Which drone should you consider? Or should you be considering BOTH? Let’s explore the similarities, the key differences, and the questions to ask yourself to arrive at the right drone for you.
The Price
Even though it’s in the Mini series, the “Pro” camera ability takes it out of the normal Mini price range.
Reminder: the Mavic Mini SE is $299
The Air 2S and Mini 3 Pro drones come in pretty close on price (see them on Amazon):
- Mavic Air 2S: $999
- Mavic Mini 3 Pro: $759
When you add in the “fly more combo” (which IS needed primarily for the spare batteries. Buying extra batteries alone gets very expensive, very fast) the prices come in at:
Why are the prices so similar? Let’s start with what these drones have in common...
4 similarities of Mavic Air 2S and Mavic Mini 3 Pro
4. High quality photos and videos
These two drones shoot very high quality photo and video. The Mavic Air 2S wins with 5.4K video, but both are able to shoot 48MP photo and for the majority of people, 4K video is adequate (which both are capable of).
3. Camera sensors
Both have fantastic camera sensors, but the Mavic Air 2S has a slightly larger sensor.
- Mavic Air 2S: 1″ sensor
- Mavic Mini 3 Pro: 1/1.3″ sensor
What does it mean to have a larger sensor? It means more light going into your drone. This means it’s easier to take photos and videos at night (or low light) with better quality.
2. Obstacle sensors
Especially if you are a newer pilot, having sensors on your drone that can prevent you from hitting things is VERY important.
The video below talks about everything you see here.. well, but in VIDEO format…
1. Advanced Settings
The final key similarity of the DJI Mavic Air 2S and Mavic Mini 3 Pro are the advanced settings. The other drones in the Mini series don’t have all these same features:
- Active track (your drone follows you or something you want it to follow)
- Hyper lapse and time lapse
The Key differences between Mavic Air 2S and Mavic Mini 3 Pro
OK, so these two drones are similar on a lot of levels, but why should you choose one over the other?
Mavic Air 2S wins in SIZE
Wait, bigger isn’t better is it? Or is it??
Many people mistakenly think smaller drones are better because they pack smaller. These drones pack at pretty much the same exact size (and have the SAME carrying bag and the SAME controller).
The video below gives a size comparison of DJI drones (using the Mavic Mini 1, which is the same size as the Mini 3 Pro) to give you an idea of how these drones pack into a carry on.
The Mavic Air 2S weighs 595 grams (1.3lbs) vs the Mini 3 Pro at 249 grams (0.5lbs) and there are two reasons why a larger size is an advantage
1. A longer range
An 11.5 mile range allows your drone to have a BETTER CONNECTION with the controller. This means when you are flying further, or are even in a ‘busier place’ with lots of interference, the drone will maintain CONTACT with the controller.
If you’ve never had your drone disconnect, what happens is your screen goes black when you lose connection with your drone and will stay that way until either your drone returns to home (if this is your safety setting) OR it just hovers where it’s at until it regains connection and you can control it again.
2. Ability to take wind
If you are flying in places with the elements, having a drone that can take steady shots and take a lot of wind is an advantage.
The Mavic Air2S size means it can take more wind, but also – it means it can fly faster. Being able to fly faster (42mph max speed on Mavic Air 2S vs. 38 mph max speed on Mavic Mini 3 Pro) means you can fly AGAINST the wind and bring the drone back to you safely.
The key question to ask yourself is: will you be flying FAR distances and in ELEMENTS such as high wind?
Mavic Mini 3 Pro wins for vertical video
This is the key differentiator of this drone. If you primarily create for social media channels like Tik Tok and Instagram, then THIS should be your go-to drone. Shooting in 4K is adequate (a higher resolution is only needed when on projects such as hotel videography, etc) and this drone will remove the need to edit your footage into vertical videos.
The key question to ask yourself: where are your drone photos and videos GOING?
So if social media is your main gig, the Mavic Mini 3 Pro IS YOUR drone.
Helpful to know: I have an entire playlist of videos about how to drone for social media including VERY QUICK editing techniques
What about the other DJI Drones?
How about the Mavic Mini SE? Or the Mavic Mini 2? Learn how these two drones stack up against the rest of the line up in this blog post.
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