The 1/1.3in sensor in the
Mini 3 is a good bit bigger than the sensor in the
Mini 2 (1/2.3in) and the
Mavic Air 2 (1/2in) but a fair bit smaller than the 1in sensor in the
Mavic 2 Pro, these are the surface areas of each sensor to give a better idea:
1/2.3in: 28.5mm²
1/2in: 31mm²
1/1.3in: 69mm²
1in: 116mm²
The
Mini 3's lens is around a stop a half faster than the
M2P (F1.7 vs F2.8) which should help match or beat the
M2P in low light but we'll need to see samples to see how the dynamic range stacks up, the
Mini 3 sensor is smaller but it's also a lot newer.
The 48MP is misleading and instead it should be treated as a 12MP sensor as they've split each pixel into four more smaller pixels the same colour so you don't gain any more resolution instead it's intended the extra pixels can be used for better dynamic range and other computational software improvements:
Marketing departments are trying to sell you on the wrong thing - resolution isn't why these sensors are good, it's the better image processing.
www.gsmarena.com
The tech is popular in small sensors but I think the only large sensor using it is the new Olympus OM-1 with a 20MP version (same size as the
Mavic 3) but no full reviews on that yet.
One question I would be interested to know is how well the
Mini 3 handles wind compared to the
M2P as it's often windy here and I'm surprised how well the
M2P can handle it.
I had no interest in the
Mini 3 originally but have to admit I am toying with the idea although I want to see how the dynamic range compares as that's what is more useful to me on the
M2P. I originally wasn't bothered about being able to fly near to people but there's a couple of times recently it could have been handy and if I'm understanding the UK rules properly (and I'm possibly not), even if I get my A2 competency next January the
M2P will be downgraded again to
A3. Whereas the
Mini 3 keeps its A1 category even after January.