Drone Gear
YINGJEE Drone Landing Pad Review: Two Years of Field Takeoffs
Two years of weekend flying off grass, gravel, and sand with the YINGJEE 22 inch foldable landing pad. What held up, what bent, and whether you need one.
A wet Saturday morning, a knee-high field, and the ten seconds that convinced me to never skip the landing pad again.
Two years of weekend flying off grass, gravel, and sand with the YINGJEE 22 inch foldable landing pad. What held up, what bent, and whether you need one.
Two years of launching my Mini 4 Pro off bare grass and off the YINGJEE 22 inch pad, and what actually made a difference.
Ten practical reasons a foldable landing pad saves props, gimbals and sensors on every flight.
A wet Saturday morning, a knee-high field, and the ten seconds that convinced me to never skip the landing pad again.
A field-tested routine for launching and landing from grass without dust in the gimbal or a prop strike.
Two years with the YINGJEE 22 inch pad: what it does well, what annoys me, and who should skip it.
Two years, one work truck, and a lot of gravel roads. The long-term review of the JSVER EVA hard shell case for the DJI Mini 4 Pro.
My old drone rode in a soft bag until a toolbox crushed it, and the Mini 4 Pro has lived in the JSVER hard case ever since. Here's what each one does well, what it doesn't, and how I'd choose today.
After a soft bag cost me a bent prop and a cracked gimbal guard, I switched to the JSVER EVA hard case. Ten reasons I'm not going back.
A sliding toolbox, a soft bag that didn't survive, and the JSVER hard case that replaced it.
A step by step packing routine for the JSVER hard case: batteries, props, gimbal cover, cables, and getting through the airport without a dead drone.
Two years with the JSVER EVA case for the DJI Mini 4 Pro: what fits, what does not, and why the zipper is not the problem everyone makes it out to be.
Eighteen months of dusk flights with the VIFLY strobe on a Mini 4 Pro: what it does, what it doesn't, and whether it earns its spot in the case.
A side-by-side look at twilight flights with and without the VIFLY anti-collision strobe, and what the difference meant for keeping the drone in sight.
The sun drops, visibility drops, and a tiny light makes the difference between a relaxed flight and a nervous one.
A pilot's story about losing visual contact at dusk over a lake, and the small VIFLY strobe that changed his evening flights.
The complete dusk-flying routine: mounting the VIFLY strobe, charging it, choosing the mode, and landing before the dark.
After eighteen months with the VIFLY strobe on a DJI Mini 4 Pro, here is what I wish someone had told me before I bought it.
A year of weekend flights with an iPad mini on the RC-N2 controller: fit, balance, lanyard, and what I would change.
Comparing the Hanatora tablet holder with the stock phone clip on the DJI RC-N2 for framing, glare, and comfort after a year of flying.
A bigger screen changed how I fly. Here are the ten reasons a tablet holder like the Hanatora earns its place in the bag.
A pilot's story about missed shots on a small phone screen in bright sun, and the Hanatora tablet holder that fixed his setup.
Fit the Hanatora holder to an RC-N controller, balance the weight, and fly with a big screen without wrecking your wrists.
A year of flying with the Hanatora tablet holder on the DJI RC-N2: the weight nobody mentions, the wobble that shows up in wind, and the pilots who should skip it.
One year, four filters, and a lot of bright Washington afternoons. Here is what the NEEWER ND and CPL set does for Mini 4 Pro video, and where it comes up short.
A side-by-side look at DJI Mini 4 Pro footage shot with NEEWER ND filters versus the bare lens: motion blur, shutter speed, and water glare in real daylight conditions.
Ten reasons an ND and CPL set like the NEEWER 4 pack helps a DJI Mini 4 Pro produce smoother, more natural video.
Wes Kaminski's lake footage stuttered and wobbled. Four small filters fixed most of it.
The 180 degree shutter rule, picking ND16, ND32 or ND64, and setting up the NEEWER filters on a Mini 4 Pro.
A year of weekend flying with the NEEWER ND and CPL set for the Mini 4 Pro: the swap you have to learn, the cast you have to fix, and the flights where it earns its place.
Two years of weekend flying off grass, gravel, and sand with the YINGJEE 22 inch foldable landing pad. What held up, what bent, and whether you need one.
Two years with the YINGJEE 22 inch pad: what it does well, what annoys me, and who should skip it.
Two years, one work truck, and a lot of gravel roads. The long-term review of the JSVER EVA hard shell case for the DJI Mini 4 Pro.
Two years with the JSVER EVA case for the DJI Mini 4 Pro: what fits, what does not, and why the zipper is not the problem everyone makes it out to be.
Eighteen months of dusk flights with the VIFLY strobe on a Mini 4 Pro: what it does, what it doesn't, and whether it earns its spot in the case.
After eighteen months with the VIFLY strobe on a DJI Mini 4 Pro, here is what I wish someone had told me before I bought it.
A year of weekend flights with an iPad mini on the RC-N2 controller: fit, balance, lanyard, and what I would change.
A year of flying with the Hanatora tablet holder on the DJI RC-N2: the weight nobody mentions, the wobble that shows up in wind, and the pilots who should skip it.
One year, four filters, and a lot of bright Washington afternoons. Here is what the NEEWER ND and CPL set does for Mini 4 Pro video, and where it comes up short.
A year of weekend flying with the NEEWER ND and CPL set for the Mini 4 Pro: the swap you have to learn, the cast you have to fix, and the flights where it earns its place.