so ive been going back and forth on this for like two months now. i want to get into aerial photography, mostly landscape stuff and some family vacation footage. the mini 3 pro keeps coming up as the obvious choice for someone like me but every time i'm about to pull the trigger i see someone saying 'just wait, something better is coming' and then i talk myself out of it again.

my budget is around $800 CAD which i know limits things a bit. i dont really need obstacle avoidance because ill be flying in open areas mostly, but the vertical shooting mode on the mini 3 does seem genuinely useful for instagram stuff. anyone been in this situation recently? did you just buy it or wait and regret it either way

honestly just buy it. i went through the exact same thing last year and the 'wait for the next thing' mentality is just a trap. theres always something coming. the mini 3 pro is legitimately a great drone for what you're describing, the image quality especially in decent light is really impressive for something that light. i shoot landscapes with mine all the time and i have zero complaints. the only thing id say is make sure you grab the RC controller with the built in screen, flying with your phone clamped on is kind of a pain.

im kind of in the same boat as you actually, i just pulled the trigger on the mini 3 pro last month. the vertical mode thing is real, i was skeptical but it actually is useful. one thing nobody really warned me about was how fast you burn through batteries when you first get it because you just dont want to stop flying lol. grab at least two extra batteries up front it'll save you a lot of frustration