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DJI Mini 3 (DJI RC): Best budget drone to buy today under $550

If you’re just starting your drone journey or are shopping on a budget, you may be tempted to pick up a DJI Mini 2 SE or its latest iteration Mini 4K. But if you’re in the market for a compact drone with a great camera that would showcase your adventures on social media and beyond, arm yourself with a Mini 3 (DJI RC) combo which is currently available at a ridiculously cheap spring deal price of $549. Plus an extra $20 gets you a microSD card, a landing pad, and a carrying case for your flying camera!

If you’ve done some research about getting into the drone hobby with an affordable entry-level gadget, you’d know that the Mini 4K is the cheapest 4K video drone from DJI today. What you may not know is that the Mini 4K gets much of its tech stack from the Mini 2, which first came out in 2020.

The most pocket-friendly beginner drone you can buy in 2024 with advanced tech is the DJI Mini 3 with a flight time of up to 38 minutes.

This sub-250-gram drone features the same 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor and f/1.7 aperture as the much more expensive Mini 3 Pro ($849 with DJI RC). We are talking 48MP photos and dazzling 4K/30fps HDR videos with true-to-life colors, both during the day and at night. And in the True Vertical Shooting mode, your drone camera rotates 90 degrees to capture content that is perfect for TikTok and Instagram.

The best part? The $549 combo gets you the DJI RC remote controller with a built-in 5.5-inch HD display for crisp viewing even in direct sunlight. If you were to buy DJI RC as a standalone product from the tech giant, you would be paying $309 just for the remote controller because it ensures the best possible outdoor flying experience with smooth control sticks and customizable buttons and dials.

Moreover, DJI RC is also compatible with flagship multi-camera drone platforms such as Mavic 3 Classic, Mavic 3, Mavic 3 Cine, and Mavic 3 Pro, if you consider upgrading your aircraft in the future.

Basically, if you’re 2024 bucket list contains aerial adventures and you don’t want to drop a wad of cash on a multi-camera drone right now, the DJI Mini 3 (DJI RC) combo offers excellent value for money. Stocks on Amazon are already low, but you can find similar deals on B&HPhoto and Adorama too.

Read more: DJI efforts to block US drone ban, price rise under scrutiny

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Avatar for Ishveena Singh Ishveena Singh

Ishveena Singh is a versatile journalist and writer with a passion for drones and location technologies. She has been named as one of the 50 Rising Stars of the geospatial industry for the year 2021 by Geospatial World magazine.


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