DJI Mini 3 (DJI RC), Lightweight 3x Mechanical Gimbal Drones with Camera for Adults 4K, 38-min Flight Time, up to 32800ft (10km) Video Transmission, Vertical Shooting, GPS Auto Return Integrated

After being drone-curious for a decade, this was my first drone purchase. The Mini 3 is a lot of fun to fly and the video and photo quality is excellent, even in lower light in the evening. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the Mini 3 is to fly, which is true of probably every DJI mini drone. Installing the DJI Fly app wasn't difficult and it wasn't too invasive. I wish the DJI Mimo app to register their action cameras was as pleasant an experience.The 38 minute flight time is excellent for a 249 gram no-license mini drone. I fly 25-30 minutes and land as soon as the app starts telling me that the battery is getting low, both to avoid drama trying to limp home against a headwind with only a few electrons remaining in the battery, and to avoid deep cycle discharging the battery and reducing its life span. The battery is so intelligent it actually has its own firmware and the smart battery controller will do everything it can to protect the battery, up to but not including endangering the drone. The drone will always try to make it back and it'll fry a battery if needed, as it should. Don't deep discharge the battery and it should be good for hundreds of flights, even though drone flight is a high discharge activity that inherently isn't good for batteries.The Mini 3 doesn't have obstacle avoidance but that's mostly useful for following a person and the visual follow modes don't work all that well so I prefer to do the obstacle avoidance and tracking manually, and not having obstacle avoidance makes the batteries last longer.There are a few reasonably priced after market apps that extend the features of the drone. I use Maven EVO and it allows me to program waypoints, either by flying to them or by programming them on a map, and then fly the mission. It's a great way to have the drone fly itself and video me while I ride my motorcycle, or precisely fly a programmed course to video a particular scene, such as a coastline, river or cliff. There are also a few co-pilot features that automate some of the flying, or constrain the drone's motion (example: along a line) while allowing the remote control to do much simpler flying along the path. All of these features allow some up front setup time to be traded for a precise and safe flight path.I love how small and lightweight the Mini 3 is. That makes it easy to bring along on ultralight motorcycle camping adventures, while allowing me to get some dramatic aerial video and photography so my shared adventures are more compelling.The most challenging aspect of drone flying has been getting my old eyes to see my phone or tablet when flying on a sunny day. You may want to upgrade from the RC-N! controller that uses the DJI Fly app on your connected phone, to the RC-2 controller with the built-in screen, not to use the screen, but to have video out that can be fed into heads up glasses so the flight software is inside sunglasses but you retain situational awareness you wouldn't have with FPV goggles. This would be at least a few hundred dollars for this upgrade but may be worthwhile for some people.

Great drone for hobby flyer and learning. Stable hover and easy to control. Good video display but a bit hard to see in bright sun so a controller hood would be a good idea. Drone is built solid. The bundle with extra batteries is a good deal since batteries are a bit hard to find and they are pricey right now. DJI always has good reviews for their products and is a leader in the field. Since it's only 249 grams, wind can be a big factor so a wind speed gauge comes in handy. I've used mine in some of the upper recommended wind speeds and it was still very steady but use with caution on windy days. The auto return feature is great too. My first drone didn't have that and I last saw it headed for England when a strong wind gust caught it while flying on the beach in Georgia.

If you’re new to the drone space and looking to buy a drone I can only say one thing. Look no further and just buy the DJI Mini 3 with the RC remote. I’ve spent countless hours trying to decide which to get out of the DJI mini series, especially with the availability of the mini 4 pro and the soon to release Mini 5 pro. The mini 3 with the RC remote is completely blowing my mind. Got it this morning charged it up and flew it about an hour later. It is an absolute joy to fly. Extremely easy to control, the camera is amazing, the RTH feature is unmatched and what negative thing could you possibly say about the RC controller. Don’t get caught up in the features that comes with the pro because check this out, YOU CANT MISS WHAT YOU’VE NEVER HAD! The mini 3 with the RC remote is more than what I expected being new to drones. Start with this one and then if you really find enjoyment in it then upgrade later on but definitely buy this one.I can’t emphasize enough on how important the RC controller is. Seeing how this is my first drone I experienced the controller that allows you to connect your phone but I have 0 complaints for the RC controller.Hurry up and buy! Lol

Everything came fast and was in order! I needed to upgrade my mini fleet from one Mini SE to the next best gen available. I was going back and forth between the 3 and 4 (Pro included) and decided to finally get a 3 as it was the one most available when stocks are getting low. The 3 was it, and it has been such a great upgrade to my already aging mini se.Thanks to suppliers like this for keeping the hope alive and the freedom of the consumer.