I have been flying a DJI Air2S as my preferred drone for over 18 months now and love it. I also have an FPV, Mini 2 and Avata by the way.
Yesterday I received a Mini 3 Pro Fly More Pack for review. How does it stack up?
Well the first thing I would say before anything else whatsoever, is that if you already own (or are thinking of getting) a Mini 3 or 3 Pro or an Air2S, get a DJI RC Controller for it. It really does change everything as compared to a phone or tablet. The inbuilt screen on the controller makes such a massive difference, especially in sunlight.
Yes, you can get shade hoods and controller mounts – I have a Baldur Lifthof – but the added weight and inconvenience in setting it all up as against just whipping out the RC Controller is a no comparison.
And for around $399 it is a cheap upgrade.
Any way first impressions.
As mentioned I have a Mini 2 and it is inevitable you make some comparison between the two. The inclusion of the RC controller besides, the Mini 3 Pro feels more solid. I have always been a bit nervous with the Mini 2 because of this. And a major bonus of the Mini 3 Pro therefore is the 3 way obstacle detection, whereas the Mini 2 has none.
Optically the Mini 3 is far superior to the Mini 2 as well with 48MP RAW v 12MP RAW and 4K/60fps and 1080p/120fps v 4K/30fps / 1080p/60fps.
But how does it fair against the Air2S? This is altogether a different story.
Versus the Air2S
For photography, in terms of sheer resolution, the Mini 3 Pro is the better of the two with a higher RAW megapixel count, but video wise they are on a par. Both have obstacle detection of course but the Air2S has all directions covered with the Mini 3 Pro missing out on the upward sensor.. The Air2S is slightly faster than the Mini 3 Pro and can fly 1000 metres higher (than sea level not absolute). maximum flight times vary within minutes with the standard batteries, but the Mini 3 Pro has the advantage of also being able to use the Plus intelligent bettery adding another 10 mins to the standard 30. This also adds another 7Km to the maximum flight distance over the 18Km they both share for the standard battery.
Of course this maximum distance is a moot point unless you have an RePL.
Another advantage of the Air2S over the Mini 3 Pro is the onboard 8GB memory supplementing the SD card storage. This means that if you do forget to use an SD card – and we have all done it – or an SD card fails in flight, you can still capture footage or stills.
If you want to compare the complete specs of the Mini 3 pro and the Air2S, the respective specification web pages are at https://www.dji.com/au/mini-3-pro/specs and https://www.dji.com/au/air-2s/specs.
I enjoyed the short flight I have done so far with the Mini 3 Pro – and there will be many more to come.
The RC controller had a massive bearing on that as I hinted earlier, and I am conviced getting one for the Air2S is now a priority. Also brilliant is the quick setup so that you are in the air very quickly, which if you are one of those that likes to catch a “moment”, is very important. Again the controller aids in this, beating a phone / tablet hands down.
So, at this early stage, I would suggest a perfect combination would be a Mini 3 Pro AND and an Air2S. For local stuff I do, the Air2S is my preference, and the addition of the RC controller would make it damn near perfect. But if I was travelling more than doing local shoots, then the Mini 3 Pro would certainly take precedence.
But, that is first impression. A bit more testing may change my mind.
Stay tuned …