After reviewing the DJI Mini 3, we can confidently recommend it as one of our favorite drones, and it sits at the top of our shortlist of the Best Beginner Drones. We think it’s excellent value for money even without the discount, so a $60 saving is an added bonus.
This deal is live right now at Amazon — pick up the DJI Mini 3 combo for $658, reduced from $718.
Although we consider this a beginner drone, that absolutely doesn’t mean the quality is sub-par, in fact, it’s quite the opposite — the image quality is head and shoulders above similarly priced competition. It has the same camera as the higher-spec (and more expensive) DJI Mini 3 Pro, featuring 12MP resolution and a f/1.7 aperture. You can rotate the sensor to shoot in a portrait orientation rather than landscape too — great for social media content creators.
In this particular deal, not only do you get the DJI Mini 3 drone and remote control, you’re buying the ‘Fly More Bundle.’ It includes two Intelligent Flight Batteries (a two-pack from DJI costs upward of $200) — one with 38 minutes of flying time and one with 51 minutes. You also get a two-way charging hub to charge the batteries in less than an hour. There are also three spare propellers, compatible screws and a screwdriver, a gimbal protector, various cables and a shoulder bag.
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Key Specs: Weighing just 8.74 oz/ 248g, the DJI Mini 3 has a 24mph wind resistance and has three main flight modes — Cine, Normal and Sport. Cine is slower with reduced control sensitivity to help capture smoother video footage, normal has standard control sensitivity and a medium speed, while Sport is the fastest with a top speed of 35.8mph. It has downward vision sensors to aid hovering accuracy and GPS, Glonass and Galileo global satellite positioning.
The DJI Mini 3 has a Return to Home function which means the drone will automatically fly back to you if the battery is low or the remote connection is weak, giving huge peace of mind.
‘Quickshots’ are automated flight patterns like ‘circle’ to create professional-looking videos of your subjects. Circle, as an example, will circle 360 degrees around your selected target. ‘Helix’ circles the target and rises at the same time. There’s also Dronie, Rocket, Circle, Helix and Boomerang.
Consensus: The fact this drone sits at the top of our best beginner drones guide speaks for itself. We love that it has excellent image quality and its easy to set up and fly. New drone pilots won’t be overwhelmed by complex procedures, but there’s still enough functionality and customization to create beautiful, creative photos and videos.
Buy if: If you’re a social media content creator, you’ll love this drone and the excellent image and video quality, which matches those on the more expensive DJI Mini 3 Pro. It weighs less than 250g, so there’s no need to register it either.
Don’t buy if: You want a drone with collision avoidance. Though the drone is fairly easy to operate, you’ll need to be careful when flying close to obstacles such as buildings and trees.
Alternative models: If you want a drone with collision avoidance, you’ll need to go with a model like the DJI Mavic Air 2, (you can currently pick up a refurbished version for $679) or the aforementioned DJI Mini 3 Pro. One of the most affordable drones that we recommend is the Potensic Atom SE and you can find nine other entry-level-friendly models in our best beginner drone guide.
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