ok so ive been saving up for a proper upgrade from my mini 2 and i keep landing on either the mini 4 pro or the air 3 and then talking myself out of it and switching. like every review i watch just makes it worse because they all have different opinions and half of them are clearly just reading spec sheets.

my situation is i mostly shoot landscape stuff, some hiking trips, occasionally travel internationally so the under 250g thing matters to me but not in every country i go to. budget isnt the absolute deciding factor but i dont want to spend air 3 money if the mini 4 pro genuinely does 95% of the same thing for less.

the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance on both is honestly what im most hung up on because i fly in some pretty tight spots in the mountains and my mini 2 has scared me more than once. does anyone actually use the side sensors on the air 3 in a meaningful way or is it more of a comfort thing than a practical thing

had the mini 4 pro for about 8 months now and came from an air 2s so kind of the opposite direction from you. the side sensors on the air 3 are genuinely better in practice, like the mini 4 pro's side sensing works but it's slower to react and i've had it be a bit jittery in certain lighting. that said for mountain landscapes it really doesnt matter as much as the reviews make it seem unless you're doing active track stuff through trees.

the thing that actually surprised me was how much the mini 4 pro's video quality has improved over the mini 2 ? it's a real jump. whether it justifies not getting the air 3 depends on whether you care about the longer flight time and the dual native iso on the air 3 sensor. for flat light hiking shots the mini 4 pro is totally fine. for golden hour in complex terrain the air 3 pulls ahead a bit in my experience.

honestly if weight and international travel is even like 30% of your use case, just get the mini 4 pro and stop thinking about it. the air 3 is better but not dramatically better for what you're describing.

i went through the exact same thing lol ended up just flipping a coin basically. got the air 3 and dont regret it but i also think id have been fine with the mini 4 pro. the side obstacle stuff has saved me maybe twice in 6 months so take that for what its worth