so ive had the mini 4 pro since last spring and figured id share some actual thoughts since most reviews you find online are either sponsored or written by people who flew it twice and called it a day

the good stuff first ? obstacle avoidance is genuinely impressive for a drone this size, way better than i expected coming from the mini 3. the omni-directional sensing has saved me probably 3 or 4 times already, mostly doing low stuff through trees which i probably shouldnt have been doing anyway. video quality in good light is honestly hard to complain about.

but heres the thing nobody really talks about ? the battery life is fine on paper but in real conditions, like any wind at all or if youre doing a lot of active tracking, youre realistically getting like 28-32 minutes not the advertised 34. not a dealbreaker but worth knowing before you budget for batteries. also the RC2 controller feels a little plasticky to me compared to some other options, the sticks feel a bit loose which took some getting used to.

overall i think its a solid buy if youre in that enthusiast tier and dont want to deal with FAA registration weights, but id say skip it if youre a total beginner ? the mini 2 SE is way cheaper and honestly plenty capable until you know what features actually matter to you

yeah this basically mirrors my experience. i came from a mavic air 2 so the weight thing was a big deal for me and the image quality gap is smaller than id like to admit lol. one thing i'd add though ? the slow motion options are kind of limited compared to what i was hoping for, the 4k60 is there but you really want that higher framerate for proper slow mo stuff and its just not there. not a dealbreaker depending on what you shoot but worth knowing

the battery point is spot on. i think dji's numbers are like, perfect conditions with no payload and probably no wind and flying in a straight line or something. real world just doesnt match up ever.

im actually trying to decide between this and just saving up a bit more for the mavic 3 classic and this thread is super helpful. the weight under 250g thing doesnt really matter where i fly so im wondering if its worth the extra money for the mavic. i guess my main thing is i want good low light since i want to do some dawn/dusk stuff. anyone have thoughts on how the mini 4 pro handles that vs the mavic 3 classic?