so ive had the Mini 4 Pro since last fall and figured id finally write something up since i spent way too long reading reviews before buying and most of them felt like they were written by people who flew it twice in perfect weather and called it a day

the good stuff first ? obstacle avoidance is genuinely useful, not just a checkbox feature like it felt on older minis. ive had it save itself from some dumb moves i made near tree lines. video quality is really solid for the price, the 4K stuff holds up well even when i grade it pretty hard in post. and the battery life is better than i expected, i usually get close to the advertised time if im not hammering it in sport mode

the annoying stuff ? the RC2 controller screen is hard to read in bright sun, i know everyone says this but it really is an issue. also had one occasion where it just refused to take off because of some geofence weirdness even though i was in the middle of a field nowhere near anything. and the gimbal cover, i lost it within two weeks, which is entirely my fault but still

if youre coming from a Mavic Air 2 or something older its a really noticeable jump. if youre comparing it to the regular Mini 3 the pro version is worth the extra money if you actually care about the obstacle avoidance. if youre a total beginner honestly this is probably overkill but also its not a bad place to start if budget isnt the issue

anyway thats my take, happy to answer questions if anyone has specific stuff they want to know

this is a really helpful write up, thanks. the RC2 screen thing is something i keep seeing mentioned and its making me consider just going with a phone mount setup instead. did you ever try running it off your phone or did you just stick with the RC2?

also curious about wind handling, i fly near the coast a lot and the regular Mini 3 felt a little sketchy above like 20mph, wondering if the 4 Pro is any more stable or if its basically the same

yeah the geofence thing has bitten me too, not with the mini 4 but with my Air 3. you're in the middle of nowhere and it just decides some invisible line matters more than your flight plan. the DJI app is honestly the weakest part of their whole ecosystem imo, the drone hardware is great but the software side feels like it was made by a different company that doesnt talk to the hardware team

good honest review though, the kind thats actually useful vs the youtube stuff where they're clearly just trying to hit affiliate links