The DJI Mini 3 Pro is the world's first TikTok drone, a new version of DJI's smallest drone that is as small and light as ever, but can do something no other drone can: rotate its camera 90 degrees to shoot vertical video But if that is the only trick it can pull off, we could see it as a gimmick

What puts the Mini 3 Pro on our list of best drones is that despite its small size, it has excellent object tracking, obstacle avoidance, and extended battery life for ridiculously long flight times Is this the best drone for influencers? To find out, you need to read the rest of our DJI Mini 3 Pro review

The DJI Mini 3 Pro goes on sale today (May 10, 2022) and comes in three configurations:

DJI Mini 3 Pro and Intelligent Flight Battery for $669/$989 without a remote controller, DJI will This model is intended for current DJI owners who want to upgrade without having to purchase a new controller

The DJI Mini 3 Pro, Intelligent Flight Battery, and RC-N1 controllers (which require the use of a cell phone as a display) are $759 / A$1,119, while the DJI Mini 3 Pro, Intelligent Flight Battery, DJI RC (with built-in display) is $909/AUD $1,299

In addition, two Fly More kits will be offered Both come with two sets of propellers, a carrying bag, and a charging hub One of the Fly More kits includes the regular Intelligent Flight Battery, priced at $189/$259 AUD, and the other includes the Intelligent Flight Battery Plus, priced at $249/$359 AUD

The Mini 3 Pro is very similar to its predecessor, the DJI Mini 2 It is almost identical in size and weight, but the most obvious difference is that the Mini 3 Pro has two bulbous protrusions on the front for forward-facing sensors The camera gimbal has also been slightly redesigned

Other DJI features are all here, such as the foldable arms; on the Mini 3 Pro, the body is angled so that when the drone is in flight, it faces slightly up at an angle, which looks a bit comical when hovering

Like the Mini 2, the Mini 3 Pro weighs in at a mere 249 grams, just under the 250 gram limit required to register the drone with the FAA This is the same weight as the ball of dough I use to make pizza, making the Mini 3 Pro feel as light as a toy

The Mini 3 Pro's battery slides into the back of the drone, and just above it is a USB-C port and microSD card slot

It should be noted, however, that the Mini 3 Pro's extended battery weighs in at over 250 grams, exceeding the limit

With the Mini 3 Pro, DJI offers a choice of two different controllers The less expensive option is the RC-N1 controller, which would work with a PS5 or Xbox Series X The unit has two control sticks and a pair of shoulder buttons A spring-loaded clasp extends from the top to hold a smartphone Another, more expensive option is the DJI RC, which is essentially a controller with a built-in 55-inch Android tablet

Both controllers have their pros and cons For example, the DJI RC weighs 390g and the RC-N1 weighs 385g, so adding a smartphone makes it much heavier

The DJI RC's screen has a resolution of 1080p and a rated brightness of 700 nits; for example, the iPhone 13 Pro Max recorded 1,038 nits in our tests Furthermore, the RC's display does not have a brightness adjustment, which makes it somewhat annoying to have to manually adjust the screen if the sun suddenly peeks out of the clouds

Then again, it's nice to be able to use your smartphone for other things while flying the drone

The Mini 3 Pro has a 1/13" CMOS sensor with an aperture of f/17 It can take photos up to 48 MP in size and record video at 4K/60fps (30fps with HDR) It can also shoot slow motion video at 1080p at 120 fps

The video quality was excellent, and while not as detailed as DJI's more expensive drones, it was sharp and colorful, and I could see every single petal and leaf on the cherry tree fluttering in the wind In slightly cloudy conditions, however, we noticed that the footage was more grainy than with the DJI drone, which has a larger camera sensor [From the app or controller, the camera orientation can be switched from horizontal to vertical It's a clever trick and really easy to use, and definitely more attractive to influencers, perhaps even more so than a snapping selfie drone

It's also great if you want to capture the entirety of a vertical object, like a skyscraper I used this mode to capture a crane removing a maple tree from a neighbor's yard

The only drawback to portrait mode is that it does not support object tracking

In standard mode, the Mini 3 Pro skillfully followed me as I weaved my way through the pink cherry blossom trees Thanks to the forward, backward, and downward object sensors, it was able to capture me in the frame as I moved through the thicket It's really quite impressive and a bit unnerving at the same time

Object tracking has some limitations While it could easily track me, my cat was too small to track

Another benefit of the redesigned gimbal is that the Mini 3 Pro's camera can now be angled 60 degrees upward While not as nimble as the Parrot Anafi, which allows the camera to rotate 90 degrees up and down, this is an improvement over the previous DJI drone and allows for a better view of the underside of an object

One of the things I like most about the DJI drone, aside from its ease of use, is its excellent flight time The Mini 3 Pro with the standard battery has a flight time of about 34 minutes, which is good, but not as good as the Mavic 3's 41-minute endurance

However, if you opt for the Intelligent Flight Battery Plus, the Mini 3 Pro's flight time jumps to 47 minutes In our tests, it was around 40 minutes, but unlike DJI's larger drones, the Mini 3 Pro is more susceptible to wind

It should also be noted that the Intelligent Flight Battery Plus is not available in some markets, such as Europe, because it pushes the drone's weight above 249 grams

It would not be so much of a mistake to think of the Mini 3 Pro as having the features of the Air 2 in the body of the Mini 2 While it does not have as large an image sensor as the Air 2, it has the same resolution, 3-way obstacle detection, and a camera that can rotate to capture vertical video The Air 2 is a more compact drone with the same resolution, three-way obstacle detection, and a camera that can rotate and shoot vertical video You can also get 47 minutes of flight time with the purchase of an extended battery

I still think the $449 DJI Mini 2 is the best drone for most people, but the Mini 3 Pro is a good upgrade for those who want a better camera in a smaller package