so ive been going back and forth on this for like two weeks and i cant make up my mind. currently flying a Mini 2 which ive had for about a year and honestly its been great but i want to upgrade. the Mini 3 Pro feels like the obvious next step but then i keep looking at the Air 3 and thinking maybe i should just stretch the budget and get something with a longer range and better obstacle avoidance.

the thing is i mostly fly around parks and coastal areas on weekends, nothing crazy, no commercial work or anything. occasionally ill bring it on trips. i dont think i need the Air 3 but every video i watch makes me feel like id be leaving performance on the table if i go Mini 3 Pro. anyone actually own both or switched from one to the other? does the omnidirectional obstacle sensing on the Air 3 make a big practical difference or is it mostly a nice-to-have

had the Mini 3 Pro for about eight months before i traded up to the Air 3 and honestly for what you're describing ? parks, coastlines, weekend stuff ? the Mini 3 Pro would probably be totally fine. the vertical shooting capability alone made it worth it for me over the Mini 2. but the Air 3 does feel noticeably more confident in the air, wind handling especially. flew it in some pretty gusty conditions last month and it just held position whereas my Mini 3 Pro would have been struggling.

the obstacle avoidance thing though, i'll be real, i use it but i also dont fully trust it in anything other than open spaces. had a near miss with some low hanging branches that it definitely should have caught. so i wouldnt make that the deciding factor personally.

im in kind of the same boat as you actually, just went with the Mini 3 Pro about a month ago after going back and forth forever. coming from a Mavic Mini 1 so maybe not the best comparison but the image quality jump was massive for me. if you're not doing paid work i think the Mini 3 Pro is just really hard to argue against, the sub-250g thing is also super convenient depending on where you fly