Past drones (DJI Air 2S and Mavic Pro 2) struggle to maintain connection when passing under the bridges. I took the Mavic 3 around to several familiar spots during my short time with the drone, including an abandoned urban area with low bridges over a river. That’s over 9 miles, and due to FAA regulations, I’m unable to test that range. The Mavic 3 streams live video to the controller at 1080p/60 - that’s twice the frame rates as past models and it’s very noticeable.ĭJI claims that the maximum transmission range is 15km. I didn’t lose contact with the drone flying in spots past drones would cut out. One, this drone has a much more robust communication connection. Owners are going to notice two things about the Mavic 3 over past models. DJI calls this omnidirectional obstacle sensing, and its capabilities are a step above that found on the Air 2S, which only watches in four directions. In addition, there are six fish-eye vision sensors and two wide-angle sensors. Like the Mavic Pro 2, the Mavic 3 has sensors watching every corner of the drone. I never trusted the older crash mitigation systems. This was capable with past DJI drones, but it was not nearly this smooth.
I just had to direct the drone forward, and it found its own path. For the most part, it managed to walk itself, sliding side to side to avoid obstacles. I took the drone for a walk through the woods. The drone can either stop or attempt to bypass the object. I found it’s easily able to detect even the smallest branch. It’s Fall in Michigan, and most of the leaves are off the trees. However, even using pre-release software, the Mavic 3 is impressive.
Still, this latest version features upgraded capabilities, including detecting objects at a greater distance and a closer range.Īs of writing, DJI had yet to update the drone to the latest firmware that included significant updates to the Mavic 3’s capabilities. The drone sees everything.įeatures like object detection and crash mitigation have been standard features on drones for several generations. But I haven’t crashed the Mavic 3 yet despite my best attempts. I push them farther (and closer) than they should go. I crash a lot of drones, and it’s not for lack of caring. I need to test the drone using the latest firmware. Several key video features were locked until DJI officially announced the Mavic 3.
Look for a full report in the coming days. I compared the images to those captured using the DJI Air 2S, and the differences are noticeable with deeper tones and more nuance in shadows. The images straight off the camera are stunning. However, the Apple ProRess 422 HQ encoding is only available on the more expensive Mavic 3, the $4,999 Mavic 3 Cine edition (it also includes a 1TB SSD). The Mavic 3 supports encoding in Apple ProRes 422 HQ, DCI 4k, and 5.1k. With the new camera comes new supported video formats. This system gives the Mavic 3 a fantastic prime lens and offloads the dirty work of zooming to a second camera. The second camera features a 162mm telephoto lens with a 28x hybrid zoom affair. The primary lens is a beast: 20 MP 4/3 CMOS sensor, 24mm prime lens, 84° field of view. The DJI Mavic 3 features a new camera system that includes two lenses. As such, I’m unable to confirm DJI’s claims, and I’m eager to try the new ActiveTrack system. Before today, I was unable to test the drone’s new ActiveTrack 5.0 system and APAS 5.0 object detection - both are said to be significant upgrades over past versions. However, several key features were unavailable until the drone officially launched. 46 minutes of flight time (5000 mAh battery)ĭJI sent me a Mavic 3 last week, and I’ve been flying it nonstop.5 to 200 meters thanks to new, improved sensors Support for Apple ProRes 422 HQ and H.264/H.265 with video capabilities up to DCI Improved vision sensing system able to detect items from.First DJI drone that can transmit live 1080p/60fps video from the drone to the controller.It has two lenses: a 4/3 CMOS sensor with a 24mm prime lens & a 28x hybrid zoom telephoto lens. Dual-camera system that features a custom Hasselblad L2D-20c aerial camera.