Today, DJI announced its latest release, the DJI Mini 3 Pro drone. The tiny unmanned aircraft is designed to pack in a full range of features while keeping its weight under 249 grams. That means that — in the U.S. at least — you don’t have to register the Mini 3 Pro in order to fly it.
“Today, we share the integration of excellent flight capability, intelligence, and imaging versatility into our ultra-lightweight aerial camera. DJI Mini 3 Pro raises the bar on what a portable, powerful camera drone can achieve,” said Ferdinand Wolf, Creative Director at DJI.
What’s new in the Mini 3 Pro?
The new Mini 3 Pro shares the same foldable form factor as other drones in DJI’s Mini lineup. However, it borrows features that were previously only available in the Mavic and Air series.
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DJI has refined the arms and propellers for longer, more aerodynamic flights. In fact, DJI reports an impressive maximum flight time of 47 minutes when using the optional Intelligent Flight Battery Plus. Expect 34 minutes from the normal DJI Intelligent Flight Battery. Along with longer battery life, the Mini 3 Pro can also fly farther — up to 7.4 miles or 12 kilometers thanks to its O3 transmission system.
Also redesigned for the Mini 3 Pro, the new gimbal allows for a greater range of movement — and more camera angles. It can even turn completely sideways to capture vertical video in the drone’s True Vertical Shooting mode.
Safety first
With the Mini 3 Pro, DJI places a strong emphasis on safety. On the front of the drone are new forward and backward dual-vision sensors that DJI says will contribute to safer operation overall. That’s part of the drone’s Tri-Directional Obstacle Sensing, which relies on forward, backward and downward visual sensors.
The drone also features Advanced Pilot Assistance Systems 4.0. APAS can automatically detect obstacles and reroute the drone through a safer path.
This drone will follow you
Most exciting, these additional sensors unlock DJI’s entire FocusTrack suite, a first for a DJI Mini drone. This means you can select a subject and the Mini 3 Pro will automatically keep that subject in frame.
FocusTrack modes include options like Spotlight, Point of Interest and Active Track. That’s along with a number of QuickShots like Dronie, Rocket, Boomerang and more.
What about the camera?
The DJI Mini 3 Pro uses a 1/1.3-inch CMOS camera sensor with dual native ISO. With an aperture of f/1.7, the camera shoots stills at up to 48 megapixels and video at resolutions up to 4K at 60 frames per second. High dynamic range (HDR) shooting is available at frame rates up to 30 fps, and the camera also features both Normal and D-Cinelike color profiles.
Along with that, the Mini 3 Pro offers digital zoom up to 2x in 4K, 3x in 2.7K and 4x in Full HD. DJI also claims to have improved low-light performance with larger 2.4μm pixels.
DJI RC — with a built-in touchscreen
Along with the new drone DJI has also announced the DJI RC. It’s a new remote controller with a 5.5-inch built-in touchscreen; no more hooking up your phone as your control interface.
Pricing and availability
The DJI Mini 3 Pro is available now for pre-order and is expected to start shipping in late May. The drone alone is priced at $669, but that’s without any remote controller. For the drone and the standard remote, you’ll pay $759. The DJI Mini 3 Pro with DJI RC will go for $909.
In addition, DJI is offering two accessory kits: the DJI Mini 3 Pro Fly More Kit for $189 and the DJI Mini 3 Pro Fly More Kit Plus for $249.
For more information, visit dji.com.