Mini 2 vs Mini 3 picture comparison (pics inside!)

[shadow3467]

So having both the Mini 2 and the Mini 3 in my hands for the past two weeks or so I've been doing a lot of testing to see if the more than double price of the Mini 3 is worth it

Today I took several pictures of the same locations using both drones, a couple of notes:

- I tend to underexpose most my pictures on purpose so that I can recover more highlights in post, as it's kind of hard to expose perfectly on the phone/RC screen
- Mini 2 pictures were taken first, so the sun had moved about 20-25 mins between the pictures which may explain lighting changes
- The pictures were taken from the same distance roughly but definitely the same height. The Mini 3 seems to have a wider angle lens naturally
- The very first picture I mispositioned the drone on the Mini 3 shot so it's a bit further back
- The pictures on the Mini 3 were taken in the 12mp mode, NOT 48mp
- All the pics are unedited and untouched

Here is the comparison in video format -

Here is the Mini 2 album

https://imgur.com/a/ISt3QUw

And here is the Mini 3 album

https://imgur.com/a/kcWVxj2

I'm curious to read everyone else's thoughts on this comparison

 

[Raz0rblade]

At the first glance, I would say a better dynamic range, less noise and more detail in shadowed areas. Not a huge improvement to justify price difference though

 

[MS Coast]

How was the exposure set? Auto in both cases? Any EV bias?

 

[shadow3467]

How was the exposure set? Auto in both cases? Any EV bias?

Both set to auto with -1.3 EV (was very sunny, despite the clouds)

 

[shadow3467]

At the first glance, I would say a better dynamic range, less noise and more detail in shadowed areas. Not a huge improvement to justify price difference though

Yeah especially when battery life is the same, signal range is the same (or worse in some cases currently), flight handling does seem slightly improved but not worth double the price

Honestly the Mini 2 is still a great drone unless you use the pictures completely unedited and also if you zoom in very close

 

[patc45 France]

Hello
Yes the mini 2 is a great little drone, but make a comparison on some photos, to see if the price difference (X2) is a good choice; it's a little reductive. The mini 2 is beaten by the 3 in all areas that are accessible to the 2 as well as to the 3, I don't even speak of tracking, opening 1.7 of photo shots in portrait mode etc... The list goes on. A+pat45

 

[test2000Anafi]

Mini 1 and 2 are indistinguishabl. Mini 3 is closer to mavic 3 than mini 2 is to mini 3. So the price increase is really justified IMO

 

[MS Coast]

Both set to auto with -1.3 EV (was very sunny, despite the clouds)

So that accounts for the underexposure.

 

[Lets Fly]

So having both the Mini 2 and the Mini 3 in my hands for the past two weeks or so I've been doing a lot of testing to see if the more than double price of the Mini 3 is worth it

Today I took several pictures of the same locations using both drones, a couple of notes:

- I tend to underexpose most my pictures on purpose so that I can recover more highlights in post, as it's kind of hard to expose perfectly on the phone/RC screen
- Mini 2 pictures were taken first, so the sun had moved about 20-25 mins between the pictures which may explain lighting changes
- The pictures were taken from the same distance roughly but definitely the same height. The Mini 3 seems to have a wider angle lens naturally
- The very first picture I mispositioned the drone on the Mini 3 shot so it's a bit further back
- The pictures on the Mini 3 were taken in the 12mp mode, NOT 48mp
- All the pics are unedited and untouched

Here is the comparison in video format -

Here is the Mini 2 album

https://imgur.com/a/ISt3QUw

And here is the Mini 3 album

https://imgur.com/a/kcWVxj2

I'm curious to read everyone else's thoughts on this comparison

If you really want a true comparison, fly both drones side by side, same distance, same lighting and same settings on the exact same subject. Otherwise you are guessing.

 

[vindibona1]

Lighting and exposure were different for each drone. I don't see how a true comparison can be made. Perhaps it was exposure and lighting, but the Mini 3 images look like they've been vignetted. On paper we know the Mini 3 should be better and probably is.

If you're doing primarily stills unless you need a <250 gram drone the Mavic Air 2s would be a better choice. While lacking some of the techno whiz bang of the Air2s, the Mavic 2 Pro is quite the drone for what you can pay. A forum member just sold his with limited flight in perfect condition with the FMC plus a lot of extras for $1000. Someone just got very lucky.

 

[shadow3467]

Lighting and exposure were different for each drone. I don't see how a true comparison can be made. Perhaps it was exposure and lighting, but the Mini 3 images look like they've been vignetted. On paper we know the Mini 3 should be better and probably is.

If you're doing primarily stills unless you need a <250 gram drone the Mavic Air 2s would be a better choice. While lacking some of the techno whiz bang of the Air2s, the Mavic 2 Pro is quite the drone for what you can pay. A forum member just sold his with limited flight in perfect condition with the FMC plus a lot of extras for $1000. Someone just got very lucky.

Believe it or not lighting and exposure was basically the same

Like I said, the mini 3 took off 20 minutes later but that's barely a noticeable difference, you can see by the shadows being in basically the same spots in both pictures

Also both exposures were set to auto -1.3 EV

The mini 3 just seems to have a slightly wider lens, and the default picture is more contrasty/saturated. It also currently has a bug where images come out vignetted.

 

[karlblessing]

Underexposing does help protect the highlights especially if shooting mainly jpeg. But if shooting raw going a little over such as 0.3 ot 0.7 produces better signal to noise when you bring down the highlights in the raw conversion. Otherwise you increase noise when you bring up the under exposed footage.

Regarding vignetting on the Mini 3 Pro. If you're shooting raw, depending on your raw processor the embedded lens profile might not be automatically applied especially if you don't notice the same in the jpeg copy.

 

[Hermey]

I also did a comparison of these 2 drones, and, as with your photos, I found that the Mini 3 has a wider angle lens, and also produces images with a warmer tone. The Mini 2 produces images which are cooler in tone or seem to have more emphasis on the blue, the Mini 3 images seem to emphasize the red and produce overall warmer colors, which I find more aesthetically pleasing.