As expected, DJI unveiled the latest iteration of its smallest drone on Tuesday.
With its compact design and abundance of features, DJI’s Mini 3 Pro is an exciting new machine that looks set to attract a new wave of enthusiasts to drone photography — and may even prompt some folks with larger Mavic machines to switch to the new Mini copter.
As part of efforts to demonstrate some of the Mini 3 Pro’s capabilities, DJI handed the 249-gram device to experienced photographer and filmmaker Denis Barbas.
Below you can enjoy some of the stunning imagery that Barbas captured with the new foldable quadcopter, including footage shot with the camera’s new vertical-frame feature.
The Mini 3 Pro is DJI’s first Mini drone to include obstacle-avoidance sensors, giving peace of mind to newbie pilots (or more daring experienced ones) fearful of trashing their flying machine within seconds of getting it airborne.
The new drone comes with a larger 1/1.3 inch-sensor for images and video with greater clarity and detail. It can capture RAW photos of up to 48 megapixels and record footage in 4K at up to 60 frames per second, and also offers dual native ISO for HDR footage that should retain details in shadows and highlights.
There’s good news on flight time, too, as the Mini 3 Pro can stay in the air for up to 34 minutes, three minutes longer than its predecessor. However, fork out $95 for DJI’s Intelligent Flight Battery Plus and you’ll be able to keep the Mini 3 Pro flying for a very respectable 47 minutes.
Another exciting part of DJI’s launch event was the unveiling of a new controller with a built-in display, though you’ll have to pay extra for this ($669 for drone only; $759 for the drone with the RC-N1 controller to which you attach your smartphone; and $909 for the drone and the new RC controller with built-in display).
Digital Trends was given advance access to DJI’s new Mini 3 Pro quadcopter, enabling us to take a close look and test out all of the new features. Check out our full review to find out what’s to love — and not to love — about the new machine, as well as potential alternatives.
