So ive been going back and forth on this for like three weeks now and i cant make up my mind. I mostly fly on weekends, do some hiking footage, occasional beach stuff, nothing serious. No plans to sell footage or go commercial.

The Mini 3 Pro is sitting at a price point that makes sense for what I do, but every time i read a thread somewhere people are like "just get the Air 3, omnidirectional obstacle avoidance is a game changer" and now im second guessing myself again. Like does it actually matter that much if youre not doing anything crazy? I fly mostly open areas anyway.

The other thing is the sub-250g thing with the Mini 3. I travel a fair bit and not having to worry about registration in every country is genuinely appealing. Has anyone switched from one to the other or own both? Would love to hear from actual people who fly these not just spec sheets.

Honest take from someone who had the Mini 3 Pro and upgraded to the Air 3 after about eight months ? the omnidirectional avoidance is nice but it didnt change my flying as dramatically as I expected. What I noticed more was the battery life improvement and the dual cameras being actually useful when you want that medium tele shot without flying closer. If you travel internationally a lot though, seriously dont underestimate the sub-250g thing. I got hassled at a national park in Croatia because my Air 3 technically needed a permit and it was a whole thing. The Mini wouldve been fine.

im pretty much in the same boat as you lol, just got my Mini 3 Pro about two months ago and honestly for weekend hiking stuff its been perfect. Haven't felt like i was missing anything. The RC2 controller with the built in screen is really nice in bright sunlight too which nobody really talks about enough.