New to drones: does reflective tape and landing gear impact weight for DJI M4P?

Product Support Forum
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I recently got my very first drone, the DJI Mini 4 Pro with the RC-2 controller. I’ve watched a ton of videos while waiting for everything to come together. I remember someone mentioning little plastic landing gear for beginners, so I ordered those along with some reflective tape. My question is: will adding either or both of these make the drone weigh over 249 grams?

Also, do people really use the landing gear? Does it provide extra protection? Is it worth it? How common is reflective tape? I have a lot of birds around here, and during my first flights today, it definitely caught some attention. At one spot, a crow flew nearby, then more crows showed up, so I had to land quickly, haha.

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I would skip both. Landing gear isn’t really useful, and reflective tape can be hit or miss in effectiveness. Just a heads up, in the UK, it’s nesting season, so if you’re near an angry bird, the tape won’t help. Just land and move to a different spot.

Welcome to the drone community! You’ll have a great time, but try not to get caught up in buying too many extras. Just the drone, some extra batteries, and ND filters are all you really need.

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@Lian
How often do you end up using ND filters? I have them for all my drones, but don’t use them much since choosing which one to use is kind of a hassle.

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Jules said:
@Lian
How often do you end up using ND filters? I have them for all my drones, but don’t use them much since choosing which one to use is kind of a hassle.

I don’t really use them for photos. Sharp photos need a faster shutter speed. I usually use a clear polarizing filter to get better skies and reduce reflections from water and windows.

For video:
Good light but cloudy - ND 8
Cloudy with the sun peeking - ND 16
Sunny - ND 32
Very hot and facing the sun - ND 64

You want double the shutter speed for your frame rate. So for 30fps, you’d want a shutter speed of 1/60. If you switch to pro mode while recording, check the MM value.

For instance, on a sunny day, set your video to ISO 100, shutter speed 1/60 and 4k at 30fps. With an ND filter, aim for the MM to be close to 0. A range of 0.5 to -0.5 is fine for editing, but closer to 0 is better.

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@Lian
Thanks for the insights! I bought those extras on a bit of a whim, but I’ve been wondering if they really get used a lot. This drone has been on my wishlist for ages. Living in the States, I figured I better get it now since prices are going up. Those accessories were cheap. Just recently, things have been looking dicey, and while my budget is tight, I did buy extra batteries and a multi-battery charger, along with extra propellers and a set of around 8 filters labeled as ND filters, even though they’re different types. I haven’t used them yet since I only flew for about 2 hours this morning, which was my very first time flying a drone.

That experience was incredible, and I’m so pumped! I still need to check out the video footage.

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I’ve never seen reflective tape really work. I sometimes use landing gear if I don’t have a landing pad or can’t find a flat place to land. It helps keep the propellers from hitting grass and lowers the chance of dirt and sand getting into the motors.

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@Jules
Interesting! That makes sense. I did order a landing pad; just waiting for it to arrive. This morning, my first flight was in a parking lot around 6 to 8 AM. Do you know if adding landing gear would push the weight over the limit?

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@Lennon
That really depends on which landing gear you choose. Usually, the weight is listed in the description, so you can decide based on that.

If you’re in the US, though, the weight limit isn’t much of a concern if you’re flying just for fun. (See 49 USC 44809: Exception for limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft)

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If your batteries are the intelligent flight plus ones (which give 45 minutes of flight time), then you’re likely already over that 249g limit.

I usually try to catch my drone if I can since I don’t always have a landing pad and it’s often better than landing on dirt or grass.

I’m not convinced about the reflective tape either; luckily I haven’t had many issues so far.

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@Freeman
Today was my first time flying a drone ever! I’d like to learn to launch by hand too, though it feels like a lot to take in at once. Where I am in Kansas, it gets super windy, which adds to the challenge.

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Thanks for the feedback! I did buy one of the extended batteries but have mainly used the two original ones. So, that’s not a concern. I was curious if those accessories would push the weight over the limit, but I’m starting to wonder how often people really use them.