After months of rumors, the DJI Mini 3 Pro has finally surfaced in a leaked video that offers us our first glimpse at the fascinating novice drone.
The video below, which was shared on Twitter by @DealsDrone, shows what appears to be a Mini 3 Pro and answers a few questions regarding the long-awaited flying camera.
The Mini 3 Pro, like the DJI Mini 2, is projected to be a success, and a marking on the bottom of the device indicates that it will weigh slightly under 250 grams. This is significant since many regions let you fly drones weighing less than 250 grams without having to register them with local aviation authorities.
The first video of the DJI Mini 3 has been leaked. twitter.com/NgskqONf8w 2 April 2022
While the DJI Mini 3 Pro is only a few grams heavier than the 242g Mini 2, it appears to offer a slew of new functions to justify the 'Pro' label.
On the front, a revamped three-axis gimbal keeps footage smooth, putting to rest speculations that it might instead use an electronic-based stabilization system. In the videos, this gimbal appears to have an attachment on only one side, but this will most likely allow it to accommodate vertical video.
The camera on this gimbal has a much brighter f/1.7 lens than the f/2.8 Mini 2, which should help it operate better in low light. However, based on the markings on the front of the lens, it appears to be the same 24mm focal length.
The DJI Mini 3 Pro should improve on the DJI Mini 3's battery life, which is one of the main limitations of super-compact drones. According to the leaked video, it will contain a 2,453mAh battery, which is about 10% larger than the Mini 2's. As a result, we may anticipate a flight time of roughly 35 minutes.
There are still a few details we don't yet know about the DJI Mini 3 Pro, including its sensor size, frame rates, the inclusion of software features like ActiveTrack and whether it will indeed come with a new controller (a kind of stripped-down version of the DJI RC Pro), which appeared in some earlier leaked packaging.
These questions will likely be answered in the near future, with the DJI Mini 3 Pro expected to officially land within the next few weeks.
According to this DJI Mini 3 Pro leak, the mini-drone will likely address the key flaws of the already great DJI Mini 2, mainly a lack of obstacle avoidance, a short battery life, and an aged camera. But how much will these extra features increase the price?
Unless DJI also plans to sell a normal Mini 3, the addition of 'Pro' to the name indicates that this new drone will be a higher-end alternative to the Mini 2, which costs $449 / £419 / AU$749.
This means that the Mini 3 Pro could virtually replace DJI's larger Mavic Air 2 drone, which cost $799 / £769 / AU$1,499 when it was released in 2020. If that's the case, it'll fall between the Mini 2 and the DJI Air 2S ($999 / £899 / AU$1699), which is presently at the top of our best drones list.
Despite the expected price increase, the Mini 3 Pro is a fun drone for both new and experienced photographers. Its 249g weight and compactness make it perfect for hiking or landscape photography trips, and its sensor size is likely to expand to a 1/1.3in CMOS chip (up from 1/2.3 inch on the Mini 2), making it suitable for taking on treks or landscape photography trips.
Obstacle avoidance is also important for beginners since it should make the drone lot more useable right out of the box and in DJI's automated modes.
What isn't obvious is how DJI intends to distinguish the Mini 3 Pro from its higher-end drones. However, the use of the word 'Pro' implies that it's just built the greatest small drone it can — for a price.