• Categories
• Tips & Inspiration
• Reviews
• News
• Events
• Features
• Buying Guides
• Competitions

Whats new with the DJI Mini 3 Pro

With the release of the latest foldable Mini drone, we take a look at what’s new with the DJI Mini 3 Pro. We dive into key aircraft features, specifications and what aerial photographers can expect from this sub 249g drone.

Where does the DJI Mini 3 Pro fit into the range?

With a number of full-size and compact drones in their line-up you may be wondering where the DJI Mini 3 Pro fits into the range. The four camera drone series which DJI offers are flagship Mavic Series, content-creator inspired Air Series, extremely compact Mini Series and sports oriented DJI FPV Series.

The latest DJI Mini 3 Pro falls somewhere between the Air and Mini range, compacting many of the benefits of the larger Mavic Air 2 into the ultra compact form-factor of the previous generation DJI Mini 2. Where the Mavic Air 2 weighs 570g, the new Mini 3 Pro is under half the weight at a hair under 249g, which places it firmly into DJI’s Mini drone category.

Who is the Mini 3 Pro aimed at?

With the Mini drone weighing under 250g you’ll be getting a small and light aircraft, which literally fits into your pocket. Once you’ve added a couple of spare Mini 3 Pro Intelligent Flight Batteries, an essential Mini 3 Pro ND Filter Set and Two-way Charging Hub, you’re still looking at a combined weight of considerably less than 1kg. This makes for the ideal compact camera drone for content creators who want to travel as lightweight as possible, perhaps for hiking, holidays or excursions. You may have a Youtube channel, create content for other social media networks or for your own website and want a competent drone which is not only palm-sized, but capable of capturing great content for your audience.

The Mini series is also an excellent choice for beginner pilots, particularly as DJI ported over their excellent ‘MasterShots’ feature. This creates pretty epic-looking video footage using pre-defined flight paths of just about any subject you want. DJI also updated flight safety with three directional object sensing, which is ideal for beginners who now also benefit from far more competent object avoidance to avoid collisions. This leads neatly on to key new aircraft features and how they will benefit pilots and aerial photographers of various skill-levels.

Key Mini 3 Pro aircraft features

1. The Mini 3 Pro includes a 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor, which has dual native ISO (for improved low light performance) and larger individual pixels. The bigger pixels means the sensor can gather more light, which should result in better image quality for both stills and videos.
2. You can capture 4K/60fps video, as well as 1080p/120fps slow motion and 48 megapixel RAW photos. These can be recorded and shot using the free DJI Fly app, which helps you to produce impressive results more easily than ever, automatically capturing professional-level content with just a few taps. We’ll go into more specifics later, but suffice to say the MIni 3 Pro includes the most advanced features of any Mini before.
3. Safest Mini camera drone with Tri Directional Obstacle Sensing and APAS 4.0. The previous Mini didn’t include object sensing and the Mavic Air 2 came with APAS 3.0. With this latest aircraft, DJI has combined these two features with the newest Advanced Pilot Assistance System, making it safer than ever. Live view transmission has also been improved for the Mini, which helps provide a clearer, more stable 1080p/30fps live feed video transmission. Of course this makes it easier to see what obstacles may be in the way, as well as making for a better quality feed to compose and shoot with.
4. The Mini 3 Pro offers up to 34 minutes flight time, up from 31 minutes with the Mini 2. This is due to extended battery life, as well as a more streamlined aircraft design and new propeller design.
5. The gimbal has also been updated to include what DJI refers to as ‘True Vertical Shooting’. This makes it easier to snap images and videos in vertical (portrait) orientation, which is ideal for phone screens and certain social media applications. This is a nice touch which saves time.
6. DJI added intelligent modes from other drone series, including FocusTrack. This is a superb feature which makes your drone automatically shoot any point of interest (photo and video) with user selectable speed and flight direction. Results are impressive and it’s a breeze to set-up and create smooth video content and sharply focused stills.

Which versions of the DJI Mini 3 Pro are available?

Many DJI drone launches include more than one variant of the new drone and the DJI Mini 3 Pro follows this with a little deviation. Firstly, there are three variants available to buy, which are:

• DJI Mini 3 Pro (No RC)
• DJI Mini 3 Pro (includes standard RC)
• DJI Mini 3 Pro (DJI RC)

The three variants are differentiated with this major release by the Remote Controller (RC). You can either get a drone without an RC, which assumes you have the DJI RC Pro already. Secondly you can get the Mini 3 Pro with a standard RC, or you can get a bundle with the DJI RC, which includes a built-in screen and preinstalled Fy More App.

Previous DJI owners may spot the omission of a ‘Fly More’ bundle, which is offered as a separate accessory kit with this release – the DJI Mini 3 Pro Fly More Kit which does not include a drone. This is a great idea with the drone variants available this time round.

The table below shows which accessories are included with these three product variants:

Which accessories can you get for the DJI Mini 3 Pro drone?

With every drone release DJI typically also updates any accessories, although there is often some backwards compatibility with previous generation accessories. In the case of the Mini 3 Pro, the aircraft design has been updated, which means available accessories are more comprehensively updated and several are exclusive to this drone.

• DJI Mini 3 Pro Propellers feature a new, more aerodynamic design which is exclusive to the Mini 3 Pro.
• The Mini 3 Pro Two-way Charging Hub lets you charge three batteries in sequence and provides mobile power delivery for your other devices in a pinch.
• You can add a super-lightweight Mini 3 Pro Wide-Angle Lens, which expands the field of view you can achieve with the built-in lens.
• It’s fairly essential to get an ND Filter Set (ND16/64/256) for Mini 3 if you shoot content in various light and brightness levels.
• The Mini 3 Pro Fly More Kit includes two extra batteries, a charging hub, spare props, screws and a handy shoulder bag to carry everything in. We would definitely get this kit as it offers 1+ extra hour of flight time to make sure you get the content you need.

New compact wide-angle lens accessory pictured above

Summary

With the release of the Mini 3 Pro, DJI is accommodating creators who want the features and capabilities of a larger camera drone, but in the lightweight form of a Mini drone. This makes excellent sense for anyone who has to travel or hike to capture content. It also opens up new possibilities when you’re simply on holiday, or heading on a day trip to the beach, or virtually anywhere. If you can pop a drone into your pocket, why wouldn’t you take it everywhere?

DJI has made it easier to capture impressive quality content, from high resolution photos using various stills modes, to incredibly professional looking videos with just a couple of taps on the screen. If you’re a newer pilot you can make the most of these many Intelligent flight modes included, until you’re ready to navigate and take a greater degree of control yourself. Conversely more advanced pilots and experienced photographers can head straight out and get precisely the content they need for their audience, all from a palm-sized aircraft.

Low light capabilities have been improved through dual gain ISO, which is great news for creators who shoot during sunrise or sunset, as well as in forests or other locations where light levels dip noticeably. Improved safety is most welcome and will be advantageous for beginners and more advanced pilots, as will longer flight times and the new gimbal design with vertical mode. All in all, the Mini 3 Pro brings so many upgrades we’re sure it will tempt previous owners to upgrade as well as newcomers who want to dive in to aerial content, with a truly palm-sized drone.

Head over to our drones page now to secure your Mini 3 Pro, browse new drone accessories and to compare it with other aircraft for your content creation.

Share this post:

By Nick Dautlich on 10/05/2022

Nick Dautlich

Senior Content Writer and Product Reviewer

Nick Dautlich is the Senior Content Writer and Product Reviewer at Park Cameras, with over 15 years of photography experience. A Sony Imaging Professional and expert reviewer, Nick has worked with major brands such as Canon, Sony and Nikon. His work is also featured on Vanguard World UK’s website, Capture Landscapes, and Shutter Evolve. Nick’s photography includes National Trust projects and magazine covers and he is passionate about landscapes and storytelling. Nick also enjoys hiking and teaching his children about nature. Learn more on his profile page.