Hi

I received my Mini 3 Pro yesterday and took it for its first flight and test.
It's absolutely tiny and flier very well, but the photos and video are a huge drop from my Mavic 2 pro.

I know they're not directly comparable, but the photos from the mini 3 look cheap mobile phone quality compared to the 2 pro. Also when comparing photos from my pixel 6 pro to the mini 3 Pro they look awful.

Has anyone else got a view?

You are viewing them from the drones SD, right? also, best not to compare to the Mavic 2, it wont play ball lol also, have you set it to 48mp, also are you in 4:3 (3:4) not 16:9

How do they compare to these...

Billy Kyle sample images

I thought these were pretty good. What RAW converter are you using. using Affinity Photo they looked pretty good to me. Also visit...

https://www.youtube.com/c/PilotInstitute/videos

..they are pretty straight up and are saying Mini 3 Pro has some really good resolving power with evidence to boot. Quite interesting to look at all their Mini 3 videos especially the 12MP 48MP one, a real eye opener.

Only thing I have seen is some corners on some samples (not necessarily form that link) are very average but it doesn't seem consistent. I was really impressed with Bill Kyles latest video and the quality in that.

Hello there. I am sorry for the trouble this has caused and thank you for reaching out. Kindly please post some sample photos that you have captured using your new DJI Mini 3 Pro for us to be able to see and can assist you. Thank you.  

Bussty Posted at 5-18 22:21
How do they compare to these...

Billy Kyle sample images

Hi Bussty,

I'd say similar, I'm not sure those images are particularly great, they look fairly grainy and are lacking depth.
The jpg output should be good without having to convert from raw IMHO.

I'm going to do a like for like test later today of MP2 v mini3pro next to each other to see the differences - I am expecting the MP2 to win (much bigger sensor, and adjustable aperture), but I'm hoping the mini3pro looks still looks good.

I really really want to like the mini3pro and want to get rid of the MP2, but can't do if the mini3pro pics look as bad as the tests.

Will post later

thx

fansdd0b07fa Posted at 5-18 22:50
Hi Bussty,

I'd say similar, I'm not sure those images are particularly great, they look fairly grainy and are lacking depth.

I'm coming from Mini 1 so I'm going "Wow!" but do check out Pilots Institute as their results are eye opening, maybe not at the edges but centre is pretty cool.

I run all drone images through Topaz Denoise or GigaPixel and it does make a huge difference. Recall doing that on samples from the MP2 and was impressive.  With all the crush on drones and the Mini 3 being under 250g if you can get close it may be a great way forward but I'm still watching and waiting, and waiting and using my Mini 1 :-)  We also still have the rumour of the M3s to play out which could be a game changer so all quite tentative right now.  If the Pilot Institute Test comes anywhere close to the M3 (which is a huge challenge) I'll definitely buy a Mini 3 Pro (if they sort the range thing out as that just appears to be an all out error...)  Cheers  Bussty

fansdd0b07fa Posted at 5-18 22:50
Hi Bussty,

I'd say similar, I'm not sure those images are particularly great, they look fairly grainy and are lacking depth.

If best quality photos were what you were looking for, you probably should have bought a M3. The sensor on this drone camera is smaller than M2P the drone costs €700 less . To expect the same quality from this sensor is probably asking a bit much. You don’t need to compare with M2P, you need to compare with Mini2. Photos in raw should have more DR than jpegs, would be good if you post easier to comment.

hallmark007 Posted at 5-19 02:56
If best quality photos were what you were looking for, you probably should have bought a M3. The sensor on this drone camera is smaller than M2P the drone costs €700 less . To expect the same quality from this sensor is probably asking a bit much. You don’t need to compare with M2P, you need to compare with Mini2. Photos in raw should have more DR than jpegs, would be good if you post easier to comment.

I agree, I'm not expecting the same, just not much less (2 years newer etc).

The thing that has stuck out on my brief test is how poor the photos were compared to my phone, that shouldn't be the case as the sensor is even smaller.

Will post direct comparisons later today. I hope I'm wrong and the pics are better than I've seen!

So you bought a cheap drone with a tiny sensor, knowing full well the specs were lower than the M2P in every way and then, shockingly, discovered they were in fact lower than the M2P?

Looks more like a total lack of research before buying.

gnirtS Posted at 5-19 03:13
So you bought a cheap drone with a tiny sensor, knowing full well the specs were lower than the M2P in every way and then, shockingly, discovered they were in fact lower than the M2P?

Looks more like a total lack of research before buying.

wow, grumpy.. guess you havent read my statements above.

The MP2 isn't better spec in all ways, its heavier, has lower end avoidance and is 2 years older

fansdd0b07fa Posted at 5-19 02:59
I agree, I'm not expecting the same, just not much less (2 years newer etc).

The thing that has stuck out on my brief test is how poor the photos were compared to my phone, that shouldn't be the case as the sensor is even smaller.

Actually, your Pixel 6 Pro has the same 1/1.3" size sensor as the Mini 3 Pro.
And your phone should produce better picture because of computational photography with the smartphone's much higher computational power.   Your phone sometimes would use stacked images and other processing tricks that the Mini Pro is not capable of.

nosnoop Posted at 5-19 03:19
Actually, your Pixel 6 Pro has the same 1/1.3" size sensor as the Mini 3 Pro.
And your phone should produce better picture because of computational photography with the smartphone's much higher computational power.   Your phone sometimes would use stacked images and other processing tricks that the Mini Pro is not capable of.

Thats a fair point.

Thanks

fansdd0b07fa Posted at 5-19 02:59
I agree, I'm not expecting the same, just not much less (2 years newer etc).

The thing that has stuck out on my brief test is how poor the photos were compared to my phone, that shouldn't be the case as the sensor is even smaller.

I think processors on phones are what make photos look so good. Really a well edited raw photo should show what is possible with the sensor.

Which mode are you using?  Single / 48mp or AEB.    I’ve had some lovely shots from the mini 2 in AEB mode.  Good enough for magazine front covers infact.   Ive also noticed some apps don’t display the dngs properly yet,  weird colours etc vs the jpg.   

I've just taken some test shots and I can see that there is a clear difference between the M2Pro and the Mini3Pro (not unexpected), but on closer inspection I think the quality drop is worth it for having a package <1/2 the size and 1/3 of the weight.

The 2nd file has a mistake on the ISO on the M2Pro which doesn't make it fully fair.. but still a reasonable comparison.

I think I'll do my planned swap and ebay my trusty M2Pro.

What do you think: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xCzfvdvsQWIhW3mKDtATRkYqXi82JRNG/view?usp=sharing

To the original poster, if photography is your thing I use a piece of software called Topaz AI Clear with my Mini 2 which will bump it to a level that from an image clarity point of view will give my Mavic Pro 2 extremely stiff competition. I visited your google drive link and tried it one your Mini 3 photo’s and it makes a big difference.

The Mavic 2 Pro will always win hands down on dynamic range, but shooting AEB mode on the Mini 2 helps solve the range problem if you do HDR merging on late evening shots, and the use of AI Clear brings me to the point where I can’t tell the difference between my Mavic Pro 2 vs Mini 2 images.

In your case, the Mini 3 will have somewhat better dynamic range compared to the Mini 2, but looking at your images, they seem to have the same lack of clarity the Mini 2 has vs the Mavic, so, AI may be the perfect solution for you too.

Topaz AI have changed their product line-up since I bought AI Clear, so that exact tool I use is not available any more. They seem to have split it into two programs, AI Denoise and AI Sharpen.

My suggestions is, have a go of the trial versions and see if they fit your needs. My guess is AI Sharpen may offer you serious consideration in letting your Mavic 2 Pro go.

However, if Video is your thing, then there’s no getting away from the fact the Mavic 2 Pro is far superior when it comes to dynamic range and clarity.

Sharp Posted at 5-19 14:32
To the original poster, if photography is your thing I use a piece of software called Topaz AI Clear with my Mini 2 which will bump it to a level that from an image clarity point of view will give my Mavic Pro 2 extremely stiff competition. I visited your google drive link and tried it one your Mini 3 photo’s and it makes a big difference.

The Mavic 2 Pro will always win hands down on dynamic range, but shooting AEB mode on the Mini 2 helps solve the range problem if you do HDR merging on late evening shots, and the use of AI Clear brings me to the point where I can’t tell the difference between my Mavic Pro 2 vs Mini 2 images.

Thats great, thank you.
Somone earlier in the thread mentioned that it's likely our phone photos look soo good due to the processing, so Topaz may end up achieving the same result.
thanks