"Dronie" instead of selfie - With this jacket pocket drone you will inspire Instagram

What the Mavic Mini 3 Pro is all about is written on its underside: Ultra Light, 249 grams. This is actually a flyweight for a drone, weighing only a few grams more than a smartphone.

When folded, it is also no larger than an iPhone when viewed from above. Nevertheless, it shows many strengths in the test - but less than the manufacturer promises.

As the name suggests, the Mavic Mini doesn't take up much space. Especially when travelling, it is helpful not to have to take your own suitcases or large bags with you for your aircraft. This drone even fits in a jacket pocket. And yet it can do a lot of what professional drones can do. But not everything.

DJI is laying it on a bit when it comes to the Mini 3 Pro. We can only dream of the promised 32 minutes flight time in the test. After 22 minutes, the drone forces us to land, with a remaining battery capacity of only ten percent.

The manufacturer's specification should therefore only be a maximum value under ideal conditions: windless, slow flight, pleasant temperature. However, practice usually does not play a role here. Still, you can fly some fun maneuvers in 20 minutes and take lots of photos and videos.

In the test we had the Mavic Mini 3 Pro with the new DJI remote control, which has a 5.5 inch (14 centimeter) touchscreen installed. Previously, the DJI remote controls had to be connected to a smartphone in order to see a live video feed from the drone on the display. This is of course faster without a smartphone.

The downside: At 700 nits, the display is a bit darker than many smartphones are today. Not much can be seen on it in the blazing sun. But it is convenient to be able to use the remote control without a smartphone.

Overall, the Mavic Mini 3 Pro is relatively easy to fly after a short period of getting used to it. Even beginners should see rapid progress here. So that nothing goes wrong, DJI has installed some fuses and programmed automatic flight maneuvers.

Forward, backward, and downward-pointing sensors detect obstacles and can even fly around them. This usually works reliably.

We only had a problem once in the forest. The rotors have gotten on thinner branches. Fortunately, the flight altitude was rather low and the drone so light that the subsequent crash left no damage. Otherwise, the drone flies around obstacles on its own, which can be a great help.

And there are other safeguards. The most important is of course the automatic return to the starting point, which can be triggered by pressing a button on the remote control. The drone will also return if it loses contact with the remote control.

Unfortunately, this happened to us very often in the test. DJI states a range of eight kilometers, also for video transmission. But with us, even with a clear view, it was over after less than two kilometers, often even after less than a kilometer, if there was a tree between the remote control and the drone.

In fact, you can only fly drones on sight anyway. And the Mavic Mini 3 Pro is no longer visible to the naked eye when it is a few hundred meters away. In addition, the drone uses its satellite positioning to recognize when it is in a no-fly zone, for example in the immediate vicinity of an airport, and refuses to take off there.

The Pro addition in the name of the Mavic Mini should primarily refer to the camera. That's not too much of a promise. It delivered very good photos and videos in the test. Photos have a resolution of 48 megapixels and are also possible in professional RAW format for later post-processing.

Videos can be made up to high 4K resolution at 60 frames per second, slow motion even at 120 frames per second, but then only in HD resolution, which is four times smaller. Videos are, as usual with DJI drones, not only sharp, rich in detail, with rich colors and a high dynamic range, but also wobble-free because of the gimbal.

That looks very professional. Especially since the camera can not only be swiveled down, but also slightly up. It can even be rotated 90 degrees vertically and then takes pictures in portrait format for all those who want to share their impressions on Instagram or TikTok.

If you have little or no flight experience, you should use the automatic flight maneuvers, for example, the drone circles around an object that always remains in the center of the picture. Or the drone moves away from a person and climbs higher and higher, which DJI calls a dronie.

The ActiveTrack function, which follows an object even if it is moving quickly, is also very helpful when filming. All these maneuvers can only be flown manually with a lot of practice. The Mavic Mini 3 Pro can fly up to 58 kilometers per hour in sport mode. But you should think twice about that, because – in contrast to normal mode – the drone no longer avoids obstacles in sport mode.

Caution is also required in strong winds. We received multiple warnings on the remote control display that the drone might not be able to return safely because the wind was too strong.

DJI specifies a maximum wind speed of 38 kilometers per hour, which the drone can still handle. In any case, its low weight makes the Mavic Mini more vulnerable than other drones from the manufacturer.

DJI has installed a lot of technology in its Mavic Mini 3 Pro, which is also in the large drones. However, this has its price: together with the remote control, the package costs 999 euros.

There is a reason for the low weight of less than 250 grams. Because if you want to control a drone under EU law that is heavier, you need a drone driver's license, which is actually called the EU proof of competence and can be taken with an online test.

So you don't need a driver's license for the Mavic Mini 3 Pro. In addition, registration is not necessary in many countries if the drone weighs less than 250 grams. However, this does not apply to Germany. If the aircraft in this country has a camera, the drone pilot must register online with the Federal Aviation Authority.

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