So you’re looking to buy a high-quality drone from DJI, but can’t decide between the Mini 3 Pro and the Avata. Both are fantastic options packed with features, but have distinctly different use cases. In this in-depth guide, we’ll compare the key specs, flight capabilities, camera performance, and overall strengths of the Mini 3 Pro versus the Avata to help you determine which DJI drone is the better fit for your needs and budget.

Table Of Contents

An Overview of the DJI Mini 3 Pro and DJI Avata
DJI Mini 3 Pro vs DJI Avata: Key Specs Compared
Flight Experience and Performance
Intelligent Flight Modes
Obstacle Avoidance and APAS
Battery Life & Charging
Camera, Gimbal & Image Quality
Connectivity & Transmission Range
Portability
Durability & Construction
Mini 3 Pro vs Avata: Which Should You Buy?

An Overview of the DJI Mini 3 Pro and DJI Avata

The DJI Mini 3 Pro, released in May 2022, is the latest iteration of DJI’s popular Mini drone line known for portability and approachable flying. Weighing a mere 249 grams, the Mini 3 Pro packs impressive camera specs and software features like ActiveTrack and panoramas into an incredibly compact body.

The DJI Avata, released in August 2022, represents DJI’s first ready-to-fly FPV drone. FPV, which stands for first-person view, gives pilots an immersive flight experience through FPV goggles that display real-time transmission from the drone’s camera. The Avata makes fpv flight more accessible for beginners while still offering manual flight capabilities for experienced pilots.

So in a nutshell:

The DJI Mini 3 Pro is a portable camera drone great for aerial photography and videography
The DJI Avata is an FPV racing/freestyle quadcopter offering an immersive flight experience

The rest of this guide will break down their similarities and differences to help you decide if the reliable and feature-packed Mini 3 Pro or the exhilarating first-person experience of the Avata is a better fit.

DJI Mini 3 Pro vs DJI Avata: Key Specs Compared

Let’s start by looking at some of the essential specs and hardware differences between the Mini 3 Pro and the Avata:

A few key things to note from this side-by-side specs comparison:

The Mini 3 Pro is much lighter at 249 grams versus 410 grams for the Avata. This allows the Mini 3 Pro to stay in the air longer, up to 34 minutes compared to just 18 minutes for the Avata. However, the Avata’s heavier weight makes it a bit more stable and wind resistant when flying at high speeds.
Both shoot 4K video at 60fps, but the Mini 3 Pro captures 48MP photos versus 12MP on the Avata. So for still photography, the Mini 3 Pro has a clear advantage.
The Avata is slightly more durable with an IPX3 waterproof rating. It also has faster max ascent, descent, and overall speeds thanks to its power and agility as an FPV quadcopter.

So in terms of pure performance specs, there is no single clear “winner.” As we’ll explore throughout this guide, each drone shines in different areas based on their distinct intended use cases.

Flight Experience and Performance

One of the biggest differences between the Mini 3 Pro and Avata that makes them suitable for different types of pilots is the flying experience.

As mentioned earlier, the DJI Avata offers a true FPV flight experience from its first-person view goggles. This gives an unparalleled sense of immersion and excitement as you fly through the skies by seeing exactly what the drone camera captures in real-time. You get the visceral sensations of pulling off tight turns, diving through gaps, and racing past objects in a way just not possible with a traditional remote control camera drone.

The Mini 3 Pro, on the other hand, relies on more standard RC drone flight. You fly the drone while looking at the live camera feed from the Mini 3 Pro on the controller’s built-in screen. Compared to the Avata’s FPV manual flight and tight maneuvering, the Mini 3 Pro offers smoother, more stable flight to capture steady aerial footage. Many of DJI’s camera drone flight modes like FocusTrack and QuickShots are also available on the Mini 3 Pro but not the Avata.

So which flying experience sounds more appealing to you?

For those prioritizing an immersive flight, the DJI Avata and FPV goggles help you feel the thrill of flight. The acceleration and tight turns make for a uniquely exciting experience that FPV quads are uniquely capable of.

For pilots who want reliable automated flight modes and a steadier aerial filming platform, the beginner-friendly DJI Mini 3 Pro hits the spot with its excellent camera stability and suite of intelligent capture modes.

Speed and Agility

Given its FPV racing pedigree, it’s no surprise that the Avata reaches much faster maximum speeds than the Mini 3 Pro:

Avata max speed: 27 mph (43 kph)
Mini 3 Pro max speed: 16 mph (sport mode)

So if you love flying fast and pulling off quick turns and dives, the increased agility of the Avata makes it a more fitting choice. The bulky camera and gimbal under the Mini 3 Pro mean it just can’t keep up with the Avata in terms of outright speed and acceleration.

However, the Mini 3 Pro is still reasonably quick in Sport mode, reaching 16 mph thanks to upgraded motors over past DJI Mini models. So it’s certainly not sluggish – the Avata is just especially speedy even for an FPV drone!

Hovering Stability

A key advantage of the DJI Mini 3 Pro when it comes to flight performance is the excellent hovering stability courtesy of the 3-axis gimbal and GPS/GLONASS positioning. Even in winds up to 22 mph, the Mini 3 Pro stays locked in place with impressive steadiness when hovering in place.

This allows you to capture clear, stable video and drone photos even in less than ideal weather conditions. The mechanical 3-axis stabilization paired with advanced sensors gives the Mini 3 Pro best-in-class hovering stability for a drone its size.

While the Avata utilizes GPS and an electronic 1-axis gimbal for basic hovering ability, it tends to show more up and down drifting or side-to-side swaying in windier conditions. This gives the Mini 3 Pro a clear edge when it comes to recording jitter-free stationary aerial footage. However, the Avata’s superior speed and maneuverability help counter this when needed to fight winds.

Intelligent Flight Modes

The Mini 3 Pro comes packed with a suite of intelligent flight and subject tracking modes from DJI to capture complex shots with ease. These include:

FocusTrack (Trace, Parallel, Spotlight)
QuickShots (Rocket, Circle, Dronie, Helix, Boomerang)
Hyperlapse
Panoramas

So with the Mini 3 Pro, you can utilize subject-tracking modes to automatically keep moving subjects or people in frame. And creative, pre-programmed flight paths like Helix and Boomerang make capturing professional-looking aerial videos easy even for beginner pilots.

The Avata lacks any automated flight modes – as an FPV quadcopter it’s purely focused on manual flight. So you’ll need to hone your flying skills to capture tracking shots or perfectly smooth orbits. This makes shots more challenging, but pulling them off manually can prove more rewarding.

Obstacle Avoidance and APAS

A huge plus for newer drone pilots that the Mini 3 Pro holds over the Avata is forward, backward, downward and sidewards obstacle avoidance sensors. These allow the Mini 3 Pro to automatically detect then avoid nearby objects, reducing the risk of costly crashes.

The Mini 3 also leverages APAS or Advanced Pilot Assistance System technology. APAS lets the Mini 3 Pro smoothly maneuver around, under, over, or even through confined spaces that normally would present difficulties for manual control alone, even autonomously altering its flight path.

This means you can confidently fly the Mini 3 in tougher environments with trees, buildings or other obstacles and still capture complex footage thanks to APAS steering clear of anything in its path.

The only sensors included on the Avata are downward-facing ones for hovering and landing. So piloting it relies entirely on your vision and reflexes to avoid objects at high speeds. This demands sharpened piloting accuracy and quick control inputs to dodge trees, bridges, powerlines and more when flying FPV. Part of the thrill certainly, but the additional sensors on the Mini 3 Pro reduce anxiety for less experienced pilots.

Battery Life & Charging

Mini 3 Pro max flight: 34 minutes
Avata max flight: 18 minutes

The Mini 3 Pro also excels when it comes to max battery life, managing an impressive 34 minutes in ideal test conditions. Even in real world scenarios you should reliably get 25+ minutes per charge. This gives you substantially more flying and filming time before needing to swap batteries.

The Avata averages around 15-18 minutes per battery since hovering steadily is less of a priority. Expect to drain batteries quicker given its high speeds, acrobatic maneuvers, and extra weight. You’ll likely want to bring 4+ Avata batteries along just to match the single-charge flight time of the Mini 3 Pro.

Both feature USB-C charging, but the conveniently compact Mini 3 Pro batteries allow you to charge two simultaneously using the bundled 2-way charging hub for efficient juice-ups between flights.

Camera, Gimbal & Image Quality

The imaging capabilities also showcase key strengths and limitations of each drone model.

Camera sensors:

Mini 3 Pro: 1/1.3″ CMOS, 48 megapixels
Avata: 1/1.7′′ CMOS, 12 megapixels

Aperture & FOV:

Mini 3 Pro: f/1.7 aperture, 82° FOV
Avata: f/2.8 aperture, 155 ̊ FOV

Electronic shutter speed:

Mini 3 Pro: 1/8000s
Avata: 1/8000s

Let’s break down how these camera hardware differences impact real-world performance:

Photo Resolution

Mini 3 Pro: 48MP photos
Avata: 12MP photos

The Mini 3’s 48MP 1/1.3″ sensor is capable of capturing stunningly detailed still aerial images miles ahead of what the Avata can produce at 12 megapixels. This allows for far more cropping flexibility with Mini 3 Pro shots too.

Low-Light Performance

Thanks to its wider f/1.7 variable aperture (adjustable for brightness/depth of field), the Mini 3 Pro excels in dim lighting scenarios. You can capture usable low noise images even with the last bit of daylight or streetlights at night.

The Avata’s smaller aperture of f/2.8 means less light reaches the sensor, so low light shots become grainier and darker more quickly at night. For daytime FPV flights the narrower Avata aperture helps keep foreground and background adequately sharp. But for dusk shots, the Mini 3 Pro pulls ahead.

Perspective & Field of View

The Avata offers an ultra-wide 155° diagonal FOV, meaning you see even more of the environment surrounding the drone. This extra peripheral vision aids with high speed FPV maneuvers.

Meanwhile, the Mini 3 Pro’s 24mm lens equals an 82° field of view on full frame cameras. So the perspective still remains reasonably wide for most aerial filming applications without the fish eye effect distortion.

Video Resolution

Both drones are capable of:
- 4K video up to 60fps
- 1080p video up to 60fps

So no difference in terms of maximum video resolution and frame rates. But the far superior stabilization of the 3-axis Mini 3 Pro gimbal ensures smoother, steadier-looking footage versus the less advanced electronic image stabilization of the Avata.

Gimbal Performance & Stabilization

This brings us to one of the most noticeable performance differences that makes each drone better suited for particular types of shots:

The Mini 3 Pro 3-axis mechanical gimbal keeps video footage and photos clear and level even through wind, quick direction changes, and mid-flight speed adjustments. You can rely on distortion-free, perfectly stabilized images. This opens up more confident filming while in motion.

The DJI Avata uses an single-axis electronic gimbal for basic video stabilization. While the Avata footage remains reasonably stable at slower cruising speeds, any sudden turns, stops, elevation changes etc introduce visible camera shake and tilting.

So the Avata performs best for full-throttle FPV runs where vibrations and video noise from the props/motors actually add to the exhilarating feel! But for flawlessly smooth cinematic shots, the refined 3-axis mechanical gimbal of the Mini 3 Pro can’t be matched.

Connectivity & Transmission Range

Both drones utilize DJI’s robust proprietary O3 transmission tech for clear HD video feeds. But the maximum transmission distances do differ:

Mini 3 Pro Max Range

18km / 11mi (FCC regions)
8km / 5mi (CE regions)
6km / 3.7mi (other regions)

Avata Max Range

10km / 6.2mi

So in regions that limit unmanned aircraft to stay closer, the shorter range of the Avata proves less limiting. But for pilots wanting to push distance limits, the Mini 3 Pro gives you the flexibility to fly nearly 3 times farther away safely.

The most impressive capability from a connectivity standpoint is the Avata’s self-healing O3 transmission which can instantly switch between its dual-antennas to maintain a crisp low latency feed. If the environment causes temporary loss of transmission from one antenna, signal is seamlessly handed off to the second antenna for uninterrupted immersive FPV flight.

Portability

One major allure of the DJI Mini drone series has always been the ultra-compact size for maximum portability. When folded, the Mini 3 Pro stuffs down small enough to fit in most jacket pockets at just 5.5 inches long and 3.5 inches wide.

Despite also qualifying as a smaller “cinewhoop” style FPV drone, the Avata remains substantially bulkier, especially factoring in the protective propeller guards. So the Mini does maintain a noticeable edge in overall compactness and ease of transport.

Let’s look at folded dimensions side-by-side:

Folded Mini 3 Pro dimensions: 145×90×62 mm
DJI Avata dimensions: 180×180×80 mm

However, the total package needed for proper operation does even things out a bit more.

For the Avata, everything required fits conveniently in DJI’s bundled carrying case:

Drone
Controller
FPV goggles
Batteries
Tools
Cables

Whereas the Mini 3 Pro kit requires either stuffing the larger RC controller in your bag separately from the drone itself, or carrying the entire shoulder bag style Fly More Kit case DJI offers.

When factoring in the FPV goggles needed to use the Avata, the portability difference becomes less substantial. But the amazingly tiny size of just the drone itself keeps the Mini 3 Pro as the winner for pilots prioritizing raw compactness in a camera drone.

Durability & Construction

Due to its racing drone DNA, the DJI Avata clearly is built to be more rugged and reinforced to endure crashes and bumps during freestyle FPV flights. This starts with the protected cage design surrounding each of the foldable propeller arms on the Avata. The cage absorbs side impacts while keeping branches or other debris clear of the props. And it means routine crashes and scrape-ups leave little visible damage beyond scratches on the tough plastic cage pieces. Best of all, you can buy replacement Avata cage parts inexpensively as consumables.

The Mini 3 Pro, on the other hand, leaves its delicate propellers fully exposed.

Mini 3 Pro vs Avata: Which Should You Buy?

In the end, choosing between DJI’s Mini 3 Pro and Avata drones comes down to weighing your priorities as a pilot.

If you want an exhilarating FPV racing experience with speed and agility at a reasonable price point, the DJI Avata is extremely hard to beat. Despite being DJI’s first FPV drone, the Avata gets all the fundamentals right. And options from manual mode up to two safer flight modes cater to FPV beginners and veterans alike.

For pilots focused foremost on capturing beautiful aerial photography and video during travel or everyday outings , the DJI Mini 3 Pro remains the more sensible option. The refined stability and imaging prowess combine into an unrivaled portable camera drone package ready to go wherever inspiration strikes. Improved battery life, plus handy intelligent flight modes for tracking subjects and maneuvering through obstacles also make the Mini 3 Pro the ideal flying camera for newbies.

Hopefully the comprehensive side-by-side comparison throughout this piece helps you better grasp the ideal uses cases and advantages of the Mini 3 Pro versus the Avata as you consider which amazing DJI drone model belongs in your kit!

DJI Avata vs DJI Mini 3 Pro: Which Should You Buy?