DJI Mavic 3 Review: Capture pristine air-borne
shots with a dual-camera setup

Drones have always been fascinating to us, irrespective of if you are a geek or not. A remote-controlled mini craft that has a camera attached to it. What’s not to like about that?

DJI has been a company that has constantly nailed every single drone that they have produced to date. In 2016, they came up with the DJI Mavic Pro, a foldable drone with a brilliant camera and the ability to auto-detect obstacles. A product way ahead of its time. The Mavic 2 series was launched two years down the line, and it had a truly vibrant and crisp camera Hasselblad’s Natural Color Solution (HNCS) technology.

Drones have always been fascinating to us, irrespective of if you are a geek or not. A remote-controlled mini craft that has a camera attached to it. What’s not to like about that?

DJI has been a company that has constantly nailed every single drone that they have produced to date. In 2016, they came up with the DJI Mavic Pro, a foldable drone with a brilliant camera and the ability to auto-detect obstacles. A product way ahead of its time. The Mavic 2 series was launched two years down the line, and it had a truly vibrant and crisp camera Hasselblad’s Natural Color Solution (HNCS) technology.

But now, it’s time to talk about the drone every cinematographer or drone enthusiast drools over. The DJI Mavic 3! The Mavic 3 happens to be the first drone to host a dual-camera setup.

The Mavic Air 3 is a little bit heavier than its predecessor, a little bit longer as well. But all of this is justified because the newer improved Mavic 3  packs a massive punch. Studded with features, this is the camera you want in your arsenal if you want to shoot pristine crystal clear air-borne shots at the highest resolution possible on a drone.

How much does the DJI Mavic 3 Cost?

The DJI Mavic 3 release date was officially 4th November 2021. The standard version costs around $2,199 (roughly Rs. 1,63,400) and the DJI Mavic 3 Fly More Combo option is priced at $2,999 (roughly Rs. 2,22,800). With everything already offered with the standard version, this version offers two batteries, five pairs of propellers, an ND filter set (ND4/8/16/32), a battery charging hub, and a convertible carrying bag.

Finally, the DJI Mavic 3 Cine is priced at $4,999, which is roughly Rs. 3,71,400. This premium version of the Mavic 3  comes with a built-in 1TB SSD, three batteries, DJI RC Pro, battery charger, six propeller sets, ND filters ND4/8/16/32 and ND6/128/256/512, convertible carrying case, battery charging hub, storage cover, and a DJI 10Gbps data cable.

Features that make the DJI Mavic 3 unique

The last iteration of the DJI series camera didn’t use the full sensor while shooting 4K footage. This was done to prevent overheating. This caused pixel binning and compromised the quality of the footage. But not anymore.

The new DJI drone Mavic 3 rocks a custom Hasselblad L2D-20c aerial camera that will make all your previous drone woes flutter away. This professional-grade camera can shoot videos at 5.1K video up to 50fps, 4K video up to 120fps, or 1080p up to 200fps.

Every drone fanatic has been going crazy over the DJI Mavic 3 rumors pre-release. But now that the drone has finally been revealed, here are the official DJI Mavic 3 specs.

• The main camera is a 20-Megapixel four-thirds Hasselblad CMOS sensor. It can easily capture up to 5280 x 3956 px still images and 5.1k video. Also, it has a ‘Mastershot’ cinematic mode.
• The DJI Mavic 3 Pro supports Apple ProRes 422 HQ and H.264/H.265. The drone can easily deliver video quality up to 5.1K @ 50 fps, DCI 4K @ 120 fps, 4K @ 120 fps. It also supports 10-bit D-Log and HDR video capture.
• The brand new Mavic Air 3 has a revolutionary vision sensing system that enables the drone to detect items from 0.5 to 200 meters. The camera system also supports OcuSync 3.0 (O3) image transmission with a range of up to 15 kms.
• The drone weighs in at 895g (1.97 pounds), which is pretty nimble for a drone of its mind-blowing capabilities.
• The DJI Mavic 3 Pro has a 1 TB internal SSD.

DJI Mavic 3 Features & Usability

Build quality and design

The DJI Mavic 3 is a heavy drone. It weighs in at 895 g, a little bit heavier than its predecessor, and is a little longer as well. It can still fit in your typical backpack. But you have to keep it upright like a telephoto lens, which means it will take up a lot more space than it should.

The DJI Mavic 3 Pro is a lot stronger and sturdier than it looks, and is made out of the same hard plastic material as the previous DJI drones. It can take a beating, and can possibly survive a fall down a couple of stories or hitting a tree.

Controller

The controller for the DJI Mavic 3 Pro is the same one that was paired with Air 2S and Mini 2. It’s made out of the same material as the drone and follows the same compact and minimal design language.

Safety Features

The DJI Mavic 3 has a plethora of safety features, with sensors on the front, back, both sides, top, and bottom. These sensors create a 3D map of its positioning, and hence the camera can avoid all the obstacles in its way fairly easily. This is all possible because of the APAS 5.0. The drone moves around avoiding obstacles without direct control and is almost impossible to crash.

Hasselblad CMOS sensor

This sensor is a third of an inch larger than the previous Mavic Pro 2. This opens up the door for improved noise handling, better detail, beautiful color correction, reduced diffraction, and much smoother control over depth of field.

Camera

The camera lens is a 28mm f/2.8 with an 84-degree FOV. On the other hand, the secondary camera sensor is a ½ inch sensor behind a 162mm f/4.4 lens. The secondary lens is a 28x hybrid zoom telephoto lens. The camera is capable of transmitting 1080p/60 fps feed directly to the controller without breaking a sweat. No delay and no loss in quality.

Battery

The drone is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery that provides it with a flight time of 46 minutes. It takes about 1 hour 45 minutes to charge from 11% to 100% using a 65W power brick.

Should I Purchase the DJI Mavic 3?

DJI has already established its name as a premiere brand of drones. So if you are in the market for a movie-grade camera for a decent budget, the Mavic Air 3 is the perfect option for you.