ok so i've been saving up for a proper upgrade from my mini 2 for like six months now and i keep landing on either the mini 4 pro or the air 3 and i just cannot pull the trigger on either one. every time i think im going with the air 3 i read something about the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance on the mini 4 pro and think maybe that's the smarter buy, then i look at the dual camera setup on the air 3 and the medium tele lens and im back to square one.

my main stuff is travel filming, some hiking shots, occasional real estate stuff for a friend who pays me a little. i dont do anything super crazy, no racing or anything. weight matters a bit since i do carry everything in a backpack but its not like im ultralight backpacking or anything.

has anyone actually used both or gone through this same decision? would love to hear from someone who isnt just copying specs off the DJI website lol

went through this exact thing back in the spring and ended up going air 3, zero regrets. the medium tele lens is just so useful, honestly more than i expected. for real estate especially being able to compress that perspective on a property shot is genuinely great. the mini 4 pro is a brilliant little drone dont get me wrong but the air 3 just feels more versatile when you're doing varied work rather than one specific thing.

the weight difference is real but it's not massive, you'd barely notice it in a backpack after the first few trips. and the obstacle avoidance on both is good enough that i stopped worrying about that as a deciding factor honestly. fly smooth and you rarely need it to save you anyway.

i have the mini 4 pro and my buddy has the air 3 and we fly together sometimes so i've seen both up close. honestly for travel the mini 4 pro is just so painless, fits anywhere, under 250g means you skip a lot of headaches depending where you're going. the footage quality is really close between them, like closer than the spec sheets make it sound. if you're doing paid work even casually i'd probably still lean air 3 just for that tele lens but its a genuinely tough call