Pro video blog…Produced by Philip Johnston DoP/Editor

Having piloted for a total of 1h 43m its still a steal learning curve every time my Macvic 2 goes up.


Firstly I couldn’t find tripod mode till someone on the DJI forum pointed out you must enable Multiple Flight Modes in the DJI GO 4 APP.

Then you get the ability to switch on and off Tripod mode from the controller itself, very useful. For people not up with the terminology Tripod mode makes the drone move at about 2mph allowing very smooth dolly shots.


Since speaking to my friend Chris I have bought myself a set of extended landing gear from Kingwon (£14) as the Mavic sits ridiculously far too close to the ground making grass landing almost near impossible.

Simon taking the Mavic 2 Pro out for its first spin

I am indebted to my friend Simon for getting me started as he usually fly’s a Boing 737 for a living.

This morning I was flying and got an alarm from the controller, my battery was low. Panic don’t panic, I was like corporal Jones from Dads Army, making a lot of flying errors trying to land the drone in a hurry, another learning curve and totally my fault for not flying on a fresh battery. This was the shot I sent my Mavic to capture.


I will leave you with a tutorial from Dylan Young a chap who shows you how to return your Mavic to home.

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Having been working in the video business since 1988 I have amassed a great amount of knowledge of both the kit and production values over the last 30 years.

One thought on “The first few days with the DJI Mavic 2

  1. Hi Phil,

    Good to see that you’re getting on well with your Mavic 2 Pro, I think it’s a great little aircraft with an excellent camera.
    I’m a DoP that flies and have a range of aircraft including heavy lift for Alexa Mini’s and the like and I started back in 2008 so I was hoping you wouldn’t mind if I offered you a couple of handy tips:

    1/ Always charge a DJI battery to 100% within 24hrs of flight. Part used batts have been the cause of many a crash in the past.
    If you should have a ‘moment’ while you are in P mode then just centre the sticks and the Mavic will stop in the air so you can gather your thoughts for a few seconds then take whatever action is needed.
    If the battery alarm goes at 25%, you can usually get home from legal distances on about 10% leaving you 15% on landing and this won’t unduly damage the battery provided you don’t make a habit of it as 20% is usually considered the minimum to go to.

    2/ Set your come home height to 50m as there are a lot of trees that can be 30m.

    3/ Follow the drone code (www.dronesafe.uk)

    4/ Make sure you are insured. If you plan to stay as a hobbyist then insure via http://www.bmfa.org.

    5/ If you want to fly commercially then do your PfCO and get appropriate commercial insurance.

    Hope that helps.
    Please feel free to publish / not publish as you see fit.

    Best Regards,

    Steve Shearn

    HDW : Thanks Steve for the great tips, my friend on Arran told me to get insurance from FPV UK which cost £20 a year. I am only learning at the moment so commercial work is not on the radar yet.

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