When I got a Mini 3 Pro, I was annoyed that it couldnt be pointed in random directions as it returned home.

The Mini 2 enabled good photography on the way home. The Mini 2 is definitely pointable.

I find the Mini 3 Pro can only descend at 0.3m/s in RTH mode, but I've seen it do slightly more.

From the 1.0 manual of the mini 2 SE
"During RTH, the speed, altitude, and orientation of the aircraft can be controlled using the remote controller if the remote controller signal is normal. However, the remote controller cannot be used to pan left or right. When the aircraft is ascending or flying forward, the user can push the control stick completely in the opposite direction to make the aircraft exit RTH and hover in place."
To my mind the quotation contradicts itself.
The manual of the mini 2 makes the same statement yet it appears I have done a spinning RTH with a mini 2.

Might the reason the mini 3 pro can not spin during RTH be that spinning would render OA useless? If it can be done, what happens if you switch OA off?

With regards to "the Mini 3 Pro can only descend at 0.3m/s in RTH mode", at what height was that and did you put the decimal point in the correct place?

I suspected that the main reason the Mini 3 can't spin, is to do with aerodynamics. It has a big profile and going sideways is inefficient. But that should be up to the user. But you are right, it might also be due to OA, but most likely they just like cutting out features.   Regarding "pan", that's a camera function, and the Minis can't do a pan. Not sure what ones can.

0.3m/s is all I can get out of it at 100m. Though I remember getting 1m/s some other time.

To check the aerodynamic drag feature perhaps the following would work. On a windless day do an RTH over a reasonable distance then, under manual control, do
1) a forward flight and then
2) a sideways flight.
both over roughly the same distance, in the same direction and at the same speed as the RTH.
Process the log via Phantomhelp and download the csv.
Open the csv with something like excel and average the drone's tilt of each RTH simulating run and compare those averages with the average tilt in the real RTH. I suspect increased drag in sideways flight would show itself as increased tilt.
I suppose you could also do this via driving a car at RTH speed and getting a passenger to hang the drone, via a string etc., out their window and see what angle the string takes to the vertical, it would be a bit crude as the test probably wouldn't include drone tilt but .......

i didnt try to turn mini 2 while rth

Hi, Zoooom. Thank you for reaching out. For Mini 2 SE, during RTH, the speed, altitude, and orientation of the aircraft can be controlled using the remote controller if the remote controller signal is normal. However, the remote controller cannot be used to pan left or right. When the aircraft is ascending or flying forward, the user can push the control stick completely in the opposite direction to make the aircraft exit RTH and hover in place.

While for the Mini 3 Pro:
Ascending stage: Only the throttle stick can control the aircraft movement, but the yaw stick, pitch stick, and roll stick cannot. (When the aircraft ascends, after pushing the throttle stick downward fully, the aircraft will stop returning to the home point.)
Straight line stage: Both the throttle stick and pitch stick can control aircraft movement, but the yaw stick and roll stick cannot. (When the aircraft returns in a straight line, after pushing the pitch stick backward fully, the aircraft will stop returning to the home point.)
Landing stage: The throttle stick, pitch stick, yaw stick, and roll stick can control movement. Response to the stick movement that controls gimbal movement: The gimbal tilt can be controlled during all processes.

I went through the manuals of Air 2S, mavic classic, mavic pro and a few others, but found rotation to be only available on Mini 2/SE.   It's a pretty nice feature to have on any drone because it allows a flight home to be productive, since you can point the drone backwards, or sideways.  It's a real surprise to buy a more expensive drone and find it lacks this functionality, as well as waypoints

With regards to other drones, as I remember the m2p/z, a Go4 using drone, WILL not, with default settings, spin during RTH. BUT there is an option that can be changed that governs this, when that is changed from the default to the alternative I recollect that those drones can be spun during RTH.  I do not remember the setting.
Question for you, if the more expensive drone has/have OA and OA is on during RTH, of what use would OA be if the drone was flying sideway and the drone has no sideways looking sensors?
Again I come back to the idea that the inability to spin a drone is related to the use of OA and I ask, if OA can be switched off, have you tested the drone with OA off?
PS I think the Mavic Mini can spin during RTH but I would need to check that.

I have my OA off all the time because it makes too much noise. But Nobbygreen thinks it's a brilliant feature that M3P turns on OA during RTH.  

https://youtu.be/32SSXMveO78

I'll try toggling it around during RTH, to see if it can be fooled. (Raining and dark, now)

Great video, no superflous waffle, well animated and clearly subtiled, I'm deaf. Yours? Perhaps not or its very green for Austalia. Thank you

I think fly lost a lot in comparison with Go & Go4.

Nobby is british.   

I've tested whether you can turn the OA off during RTH, and it's a bust.  I also learned not to trust the Bypass mode in avoidance, because the drone can think it's solved the puzzle and lurch forwards into wire, and ruin the other two propellers that the eagle didn't ruin.

" However, the remote controller cannot be used to pan left or right. "

So that's the same as on the Mini 2, right ? Since you can change the direction to which it points you're essentially able to "pan" left and right.

Webdrone Posted at 2-10 03:43
" However, the remote controller cannot be used to pan left or right. "

So that's the same as on the Mini 2, right ? Since you can change the direction to which it points you're essentially able to "pan" left and right.

Hi, there. Thank you for reaching out. Yes, this phenomenon is also the same with the DJI Mini 2. Please refer to the screenshot below: Thank you for your support.