DJI Mini 3 vs DJI Mini 2: which one should you buy?

One thing that applies to both

Neither of these drones can sense an obstacle in any direction, and that is the most important sentence on this page.

Both have downward sensors for hovering and landing, and nothing facing forwards or sideways. Both fly on bare propellers.

So whichever you choose, you are the collision avoidance system, and a clipped branch is usually a repair rather than a bump.

If that worries you, the honest answer is that neither of these is the drone you want, and something newer with sensing is worth the wait.

Both appear in my best drones under 250g guide.

Five things that do not separate them

Clear these away first.

• Same three-axis gimbal

  Tilt, roll and pan on both.

• Same lack of obstacle sensing

  Downward positioning only, on both.

• Same lack of storage

  A microSD card is compulsory on both.

• Same top speed and ceiling

  16 m/s and 4000 m on both.

• Same UK paperwork

  Flyer ID and Operator ID for both.

• So ignore all 5

  None of it can tell you which to buy. The next four things can.

Both also cap 4K at 30 frames a second, so neither offers slow motion. Both need a controller with your phone clamped in as the screen.

The four differences that actually matter

1. The Mini 3 has four times the stills resolution and a far wider lens

This is the generational change that justifies the comparison, and it is a large one.

The Mini 3 uses a 1/1.3-inch sensor at 48 megapixels. The Mini 2 uses a 1/2.3-inch sensor at 12.

Mini 3

48MP

1/1.3-inch sensor, f/1.7

Mini 2

12MP

1/2.3-inch sensor, f/2.8

The lens is the half people forget. The Mini 3 opens to f/1.7 where the Mini 2 sits at f/2.8, which is a substantial difference in light reaching the sensor before anything else happens.

Stills go from 4000 by 3000 to 8064 by 6048, which is the difference between a phone screen and something you could print.

Both cap 4K at 30 frames a second, so slow motion is not part of the upgrade. The gain is in resolution and low light rather than frame rate.

2. The Mini 3 flies 38 minutes, the longest in the class

Seven minutes more than the Mini 2, and the highest standard figure of any sub-250 gram DJI drone.

DJI rates the Mini 3 at 38 minutes in forward flight and 33 hovering. The Mini 2 is rated at 31.

Mini 3

38min

about 28 in reality

Mini 2

31min

about 22 in reality

Both are laboratory figures measured in still air with the battery run flat, so expect materially less on a real afternoon.

The Mini 3 also offers a Plus battery quoted at 51 minutes, but its own manual notes that fitting it takes the drone over 249 grams.

So the 51-minute claim and the sub-250 gram claim cannot both be true. The honest comparison is 38 against 31.

3. The Mini 3 works in frost. The Mini 2 is not rated below zero

A small line with a real seasonal consequence, and one almost nobody checks before buying.

The Mini 3 is rated for minus ten to forty degrees. The Mini 2 is rated zero to forty.

Mini 3

-10°C

rated to fly in frost

Mini 2

0°C

not rated below freezing

Frosty mornings produce some of the best flying light of the year: still air, low sun, sharp shadows.

One of these two is outside its rated range before you have got out of the car on those mornings.

Lithium batteries lose capacity in cold regardless, so neither hits its quoted time in January. Only one is rated to be there at all.

4. The Mini 2 has more weight margin, and no class mark

The one measurable advantage of the older drone, and it comes with a documentation cost.

The Mini 2 is 242 grams and the Mini 3 is 248, so the Mini 2 has eight grams of margin under the limit against two.

Mini 3

248g

C0, 2 g under the limit

Mini 2

242g

legacy, 8 g under the limit

At these weights that is a meaningful proportion. A sticker, a lanyard loop or a heavier third-party propeller genuinely matters on the Mini 3.

Both manuals warn against adding payload or fitting unapproved parts, and on the Mini 3 that warning has real teeth.

The trade is documentation. The Mini 3 declares a C0 class mark on page 71 of its manual; the Mini 2 declares none, which makes it a legacy drone in the eyes of the rules.

Under 250 grams that changes nothing practical in the UK today. It can matter abroad, where some countries lean on class marks more heavily.

Four questions that will tell you which one to buy

Work down them and stop at the first one you can answer firmly. That is your drone.

The Mini 3 wins three of four, so price is the only real argument for the Mini 2. Bear in mind neither can sense an obstacle — if that matters more than the camera, the Neo 2 comparison shows what sensing actually buys.

Two catches worth knowing before you order either one

Neither is a reason to avoid either drone. Both are things I would want to have been told before paying.

The Mini 3’s Plus battery takes it over 250 grams

The Mini 3 is quoted at 51 minutes with the Intelligent Flight Battery Plus, which is the figure most listings lead with.

Its manual notes on page 7 that the maximum takeoff weight exceeds 249 grams once that battery is fitted.

So the long flight time and the friendly weight bracket are mutually exclusive.

On the standard battery it is 38 minutes, which is still the longest in the class and the number worth comparing.

Both need a memory card and a charged phone

Neither drone has any internal storage, so a microSD card is compulsory rather than optional on both.

Both controllers have no screen. Your phone clamps in and becomes the display, so a flat phone is a cancelled flight.

The Mini 2 pipes a 720p live view over OcuSync 2.0; the Mini 3 uses O2. You record 4K either way.

Size, wind and buying used

Three practical points before you decide.

The Mini 2 is the smaller package folded, at 138 by 81 by 58 millimetres against the Mini 3’s 148 by 90 by 62.

Wind resistance goes to the Mini 3, at 10.7 metres per second against 10, which is roughly 24 miles an hour against 22.

The Mini 2 launched in November 2020, so much of what is available now is used or clearance stock.

Used is not a problem in itself, but a drone that has been crashed and repaired is harder to assess than a camera. Ask what it has hit.

Mini 3 vs Mini 2: every specification side by side

Figures from the official DJI specification pages and both user manuals. Amazon affiliate links — disclosure.

Both drones need a Flyer ID and an Operator ID. Neither is exempt

You will read all over the internet that drones under 250 grams need no licence. For a camera drone in the UK that is simply wrong, and both of these are camera drones.

Why I pick the DJI Mini 3 over the DJI Mini 2

This is one of the few DJI generational jumps where the thing that changed is the thing that matters.

Four times the stills resolution, a much wider lens, seven more minutes and a rated range that covers a British winter.

The Mini 2 keeps six grams of extra weight margin and a lower price, and if the saving is large it remains a competent drone. Neither can see an obstacle, so fly both accordingly.

My recommendation — DJI Mini 3

DJI Mini 3

2022 — 248 g, C0 class mark

I recommend the DJI Mini 3 over the DJI Mini 2 because this is the generation where DJI actually changed the camera. Four times the stills resolution behind a much wider lens, seven more minutes in the air, and it keeps working when there is frost on the car. The Mini 2 is lighter and older and will be cheaper. Unless the saving is large, the Mini 3 is the one worth owning.

• 1/1.3-inch 48 MP sensor, f/1.7
• 38 minutes, the longest in the class
• Rated down to minus ten degrees
• C0 class marked
• O2 transmission
• Three-axis gimbal, 48 MP stills
• Only two grams under the limit
• No forward sensing, and no storage

Check the Mini 3 on Amazon →

Amazon affiliate link — no extra cost to you.

The older option

DJI Mini 2

Buy this instead if it is much cheaper, or if the extra six grams of weight margin genuinely matters to you.

Check the Mini 2 →

Amazon affiliate links — disclosure.