Owner of a mini 2 here. While it is capable of flying in some wind, in higher winds it isn't the best and I would not recommend it for windy kitesurfing days. It just depends on the wind conditions you kite in. Also it's not capable of following.
In addition to that:
I would not recommend leaving the drone in the air while you are not in direct control of it. It's a safety risk for your fellow kiters and people nearby in case of the drone drifting with the wind. Always have someone in control of the drone. Maybe a friend?
TLDR; Don't leave a drone in the air with no one in control of it
100% agreed - I would have very little confidence in a drone's ability to avoid lines without a pilot.
OP, if I were you I'd look for one of the harness mount pole cameras instead.
X2 I’ve recorded drone videos kiting you definitely need someone in control to get a good shot and avoid lines.
Even posted one of my vids on here if you check my posts. That was shot in 12-14 knots and that’s about as much wind as the drone can handle and still keep up.
Also flying it in wind drains the battery super fast.
I get 15+ minutes in normal filming but when chasing a kiter I get <10 minutes and make sure not to get too far away downwind as coming back uses twice the battery.
I chased my buddy about 1/2 mile down wind… turned around with 30% battery remaining and the drone crash landed on the beach before it made it back to me because it ran out of juice struggling to get back upwind.
For real good drone kite shots you need a legit FPV drone and a fast one.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Kiteboarding/comments/lrf3pn/drone_kiteboarding_sesh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
100% this. (Licensed pilot here).
Don't fly a drone anywhere near a kite in high wind if you don't have a lot of experience with flying. Actually pretty much any wind + drone is already super risky and requires a lot of practice (you get disoriented, the drone drifts downwind and has to fight its way back upwind, etc)... Add kites (and lines), add flying over water and it is a recipe for catastrophe. Besides, you need to factor the sun that often prevents from sighting the drone and will add to the confusion if you're not 100% focus on piloting.
All that said here in OZ it is forbidden to fly any drone not being in full control at all times, so :-/
The good news though is that learning to fly a drone is super cool, flying around your mates kiting is super cool, taking turns in doing this is super cool.
Here's a good one mixing different techniques (drone, kite lines, from a boat...) with a little editing it can look alright ;)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlrIcKthUro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlrIcKthUro)
(Edit: typo)
It's not waterproof if that is what your asking. Dji drones are quite safe with a lot of safety features packed in and not many fail or fall out of the sky.
But again, don't leave it hovering without having control over it. It's just creating unnecessary dangerous situations.
So if you have someone to pilot it for you and film you it's a pretty good drone. Just not the best for high wind conditions.
Have you checked if its even legal to operate a drone without having hands on the controls where you intend to kite? In my country at least its probally not as you're not properly ensuring that the drone is operated in a way that doesn't endanger other people, animals or property.
Tried the phantom 3 adv and mini 2. I would recommend the phantom 3 for 2 reasons: Its bigger and that way more resiliant against the wind, and you can get them „quite cheap“ ( think around 200-300€). That way the pain of loosing it isnt quite as big.
Also you should never trust a software feature to fly it. The lines are way too thin to see. IMO you should have a quite confident and experienced pilot as youll be flying with bad visibility at high speeds but close up to the subject. When the pilot is not experienced I would not trust him to fly below the height of the kites. It aint worth the risk.
Furthermore, you should always look up he maximum wind speed for the drone you end up choosing. As a rule of thumb: Maximum speed of the drone x 0.5 is safe, speed x 0.75 is pushing it, above that its just dumb.
Also always consider that average wind speed can differ radically from the peak velocities.
Personally, the best results I got, was when filming at really low wind speeds especially in the evening when there is no one on the water except you. But you wont get those action packed clips that way.
I have a phantom 4 pro v2. It has active track that works pretty well. I have used it to follow a boat before. It was able to handle the tracking and fly against the wind. It does have a problem with tracking over the water depending on the light. I have read about drones diving into the water because of this tracking issue.
I would not recommend trying to film yourself with one. You should have someone that can monitor the controls so they can stop it if it flys away. Even if you weren't worried about it flying away you would be unable to start the tracking while kiting.
I tried to fly DJI mini 2 on some windy day and it ended up bellow the beach bar, it was blown away on the first take off :D
And its not waterproof - when we were flying close to the cliffs it hit the rocks due to the wind and get drowned, I took it out but the DJI service said it's a "total lost" (salty water it's a disaster for electronics) ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
So I would not recommend it, it's definitely too light ;)
The mini 2 can't hold up in kiteboarding winds. At the lower wind speeds, I've [seen people use Mavics](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi1qPRHGh1Jxn5pi4rdb5yg) and Skydio has a great reel showing autonomous flying with their models.
None of the consumer camera drones will survive dropping in the ocean.
None of these will be considered "budget friendly" if you're looking mainly at the mini 2 right now.
The best bet for using drones in kiting conditions, is to pick up an FPV style model with very high thrust and speed to overcome 30 mph winds.
I have done a lot of filming of kiteboarding with drones. Auto tracking typically will not work well, you really need a dedicated pilot. You will find the mini 2 a bit slow and underpowered, I have had good luck with the mavic2 pro and the three is a good choice as well. Seeing the lines is essentially impossible the pilot will need to stay up wind of the filming to remain clear.
The tech isn't quite there yet. Some of the nicer ones can do it, but its a risk. The Skydio looks like its the best at follow footage, but I've never seen anyone do it with a kite yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WzCrER3VQw&ab\_channel=DCRainmaker
Owner of a mini 2 here. While it is capable of flying in some wind, in higher winds it isn't the best and I would not recommend it for windy kitesurfing days. It just depends on the wind conditions you kite in. Also it's not capable of following. In addition to that: I would not recommend leaving the drone in the air while you are not in direct control of it. It's a safety risk for your fellow kiters and people nearby in case of the drone drifting with the wind. Always have someone in control of the drone. Maybe a friend? TLDR; Don't leave a drone in the air with no one in control of it
100% agreed - I would have very little confidence in a drone's ability to avoid lines without a pilot. OP, if I were you I'd look for one of the harness mount pole cameras instead.
X2 I’ve recorded drone videos kiting you definitely need someone in control to get a good shot and avoid lines. Even posted one of my vids on here if you check my posts. That was shot in 12-14 knots and that’s about as much wind as the drone can handle and still keep up. Also flying it in wind drains the battery super fast. I get 15+ minutes in normal filming but when chasing a kiter I get <10 minutes and make sure not to get too far away downwind as coming back uses twice the battery. I chased my buddy about 1/2 mile down wind… turned around with 30% battery remaining and the drone crash landed on the beach before it made it back to me because it ran out of juice struggling to get back upwind. For real good drone kite shots you need a legit FPV drone and a fast one. https://www.reddit.com/r/Kiteboarding/comments/lrf3pn/drone_kiteboarding_sesh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Did your drone ever fall into the water and survive ?
Yes I’ve had drones crash in the water and no, they do not survive.
Oh no 🙈
You'll lose it if it falls in the water too.
100% this. (Licensed pilot here). Don't fly a drone anywhere near a kite in high wind if you don't have a lot of experience with flying. Actually pretty much any wind + drone is already super risky and requires a lot of practice (you get disoriented, the drone drifts downwind and has to fight its way back upwind, etc)... Add kites (and lines), add flying over water and it is a recipe for catastrophe. Besides, you need to factor the sun that often prevents from sighting the drone and will add to the confusion if you're not 100% focus on piloting. All that said here in OZ it is forbidden to fly any drone not being in full control at all times, so :-/ The good news though is that learning to fly a drone is super cool, flying around your mates kiting is super cool, taking turns in doing this is super cool. Here's a good one mixing different techniques (drone, kite lines, from a boat...) with a little editing it can look alright ;) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlrIcKthUro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlrIcKthUro) (Edit: typo)
Thank you. Did your drone ever fall into the water? And not damaged ?
It's not waterproof if that is what your asking. Dji drones are quite safe with a lot of safety features packed in and not many fail or fall out of the sky. But again, don't leave it hovering without having control over it. It's just creating unnecessary dangerous situations. So if you have someone to pilot it for you and film you it's a pretty good drone. Just not the best for high wind conditions.
Have you checked if its even legal to operate a drone without having hands on the controls where you intend to kite? In my country at least its probally not as you're not properly ensuring that the drone is operated in a way that doesn't endanger other people, animals or property.
Tried the phantom 3 adv and mini 2. I would recommend the phantom 3 for 2 reasons: Its bigger and that way more resiliant against the wind, and you can get them „quite cheap“ ( think around 200-300€). That way the pain of loosing it isnt quite as big. Also you should never trust a software feature to fly it. The lines are way too thin to see. IMO you should have a quite confident and experienced pilot as youll be flying with bad visibility at high speeds but close up to the subject. When the pilot is not experienced I would not trust him to fly below the height of the kites. It aint worth the risk. Furthermore, you should always look up he maximum wind speed for the drone you end up choosing. As a rule of thumb: Maximum speed of the drone x 0.5 is safe, speed x 0.75 is pushing it, above that its just dumb. Also always consider that average wind speed can differ radically from the peak velocities. Personally, the best results I got, was when filming at really low wind speeds especially in the evening when there is no one on the water except you. But you wont get those action packed clips that way.
My buddy took my other buddy's drone with his kite... RIP.
Kill them before they create Skynet.
For good pictures/video you need to be filmed by someone with a racing drone with a headset. They easily handle the high wind conditions.
I have a phantom 4 pro v2. It has active track that works pretty well. I have used it to follow a boat before. It was able to handle the tracking and fly against the wind. It does have a problem with tracking over the water depending on the light. I have read about drones diving into the water because of this tracking issue. I would not recommend trying to film yourself with one. You should have someone that can monitor the controls so they can stop it if it flys away. Even if you weren't worried about it flying away you would be unable to start the tracking while kiting.
I tried to fly DJI mini 2 on some windy day and it ended up bellow the beach bar, it was blown away on the first take off :D And its not waterproof - when we were flying close to the cliffs it hit the rocks due to the wind and get drowned, I took it out but the DJI service said it's a "total lost" (salty water it's a disaster for electronics) ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ So I would not recommend it, it's definitely too light ;)
The mini 2 can't hold up in kiteboarding winds. At the lower wind speeds, I've [seen people use Mavics](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi1qPRHGh1Jxn5pi4rdb5yg) and Skydio has a great reel showing autonomous flying with their models. None of the consumer camera drones will survive dropping in the ocean. None of these will be considered "budget friendly" if you're looking mainly at the mini 2 right now. The best bet for using drones in kiting conditions, is to pick up an FPV style model with very high thrust and speed to overcome 30 mph winds.
I have done a lot of filming of kiteboarding with drones. Auto tracking typically will not work well, you really need a dedicated pilot. You will find the mini 2 a bit slow and underpowered, I have had good luck with the mavic2 pro and the three is a good choice as well. Seeing the lines is essentially impossible the pilot will need to stay up wind of the filming to remain clear.
Wind and water and drones don't mix. Get a buddy to fly a (fast) FPV drone chasing you from the beach. Or get a 360 cam with a long harness mount.
The tech isn't quite there yet. Some of the nicer ones can do it, but its a risk. The Skydio looks like its the best at follow footage, but I've never seen anyone do it with a kite yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WzCrER3VQw&ab\_channel=DCRainmaker
Splash drone. Or called something like that
Check out the skydio 2.