so i finally feel like i have enough hours on this thing to give a real opinion and not just the honeymoon period take. i picked up the Mini 4 Pro back in the spring, came from a Mini 2 SE so not a huge jump in the lineup but it felt like one to me.

the obstacle avoidance is genuinely good, like better than i expected for something this size. ive had it save itself a couple times in situations where i 100% would have binned the mini 2. the ActiveTrack stuff is hit or miss though, it loses me on a mountain bike if there are trees involved, which is kind of the whole reason i wanted it so thats a little frustrating.

video quality is obviously a big step up, the log footage is really workable and i dont feel like im fighting the image in post anymore. low light is decent, not amazing, but decent. battery life is roughly what DJI says which was a pleasant surprise honestly.

the RC2 controller is nice but the screen washes out pretty bad in direct sunlight, i find myself hunting for shade before i even take off sometimes. not a dealbreaker but worth knowing.

anyway if anyones on the fence between this and holding out for something else im happy to answer questions, just thought id share since i spent way too long reading reviews before i bought it and most of them felt like they were written by people who had the drone for like two weeks

this is really helpful actually, ive been going back and forth on this exact decision for like two months lol. the ActiveTrack thing is a bummer to hear though, thats basically my main use case too ? mountain biking and hiking. did you ever try it in more open terrain, like does it work better when there arent trees in the way or is it just generally inconsistent?

also curious how the wind handling is, i fly near the coast a lot and the mini 2 i tried at a friends place felt a little sketchy above like 20mph

yeah the RC2 screen thing is a known gripe, a lot of people end up just using their phone with the standard controller instead and saving the money. i did that for the first few months and it was totally fine. the screen is nice in overcast conditions or indoors obviously but bright summer days its basically a mirror.

good writeup though, its refreshing to hear from someone past the initial hype phase. i think most youtube reviews are filmed within the first week and it really shows. the activetrack trees issue is real, i noticed the same thing ? it seems to do better chasing something like a kayak on open water where the contrast is clean