okay so ive been going back and forth on this for like three weeks now and i think im just paralyzed by options. my budget is around $900 and i shoot mostly landscape stuff, some travel, occasionally ill follow my mountain bike on trails but nothing super intense. i dont do any professional work, this is purely for fun and maybe some youtube content down the road.

from what ive read the air 3 has the dual camera setup which is cool but honestly do i actually need that? the 70mm equivalent on the air 3 is appealing but i keep reading that the mini 4 pro footage is basically just as good in good light. the obstacle avoidance on both seems solid. the size difference matters a bit because i do hike to locations and every gram counts.

i guess what im really asking is - has anyone switched from one to the other or used both? not looking for spec sheets, just like real world impressions of which one you'd actually grab if you were me

had the mini 3 pro before and just picked up the air 3 a few months ago so maybe i can help a little. the dual camera thing sounds like a gimmick until you actually use it - i was skeptical too but the medium tele lens has become my most used shot for landscape stuff, compresses backgrounds in a really nice way. that said the weight difference is real, the air 3 is noticeably heavier in the bag over a long hike.

if youre mostly doing landscapes and want the best image quality per dollar i think the air 3 wins but its not a blowout. the mini 4 pro is genuinely excellent and if weight is a real concern for you, not just theoretical concern, go with that. both have the same omnidirectional obstacle avoidance so thats a wash.

one thing nobody mentions enough - the air 3 battery life is really good, like noticeably better in windy conditions which matters a lot when youre up in the mountains

im in almost the exact same boat lol, been lurking this forum for a month trying to decide. i ended up just going with the mini 4 pro last week mostly because of the under 249g thing - i travel internationally a lot and the registration stuff in different countries stresses me out so keeping it under the weight limit felt worth the tradeoff. havent regretted it so far, footage looks amazing to me but im also not a super experienced pilot so take that with a grain of salt