The Mavic 3 Pro is a relatively small drone with a mirrorless camera sensor, professional video quality, and more. It is able to fly in all three directions, has an extensive feature set, and can take pictures and videos with a resolution of up to 4K. DJI seems to cram more functions into ever-smaller drones with each new iteration.
Design
Dji’s folding structure never ceases to amaze. Four hinges allow two rotor arms to fold inward towards the main body while the other two rotate into a position that is comparable. The design is straightforward but flawlessly implemented. The mini 3 Pro truly lives up to its name when it is folded up. On a budget airline flight with only under-seat luggage, we were able to fit the drone and its controller into a rucksack along with four days’ worth of clothing. The drone could even fit into a coat pocket if we were wearing one with room to spare. ..
The 4K camera on the drone is stabilized by a motorized gimbal that keeps it level at all times. The gimbal adjusts so swiftly that even when the drone is pitching sharply forward or backward, the camera remains pointed precisely where you want it to. There is only one battery pack, and it fits into the back of the body. Additionally, a USB-C port for charging and a microSD card slot are located here.
This drone is a lightweight quadcopter that is free from most recreational flying regulations. It has small motors that are believed to be safe for use over humans. The Dji mini 3 pro can be flown almost anywhere, and it only needs a few seconds to unfold, turn on, connect to the controller, and take off.
DJI Mini 3 Pro review: Features
The Mavic Mini has a tri-directional obstacle sensing system that makes it possible to fly around obstacles or to brake when one is detected. This feature is very much appreciated, as it gives you the option of setting collision avoidance to either fly around obstacles or to brake when one is detected.
Mavic Mini drones offer a variety of features that were previously unavailable on other drones, like Quickshots and subject tracking/Follow Me. You can shoot cinematic video footage with the help of Quickshots, which is a collection of automatic flight patterns. While the FocusTrack Suite offers three options for manual flight while the camera tracks a predefined subject, two for tracking moving and static subjects autonomously.
The Mini 3 Pro is now a highly capable device overall thanks to these added capabilities and camera enhancements. The Mini 3 Pro may be used in a variety of settings because of its versatility and low weight despite its small size and low wind resistance of just under 24mph. Additionally, there are the common Cine, Normal, and Sport modes, each of which offers a range of functionality and flight speeds, with Sport offering the fastest top speed of up to 35.7 mph. ..
DJI Mini 3 Pro review: Image quality
The DJI Osmo Pocket, Osmo Action, and their pedigree, which dates back to the Phantom series, all build upon one another to continuously improve the camera’s quality. DJI keeps coming up with new ideas and demonstrates a preference for producing high-quality cameras with a compact design.
The Mini 3 Pro’s camera produces incredibly sharp and clear video. In fact, it sometimes borders on being too sharp for our tastes. It has a respectable dynamic range, accurate color reproduction, and can deliver a great image right out of the camera with little effort. You can get more out of this capable small camera if you record video using D-Cinelike. For those interested in drone photography, it also captures stunning 48 MP stills in RAW.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 is a great camera for filmmakers who want to shoot in 4K resolution at 48p or above. The footage produced is very usable and less murky than that of its predecessors, and higher ISO settings can result in excessive built-in noise reduction processing. We advise sticking with the previously suggested settings. ..
Video quality
The Mini 3 Pro takes great video. The ND filters were not used when recording the videos for our tests because they were not accessible. As a result of the quick shutter speeds necessary to balance exposure against the quick f/1.7 fixed aperture, the 4K footage is a little choppy. However, when shooting video, the detail and sharpness are excellent throughout the frame, and using ND filters will result in fluid footage when shot at the right shutter speed for the frame rate of the video being captured. If you want to shoot video, you must purchase an ND filter set from DJI separately.
The Mini 3 Pro is a 4K video recorder that can shoot up to 60p and offers slow-motion video. ..
The DJI Mavic Pro has been updated with a new color grading feature that allows for more freedom in editing scenes without problems like color banding. A digital zoom option is also available, offering 2x zoom at 4K resolution, 3x zoom at 2.7K resolution, and 4x zoom at FHD resolution. Despite the quality loss, FHD ultimately produces the best results up to a 2x zoom. However, this must be used with caution as it can produce blurry images when enlarged too much. ..
Flight performance
The Mini 3 Pro is a more advanced drone than the Mini 3, but it is still a very simple drone to fly. It will be pushed around by moderate to strong winds.
The DJI Mini 3 Pro is a drone that is more prone to strong gusts than other drones because of its lightweight body. Although the built-in gimbal can correct for any shake caused by the wind, a heavier drone might be preferable if you need it to hover still all the time. Imagine if after you’ve already taken off, the wind picks up. You can read our article on DJI Mini 3 Pro review.
In this situation, the Mini 3 appears to be more able to fly into headwinds than the previous Mini models because its revised body and stronger motors make it more able to avoid obstacles. The larger models lacked this ability.
The Mini 3 Pro is a great flying drone for those who want to experience the best of both worlds. It has sensors for the front, bottom, and back, but we were not completely satisfied with the rear sensor’s accuracy. These sensors have arespectably large field of view. Although most of them are disabled in intelligent flight modes, including lateral movement, there is still a sizable blind spot on the sides that won’t shield you.
DJI Mini 3 Pro review: Battery life
The Mini 3 Pro flight time is slightly longer than the Mini 2, but it’s worth considering the Flight Battery Plus if you need even more time.
The drone has a combined weight of 250g and the regular model has a weight of 350g. However, the Plus battery is not accessible for testing. This limits the drone’s operating time to 27 minutes before it needs to be recharged.
Price
The Mavic Mini 3 Pro is a drone that has increased in price since its predecessor. It is not as budget-friendly as the Mavic Mini 2.
The first choice is for consumers who already have a suitable controller to purchase the Mavic 3 Pro without a controller for $869 / £839 instead. The second kit costs $1059 / £1039 and includes a DJI RC-N1 controller. The Mavic 3, Mavic Air 2S, Mavic Air 2, and Mavic Mini 2 all ship with the same controller. The third kit costs $1209 (£1189) and includes the new DJI RC Smart Controller. ..
Conclusion
The DJI Mini 3 Pro is a great drone for solar surveying. It is easy to fly and has many features that make it perfect for this task. However, some of the functions of the drone can’t be used simultaneously because they are restricted by the DJI Fly app.
Solar surveying flights are challenging due to their small size, but are still manageable with some practice. Despite this, they are not deal breakers.
