DJI Mini 4 Pro waypoint missions in DJI Fly: 200 waypoints, GSD, flight time and planners
The DJI Mini 4 Pro flies waypoint missions in DJI Fly, up to 200 waypoints and one battery per mission. Here are its numbers: ground resolution per height, the flight time to plan with, how a KMZ gets onto it and which planners name it.
By Sander Helgesen · Last checked
In short
- Waypoint Flight is built into DJI Fly for the Mini 4 Pro: up to 200 waypoints per mission, heights relative to the takeoff point, no terrain follow.
- GSD with the 1/1.3-inch 48 MP camera, 12 MP photo, straight down: 2.1 cm/px at 60 m, 2.9 at 80 m and 3.6 at 100 m.
- DJI rates the Mini 4 Pro at 34 minutes. Plan a mission for 23 minutes or less, 70% of that.
- A KMZ goes in by replacing a placeholder mission; the KMZ guide has the iPhone and DJI RC 2 steps.
- Of the current DJI Fly waypoint drones, it is the one on DJI's Mobile SDK, so Android apps such as Litchi Pilot BETA and Dronelink can also fly it live.
Waypoints on the Mini 4 Pro
DJI lists Waypoint Flight for the Mini 4 Pro, and DJI Fly stores each mission as a KMZ in DJI's WPML format. A mission takes at most 200 waypoints and runs on one battery: land to swap and it is over, so a bigger job is several missions from the same takeoff.
Every height is metres above the takeoff point. DJI Fly has no terrain follow, so on a slope the heights in the file have to climb with the ground, and Max Altitude has to be set above the highest waypoint; EU builds stop at 120 m. The limits guide covers all four limits.
The Mini 4 Pro is also the one current DJI Fly waypoint drone on DJI's Mobile SDK v5, which runs on Android only. That is why Litchi Pilot BETA and the Dronelink app can fly it live from an Android phone; on an iPhone or a DJI RC 2 it flies waypoint missions in DJI Fly like the rest.
GSD at 60, 80 and 100 m
The Mini 4 Pro's main camera is 1/1.3-inch 48 MP: a 9.68 × 7.26 mm sensor behind a 6.72 mm lens. Plan mapping in the 12 MP mode: the full-resolution photo halves the number on paper, but the 12 MP mode is the one that keeps up with a photo every few seconds.
For 2 cm/px, the usual choice for an orthophoto of a plot, fly the Mini 4 Pro at about 56 m above the ground.
GSD in cm/px with the camera straight down, from the sensor and focal length in DJI's specifications (confirmed from photo metadata). The footprint is width × length on the ground; the spacing is for 80/70% overlap.
| Height above ground | 12 MP photo | 48 MP photo | Footprint | Between photos | Between lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 m | 2.1 | 1.1 | 86 × 65 m | 13 m | 26 m |
| 80 m | 2.9 | 1.4 | 115 × 86 m | 17 m | 35 m |
| 100 m | 3.6 | 1.8 | 144 × 108 m | 22 m | 43 m |
Flight time: rated against planned
DJI's 34 minutes is measured in a wind tunnel at a steady forward speed until the battery forces a landing. A mission has stops, climbs, wind and a reserve to land with, so plan it within 70% of the rating: 23 minutes for the Mini 4 Pro.
With the Intelligent Flight Battery Plus, DJI rates the Mini 4 Pro at 45 minutes, but the drone then weighs more than 249 g, and DJI doesn't sell that battery in Europe. In the EU, plan with the standard battery.
DJI's rated maximum flight time against the time a mission is planned within: 70% of it, rounded down.
| Battery | Rated (DJI) | Planned (70%) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard battery | 34 min | 23 min |
| Intelligent Flight Battery Plus | 45 min | 31 min |
Fly a waypoint mission on the Mini 4 Pro
Plan within the limits
At most 200 waypoints, 23 minutes of flight and 120 m above the ground, with every height counted from the spot you will take off from.
Make a placeholder mission
In DJI Fly, connected to the Mini 4 Pro, make a waypoint mission with two points and save it. Your file will take its place.
Swap in your KMZ
On an iPhone, replace the placeholder's file in
Files › On My iPhone › DJI Fly › wayline_mission. On a DJI RC 2, connect the controller to a computer and replace it inAndroid/data/dji.go.v5/files/waypoint/. Keep the placeholder's file name; the KMZ guide has every step.Set Max Altitude
In DJI Fly's safety settings, set Max Altitude at least as high as the highest waypoint and the return-to-home height.
Take off from the planned spot
Open the mission, check every waypoint on the map, and start it from the takeoff point the heights were planned from.
Mapping grids with the Mini 4 Pro
At 2 cm/px and 80/70% overlap, the Mini 4 Pro's photos are about 12 m apart along a line and the lines about 24 m apart. DJI Fly doesn't reliably honour the interval triggers a file can carry, so a grid needs one waypoint per photo, and the 200-waypoint cap holds a flight to about 200 photos.
A bigger area is several flights from the same takeoff, each within 23 minutes. The mapping guide covers overlap, light and accuracy without RTK, and compares the Mini 4 Pro with the other DJI Fly drones.
Planners that support the Mini 4 Pro
Litchi, Waypoint Map, Dronelink, Pixpro and Skyplanr name the Mini 4 Pro on their own pages. The comparison of waypoint planners has their prices, the iPhone path and what each does with the ground.
- Litchi: in the Litchi Pilot BETA app on Android, through DJI's SDK, or as a KMZ from Litchi Hub swapped into DJI Fly.
- Waypoint Map: as a KMZ you swap into DJI Fly, free for recreational use.
- Dronelink: in the Dronelink app, or as a KMZ from the web planner swapped into DJI Fly.
- Pixpro: as a KMZ you swap into DJI Fly, with any Pixpro plan.
- Skyplanr: as a DJI Fly KMZ per flight, with the heights from the terrain and the job split at 200 waypoints and 70% of the battery.
Where Skyplanr fits in
Skyplanr plans for the Mini 4 Pro's camera and battery: each waypoint's height from the terrain, buildings and trees under it, and a job over 200 waypoints or 23 minutes split into flights from the same takeoff, one DJI Fly KMZ each.
See the technologyQuestions
Does the DJI Mini 4 Pro support waypoints?
Yes. DJI Fly has Waypoint Flight for the Mini 4 Pro, with up to 200 waypoints per mission. Heights count from the takeoff point, and there is no terrain follow.
How long can a waypoint mission on the Mini 4 Pro be?
One battery. DJI rates the Mini 4 Pro at 34 minutes; plan for 23 minutes or less, 70% of that, because a mission can't resume after a battery swap.
Can I map with the Mini 4 Pro?
Yes, as a waypoint grid with one waypoint per photo. At 56 m the 12 MP photo gives 2 cm/px; a flight holds about 200 photos, and a bigger area is several flights.
Does Litchi work with the Mini 4 Pro?
Yes: in the Litchi Pilot BETA app on Android, through DJI's SDK, or as a KMZ from Litchi Hub swapped into DJI Fly.
Sources
Skyplanr is not affiliated with the third-party guides linked here.
- DJI Developer: DJI WPML overview (the KMZ format DJI Fly reads) (developer.dji.com)
- DJI: Mini 4 Pro (Waypoint Flight in DJI Fly) (dji.com)
- DJI: Mini 4 Pro specifications (camera, flight time, weight) (dji.com)
- DJI Developer: Mobile SDK v5 for Android, supported products (github.com)
- Litchi: supported drone and remote controller models (Litchi Hub, Litchi Pilot BETA, Litchi for DJI Drones) (forum.flylitchi.com)
- Litchi: how to use Litchi Hub with DJI Fly (KMZ export, Hub Bridge for Mac and Windows) (forum.flylitchi.com)
- WaypointMap: Premium and the free recreational tier (waypointmap.com)
- WaypointMap: supported drones (waypointmap.com)
- Dronelink: onboard DJI waypoint missions, convert and export to KMZ (support.dronelink.com)
- Dronelink: plans and pricing (app.dronelink.com)
- Pixpro: Pixpro Waypoints (pix-pro.com)
- Pixpro: how to use Pixpro Waypoints, step by step (pix-pro.com)
This guide describes how DJI Fly behaved when it was last checked; DJI can change the app at any time. It is advice, not a permission: you are the pilot in command, and the site, the geo-zones and the rules are yours to check before take-off.
Let Skyplanr write the file.
Describe the job, and Skyplanr plans the waypoint mission, checks it and gives you the KMZ for DJI Fly.