With their 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensors, the Mini 3 and Mini 3 Pro take excellent pictures and videos.
While the Mini 3 takes 12 MP photos and 4k videos up to 30 FPS (frames per second), the Mini 3 Pro takes it up a notch with 48 MP photos and 4k videos up to 60 FPS.
Regardless of which drone you own, if you are taking photos and videos with it, you’ll want to transfer these, most likely, to your home computer.
This article and the included YouTube video, will be a step-by-step tutorial showing how to transfer videos and photos to a Mac computer.
If you have a Windows PC, there is also an article and YouTube video for PC users.
To help, we’ve identified and reviewed the best drone courses for beginners and professionals.
SD Card Readers
The Mini 3 uses Micro SD cards, up to 256 GB, whereas the Mini 3 Pro can write on cards up to 512 GB. In order to transfer files from the SD card to your Mac, you might have a built-in Micro SD card slot on your Mac.
If you have an SD card slot only (not a Micro SD card slot), you’ll need to purchase a Micro SD to SD card adapter.
TF Card Micro SDHC to SD SDHC Adapter Works with Memory Cards for Older Cameras, PDA, Medical Devices (Pack of 2)
If your Mac is not equipped with an SD card slot, you’ll need to purchase a simple Micro SD Card reader to insert into an available USB port.
Amazon has a variety of readers that will do the job.
Supports MicroSDXC, MicroSDHC, and MicroSD for Window, Mac OS X and Andriod (Midnight Grey).
» MORE: DJI Mini 3 Pro SD Cards: How to Insert, Eject, and Format (Video)
Transferring Files to the Mac
STEP 1: Eject the SD card from the Mini 3/Pro.
STEP 2: Insert the Micro SD card into the corresponding SD card slot on the reader.
STEP 3: Insert the SD card reader into your Mac.
STEP 4: After the SD card reader connects to the Mac environment, you should see the SD card name appear on the desktop.
I named mine Mini 3 Pro, so as to easily distinguish it from the dozens of other cards I insert and use on my Mac on a regular basis.
STEP 5: After you double-click the SD card icon (shown above) a Mac Finder window will open, showing you the contents of the card.
STEP 6: To access your Mini 3s pictures or videos, double-click the DCIM folder.
STEP 7: Under the 100MEDIA directory you will find your DNG (RAW), JPEG, and MP4 files.
If you’ve created Hyperlapses, the individual files will appear in the HYPERLAPSE folder, broken into individual project folders.
STEP 8: To copy all of the files into the directory of your choice on your Mac, you can right-click the 100MEDIA directory and choose COPY.
Alternatively, you can click and choose what files you’d like to copy and then move to STEP 9.
STEP 9: To paste the files or directory into your folder/directory of choice, navigate through the Finder Window, locate the directory you’d like to copy to, open the directory, and then right-click and PASTE into said location.
After this step is complete, you now have the files from your Mini 3. You’re able to edit and modify the files to your liking in your favorite picture or video editor.