so ive been going back and forth on this for like two weeks now and i cant make up my mind. currently flying a mini 2 which ive had for about a year and a half, its been solid but im starting to feel like i want something with a bit more capability, especially for low light stuff since i do a lot of golden hour and sometimes early morning shots.

the mini 3 pro feels like the obvious upgrade path since i already know the mini ecosystem i guess, but then i look at the air 3 and the dual cameras and the longer obstacle avoidance range and im like... okay thats a lot more drone. the price jump is pretty significant though especially if i want the RC2 with both of them.

i dont do any commercial work, genuinely just weekend hobbyist flying in parks and coastal areas mostly. does the air 3 actually make a meaningful difference for that kind of casual flying or am i just going to be paying for specs i never use

had the mini 3 pro for about 8 months before i ended up getting the air 3 and honestly the jump felt bigger than i expected. the 1/1.3 sensor on the air 3 is noticeable in real usage, not like dramatically different in daylight but yeah in that golden hour window you mentioned it does pull ahead. the medium tele camera also ends up being way more useful than i thought it would be, i use it constantly now for stuff where i cant get close enough.

that said if you're mostly doing casual parks and coastal stuff the mini 3 pro is genuinely a great drone and the vertical shooting mode is actually pretty fun once you get used to it. the main thing i'd ask yourself is whether the extra weight matters to you at all ? if you're hiking to spots then the mini is just way more backpackable. if youre driving to locations the air 3 size difference is pretty irrelevant.

im in a similar boat tbh, ended up just getting the air 3 because i figured id regret not getting the better obstacle avoidance. the omni-directional sensing on the air 3 versus the mini 3 pro's more limited coverage actually did save me once when i was flying behind some trees and lost situational awareness a bit. probably wouldnt have crashed anyway but still felt good to have it