just picked up a mini 3 (not pro, the regular one) last week and now im going down the rabbit hole of accessories and honestly theres so much stuff on amazon that looks like garbage. nd filters, carrying cases, lens covers, propeller guards, extra batteries... i dont even know where to start or what i actually need vs what's just nice to have. been flying it at the beach and some parks so far. any advice from people who actually use this thing regularly would be great

honestly the only thing i'd say is actually necessary is extra batteries. one battery gets you maybe 30-35 minutes in good conditions and that goes fast when you're out somewhere nice. the two-way charging hub is worth it too if you get multiple batteries, charges them in sequence overnight and its way less annoying than swapping chargers. nd filters are nice if you care about video, the drone footage can look weirdly choppy in bright sun without them because the shutter speed ends up too high. everything else i bought i barely use

ive gone through like four different carry cases for mine trying to find something that fits my bag setup. most of the cheap ones on amazon are fine structurally but the foam cutouts dont quite match the mini 3 shape and the controller gets scratched up rattling around. ended up with a Lowepro one that was like $40 and its been solid. propeller guards i stopped using after the first week they add enough weight that you notice it on windy days and i wasnt flying anywhere that tight anyway