sure you'll be impressed. Thanks for the post.

[@Dronevalley]

hrvsmart, thanks for the post and I agree it's the compression on KZbin.

[@raykeogh1972]

@@Dronevalley OK RICK I only made a comment because Ive been following you for years and I have NEVER seen bad footage from you. thanks for the reply.

[@HenPapirman]

I mean, I came for the drone, but I stayed cause you mentioned Bruce Springsteen.

[@Dronevalley]

Lol, I was born and raised in Jersey and it's mandatory to love the Boss. I'm a huge fan and was actually playing "Greetings" on the drive down to do the testing so it was fresh in my mind. Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you back soon. I have a lot more content posting this week. Rick

[@HenPapirman]

@@Dronevalley Been to Jersey once, even saw an E Street concert there. (I also flew especially to Holland where met Max Weinberg, he took my cell number, let me straight into the pit - long story.) Cheers.

[@Dronevalley]

@@HenPapirman Sounds like quite the story :) I try and see the band whenever they're touring and with things settling down a little with the pandemic I'm sure they'll have something lined up this year. His last 2 albums were some of his best for me and he's still making great music.

[@HenPapirman]

@@Dronevalley Which charger do you use? I saw someone using an ANKER 40W, I've found a 45W, question is if it would be okay to charge it wit a 45W.

[@Dronevalley]

@@HenPapirman Yep a 45W charger is ok and Anker makes some great gear. We're releasing a new home charger in June and also have a 95W 3-Port car charger that works great for charging your drone, controller and phone. Here's a link to ours if you'd like to check it out - www.dronevalley.com/store/p439/DroneValleyCarCharger.html

[@StevenYoungcaptual]

Great test…It does better than a $155,000 Tesla on FSD.👍🤣

[@tim7402]

That's not really why we fly drones checking to see if they're going to hit something.i think reviewers get them for free anyhow so the normal person is not willing to risk it.

[@Dronevalley]

Tim, when you're flying a drone you're going to encounter obstacles and having tech onboard the drone that can help you avoid crashing into it is a good thing. Think of it as a copilot looking for anything you might hit. This test I did was an extreme example of how it works but knowing it's working the entire time I'm flying is comforting. As for the sample, I spend a ton of time testing this gear in the field with feedback to the companies I'm testing. Trust me, the time away from family, friends and other hobbies is worth much more than the cost of the drone. I do it because I love exploring new tech and explaining it to others.

[@tim7402]

@@Dronevalley wow !!!!! I won a Mavic. Pretty sure this is NOT real, but if indeed I did, your going to ship free to me in Thailand ???

[@ahmadmodallal2820]

It’s better to not fly between trees and buildings, I crashed my drone many tomes

[@eingelvf]

spoiler. this obstacle avoidance dont do shit on quick speed sport.

[@Dronevalley]

That fact is fully explained in the manual and none of the drones with obstacle avoidance are able to do that in Sport Mode. The tech isn't quiet there yet to detect and avoid hard targets at high speed, But it's beautiful at normal speed and close to a miracle with how it can navigate.

[@eingelvf]

@@Dronevalley agree

[@mosesjh8272]

first?

[@Dronevalley]

Yep, you must have quick fingers :)

[@spookymap6533]

Hi somebody is using your contact to scam people saying that they won a DGI Mavic 3

[@Dronevalley]

Thanks for the heads-up and I apologize for that hassle. It's happening all over KZbin and it's been a mess for a few months with KZbin trying to improve their filters. Every morning I'm on the comments section trying to squash as many of the spam comments as I can and always miss a few. We do run giveaways a few times a year but will always announce them in our newsletter or in a video posted to the channel. I appreciate your support!

[@The_Essential_Light]

In the real world, with that bigger battery, 47 minutes can never be achieved.

[@Dronevalley]

I agree but the spec is what's used to compare drones. With all the testing I've done with drones (and other tech) over the years, nobody ever achieve their "Hero Numbers". The reason it's important is that it gives you a gauge you can use to compare one drone against another. It really does fly much longer than other 249g drones. Thanks for posting and I hope you'll stop back this week for more content.

[@Koger4]

Next time go full 40 mile an hour speed

[@conga205]

Well. After looking at a lot of the comments, all 3 mos old, I'm going to assume that this page is defunct. Oh well.......

[@Dronevalley]

Nope, we're still funct. We just get busy with all of our testing and flying and it's impossible to respond to every comment. Let me know if you have a question and I can help. Rick

[@conga205]

@@Dronevalley I got a message saying that I won a drone. I'm thinking maybe you got hacked, perhaps?

[@Dronevalley]

@@conga205 Unfortunately everyone on KZbin got hacked and this SPAM is being sent from most larger channels. We check every morning to delete what we can but it's hard to keep up with it. KZbin is working on a tighter filter but I promise you it's not us. Rick

[@conga205]

Lolol! Thanks for clearing that up and yes, hackers are everywhere these days!

[@theric6976]

Lol

[@Dronevalley]

I'm glad you liked the clip, be sure to stop back for more content this week.

[@vvhitevvizard_]

DJI mini 3's obstacle avoidance is a joke compared to Skydio 2+

[@Dronevalley]

Different drone - different tech. They both have their advantages. I fly them both and the Skydio would never fit in these tighter spaces, weighs over 249g and has a smaller sensor. Each of them are designed to do different things, and both are great at what they do. Thanks for the post.

[@BlueDroneBlues]

When it’s dark obstacle avoidance is next to useless. During the day when you use bypass and forcing it forward it just runs into the tree 🌲 and avoids nothing? Has anyone else experienced this?

[@Dronevalley]

Thanks for the post and as I explained in the clip, the OA needs some light to be able to differentiate a solid object from a gap. The darker it is, the less effective the APAS will be. As for running into a tree, I've never had that happen as long as the OA is turned on. You can see from the clip that it's a pretty amazing feature and those videos were right off the memory card in a fairly dark forest. Stop back soon for more content.

[@BlueDroneBlues]

@@Dronevalley I should have explained this better. Many of these tests are being used when obstacle Avoidance is being used. When in manual mode and the drone is being pushed forward with brake on it will stop before it hits the object in proper lighting. When using the same conditions but using bypass it will just run into the object. This is in Normal Mode. Brake will not let you run into the object. Bypass will do nothing.

[@tyroneclarke1666]

Well presented video. Cheers for Perth WA. 🦘🇦🇺

[@Dronevalley]

Glad you enjoyed it and you have a beautiful city in Perth. I've been there for business and it's breathtaking. Hope to get back one day with a drone in my bag to do a little flying.

[@tyroneclarke1666]

@@Dronevalley Always enjoy watching your videos. Might be buying the Mini 3, fly more plus kit this week lol. Born here in the suburb of Mt Hawthorn. The city from above looks fantastic with the Swan River snaking around. We’re lucky to be one of, or most isolated city in the world. Out of harms way I guess. Kindest Regards. Cheers mate 👍.