So a few months ago I had been toying with the idea of getting a drone, just to add another element to my videos and Instagram content… In my usual impulsive fashion, the DAY before going to Iceland I decided the scenery would be too incredible not to be captured from a birds eye view, so I ordered a DJI Mini Drone on Amazon Prime. I chose the mini because I didn’t want it to take up too much space in my already jam-packed bags and I knew I’d only be using it occasionally for snippets of footage here and there. But I did get the Fly More bundle which meant extra batteries and a case which I knew would come in handy on my trips.
I found it fairly easy to set up and I think it’s pretty user friendly in general… I watched this YouTube Tutorial to give me some tips and then I took it out into the field at the back of my house for a quick test fly. My next experience with it was flying it over giant waterfalls and through rock canyons and above lava-filled Volcanos… It’s super fun to use and I think you have to be a bit fearless with it sometimes to get good footage. (YOLO).
Shot with the DJI Mini 2 Drone
TIP:
Make sure you order a San Disk Extreme Pro memory card (the gold one) link here. It has to be this memory card as it has extra capacity to store the high-quality and large gigabyte files. Other memory cards might not work and you could lose all your footage.
I love getting to see the different vantage points of whatever scenery or location I am in and I really enjoy playing around with the controls and figuring out what I can do with it. When I went to visit the Solheimasandur Plane Wreck in Iceland, I stood on the plane and set the drone to do a Loop which meant it automatically focussed on me and spun in a circle around me and that’s one of my favourite videos to date.
I also like that it can replace my tripod and take better angled shots as I can just leave it hovering, press record and then walk around and screenshot different clips from the video. It also takes ‘timed shots’ so you can click the button, put the drone controller down and strike a few different poses while it captures multiple snaps of you. It has a few other features that I haven’t fully got to grips with yet – but the one thing it doesn’t do (which the Mavic Pro does) is have a ‘tracking’ feature, meaning the drone follows you as you move. That’s the only downside.
TIP:
Use Splice or InShot to edit the footage and then export it in 4K before uploading to Insta stories (this is also how you can crop from landscape to portrait). This helps to retain some of the video quality as Instagram has a habit of crushing the resolution when you upload the original files. You can also add music and different effects and stuff.
Definitely do it.
Get the insurance so that it’ll be less painful if you ever have to watch your drone plummet to its death.
Check out the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) requirements to see if you need to register your Drone and take a pilot test. Different Drones have different requirements, and it also depends on what you’re using it for so do some research.
Be mindful of no-fly zones.
Buy it below through my Amazon affiliate links so I make a teeny tiny commission (thanks ♡)
Let me know if you have any questions!
DJI Mini 2 Fly more Bundle
DJI Mavic Air 2
DJI Mavic Mini Combo