Launched in November, 2021, the DJI Mavic 3 is the type of drone that evokes our work right here at Drone Rush. This DSLR-caliber flying digicam shoots the very best aerial imagery ever from the Mavic line. That’s a twin digicam setup that captures as much as 5.1K video, and pushes issues to the restrict with a hybrid 28x zoom.

Some could argue that the Mavic 3 is simply an iterative replace over previous Mavic drones. As true as that’s, the variety of options which have been up to date take issues to new ranges in virtually each method.

Notice: We flew the DJI Mavic 3 Cine for our assessment. This top-tier unit consists of an inside SSD and the brand new DJI RC Professional distant management.

DJI Mavic 3 overview

Choosing up the place the Mavic line left off, the Mavic 3 continues to be a compact, folding quadcopter. Although, this is without doubt one of the largest within the Mavic sequence, significantly when unfolded, because the stance of the drone has modified. The Mavic 3 stands a lot taller, and the entrance propellers not spin over prime of the drone, as a substitute the arms are longer, and decrease, preserving the highest of the drone utterly away from transferring elements.

The oblong form with digicam hanging from the nostril stays the identical as earlier Mavic drones, as does the way in which the propeller arms fold in.

New bug-eye sensors on the rear sit at 45 diploma angles. Matched with angled sensors on the entrance, the Mavic 3 has all route impediment avoidance. APAS 5.0 places these sensors to work, now in a position to determine objects as much as 200 meters away, to maintain your drone protected and to autonomously plan routes when utilizing the brand new ActiveTrack 5.0 options.

Merely put, DJI as soon as once more took every thing they’ve discovered with earlier Mavic drones to construct the very best Mavic drone up to now!

Updates to the airframe and software program are one factor, the digicam is one other. The bump as much as a Micro 4 Thirds digicam immediately makes the Mavic 3 similar to DSLR cameras, the place all earlier Mavic drones had been greatest in comparison with smartphones.

The spotlight of the present is the brand new flight time file for Mavic drones. The Mavic 3 is ready to keep airborne for as much as 46 minutes. Outfitted with O3+, (DJI has shortened the identify from OcuSync 3 Plus,) the Mavic 3 can be in a position to rise up to 15km (over 9.3 miles) away from the distant. Whereas most of us are usually not in a position to fly past visible line of sight, that no less than means one of many strongest connections between drone and distant we’ve seen but.

Whereas airborne, the Mavic 3 is rated for as much as 30 km of floor cowl per cost, which it does at as much as 42.5 mph. Nonetheless, you’ll be cruising at round 33 mph in case your objective is to shoot silky clean video.

We will attest that the drone is rated to handle winds over 25 mph, however doing so did cut back our flight time to about 37 minutes. On a peaceful day, that max 46 minutes of flight time is extra like 42 minutes when you think about typical setup and a security buffer when touchdown.

We had been very impressed with the impediment avoidance sensors. The Mavic 3 presents a well-known auto-halt vary of about 6 toes from objects, and managed to determine a slim, naked tree department that I didn’t see in my yard.

We had a couple of video-lag points within the first couple of minutes of our first flight, however haven’t been in a position to replicate any hiccups since then. The 1080p stay view video seems to be nice on the built-in show of the RC Professional distant, controls are responsive, and piloting the craft stays as simple as ever with acquainted controls and some customized buttons you may program for various actions. We didn’t check the RC-N1 distant with the Mavic 3, however it’s the identical distant as utilized by the Air 2S, so we’re assured that it’ll present a stable connection and video efficiency nearly as good as your hooked up smartphone can handle.

DJI MasterShots weren’t out there on our check unit. DJI guarantees so as to add these in a future software program replace. MasterShots consists of issues like panoramic photographs, follow-me modes and extra self-piloted options.

We’re very impressed with the specs of the Mavic 3. There could also be a handful of drones on the market that rank higher on paper, however none which might be this compact, and few with this low of a price ticket. Make no mistake, the Mavic 3, significantly the Mavic 3 Cine, is priced in pro-drone territory, out of attain to many shoppers, however, with the spectacular capabilities of the DJI Air 2S, the buyer market is in good palms already.

The digicam of the DJI Mavic 3 is your entire level of this drone for a lot of pilots. The primary digicam is the Hasselblad L2D-20C, which is a Micro 4 Thirds sensor that shoots 20MP nonetheless photos and as much as 5.1K video at 50fps. If you happen to bump all the way down to 4K video, you may shoot at 120fps. That digicam shoots at an efficient FOV of 84 levels, with an 24mm equal focal size, and an aperture vary of f/2.8 – f/11. Movies are captured at as much as 200Mbps!

The secondary sensor is a 1/2-inch shooter that takes 12MP stills and shoots video at as much as 4K at 30fps. The worth on this second digicam is the zoom, with as much as 28x hybrid zoom. A FOV of simply 15 levels at a 162mm focal size means that you can see far into the space.

There are two variations of the DJI Mavic 3, the usual mannequin and the Cine mannequin. The 2 fundamental variations are in storage and video codecs.

• The DJI Mavic 3 Normal comes geared up with 8GB of inside storage.
• The DJI Mavic 3 Cine comes with a 1TB inside SSD, and the flexibility to file within the Apple ProRes 422 HQ format.

With or with out the superior recording format, the Mavic 3 shoots improbable imagery from the sky. DJI has executed effectively to stabilize the digicam, and their partnership with Hasselblad is yielding some spectacular cameras.

The brand new RC Professional distant management is a nice replace from the standard remotes that include Mavic drones, and even a pleasant improve from the DJI Sensible Controller. Specifically, a microSD slot and HDMI port are welcome additions.

RC Professional is a chargeable controller with a 5,000 mAh battery and built-in show. In essence, it is a small Android pill with a couple of DJI goodies included, however it runs the DJI Fly app identical to your cellphone.

There aren’t any surprises right here, you get your left and proper detachable joysticks, separate emergency cease and House buttons, navigation buttons for the Android OS, top-mounted dial to manage the gimbal, two customized buttons on the again aspect, and a customized d-pad on the entrance for customized controls. The USB Sort-C port is sandwiched between the microSD slot and HDMI port on the underside.

That is powerful. When it comes to dimension and portability, the Mavic 3 competes with the entire bigger Mavic drones prior, in addition to machines just like the Autel Robotics Evo sequence. When it comes to digicam capabilities, the Mavic 3 competes in opposition to high-end machines such because the Yuneec Storm H3 and DJI Encourage 2. Certainly, the Encourage 2 can be geared up with a Micro 4 Thirds digicam, however Encourage advantages from interchangeable lenses, which the Mavic 3 doesn’t.

Lastly, by way of value, the Mavic 3 commonplace competes with top-end Phantom drones, top-end Evo drones, and is in Storm H3 territory. The Mavic 3 Cine is one other story, that SSD and the RC Professional distant add up, firmly putting the Mavic 3 Cine in the identical price-bracket because the Encourage 2, Matrice drones, the lower-end FreeFly Alta drones and extra.

Backside line, contemplating your entire package deal, there isn’t any direct competitor to the Mavic 3 at the moment. Drones with competing cameras are far bigger machines, and equally transportable machines can’t compete with the brand new digicam.

Allow us to first say that we predict the DJI Mavic 3 is the very best drone available on the market immediately, significantly for the discerning aerial photographer that values portability of their plane. We expect it is going to be some time earlier than an inexpensive competitor comes alongside. As improbable as we predict this drone is, there’s a hefty price ticket to think about. The DJI Mavic 3 begins at $2,199, and it’s attainable to get that value up over $5,000.

If the value doesn’t scare you off, the query turns into one in every of worth for the greenback. My solely hesitation is the mounted lens. The Mavic 3 prices the identical as my DSLR, which can be a Micro 4 Thirds digicam, however the capability to swap lenses is what makes my DSLR able to maintaining with my wants. DJI included a full secondary digicam on the Mavic 3 so as to overcome a number of the shortcomings of a single mounted lens, however that second digicam seems to be the identical as on the Mavic Air 2, which is sweet, however not the highly effective Hasselblad shooter we’re paying for right here.

After the digicam consideration, there isn’t any doubt that the Mavic 3 is the smallest and maybe probably the most succesful drone of any machine with a digicam of this caliber. Ease of use comes into play as effectively, as a machine just like the Encourage 2 is greatest when operated by two individuals, one pilot and one digicam operator. The Mavic 3 is as simple to handle as each Mavic drone earlier than it, permitting one particular person to seize enjoyable movies from the sky.

As an general package deal, the Mavic 3 is a superb flight system, significantly the Cine model with that inbuilt 1TB of storage. Ease of use is the secret, if you would like a improbable digicam drone that “simply works,” The Mavic 3 could be your greatest guess.

DJI Mavic 3 commonplace for $2,199

• Airframe
• One battery
• RC-N1 controller (no show)
• Spare joysticks
• 3 pairs of spare propellers
• USB Sort-C, Lighting, and Micro USB cables
• 65 watt charger
• Storage cowl

DJI Mavic 3 Fly Extra combo for $2,999

• Airframe
• Three batteries
• RC-N1 controller (no show)
• Spare joysticks
• 6 pairs of spare propellers
• USB Sort-C, Lighting, and Micro USB cables
• 65 watt charger
• 3-port battery charging hub
• ND filters (4/8/16/32)
• Storage cowl
• Convertible carrying bag

DJI Mavic 3 Cine for $4,999

• Airframe
• 1TB inside SSD
• Three batteries
• DJI RC Professional controller (with show)
• Spare joysticks
• 6 pairs of spare propellers
• USB Sort-C, Lighting, and Micro USB cables
• 65 watt charger
• 3-port battery charging hub
• ND filters (4/8/16/32/64/128/256/512)
• Storage cowl
• Convertible carrying bag

(9.9)

• 46 – Minutes
• 5.1K – 20MP
• 42.5 – MPH

November 4, 2021

Launch Date