Xiaomi Mi Drone 4k - 393 euro including delivery

yorlum11 · 02-02-2018 6:22pm

Ordered 12th December and it has arrived today. Why did I agree to work tomorrow? Happy days.

lintdrummer · 02-02-2018 11:52pm

yorlum11 wrote: »

Ordered 12th December and it has arrived today. Why did I agree to work tomorrow? Happy days.

The mind boggles... I ordered mine on the 7th of December and still no sign. Was your delivery with PanAsia? And what was the last update on your tracking if you don't mind me asking?

yorlum11 · 03-02-2018 12:16am

lintdrummer wrote:

The mind boggles... I ordered mine on the 7th of December and still no sign. Was your delivery with PanAsia? And what was the last update on your tracking if you don't mind me asking?

My tracking only showed up today using track24. 18th January was the date it showed up as being in transit. Nothing until this morning as it was transited by an post. One guy here ordered his in January and it got delivered last week. It will get here. Seems they ship random batches together.

jim salter · 03-02-2018 12:17am

yorlum11 wrote: »

My tracking only showed up today using track24. 18th January was the date it showed up as being in transit. Nothing until this morning as it was transited by an post. One guy here ordered his in January and it got delivered last week. It will get here. Seems they ship random batches together.

Yeah, I ordered 4th Jan & was delivered 19th Jan.....go figure....

jim salter · 03-02-2018 7:34pm

Had my first flight today. Crashed into a wall. Damaged all 4 blades....meh.

Concerned that I have done damage (apart from the props) as the drone is very unstable looking (but it was a bit windy this evening)

Have been flying a fair bit this evening (away from the house and walls) and got the hang of it quick enough. The camera quality does not appear to be what I expected tbh (that said I am using a cheap Moto E to connect and view...maybe when my phone arrives it will look better).

Does anyone know if there is a different view through the app (remove the curved edges)?

tedpan · 03-02-2018 8:54pm

jim salter wrote:

Had my first flight today. Crashed into a wall. Damaged all 4 blades....meh.

jim salter wrote:

Concerned that I have done damage (apart from the props) as the drone is very unstable looking (but it was a bit windy this evening)

Hopefully it's alright, if the image is stable the drone should be fine.

jim salter wrote:

Have been flying a fair bit this evening (away from the house and walls) and got the hang of it quick enough. The camera quality does not appear to be what I expected tbh (that said I am using a cheap Moto E to connect and view...maybe when my phone arrives it will look better).

Viewing through the app will only show the low Res thumbnail. Really low quality to review the footage before editing.

jim salter wrote:

Does anyone know if there is a different view through the app (remove the curved edges)?

You need to take the SD card out and view it in a laptop, plugging directly into your phone will also work to view the high quality files.

Record in 1080p on the camera settings, it defaults to 4k, which are huge in size and hard to edit unless you have a decent pc.

jim salter · 04-02-2018 12:19am

tedpan wrote: »

Hopefully it's alright, if the image is stable the drone should be fine.

Viewing through the app will only show the low Res thumbnail. Really low quality to review the footage before editing.

You need to take the SD card out and view it in a laptop, plugging directly into your phone will also work to view the high quality files.

Record in 1080p on the camera settings, it defaults to 4k, which are huge in size and hard to edit unless you have a decent pc.

Thanks, as always, for your input. Lack of knowledge on my part is half the problem.

Thought I had landed the drone and it wasn't 'landed' so started to 'drift towards the house and a pebble dashed wall. I panicked and didn't know what to do...the drone continued and all 4 rotors were damaged. Don't think there was much other damage as the drone was moving really really slowly. Just worries about the motors.

Another poster offered (earlier in the thread) to show me their drone - may take them up on it to make sure mine flies the same and sounds the same...

Other than that actually quite impressed with it - never, ever flown a drone before and is really easy (once you don't crash into a house

)

tedpan · 04-02-2018 2:40am

jim salter wrote:

Thought I had landed the drone and it wasn't 'landed' so started to 'drift towards the house and a pebble dashed wall. I panicked and didn't know what to do...the drone continued and all 4 rotors were damaged. Don't think there was much other damage as the drone was moving really really slowly. Just worries about the motors.

Yeah, that's when you let go of the sticks and it will hold position. It's a bit scary at first as you're not sure what's going to happen. I always recommend starting off in a field or park.

jim salter wrote:

Another poster offered (earlier in the thread) to show me their drone - may take them up on it to make sure mine flies the same and sounds the same...

I don't know where you're located, I'm near Drogheda if you wanted to compare etc.

jim salter wrote:

Other than that actually quite impressed with it - never, ever flown a drone before and is really easy (once you don't crash into a house )

Haha, yep it really is a lovely machine to fly, hopefully I'll be able to take mine out tomorrow!

jim salter · 04-02-2018 3:59pm

tedpan wrote: »

Yeah, that's when you let go of the sticks and it will hold position. It's a bit scary at first as you're not sure what's going to happen. I always recommend starting off in a field or park.

I don't know where you're located, I'm near Drogheda if you wanted to compare etc.

Haha, yep it really is a lovely machine to fly, hopefully I'll be able to take mine out tomorrow!

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I would be interested to compare some weekend.

I got some footage from the camera today and I really am no that impressed with it. That said the computer I'm viewing it on has not got a great GPU

tedpan · 04-02-2018 4:28pm

jim salter wrote:

I got some footage from the camera today and I really am no that impressed with it. That said the computer I'm viewing it on has not got a great GPU

Is the footage in 4k or 1080p. Most laptops over a few years old will have issues even playing back 4k.

jim salter wrote:

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I would be interested to compare some weekend.

No worries, let me know.

jim salter · 04-02-2018 4:43pm

tedpan wrote: »

Is the footage in 4k or 1080p. Most laptops over a few years old will have issues even playing back 4k.

No worries, let me know.

The footage was shot in 4K so looks very 'watery' on my laptop (it is an old Thinkpad)

Have no set it to 1080 100fps

tedpan · 04-02-2018 6:07pm

jim salter wrote:

Have no set it to 1080 100fps

Cool, 100FPS is great for slow shots. I'd recommend switching down to 30FPS, much easier to watch and edit. Brings the best results in everyday circumstances.

tedpan · 04-02-2018 6:16pm

Here's a clip from today. Drogheda port - 1080p

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WldrINKysPU

jim salter · 04-02-2018 7:55pm

I got a little night flight in just there (raw footage, no music etc)

https://youtu.be/FlzXp8fAobA

EDIT: Music added

tedpan · 04-02-2018 8:20pm

jim salter wrote:

I got a little night flight in just there (raw footage, no music etc)

Looks like it's flying well!

EuskalHerria · 04-02-2018 8:26pm

First flight today, it truly is incredibly easy to manoeuvre.
A nervous wreck sending it any distance away.

Just wondering what is the furtherst any of you have gone height or distance wise?

tedpan · 04-02-2018 9:25pm

EuskalHerria wrote:

Just wondering what is the furtherst any of you have gone height or distance wise?

I've been to 2kms down the coast of bettystown beach. Heights are dependent on your settings and local limits.

J_V_C · 05-02-2018 11:43am

tedpan wrote: »

Here's a clip from today. Drogheda port - 1080p

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WldrINKysPU

Wow. Buddy, lovely montage. Watched it a few times now.
I note the dogs don't seem to be afraid of the drone, my dog is scared s***less, it's got so I can't take her with me on expeditions.

JimFin · 05-02-2018 3:11pm

Any of the November orders arrive in the last week or so? Still waiting!!

lordlame · 05-02-2018 6:46pm

Guys

This drone will land automatically at 15% - please be careful

I just done a test flight and when it landed I took the height / distance restriction off

Battery was about 45% and I said feck it see what it’s like from 200m

Sent her up and kept my eye on the juice - started descent around 30%

Lots of warnings etc controller buzzing about battery even though I was close to RTH and had the drone descending.

Anyway - at 15% it literally descended straight down from where it was - thankfully just above me

*phew*

tedpan · 05-02-2018 7:32pm

J_V_C wrote:

Wow. Buddy, lovely montage. Watched it a few times now. I note the dogs don't seem to be afraid of the drone, my dog is scared s***less, it's got so I can't take her with me on expeditions.

Cheers, thanks very much! The dogs are strange, on leads they're fine and off one wants to attack it and the other runs and hides

JimFin wrote:

Any of the November orders arrive in the last week or so? Still waiting!!

I would definitely open a PayPal dispute and contact Gearbest at this stage. Have they given any indication where it is? Think most people have got delivery..

lordlame wrote:

Anyway - at 15% it literally descended straight down from where it was - thankfully just above me

Yep, I've had the auto land at 15% but was still able to move it to where I wanted it to land though.

jim salter · 05-02-2018 9:02pm

Has anyone had an issue with their SD card?

Getting "your tf card may not work properly please replace" error every few minutes but then it works again. It's quite annoying. (I have ordered a U3 card)

Also getting frequent disconnections from the phone (that's probably because it's a crappy Moto E), have a new phone on order.

rdavey14 · 06-02-2018 12:46am

What are the legalities of flying a drone? .. Is most of Dublin not Class C restricted airspace

bromley52 · 06-02-2018 6:20am

rdavey14 wrote: »

What are the legalities of flying a drone? .. Is most of Dublin not Class C restricted airspace

IAA rules

rdavey14 · 06-02-2018 5:19pm

bromley52 wrote: »

rdavey14 wrote: »

What are the legalities of flying a drone? .. Is most of Dublin not Class C restricted airspace

IAA rules

Yeah I know but that's for non restricted airspace... Check the map and you'll see wheres restricted and I presume you'd get in a rake of trouble for breaking the rules
https://www.flyryte.com/airspace/

smokingman · 06-02-2018 5:24pm

tedpan wrote: »

I've been to 2kms down the coast of bettystown beach. Heights are dependent on your settings and local limits.

I used to live in Laytown and would love to have had my drone for shots of the beach down there.

Would have come in handy for monitoring some of the knackers in Inse bay too

tedpan · 06-02-2018 6:45pm

smokingman wrote:

Would have come in handy for monitoring some of the knackers in Inse bay too

Lol, Inse Bay is a beautiful place!

smokingman · 06-02-2018 8:24pm

tedpan wrote: »

Lol, Inse Bay is a beautiful place!

Not when I was living there. Was lovely when I moved in about 2001 but the 12 year old drug dealer next door and few burnt out cars pushed me out in 2006.

Hope it's better now though.

tedpan · 06-02-2018 8:43pm

smokingman wrote:

Not when I was living there. Was lovely when I moved in about 2001 but the 12 year old drug dealer next door and few burnt out cars pushed me out in 2006.

smokingman wrote:

Hope it's better now though.

No, no! I totally agree with you, it's a kip. Was trying to be sarcastic

keltoms05 · 07-02-2018 8:40pm

jim salter wrote: »

Has anyone had an issue with their SD card?

Getting "your tf card may not work properly please replace" error every few minutes but then it works again. It's quite annoying. (I have ordered a U3 card)

Also getting frequent disconnections from the phone (that's probably because it's a crappy Moto E), have a new phone on order.

I have to take out and put back in my SD card several times for it to read it. Very annoying

Shefwedfan · 08-02-2018 11:14pm

This might be odd question, the Drone just arrived for my brother. He is dong a lot of checking into before he flies.

He mentioned a video and see a guy putting on "protectors" onto the wings of his Drone, similar model to the this one. He is wondering do they come with it? or is it extra
?

tedpan · 09-02-2018 7:54am

Shefwedfan wrote:

He mentioned a video and see a guy putting on "protectors" onto the wings of his Drone, similar model to the this one. He is wondering do they come with it? or is it extra ?

It's a strange one, Xiaomi ship the drone with either a WiFi dongle or blade protectors. You can buy both separately too.

Blade protectors do get in the way of shots though, so I really don't recommend them.

The thing to remember is, do not use where there's a chance of crashing. Take it to a field, beach or park where there's nobody around and you won't have a problem.

Morris Moss · 09-02-2018 8:11am

lintdrummer wrote: »

I've had an unusual update to my tracking...

Just wondering did you get the drone, getting fairly annoyed at this stage, got the same message and no sign.

tedpan · 09-02-2018 10:01am

Morris Moss wrote:

Just wondering did you get the drone, getting fairly annoyed at this stage, got the same message and no sign.

Definitely escalate with PayPal if you're not getting anywhere with gearbest.

coneill13 · 09-02-2018 11:20am

Mine arrived today. I ordered it on 31st December. Did not show up at all on order tracking on gearbest site and only showed up yesterday on AnPost Tracker as in Porlaoise Mail Centre (I live in Dublin). No custom duty or VAT to pay. Happy days.:)

Morris Moss · 09-02-2018 11:44am

tedpan wrote: »

Definitely escalate with PayPal if you're not getting anywhere with gearbest.

Yeah gearbest said the deadline is the 13 of Feb so if it hasn't arrived by then I'll have to.

Morris Moss · 09-02-2018 11:47am

Actually if I put the tracker code into an post, would it show up if it was in the country?

coneill13 · 09-02-2018 12:16pm

Morris Moss wrote: »

Actually if I put the tracker code into an post, would it show up if it was in the country?

Worked for me

Morris Moss · 09-02-2018 2:30pm

Morris Moss wrote: »

Just wondering did you get the drone, getting fairly annoyed at this stage, got the same message and no sign.

And it's arrived.

Shefwedfan · 09-02-2018 2:55pm

Just wondering, and hopefully last question. My brother has iphone and trying to connect. Says he need micro usb, which I know is android only.

Anyone have it working with iphone?

McMurphy · 09-02-2018 3:14pm

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Just wondering, and hopefully last question. My brother has iphone and trying to connect. Says he need micro usb, which I know is android only.

Anyone have it working with iphone?

Solution.
.

Ecomac Micro USB to 8 Pin Lightning Adapter Converter for iPhone 5 6 6s plus iPad iPod, Compatible with Apple iOS all versions https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N4KGI5N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_BYAFAb9YFWE3M

tedpan · 09-02-2018 3:46pm

Shefwedfan wrote:

Just wondering, and hopefully last question. My brother has iphone and trying to connect. Says he need micro usb, which I know is android only.

Shefwedfan wrote:

Anyone have it working with iphone?

You should be able to use the standard iPhone cable in the usb port on the controller, so need for adapters.

I have heard that the drone app works far better on android though.

lintdrummer · 09-02-2018 4:20pm

Morris Moss wrote: »

Just wondering did you get the drone, getting fairly annoyed at this stage, got the same message and no sign.

It arrived this morning out of the blue! Just about to take it out for a test flight.
The tracking only updated on the an post website this morning as it was out for delivery.

Question:I'm having difficulty getting my phone to connect to the controller with the cable. It's a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. I can't select USB tethering when the app prompts me to. Anyone resolved this?

Going to use the wifi dongle for now but would rather get the USB cable working.

tedpan · 09-02-2018 5:34pm

lintdrummer wrote:

Question:I'm having difficulty getting my phone to connect to the controller with the cable. It's a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. I can't select USB tethering when the app prompts me to. Anyone resolved this?

Yep, before opening the app. Go into settings when the phone and controller are connected and enable usb tethering. Then go into the app and ignore the next tethering message. That's what I have to do..

lintdrummer · 09-02-2018 6:50pm

tedpan wrote: »

Yep, before opening the app. Go into settings when the phone and controller are connected and enable usb tethering. Then go into the app and ignore the next tethering message. That's what I have to do..

Thanks for the advice, but it's just not letting me enable USB tethering. Message is "No USB device connected" when I go the settings page. This is the same whether the app is running or not. I've also enabled USB debugging just in case and still no joy.

First flight was successful anyway, albeit cut short by my phone battery getting low. What a machine though, very impressed with it. Was a bit nervous when I had it any distance from me but I'm sure with use that goes away!

tedpan · 09-02-2018 7:24pm

lintdrummer wrote:

Thanks for the advice, but it's just not letting me enable USB tethering. Message is "No USB device connected" when I go the settings page. This is the same whether the app is running or not. I've also enabled USB debugging just in case and still no joy.

Strange one.. USB debugging shouldn't make a difference, maybe try a different USB cable?

lintdrummer wrote:

First flight was successful anyway, albeit cut short by my phone battery getting low. What a machine though, very impressed with it. Was a bit nervous when I had it any distance from me but I'm sure with use that goes away!

Glad you're impressed, it's a magnificent beast alright. There's always some nervousness, but after a few flights you'll realise how reliable it is.

As I said before, avoid trees, walls, houses etc! Wide open spaces only

Best of luck!

tedpan · 09-02-2018 7:26pm

Forgot to say, it's definitely advisable to get the cable working as the controller also charges the phone. Let us know how you get on anyway

lordlame · 09-02-2018 9:17pm

Went up 500m today in Cavan ( in a safe field )

Scary stuff

tedpan · 09-02-2018 9:36pm

lordlame wrote:

Went up 500m today in Cavan ( in a safe field )

lordlame wrote:

Scary stuff

nice! Any footage?

lordlame · 09-02-2018 9:50pm

tedpan wrote: »

nice! Any footage?

Uploading now - will post the link here when done

Xiaomi Mi Drone 4k - 393 euro including delivery

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