so ive been flying my Mini 3 Pro for about a year and a half now and honestly its been great, no real complaints. but ive been eyeing the Air 3 lately and cant really figure out if the jump makes sense for what i do. i mostly shoot real estate stuff and the occasional travel video when im on vacation, nothing crazy professional.

the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance on the Air 3 seems like a big deal especially since i had a close call last spring flying through some trees at a property shoot. my heart nearly stopped. but then again the Mini 3 Pro fits in my backpack pocket which is huge for travel and i dont have to register it in most places i fly internationally.

has anyone made this specific switch? like did you actually notice a difference in footage quality or was it more of a workflow/safety thing. genuinely cant decide and ive been going back and forth on it for like two months now

made this exact switch last fall and honestly the footage difference is noticeable but maybe not in the way you'd expect. its not like the Mini 3 Pro footage was bad, it really wasnt. but the Air 3 in low light is just a different league, the larger sensor really shows when youre shooting golden hour stuff or interiors with mixed lighting which sounds like it might matter for real estate.

the obstacle avoidance is genuinely better though and thats probably what sealed it for me. the Mini 3's sensors are decent but the Air 3 just feels more confident in tighter spaces. that said i do miss just tossing the mini in a bag and not thinking about it. the Air 3 case is significantly chunkier. depends how much the travel thing matters to you i guess.

i have the Air 3 and love it but im probably not the right person to compare since i never had the Mini 3 Pro lol. what i will say is for real estate the dual tele camera on the Air 3 is actually super useful, you can get compressed shots of properties that look really cinematic without having to back way up. that alone might be worth it for your use case tbh