okay so ive been going back and forth on this for like two weeks now and i cant decide. im not a professional, i just fly on weekends, mostly hiking trips and the occasional family vacation. i had a mini 2 that i sold last year and ive been flying my buddies air 2s a few times since then which i really liked but now im looking at getting my own again.

the mini 3 pro is sitting around $650-ish with the RC controller and the air 3 is closer to $1100 depending where you buy. thats not nothing for someone whos literally just doing this for fun. the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance on the air 3 seems like a big deal but honestly how much do you actually USE that in real life flying? and the mini 3 still has that vertical shooting mode which i thought was cool for reels and stuff.

i guess my actual question is - has anyone gone from a mini series to the air 3 and felt like yeah okay that was worth it, or did you feel like you were basically paying extra for specs you dont need

honestly this is a question i see a lot and my take is probably not what you want to hear - it depends so much on where you fly. i upgraded from mini 3 pro to air 3 earlier this year and the obstacle avoidance has genuinely saved me maybe twice in real situations, once in some trees that came up faster than i expected and once just being dumb near some powerlines. but i also fly in tighter environments a lot. if youre mostly open mountain ridgelines and wide landscapes on hikes, the mini 3 pro will do everything you need it to do and the image quality difference is honestly pretty marginal unless youre doing serious color grading work.

the bigger sensor on the air 3 does shine in low light though, like golden hour getting dark fast - thats where i notice it most. but for casual weekend stuff at 1100 bucks vs 650? id probably stick with the mini 3 pro and put the difference toward extra batteries or a good bag.

i went through the exact same thing lol. ended up getting the air 3 and honestly i dont regret it but i also kind of wonder sometimes if i wouldve been just as happy with the mini. the RC2 controller that comes with it is really nice though, that screen in bright sunlight is way better than using your phone. thats something nobody talks about enough i feel like