been going back and forth on this for like a month now. i mostly fly on hiking trips and i already have a pretty heavy pack so the weight thing is genuinely relevant for me, not just a spec sheet thing. the Mini 4 Pro folds up so small it basically disappears into a side pocket which is amazing but then i fly it and i keep wishing i had the Air 3's dual cameras because sometimes i want that wide perspective and sometimes i want to compress distance and i cant do both.

i rented an Air 3 for a weekend trip and the footage difference was noticeable especially in low light, the sensor size does actually matter in the real world not just on paper. but man carrying it plus all my other gear for a full day hike you notice the extra weight by hour six.

has anyone here actually switched from one to the other and do you regret it either way? not looking for specs just real opinions from people who actually use these things regularly

i made exactly this switch, went from Mini 3 Pro to Air 3 about six months ago. the weight thing is real but honestly after a few trips i stopped noticing it as much as i thought i would. what i couldnt get past with the mini was the dynamic range in challenging lighting ? golden hour shots on mountains were always a bit of a struggle. the Air 3 just handles that so much better out of the box even before you start playing with D-Log.

if most of your shots are in decent light and you're not doing much color grading in post the Mini 4 Pro is genuinely excellent though. dont let anyone tell you its a compromise camera, its just a different set of tradeoffs.

the dual camera thing on the Air 3 ruined me honestly. once you have it you cant go back, i find myself reaching for that telephoto constantly in ways i never expected. wildlife, architecture, just getting interesting compression on landscape shots ? it changed how i think about composing shots before i even take off.