Autel vs. DJI is a battle as outdated as David and Goliath. Okay, possibly not that outdated, however when you’ve been within the drone sport lengthy sufficient, it could actually really feel prefer it!
That’s why I made a decision what higher approach to determine which comes out on prime than to place them head-to-head?
The Autel EVO Lite+ and DJI Mini 3 are two flagship light-weight drones designed for excellence in dealing with and – better of all – being light-weight and transportable.
I’ve at all times liked the DJI Mini line, so when the three got here out, it rapidly turned mine. Autel intrigued me with its EVO Lite+, a drone I’ve liked simply as a lot and used practically as continuously.
Nevertheless, there may be just one!
This information will put the EVO Lite+ and Mini 3 in a heated competitors, evaluating them, figuring out their variations, and presenting their strengths and weaknesses. I’ll additionally share my private expertise flying these drones and why the Mini 3 soars greater than the EVO Lite+.
Though gentle drones are sometimes cheaper than their heavier counterparts, you continue to don’t need to waste a cent of your hard-earned cash. I get it!
This information is designed that will help you make a drone determination you are feeling nice about.
With out one other second’s delay, let’s get going!
Transient overview
Autel EVO Lite+
Debuting in January 2022, the Autel EVO Lite+ got here out as a revised model of the EVO Lite (its sensor shrunk) and an improved version of the EVO Nano.
It’s one of many smaller drones within the Autel arsenal, but it’s nonetheless foldable for glorious portability. Let’s take a more in-depth take a look at a few of its different superior options:
- A one-inch CMOS sensor that shoots in main 6K video at 30 frames per second and 20 MP picture high quality.
- An impressively lengthy 40-minute flight time for longer pleasure rides and finishing extra skilled duties in a single go.
- SkyLink transmission of over seven miles in 2.7K high quality at 30 fps for HD-quality livestreams to your social media viewers when on the go.
- An ultra-wide impediment avoidance system. The included sensors permit the drone to understand 150 levels in entrance of it for fewer blind spots and collisions.
- A unbelievable assortment of good modes, together with cinematic choices like Rocket and Fade Away, topic monitoring with Dynamic Observe 2.1, and computerized selfies with SkyPortrait.
- Three enjoyable colours to pick from, so you possibly can select a vivid neon orange if you’d like your EVO Lite+ to face out or decide extra commonplace hues like white or grey.
» MORE: Autel EVO Lite+ Assessment
DJI Mini 3
The DJI Mini line has developed so quick that typically it’s laborious to maintain up with, so permit me to get you on top of things.
The Mini 3 is the predecessor of the Mini 2 SE and was launched in 2022. It was adopted inside that very same yr by the Mini 3 Professional, then the Mini 4 Professional in late 2023.
The Mini 3 barely had an opportunity to be the brand new child on the block earlier than the follow-up launch of the Mini 3 Professional, however this DJI drone nonetheless holds its personal remarkably nicely.
Take a gander at these options:
- Light-weight sufficient that you simply don’t must register it with the FAA for leisure use, saving you a step between getting on the market and flying (you need to register your drone for business functions no matter its weight).
- A number one 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor that shoots in crystal-clear 4K HDR video high quality and 48 MP picture high quality. You may be on the chopping fringe of drone know-how with out having to spend an arm and leg on a brand new mannequin.
- Surprisingly good wind resistance for its dimension (Stage 5), so you possibly can fly your drone in circumstances that would go away you grounded with one other mannequin.
- DJI’s suite of Clever Flight Modes, together with Vertical and Horizontal Capturing and QuickShots for dependable footage each time.
- A battery lifetime of 38 minutes with the default and over 51 minutes by upgrading to the Clever Flight Battery Plus for longer flights.
» MORE: DJI Mini 3 App (Learn This Earlier than Downloading)
Fast Verdict
We solely prioritize the most effective right here at Droneblog, and I chosen the Mini 3 after many hours of testing it and the EVO Lite+.
We’ve concluded that the DJI Mini 3 is the higher choice over the Autel EVO Lite+. This drone has distinctive portability, a light-weight profile, nice aerodynamics, staunch wind resistance, and glorious picture high quality. It’s designed to facilitate enhancing on the go along with the inclusion of the LightCut app.
I’ve had the Mini 3 because it got here out, having fun with it for leisure flights with out having to fret about registering it.
The EVO Lite+ later caught my eye, and whereas I like its options, it doesn’t fairly reside as much as the Mini 3.
It’s not even that the EVO Lite+ is costlier (though it’s).
The Mini 3 is only a higher worth, with its Clever Flight Options, a comparable battery to the EVO Lite+ out of the gate (with the choice to make the battery final even longer when you don’t thoughts paying extra), robust wind resistance, and the superior digital camera high quality.
Now, please don’t get me flawed. I don’t have blinders on.
The dearth of any kind of impediment avoidance is a large deterrent within the Mini 3, particularly contemplating how progressive and high-tech the impediment avoidance system included with the EVO Lite+ is.
The Mini 3 additionally has poorer picture high quality, though it’s not by such a protracted shot that it is a obtrusive challenge. Its largest detriment is that it has zero impediment avoidance, so it’s not as beginner-friendly.
» MORE: Autel EVO Lite Plus vs DJI Avata (Which One Is Higher?)
What are the primary variations?
The EVO Lite+ is Autel’s reply to DJI’s Mini collection, however these two drones are disparate in some ways. This info can push you towards a buying determination, so don’t miss it.
Listed below are the variations between the Mini 3 and EVO Lite+.
- Picture and video high quality: These drone producers proceed to push the envelope for what’s doable in in the present day’s drone tech. Their video and picture high quality aren’t an identical, with every mannequin excelling in several areas. The Mini 3 wins within the images division, whereas the EVO Lite+ has higher-quality video.
- Colour choice: Tailoring your drone your method doesn’t require slapping a pores and skin on it when you should purchase an Autel drone. The EVO Lite+ is offered in three colours, together with a surprisingly vivid orange. By comparability, you possibly can solely select one coloration for the Mini 3, and that’s not even actually a alternative. The drone is available in gentle grey, and that’s that.
- Impediment avoidance: After all, coloration doesn’t matter a lot within the grand scheme of issues. What’s the largest distinction between these two drones is the shortage of impediment avoidance. That was a function DJI added after they launched the Mini 3 Professional not a lot later, however you probably have the Mini 3, you’re left within the lurch. The EVO Lite+’s impediment avoidance is superb by itself, however any impediment avoidance would have been higher than none.
- Weight: Regardless of that the EVO Lite+ known as, nicely, the Lite, it’s not precisely that. It weighs 835 grams, over twice the burden of the Mini 3. You would need to register the EVO Lite+ even when utilizing it recreationally, shelling out for the $5 registration payment. Bummer.
- Social media-friendliness: The Mini 3 has so many contains a social media famous person wants to face out, equivalent to Vertical Capturing, autonomous flight modes, and the included LightCut app for enhancing video and pictures from anyplace.
» MORE: Autel EVO Lite+ vs. DJI Air 2S
Autel EVO Lite+
The EVO Lite+ is the second entry within the Lite collection, launched after the OG EVO Lite. It’s a terrific drone for the intense photographer, videographer, or skilled pilot.
This successor received every little thing proper that buyers liked in regards to the first model, equivalent to a extra inexpensive worth, the return of its CDAF and PDAF autofocus, at the very least 40 minutes of marketed flight time, and a large sensor.
The EVO Lite+ shrunk the sensor dimension from the OG Lite, as that had a 1/1.28-inch CMOS sensor versus the one-inch EVO Lite+ sensor.
It additionally decreased picture high quality from 50 MP to twenty MP however elevated the video footage to 6K.
And though the EVO Lite+ doesn’t have a four-axis gimbal, that’s high-quality. A four-axis gimbal continues to be a rarity, and a three-axis gimbal will get the job performed simply high-quality.
Its glorious digital camera, foldability, transmission vary, and good options make the EVO Lite+ similar to any DJI drone. Pound for pound, this dangerous boy holds its personal.
It has greater than sufficient superior options for photographers to extend their expertise, together with aperture settings and HDR mode.
With one flick of a change, the EVO Lite+ will take a collection of pictures, then generate one composite picture constructed from the picture’s finest traits, together with an optimum diploma of highlights and shadows.
» MORE: Autel EVO Lite+ Video Assessment (VIDEO)
It’s the type of function designed to save lots of you time in post-processing, because the EVO Lite+ virtually edits on the go for you.
This Autel drone has the model’s esteemed Moonlight Algorithm for element after darkish (and fewer noise), Defog Mode for vibrant images in pure environments, and pure coloration restoration for feeling like a professional.
You may also launch single-click cinematographic modes, like Flick, Fade Away, Orbit, and Rocket, and the drone’s monitoring is enjoyable and useful.
I had a blast exploring these options. And my post-processing time? The EVO Lite+ halved it.
Autel EVO Lite Plus
Premium Bundle, NEWEST 1-Inch CMOS Drone with 6K HDR Digital camera, F2.8 – F11 Aperture, 6K/30fps Video, 40 Minutes Flight Time, 3-Approach 360° Impediment Avoidance, 12Km (7.4 Miles)
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11/06/2023 05:42 am GMT
DJI Mini 3
That brings us to the DJI Mini 3, which is type of awkwardly sandwiched between the Mini 3 Professional and Mini 4 Professional.
Even though it has so many successors, it’s nonetheless a brand new DJI drone by many requirements, having solely been launched in 2022.
But DJI drone know-how comes quick, so the Mini 3 got here out amidst a flurry of others.
It’s actually a step up from the Mini 2 SE, and though it doesn’t have fairly as many options because the Mini 3 Professional, the Mini 3 is a strong little drone all throughout the board.
It wins factors for its light-weight high quality. For a drone that calls itself the Lite, the EVO Lite+ is hardly that.
The Mini 3, then again, lives as much as its repute, weighing below 250 grams.
It’s a traveler’s finest buddy, weighing so little which you could carry it with you anyplace and all over the place with out worrying about house limitations.
The Mini 3 has glorious video and digital camera capabilities for its dimension and age, and its 48 MP picture high quality is among the many finest you will discover in a DJI client drone.
You’ll recognize how clearly you possibly can shoot with out having to make the most of a Hasselblad digital camera. And if it is advisable to zoom, this digital camera has 4x capability.
Zooming is at all times a helpful function to have. You’ll be able to steer clear of harmful areas but seize photographs that make you seem like you’re standing proper there. YouTubers particularly ought to discover that function helpful.
» MORE: The way to Join DJI Mini 3/ Mini 3 Professional to Wi-Fi (Step-by-Step Information)
The sensor is the stuff of marvel, and though you possibly can’t set the aperture, the four-in-one pixels of the sensor hold your pictures clear and crisp.
The gimbal – an odd three-axis, thanks very a lot – can swap seamlessly from vertical to horizontal videography and images.
You gained’t must spend treasured time orienting your footage for Instagram tales or Twitter when the Mini 3 does it for you proper out of the gate.
That’s removed from the one method the Mini 3 saves you time when enhancing. Its included LightCut app invitations you to discover photograph and video templates in vertical and horizontal orientations.
Single-tap enhancing permits you to get your social media footage out sooner, so that you’re at all times prime of thoughts to your viewers.
DJI Mini 3 (DJI RC)
Light-weight and Foldable Mini Digital camera Drone with 4K HDR Video, 38-min Flight Time, True Vertical Capturing, and Clever Options.
We earn a fee when you make a purchase order, at no further price to you.
11/07/2023 01:36 pm GMT
Head-to-head comparability
Digital camera system
Winner: DJI Mini 3
Whether or not you’re a technical drone photographer or somebody simply studying the ropes, the Mini 3 is the best drone for you.
I do know, I do know, the EVO Lite+ has an adjustable aperture, the Moonlight Algorithm, and its HDR function. I like these inclusions, and the HDR is one in every of my favourite options in any drone, interval. I take advantage of it on a regular basis.
The EVO Lite+ additionally wins within the video high quality class, however not by an enormous margin. It’s not such as you’re lacking out or settling for the Mini 3’s 4K HD video.
That’s greater than satisfactory, and solely a stickler would break up hairs over the Mini 3’s video in comparison with the 6K high quality the EVO Lite+ can obtain.
The Mini 3 has the higher picture high quality, and that is a lot much less of a small comparability. The EVO Lite+ solely shoots in 20 MP versus the 48 MP for the Mini 3.
Certain, it’s not fairly that good high quality when you zoom, and timed and single-shot modes produce 12 MP stills, however the 48 MP is head and shoulders above the EVO Lite+.
The gimbal additionally permits you to swap from vertical to horizontal videography and images within the Mini 3, a function by which the EVO Lite+ has no comparable various.
» MORE: Digital camera Expertise in Drones (Defined)
Flight efficiency
Winner: DJI Mini 3
Now it is a biggie, as a poor flight expertise will restrict every little thing else you are able to do along with your drone.
That mentioned, I needed to give this class to the Mini 3 for a number of causes.
For one, it’s a light-weight drone, a real light-weight. The EVO Lite+ has a reputation that belies its precise dimension.
Now, being light-weight helps in areas of efficiency, as a lighter drone is faster and extra aware of deal with.
Nevertheless, the Mini 3 isn’t as wind-resistant because the EVO Lite+, which I’m certain you just about anticipated, given the Autel drone’s weight.
The Mini 3 has Stage 5 wind resistance, making it able to withstanding gusts of about 24 miles per hour. The EVO Lite+ boasts Stage 7 wind resistance.
Now, right here’s the factor about wind resistance in drones. It’s an estimate, similar to battery life and lots of different components.
I’ve flown the Mini 3 in 35-mph winds, and it did simply high-quality. It did greater than high-quality, actually. It carried out remarkably.
I additionally love its choice of automated Clever Flight Modes. I do know, the EVO Lite+ has its personal comparable good modes, however DJI is the pioneer on this space.
I like how you should utilize modes like Rocket or Dronie and get excellent video footage each time. Though neither of those are newbie drones, this is without doubt one of the Mini 3’s most beginner-friendly options.
It’s particularly superior for social media posters with an enormous presence who possibly aren’t so nice at flying drones but however need to seem like they’re.
» MORE: Autel EVO 2 Professional vs. DJI Mini 3 (Right here’s My Alternative)
Portability
Winner: DJI Mini 3
This one ought to have come as no shock.
The Mini 3 and EVO Lite+ are each transportable in their very own methods, in that they’re foldable and stowable in a drone bag or backpack.
Nevertheless, the 2x further weight the EVO Lite+ carries will make it a much bigger ache to hold round…actually.
It’ll even be harder to retailer it in a carry-on or checked baggage that meets your airline’s necessities.
The Mini 3 has no such points in that area. It’s small and lightweight sufficient to suit into any piece of baggage, and it’s prepared for flights inside your nation or internationally.
» MORE: Does the DJI Mini 3 Must Be Registered? (Defined for Learners)
RC compatibility and long-range flights
Winner: DJI Mini 3
The Mini 3 makes use of the DJI RC, a basic controller within the DJI lineup appropriate with extra drones than you possibly can shake a stick at. I imply it!
You should utilize this distant with the Air 2S, Mavic 3 Cine, Mavic 3, Mavic 3 Traditional, Mini 3, and Mini 3 Professional. What a laundry record!
I’m type of obsessive about this controller, and rightfully so. It’s gentle just like the Mini 3, ergonomic, and transportable. Its battery is 4 hours, and the HD display is a really massive 5.5 inches.
With a display that massive and with that a lot readability, you possibly can go away your smartphone and pill at residence.
The DJI RC has a good diploma of video transmission utilizing the O3+ system, transmitting 1080p footage at 60 fps.
The EVO Lite+ makes use of the EVO Nano & Lite Collection distant controller, which provides me Xbox 360 vibes. It’s a big controller that’s type of cumbersome however nonetheless ergonomic.
It has a transmission vary of seven.4 miles and is appropriate with Autel’s Sky App.
The one downside? It doesn’t have a display, which implies conserving your smartphone helpful to trace your drone’s actions. This distant controller can also be appropriate with fewer drones.
What in regards to the video transmission charge of the drones themselves? It’s 7.4 miles for the EVO Lite+ and 6.2 miles for the Mini 3. The Autel drone technically wins right here, however solely by a hair.
Battery life
Winner: Autel EVO Lite+
Talking of classes the place Autel wins, I’ve to provide the battery life battle to the EVO Lite+. In any case, its base battery can theoretically maintain flight for 40 minutes, an impeccable feat.
The Mini 3’s base Clever Flight Battery can fly for 37 minutes, which I acknowledge is a couple of minutes shorter.
You might have the choice to increase the flight time to 50+ minutes when you’re prepared to spend on the Clever Flight Battery Plus.
At that time, the DJI battery would beat the Autel battery, however since you need to purchase the Clever Flight Battery Plus individually, that flight time doesn’t really feel like a good comparability.
If you happen to evaluate the 37-minute flight time of the Mini 3 and the 40-minute flight time of the EVO Nano+, these drones really feel extra neck-and-neck within the battery life class.
Neither drone will fly for precisely that lengthy, anyway.
It was extra like round 33 or 34 minutes of flight for the DJI drone and a bit over 35 for the Autel after I examined them, and let me let you know, I used to be thorough and intensive.
It’s not that these producers misled you. No drone ever flies precisely so long as marketed.
Bearing that in thoughts, I’m holding regular on my alternative to select the EVO Lite+ right here.
Conclusion
The Autel EVO Lite+ and DJI Mini 3 are two exceptional small drones.
Neither is the latest anymore, but they each function cutting-edge options that make them price discussing in 2023.
The Mini 3 rises to the event in each method. It’s actually light-weight, doesn’t require hobbyist registration, has a exceptional digital camera, boasts Clever Flight Modes, and has a battery life on par with what Autel provides.
Nevertheless, when you select the Mini 3 as your drone, have in mind it has no impediment avoidance.
That’s its largest fault, which was corrected within the Mini 3 Professional, so maybe it would be best to discover that as an alternative.
And the intuitive distant management with its massive display will enable you to fly safely with the Mini 3!
