Mini 3 Pro beats Air2S in both photo and video

[test2000Anafi]

I see some posts trying to state or suggest otherwise, which is normal, less than 24 hours ago the best DJI drone that is not the Mavic 3 was the Air2S, and now it isn’t anymore. “But the 1inch sensor??”, yes, it has a 1 inch sensor. A sensor can be as large as you want, a smaller more advanced sensor in a higher aperture, better lens will surpass it always. To me that is general knowledge but that is not what this thread is about. It is merely about the final results. The Air2S is still a good drone and it has advantages over the mini 3 pro. Image quality is not one of them though. See and read and see for yourself in this excellent review:

DJI Mini 3 Pro Review: Better than the Air 2S? - Pilot Institute

The competition for the sub-250 gram drones is getting fierce! With this latest release, DJI is going heads on with Autel and its Nano series. For the first time, we are seeing obstacle avoidance sensors in a Mini. We also get new intelligent flight modes taken directly from the Air and Pro...

pilotinstitute.com

DJI advertises that the Mini 3 Pro performs better than a 1″ sensor at 20MP. To put this to the test, we looked at footage recorded by the DJI Air 2S. We were actually surprised to see that the Mini 3 Pro indeed produces better overall images than the Air2S in the same lighting conditions. The Air2S generated softer images, especially on the edge of our camera chart.

The gallery below presents comparative photos between the Mini 3 Pro (left) and the Air 2S (right) at ISO 200 and ISO 1600. The Mini 3 Pro consistently delivered higher contrast, better noise, and sharper images, even at higher ISO (on a smaller sensor!). The exception to that is the “bar code” area in images 3 and 9, in the middle of the lower bar, where the Mini 3 Pro creates a purple artifact.

When comparing the Mini 3 Pro to its predecessors, mainly the Mini 2 and the Air 2S, we find that the Mini 3 footage is sharper (or as we like to say, crispier) and more detailed. Overall, the Mini 2 image tends to be bluer than the other two. The Air 2S and Mini 3 Pro footage are comparable in the shadows, but the midtones and highlights are sharper in the Mini 3 Pro.

The new 1/1.3″ sensor impressed us with its sharpness and details, even when compared to the larger and more expensive Air 2S. All of our testing (studio and outdoors) showed it performed better in pretty much all situations, especially at 48MP.

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I know these facts go against current forum consensus, but we finally have to accept the inevitable new reality.
the Air2S is still an amazing drone. But if you want the best image quality both in video and photo in a DJI drone under 2000 dollar/euro, as of today, mini 3 PRO is the answer.

 

[Daybreak98]

Don't worry. The next drone to come out will be better. It's always the next one. They keep improving, and you keep buying. Upgrading forever.

 

[jedi2155]

I don't fully agree with you here, the Mavic 3 looks like better than the Mini 3 Pro in some of the review comparisons, and the Air 2S comparison you provided in this video shows some of the challenges the Mini 3 Pro experiences.

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[test2000Anafi]

You have an Air2S, I understand. However the written review is different from your observations. And the shot the video and analysed it

 

[Rilot]

Impressive. I'll do my own comparison when my Mini 3 turns up and make a decision whether to keep the Air 2S or not after that. I'll probably keep it to be honest as there is one thing I use the Air 2S for that the Mini 3 can't do.

 

[Skyryder]

The Pilot Institute does good work but they are not God. They are not even photographers, they are pilots and educators. I want to know what real professionally trained photographers think. As I mentioned on another thread, the test Pilot Institute posted only focused on contrast of the photo, totally glossing over the noise in all the color. Here's a sample of their work. Tell me which one has smother color. Look at how much noise there is in the yellow and green tones.



Look at how much noise is in the "white" part of the photo on the left.

 

[test2000Anafi]

The Pilot Institute does good work but they are not God. They are not even photographers, they are pilots and educators. I want to know what real professionally trained photographers think. As I mentioned on another thread, the test Pilot Institute posted only focused on contrast of the photo, totally glossing over the noise in all the color. Here's a sample of their work. Tell me which one has smother color. Look at how much noise there is in the yellow and green tones.

View attachment 148122

Look at how much noise is in the "white" part of the photo on the left.

View attachment 148123

if you look at the entire picture, nobody would ever choose Air2S. Post the full picture

 

[Bussty]

You really need to post full resolution stills. From what I have seen so far Mini 3 exhibits some bad corner distortion (Toms Tech Samples) admittedly that is the 48 MP images but reviewing some DPreview samples of 12 MP some corners aren't great. Is f1.7 contributing here? It's certainly not stellar from what I have seen.

 

[globetrotterdrone]

It's very hard to have a wide open lens and still maintain edge to edge corner sharpness.
Certainly, the sensor is small and you don't need such an amount of glass like in the DSLM world etc. but yet, it's though to design and manufacture even for the long time established manufacturers in the camera world.

f1.7 is therefore always softer in the corners than stepped down.
With the M2P I however could not really see a difference between f2.8 and f4 so if production quality is monitored, I truly hope f1.7 still make up pretty decent shots in this regard. And pray there's no lens shuffle necessary, ie DJI has augmented their qc checks.

 

[test2000Anafi]

You really need to post full resolution stills. From what I have seen so far Mini 3 exhibits some bad corner distortion (Toms Tech Samples) admittedly that is the 48 MP images but reviewing some DPreview samples of 12 MP some corners aren't great. Is f1.7 contributing here? It's certainly not stellar from what I have seen.

It’s vastly superior to Air2S, that is all that counts IMO

 

[Rilot]

The Air2S image in the right looks out of focus, like they have the drone too close to the subject. Mine is much sharper than that.

 

[boldblue737]

The Mini 3 Pro images appear a bit sharper but they are very close. They do not appear to have have better dynamic range. They certainly appear to have WAY more noise at high ISO vs. the Air 2S as expected since the Mini 3 Pro has a smaller sensor.

You continue to post this particular review to justify saying things like the Mini 3 "destroys" or is "vastly superior to" the image quality in Air 2S but there are other detailed reviews that show the lack of 10 bit color in the Mini 3 Pro (which the Air 2S has) results in a very real difference in the ability to color grade the ungraded images without causing artifacts and banding, you get a much nicer professional result from the Air 2S.

Look... I BOUGHT the Mini 3 Pro and I admit 100% the results of the Mini 3 Pro are 99% the same as the Air 2S and image wise even have some situations where they are better, but I still think nearly everyone would find the real world results from these two drones nearly identical (which is a big win for the smaller cheaper Mini 3) and NOT "vastly" superior to Air 2S which they are clearly not, and in some ways still inferior to if you have advanced needs.

 

[z28lt1]

if you look at the entire picture, nobody would ever choose Air2S. Post the full picture

Need to see more. The Mini is definitely sharper than the 2S, and that will likely lead to more and better details. But in the images shown it's got some noise/color issues going on. The bottom two shots are the 1600 ISO shots and you can see the Mini has coloring and noise issues. Look at the grass in the last shot, more details and sharper in the AMini over the 2S, but also some weird coloring that shouldn't be there.

I suspect in the "Real world" and not these test shots, the Mini 3 Pro will allow more details to be seen and the noise and coloring issues won't show as much so it might be better in a lot of cases. But I can see other cases where the noise and color issues are more troublesome than the loss of detail.

Either way, based on the information we have so far, doesn't seem like a "no brainer" to me. I'd like to see a lot more videos between them to determine.

 

[test2000Anafi]

The Mini 3 Pro images appear a bit sharper but they are very close. They do not appear to have have better dynamic range. They certainly appear to have WAY more noise at high ISO vs. the Air 2S as expected since the Mini 3 Pro has a smaller sensor.

You continue to post this particular review to justify saying things like the Mini 3 "destroys" or is "vastly superior to" the image quality in Air 2S but there are other detailed reviews that show the lack of 10 bit color in the Mini 3 Pro (which the Air 2S has) results in a very real difference in the ability to color grade the ungraded images without causing artifacts and banding, you get a much nicer professional result from the Air 2S.

Look... I BOUGHT the Mini 3 Pro and I admit 100% the results of the Mini 3 Pro are 99% the same as the Air 2S and image wise even have some situations where they are better, but I still think nearly everyone would find the real world results from these two drones nearly identical (which is a big win for the smaller cheaper Mini 3) and NOT "vastly" superior to Air 2S which they are clearly not, and in some ways still inferior to if you have advanced needs.

Link those reviews please, so I can learn from it!

 

[Bussty]

It’s vastly superior to Air2S, that is all that counts IMO

There's something going on with uneven sharpness with that lens from some images I have seen. From those same charts the 48 MP 100 ISO image for example the bottom chevron (right image) is looking a lot mushier than the top chevron (left image) you wouldn't see it in video so much but apparent in stills...



..would be good to see a test with the grass in each corner and middle...

 

[test2000Anafi]

So we have personal interpretation of published reviews where the reviews are drawing different conclusions compared to what posters are claiming here. Outside taken pictures show much more dynamic range, however, people will claim they don’t see it so I don’t know what the purpose is then.

so lets turn it around:
is there ANY review claiming Air2S is sharper with more dynamic range?

if there is it can be linked in 20 seconds, no?

 

[Rilot]

From Engadget's review:
"Movie files are limited to a maximum of 8 bits of color depth, 4:2:0 sampling and a 150 Mbps bit rate. Without 10-bit or log video modes, there’s not a lot of room to adjust exposure afterwards, so you’ll need to get it right the first time. It does come with a CineLook-D mode that helps boost dynamic range a bit, but you need to be in the manual Pro settings to use it."

DJI Mini 3 Pro review: The most capable lightweight drone yet

The DJI Mini 3 Pro is a lightweight drone under 250 grams, but it’s loaded with features found on bigger models like the Mavic 3.

www.engadget.com

From Trusted Reviews:
"You have some room to edit color and exposure with the low-contrast and desaturated flat look, but the 8-bit video files don't offer nearly as much room for editing as 10-bit formats."

It seems that most reviews put the image quality as approaching the Air 2S but not exceeding. This is to be expected.
I don't care what the day 1 reviews say though. I'll do my own testing when mine arrives.

 

[boldblue737]

Link those reviews please, so I can learn from it!

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[boldblue737]

From Engadget's review:
"Movie files are limited to a maximum of 8 bits of color depth, 4:2:0 sampling and a 150 Mbps bit rate. Without 10-bit or log video modes, there’s not a lot of room to adjust exposure afterwards, so you’ll need to get it right the first time. It does come with a CineLook-D mode that helps boost dynamic range a bit, but you need to be in the manual Pro settings to use it."

DJI Mini 3 Pro review: The most capable lightweight drone yet

The DJI Mini 3 Pro is a lightweight drone under 250 grams, but it’s loaded with features found on bigger models like the Mavic 3.

www.engadget.com

From Trusted Reviews:
"You have some room to edit color and exposure with the low-contrast and desaturated flat look, but the 8-bit video files don't offer nearly as much room for editing as 10-bit formats."

It seems that most reviews put the image quality as approaching the Air 2S but not exceeding. This is to be expected.
I don't care what the day 1 reviews say though. I'll do my own testing when mine arrives.

exactly! no two different cameras are ever apples to apples but it seems the mini 3 pro is better in some ways and worse in other ways than the Air 2S. for someone shooting in straight "normal" mode mini 3 pro might be better, and pushing d-cinelike the Air 2S might be better... BUT, BUT, BUT the bottom line is the cameras are INCREDIBLY similar and for most people will find that both are equally good. That means the Mini 3 Pro doesn't "crush" Air 2S but it sure as heck provides a better value since it is so much cheaper and so much smaller and lighter. that's the real advantage, not pixel peeping some fine line in the image no one can see anyway is a hair sharper!

 

[pilotinstitute]

The Air2S image in the right looks out of focus, like they have the drone too close to the subject. Mine is much sharper than that.

It's actually not. That's what we thought at first but the center of the chart is in focus, the lens is just less sharp. We tested it twice. The same issue happens with actual in flight footage.
Here's a link to the full size images, including RAW files, of the Mini 3. We will have more comparison with the A2S in a few days.

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And here's the full size images for the Air 2S, including RAW: From RAW