DJI Mini 3 review

When DJI released the Mini 2 back in 2020, it addressed a lot of the criticisms levelled at the original Mini. But it still lacked some features that would have been desirable such as ActiveTrack, which allows the drone to follow a subject – a person or car, for example – while flying automatically.

Then, DJI launched the Mini 3 Pro which had all the bells and whistles, but came at a pretty steep cost.

Now, though, the company has added a more affordable option: the Mini 3.

It’s similar in many ways to the Mini 3 Pro, but also lacks some of its best features. And that’s understandable: there needs to be a reason to still buy the Pro.

The question is, should you buy a Mini 3 or not? And that’s a question you’ll be able to answer by the time you’ve read the rest of this review.

Features & design

• Weighs <249g
• Up to 38 minutes of flight time with ultra-light battery
• Compatible with RC-N1 and DJI-RC remotes

Side by side, it’s not easy to see the differences between the Mini 3, its predecessor (the Mini 2) and its big brother, the Mini 3 Pro.

All have the same form factor with fold-up arms, a three-axis gimbal that keeps the camera steady and a battery that slots into the rear.

All weight less than the crucial 250g threshold, which means they’re exempt from registration in some parts of the world, and in those where it does still have to be registered, exempt from pilot exams.

You can fly all three drones much more freely than heavier ones, closer to people and buildings and over people.

It’s important to know and follow the rules in your area, though.

Jim Martin / Foundry

The Mini 3 uses the same batteries as the Pro but can fly for longer: up to 38 minutes when using the standard battery. In some places, including Australia, you can buy a ‘Plus’ battery that extends flying time to 1 minutes, but it’s heavier and means the Mini 3 no longer counts as a sub-249g drone.

Just like the Pro, you can fly it with the RC-N1 remote, which requires a smartphone, or the more expensive DJI RC, which has a built-in screen and doesn’t need a separate phone.

DJI also sells the Mini 3 on its own, if you happen to already have a compatible remote.

Missing features

Importantly, the Mini 3 doesn’t have the obstacle sensors of the Pro, which means it’s much like the Mini 2 and won’t stop before crashing into a tree or anything else.

Jim Martin / Foundry

See also  Remoska Tria Electric Cooker review

The other major difference is that it has no tracking capabilities, so cannot lock onto a subject and follow them like the Pro can.

It doesn’t have any automatic flying modes at all – no Hyperlapse or MasterShots – and can only perform a selection of what DJI calls QuickShots. These are automatic, and can circle around you, fly straight up, fly away from you, boomerang away and then back, and corkscrew around you.

These are handy for quick clips to share on social media, but for everything else, you’ll need to pilot and control where the camera points manually.

The Asteroid QuickShot mode, oddly, is not present, just as it isn’t on the Mini 2.

Another difference is that the Mini 3 uses the lesser O2 video transmission system. This provides a 720p video feed at 30 frames per second up to 10km away, though in many countries you must fly with the drone in line of sight, so these long ranges aren’t particularly relevant anyway.

And while the camera is the same as the Mini 3 Pro’s, its capabilities are curtailed.

Jim Martin / Foundry

There’s no option to record video in D-Cinelike, which Pros use so they can post-process footage, and no option to shoot at 10-bit.

You wouldn’t expect these on an entry-level drone, but it is a shame that DJI has also limited frame rate to 30fps at 4K, and 60fps at 2.7K and below. This means no slo-mo. And without Hyperlapse, that means you can’t really get any slowed-down or speeded-up footage from the Mini 3 unless you ‘fake’ it in a video editor afterwards. And there’s a limit to how much you can slow it down even if you drop down from 4K so you can select 60fps.

Performance

Apart from obstacle avoidance, flying the Mini 3 is exactly the same as the Mini 3 Pro. It’s relatively quiet and hovers well when it has picked up a good number of satellites.

It’s just as quick and manoeuvrable, and has the same Cinematic, Normal and Sport modes, and the same wind resistance. You won’t want to fly it on very windy days, but for a lightweight drone, it handles even fairly strong winds well, and better than the Mini 2 does.

Jim Martin / Foundry

It’s reassuring, too that the return-to-home function will automatically kick in when there’s only just enough power to fly back to the home point, or if the signal from the remote control is ever lost. You can also engage it manually using a button on the remote, or in the app.

If you do lose track of it, or crash it and can’t see where it landed, the ‘find my drone’ function makes it beep fairly loudly to help you.

Of course, the one feature the Mini 3 shares with the Pro but is lacking from the Mini 2 (and all other previous Mini models) is vertical shooting. In the app or using a button on the remote, you can rotate the gimbal so the camera sits vertically, which is what you need if you want to record vertical video and not lose loads of resolution.

It’s useful for the same reason when taking portrait photos, too, although the automatic panorama creation on the Mini 2 means it can hold its own for vertical photos as it simply takes several and stitches them together, leading to even higher resolution.

Here are some photos I took on the Mini 3. It doesn’t allow you to access the full 48Mp mode, but you can shoot in JPEG + RAW simultaneously.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Jim Martin / Foundry

Jim Martin / Foundry

Jim Martin / Foundry

Unfortunately, the panorama modes didn’t work for me: all I found were the individual photos in a Panorama folder on the microSD card, but no actual panoramic photo. This seems to be down to testing using early software and hardware.

The camera has autofocus, but there’s a limit to how close it can focus. If you’re trying to take photos of people or objects up close, they could end up blurred. You can tap on the screen to focus on a specific area, but the remote has a half-press for focus lock as well.

With almost identical video specs to the Mini 2, you might wonder if there’s any point in spending more on the Mini 3 when the older, cheaper drone can also record 4K at 30fps, has the same maximum bitrate of 100Mbps, offers the same levels of digital zoom and records in the same H.264/MP4 format.

The difference is that the Mini 3’s camera has a larger sensor and a lens with a bigger f/1.7 aperture. What this means is it can capture more light than the Mini 2’s camera, which in turn means better quality video – cleaner, crisper and with better colours – and a similar increase in quality in low light, making night photos and videos sharper and more detailed.

I didn’t have a Mini 2 to capture any comparison photos, but here are a couple of photos taken at night on the Mini 3:

Jim Martin / Foundry

Jim Martin / Foundry

Plus, the Mini 3 can record HDR at its top resolution, but the Mini 2 doesn’t offer HDR at all.

Don’t forget, too, that the Mini 2 cannot shoot vertically like the Mini 3 can, and it’s worth noting that QuickShots are supported in the Mini 3’s vertical mode.

Another difference is that the Mini 3’s gimbal can rotate upwards by 60°, which is a lot more than the Mini 2’s 20°, and it can also move further in other directions, which means video is more stable even in higher winds.

As I said in my Mini 3 Pro review, you need to know what you’re doing and take advantage of the D-Log shooting mode to get the best possible quality out of it.

The fact the Mini 3 removes these options means it’s much simpler to use: you just choose the resolution and frame rate and hit the record button. As a side note, it’s frustrating that the default video mode is 1080p, so the first thing you’ll want to do is adjust the settings when your first fly the Mini 3. The resolution for QuickShots needs to be set separately: you might otherwise assume you’d already done it, and wonder why they didn’t look as good as your regular 4K footage.

One thing I noticed when flying the Mini 3 at night was that the LEDs, which are only on the front arms, are almost invisible unless it’s facing you, and they flash so slowly that it can be quite difficult to keep tabs on it against a dark sky.

Price & availability

You can buy a Mini 3 for $469 / £439, which sounds cheap, but that’s the drone only, with no remote.

With the RC-N1 (the same remote you get with the Mini 2), it costs $559/£519, or $110/£100 more than the Mini 2.

You can instead opt for the DJI RC, below, which is very convenient compared to using your phone, but this costs $699/£669.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Then there are Fly More bundles, again with the option of both remote controls. These come with a total of three batteries, a charger that holds all three, plus a carry bag that holds the drone, remote and batteries.

With the RC-N1, that costs $718/£768, and with the DJI RC costs $858/£828.

You can buy all of these from DJI directly, but you’ll also find them at other retailers for exactly the same prices.

For alternative options, read our roundup of the best drones.

Verdict

The Mini 3 may be a relatively big improvement over the Mini 2, but it comes at a higher price. With the RC-N1 remote, it’s a lot more expensive, which will no doubt cause some to decide to save their money and opt for a Mini 2 instead.

It’s not clear how long DJI will keep the Mini 2 in its range, but at the time of writing, there were some tempting discounts on the Mini 2 and Mini 2 Fly More bundles that made it even more appealing.

It’ll be a while before there are any deals on the Mini 3 but if you want 4K HDR video, the ability to shoot vertically, and have longer flying time, all without paying an even higher price for a Mini 3 Pro, then DJI’s newest sub-250g drone offers a great all-round package.

Of course, if you can afford more, the Mini 3 Pro is a much more capable drone and is certainly worth it.