According to the pervious iteration formula, many audiences may guess DJI will launch a new Mini 3--a rational successor of DJI Mini 2. Surprisingly, however, there is a plot twist. Not DJI Mini 3, but DJI Mini3 Pro. WOW! BUT WAIT! How can DJI integrate pro-grade functions into a mini body? Let’s dive into the secret behind it!
What does suffix “Pro” mean？
Designed for beginners and hobbyists who want to play with a drone, the Mini 3 Pro weighs in at 249 grams, which means you won’t need to register it with the FAA (with one important exception depending on what battery you choose) For those who are concerned about registering a drone, this one lets you off the hook. The Mini 3 Pro shares the same weight with the Mini 2, but it’s the first crowned with “Pro”.
Professional Imagery System
The Mini 3 Pro is equipped with a 48MP 1/1.3” CMOS sensor behind a F1.7 lens. In collaboration with dual native ISO technology, it can provide improved low-light performance. Is it really an entry-level drone? It’s more suitable to define it as a creative one.
In addition, DJI also restructured the gimbal for the Mini 3 Pro that allows for a larger upward shooting angle and high-quality vertical shooting, providing better support for short-video creators.
Dual Battery
DJI’s innovatively dual-battery design allows its new-gen Mini to change weights between 249 grams in general and the fatter one.
① The standard 2453mAh battery supports an approximate flight time of 34min in a body with a weight of just 249 grams.
② The intelligent 3850mAh battery plus will bring the Mini 3 Pro to a weight of 289 grams, which calls for a legal registration, however, supporting a stunning 47-min Max flight time, the longest record in the customer drone lineup. For reference, its powerful predecessor DJI Mavic 3, a flagship prosumer drone, can fly for a period of time up to 46 minutes.
A long battery life lays a solid foundation for creation, which puts forward severe challenges to the design of body and battery. Thankfully, DJI has succeeded in leaving a larger space for a more powerful battery through better structural design and stacked ways.
To test the Mini 3 Pro, we made a special trip to Inner Mongolia, a landlocked autonomous region stretched across the northern edge of China. In a windy environment, we found that the Mini 3 Pro could support about 25 minutes of shooting with one single long-endurance battery, which was enough for us to capture a lot of wonderful images. It’s also good for time-lapse shooting or long-time flight.
Safety mechanism
The Mini 3 Pro is the first in DJI’s Mini-series featured a tri-directional obstacle sensing system, identifying obstacles to the front and back, as well as obstacles below. Given the weight limit, it’s not easy to install the 3D system, and that’s exactly the reason why only downward obstacle avoidance can be found in previous Mini models.
Thanks to DJI’s upgraded tech, the Mini 3 Pro allows for a 106-degree vertical field of view, which can more accurately perceive and avoid obstacles ahead. And further paired with DJI’s Advanced Pilot Assistance System 4.0, it can achieve better obstacle avoidance and route planning.
Another guarantee for security comes from the brand-new O3(OcuSync 3.0) transmission system. The system promises ultra-smooth, clear, and reliable images at distances of up to 12 km.
Wind Resistance
In order to extend the flight time, DJI also put a lot of effort into the configuration of the Mini 3 Pro, which includes a new streamlined fuselage design and bigger propellers, which facilitate both wind resistance and power support.
Creative Shooting Ways
True vertical shooting
Nowadays, people tend to pick up information on their phones, which, in turn gives a boost to the development of short videos. Taking this into account, DJI has designed the Mini 3 Pro with an adjustable gimbal, which makes it easy to shoot vertical videos with a single click.
The new-designed gimbal can provide higher image quality and more composition options than before. For example, the resolution of a video in 9/16 ratio can reach 2160 x 3840 pixels (8,294,400 pixels overall), while if you crop a video in 9/21 ratio with 3840 x 2160 pixels to 9:16, you will damage video quality at the same time, leading to only 1215 x 2160 pixels.
To shoot upward
The restructured gimbal allows for a larger angle for upward shooting, up to 60 degrees. By this way, the Mini 3 Pro is able to shoot tall buildings, mountains and more upward from various perspectives.
Intelligent functions
The Mini 3 Pro also supports a kaleidoscope of intelligent functions, such as master lens, one-click short film, time-lapse, and focus follow, which for novices is easy and interesting to operate.
Design and Handling
There are three package options. The smallest package, which is basically just the drone and the bare essentials. The middle package comes with the DJI RC-N1 Smart Controller. The highest-end package appears to include the full DJI RC Remote Controller with a built-in display. All three packages show the 249g battery coming as standard.
The Mini 3 Pro Fly More Kit includes two Intelligent Flight Batteries, a Mavic 2 car charger, a battery charging hub, a battery to power bank adapter, low-noise propellers, and a Mavic 2 Shoulder Bag, bringing the flight time up from 34 to 47 minutes.
The whole body is made of plastic and is slightly larger than the Mini 2.
There is a 24mm F1.7 lens on the body and larger space for the gimbal. The Mini 3 Pro also features a larger tilt angle driven by dual motors.
Unlike DJI's previous design of placing the rear obstacle avoidance camera on the bottom side of the device, the rear camera is now directly following the front one. The new design can reduce the weight of the Mini 3 Pro by using the same set of line.
On the top side of the device, you find raised cameras for anterior and posterior obstacle detection, an air outlet and a power on/off button.
On the bottom side of the device, we see detection cameras for lower objects and two visual sensors.
The propellers of the drone adopts a beveled and curved design, which can effectively reduce wind resistance while achieving longer flight time.
The propellers of the Mini 3 Pro are larger than those of the previous Mini-series drones and are made of the same soft rubber material as that of the DJI Mavic 3, making the device relatively safer when it crashes.
On the bottom side of the device, we see a battery holder, Type-C port and Micro SD card slot. As the built-in storage space is only one G odd, there’s a need to put additional memory cards for long-time recording.
The Mini 3 Pro comes with a brand new RC, which provides relatively good performance at an affordable price.
Theoretical test
Latitude
The Mini 3 Pro is the first DJI drone to include the D-Cinelike Gamma curve in the Mini series. To give you a more visual understanding, we will compare it with the Mini 2.
The Mini 3 Pro is able to keep good details within -3EV to +3EV stops, including 6 stops of exposure latitude (3 over to 3 under).
As for the Mini 2, at 2 stops over, pushed back part of detail will loss; at 3 stops over, a lot of bright detail is lost. The Mini 2 only includes 4 stops of exposure latitude (1 over to 3 under).
As you can clearly see, the Mini 3 Pro's latitude has been significantly improved compared to its predecessor, thus improving its shooting performance.
Sensitivity
With the support of dual native ISO, the Mini 3 Pro has better low-light performance. As before, we compare it with the Mini 2.
The Mini 3 Pro reaches a maximum sensitivity of ISO 6400, a little higher than that of the Mini 2. At ISO 100-1600, detailed and dark parts are well presented; at ISO 3200, detail appears partially smeared. At ISO 6400, detail is worse smeared, and slight noise appears in the dark parts.
By contrast, the Mini 2 is not as good as the Mini 3 Pro in terms of sensitivity. At ISO 800, the detail is smeared, and the dark areas are slightly noisy. At ISO 3200, the situation goes worse.
Battery life
Taking off the Mini 3 Pro and the Mini 2 in the same environment (one meter above the ground, light wind) and recording 4K video at the same time to compare their endurance performance.
The Mini 2 showed a low battery warning at 17 minutes, at which time 20% of the battery remained; until 19 minutes, the Mini 2 was seriously low on power, at which time only 10% of the battery remained. Until 20 minutes into the recording, the Mini 2 started to return, at which time 5% of the battery remained.
By contrast, the Mini 3 Pro still had 58% of the power at 17 minutes of recording; at 20 minutes, the power still had 50%; until 30 minutes into the recording, the Mini 3 Pro had a low battery warning; until close to 33 minutes, the Mini 3 Pro had a serious power shortage, at which time the power remained at 10%.
It is clear that the Mini 3 Pro is largely improved in the shooting time with the help of an intelligent battery. It is also more stable with almost no shaking during the flight.
O3 Transmission System
The Mini 3 Pro adopts a brand-new O3(OcuSync 3.0) transmission system. The system promises ultra-smooth, clear, and reliable images at distances of up to 12 km. We conducted a according test in Inner Mongolia in which transmission signal remained stable at distances of 4.5 km. If there is an obstruction in front of the RC, the signal will be unstable.
005 Obstacle Avoidance
We turned on the Mini 3 Pro's obstacle avoidance mode to test in a forest. We found that the Mini 3 Pro was able to accurately identify obstacles in front of it from one meter away and automatically bypass, which provides more security for shooting in complex environments.
006 Color Test
We compared our shots in the post software with a color checker and captured a screenshot. Through it, you can see that the Mini 3 Pro deviates more in the cyan and blue color blocks, and the picture shows a cooler style in the standard color mode.
007 Bitrate Test
The Mini 3 Pro can achieve a maximum bitrate of 157Mbps, which is a slight improvement compared to previous models. But limited by the processor, the device can only record 4:2:0 8bit video.
Real-world experience
Note that the tested Mini 3 Pro is an engineering sample, and the commercial version shall prevail. But to be honest, its compact size really brings us a lot of convenience, without added burden.
The Mini 3 Pro also impresses us with strong power during our shooting in Inner Mongolia. To keep the lightweight feature, DJI has used more holes in design, which accordingly brings down its water-proof and dustproof abilities.
To avoid this, you can take off and land like this.
It should be noted that the drone needs to be placed on a sufficiently flat surface during takeoff, otherwise it is easy to tip over during takeoff due to an unstable center of gravity.
Verdict
With a weight of just 249 grams, the Mini 3 Pro is excellent in image quality, obstacle avoidance, data transmission. Combined with the innovatively wind-resistance body and dual battery design, DJI’s new-gen monster provides longer and stable flight experience.