By Yadira B. Arnold 
With each release, DJI seems to be integrating more features into smaller and smaller drones. The Mavic 3, launched last year, was a relatively small drone with a mirrorless camera sensor, professional video quality and much more. Now he has brought much of this technology to an even smaller drone, the Mini 3 Pro. On paper, it is more powerful than the Mavic Air 2, a model more than twice as big.
At 8.8 ounces (249 grams), the Mini 3 Pro is light enough to bypass most drone regulations. However, DJI has managed to integrate a sensor larger than most smartphones and capable of detecting obstacles all around. Unlike the Mavic Mini 2, it offers 4K at 60 fps and 120 fps in slow motion, as well as most of the Mavic 3’s AI features such as ActiveTrack, Quickstrikes and Masterstrikes.
Its small size and light weight make it more maneuverable than the Mavic 3, and it is launched with a brand new remote control with an integrated screen. However, the Mini 3 Pro costs in the middle 679 and 910, making it one of the most expensive lightweight drones on the market. To see if it could justify this price, I tried it with the help of my friend drone pilot, Samuel Dejours.
The Mini 3 Pro is so small that you can store it, the RC remote control, three batteries and a powerr in a small bag. This makes it ideal for travel, adventure activities and more. And since it weighs less than 250 grams, you don’t need to register it or have a drone pilot license in the United States and other countries.
The standard smart flight battery offers UP to 34 minutes of flight time, according to DJI, but you have to take this number with a great grain of salt. We ran it several times until we were exhausted and saw a maximum of about 30 minutes, with the return home (RTH) warning occurring after about 25 minutes. Of course, with such a light drone, these figures are highly dependent on the wind and other factors.
DJI Mini 3 Pro Review
If that’s not enough, DJI offers the optional intelligent flight battery plus, which increases endurance to a maximum of 47 minutes (with unchanged weight), which is unprecedented for a drone of this size. Again, don’t expect to reach this number very often, but even if you reach 40 minutes, it’s still awesome for a lightweight drone. DJI points out that due to local regulations, the larger capacity battery is not available in the EU and other regions, but it can be sold in the United States.
To improve endurance and remain more resistant to the wind, the Mini 3 Pro has a new aerodynamic body that tilts ahead in flight to reduce drag. The redesign also allowed DJI to use larger propellers to increase propulsion efficiency. Speaking of which, this drone is incredibly quiet. Above about 50 meters (164 feet) you can’t hear it at all, which is great when it comes to not disturbing wildlife, etc. However, I could also see this raising concerns from privacy advocates.
While the Mini 2 completely lacked obstacle avoidance capabilities, the Mini 3 Pro has DJI’s apas 4.0 system and can detect objects in front, behind and below, all with a fairly wide visibility. This system is essential for set upain bikers and others who want to film their adventures in forests and other difficult environments.
DJI claims that its 1080p OcuSync 3.0 RC video transmission works for 7.5 miles (12 km), but we found this to be a weak point in our Tests. If you don’t have a direct line of sight, it tends to lose the signal much faster than the Mavic 3. for example, we tried several passes under a nearby bridge and the Signal was almost or completely lost, forcing the drone to find its own way out. So, if you don’t have a line of sight on the drone, don’t go any closer than 12 km.
The camera gimbal tilts 90 degrees down and 60 degrees up, more than double the height of the Mini 2 and Mavic Air 2. The top up angle makes it useful for capturing spectacular images of buildings, cliffs, etc. It has a relatively large 48 megapixels-1 / 1,3- 1-inch sensor larger than that of the iPhone 13 and only about 40% smaller than the 1-inch sensor of the DJI Mavic 2 Pro. It offers a Native dual ISO for improved HDR and low-light sensitivity and a 24 mm equivalent f/1.7 lens with fixed aperture.
Just as DJI’s Mavic 3 took over the features of mirrorless cameras, the Mini 3 Pro took a side of Smartphones. You can take high-resolution 48-megapixel photos or combine four pixels into one for 12-megapixel images with improved night sensitivity, just like many smartphones. It has a digital zoom twice for 4K and four times for 1080p.
The video specifications are also impressive for a small drone. 4K and 2.7K are supported up to 60 fps, or you can record in 1080p at 120 fps. This is comparable to 4K at 30 fps for the Mini 2 and the EVO Nano + From autel, the main competitor of the Mini 3 Pro. Videos and photos are stored on microSD cards and there is a small internal memory of 1.25 GB.
Another interesting tip is the real vertical video mode for sharing on social networks. To maximize the quality, the gimbal bodily rotates the camera sideways for videos and photos. Just like a smartphone or a camera, you get up to 48 megapixels of video and 4K of video, whether you strike in portrait or landscape mode.
If you prefer not to use a Smartphone and the usual DJI RC-N1 remote control, for an additional 240 you can get the Mini 3 Pro with the new RC remote control with integrated screen. It sure looks and feels inexpensive than DJI’s 1,100 RC Pro, and the screen isn’t as bright or sharp. In full sun, we had to stay in the shade to have a clear view.
But the screen is large and generally quite bright, and extremely practical compared to the RC-N1. This makes striking so much easier and fun when you don’t need to take out a Smartphone, plug it in, etc.
It has Electricity, home and a cinema, Normal and sport switch on top. Photos and videos are taken using the front triggers and the Joysticks can be stored underneath for travel. However, unlike the RC-N1, it has separate triggers for photos and videos. When you press one of the triggers, it automatically switches modes in the middle video and photos, so you don’t need to dive into the menus..
It has USB powering and host ports, as well as a microSD card slot for screen capture. All in all, it is a nice addition to DJI’s Remote RC range. The company has not yet specified whether it will offer the remote control separately or for use with other drones.
Performance
A major complaint with the Mavic 3 was that many key features such as ActiveTrack were not available at launch and did not arrive until months after – too after to review. Fortunately, I was able to test almost all the features of the DJI Mini 3 Pro.
With its small size and potential maneuverability, the first thing we wanted to see was the APAS 4.0 obstacle detection and ActiveTrack tracking. To test these features, we grabbed a set upain bike and went to a forest where we competed the Mini 3 Pro against a Mavic 3. The objective was to travel along tree-lined paths and see which drone could follow.
As we expected, the Mini 3 Pro damaged the biggest drone. This was followed by Nathanael with greater agility, avoiding almost all the trees. Only once did his sensors miss a small branch, but the small crash did not even cause scratches. This is another advantage of a small drone – it is less likely to be damaged in an accident. The Mavic 3, on the other hand, was much slower and often stopped completely instead of bypassing obstacles.
There are some limitations to the monitoring of topics. FocusTrack 4.0 and ActiveTrack only work in 4K 30P, not 4K 50/60P or 1080 120P. also, a feature that allows the drone to go around obstacles instead of stopping first is not yet activated.
The Mini 3 Pro also performed well in various Quickstrikes and Masterstrikes scenarios. In one matter, while trying to use the propeller mode function, it detected an obstacle (a roof) and stopped. These features (Helix, Boomerang, drone, Rocket and Circle) all offer you cool photos to share on social networks. they worked perfectly on the Mini 3 Pro, although the quality was limited to 1080p. We also used the Hyperlapse function to create a beautiful time-lapse video about a night city.