Should I get the Mini 2 or wait for the Mini 3 Pro (for closeup 3D scanning/photogrammetry use)

loggie24 · Jun 4, 2022

Hi all, complete drone beginner here.

I suppose some might think this is a stupid question, but i'm really not sure if I should wait for the Mini 3 or just go for a Mini 2. I will exclusively use the drone for 3D scanning/photogrammetry. As time is of essence, my preferred workflow would be to extract individual frames out of the videos shot by the drones, so individual frame quality/sharpness is of highest importance.

Keep in mind that I will NOT be doing any sort of large scale landscape/distant object scanning, but rather a lot of close up shots of things like cliffs and other large objects that are not easily accessible with a camera.

My budget is quite strict. It would be possible to shell out the 900$ for the Mini 3, but considering It would only come with the drone and a fancy contrller, while I can get a Mini 2 flymore combo kit with 3 batteries and tons of accessories for around 5-600$ it is admittedly the more tempting deal for me, however again I don't really know much about the two drones besides having compared footage which to my eye at least doesn't seem too far apart in terms of pure image quality.

Would appreciate anyone with input, especially if you have experience with what I want to use the drone for.

Thanks!

Note; would anyone happen to have RAW footage to share of either drones of a closeup objective? I mostly seem to find distant landscape shots which again isn't exactly what i'm looking for.

old man mavic · Jun 5, 2022

@loggie24 two things that instantly separate the mini 2 and mini 3 ,from each other with regards to flight characteristics, are obstacle avoidance and a much improved ability to fly in less than perfect conditions ,if those things are not high on your wish list ,then the Mini 2 would for what you require it to be used for, be perfectly adequate at a lot less expense

loggie24 · Jun 5, 2022

old man mavic said:
@loggie24 two things that instantly separate the mini 2 and mini 3 ,from each other with regards to flight characteristics, are obstacle avoidance and a much improved ability to fly in less than perfect conditions ,if those things are not high on your wish list ,then the Mini 2 would for what you require it to be used for, be perfectly adequate at a lot less expense

Thanks for the response @old man mavic, I would say obstacle avoidance isn't much of an issue as i'm not exactly going to be speeding through forests and whatnot. However could you explain a bit the improved ability to fly in less than perfect conditions?

old man mavic · Jun 5, 2022

@loggie24 what i meant by that statement was its overall ability to fly in windy conditions ,and indeed low light areas, and its stability ,due to the larger overall footprint ,because of the arm length, and propeller size ,compared to mini 1 mini 2, it flies more like its larger cousins

MA2 317 · Jun 5, 2022

loggie24 said:
Hi all, complete drone beginner here.

Hello from the Crossroad of America loggie24

I recently watched a couple of videos.

The first one is the comparison between the two.

The other talks about the Costco bundle that comes with a couple of items not available at other stores.

Have fun shopping and welcome to the Forum.