DJI has established itself as the trend setter and continues to set the bar in the consumer drone market not only for avid photographers and drone pilots but opens the market up to more beginners and amateurs as well because of its new enhanced safety in-flight features. Fair warning for the beginners and amateurs, after flying the new Mavic 3, you may think you are an expert drone flyer, however, don’t go out flying a lesser drone after thinking you have mad drone flying skills. More than likely this is due to the upgrades to their flagship Mavic drone encompassing both the hardware and software. The combo package is a great investment for most considering it includes everything the base model comes with along with two additional batteries for no down time, eight ... MoreDJI has established itself as the trend setter and continues to set the bar in the consumer drone market not only for avid photographers and drone pilots but opens the market up to more beginners and amateurs as well because of its new enhanced safety in-flight features. Fair warning for the beginners and amateurs, after flying the new Mavic 3, you may think you are an expert drone flyer, however, don’t go out flying a lesser drone after thinking you have mad drone flying skills. More than likely this is due to the upgrades to their flagship Mavic drone encompassing both the hardware and software. The combo package is a great investment for most considering it includes everything the base model comes with along with two additional batteries for no down time, eight additional blades in case of accidents, a pack of lens filters for the avid photographers and the perfect carrying case designed by DJI to fit everything snug and organized in a small backpack that protects your gear. Both the base model and the combo kit also include the Mavic 3 drone, a battery charger, one battery, a couple of extra blades and the standard controller for your compatible smart phone. I intentionally wanted to mention the compatible smart phone because the DJI Fly app was not available in the app store for my folding screen phone so ensure you do your research on phone compatibility.The Mavic 3 drone itself is very similar in size to its predecessor and can be held in one hand when folded up or with the blades extended and weighs right at about two pounds. I immediately noticed the eight omnidirectional sensors around the drone that can sense objects and prevent the drone from crashing into something. This is a sigh of relief for beginner drone pilots after crashing drones in the past, although not nearly as pricey or well-made as the DJI Mavic drones. These sensors also help immensely when trying to navigate through tight spaces, open environments with trees, cities with obstacles, etc. The sensors also really come in handy when you are tracking someone or something in an action style video. The drone set up was fairly simple after charging the batteries for the drone and remote, downloading the DJI Fly app, and setting everything up through the app before you take flight. The DJI Fly app will walk you through the rest of the process including setting up your account through DJI, syncing the hardware and downloading any updates to the software (as expected with just about everything electronic today).Regarding the photography details and probably the most impressive upgrade to the Mavic 3 compared to its predecessor is DJI incorporated a dual camera on the Mavic 3. Not only that, DJI collaborated with the Swedish made Hasselblad brand to design a camera specifically for their drone. The main Hasselblad camera is a professional grade 4/3 CMOS that captures beautiful, high resolution 20MP pictures with a new larger image sensor and dynamic range. This camera combined with the onboard software features Vision Detection Auto Focus technology with is very fast and responsive especially when trying to track stationary and moving subjects while the drone is also moving. Besides filming at an excellent 5.1K at 50fps or 4K at 120fps, I won’t get into any other video specs which are listed online as they are typically way too advanced for most, including myself. All I can tell you is the video looks incredible and smooth. The other smaller second tele camera lets you see the whole picture especially in open space before you decide what you would like to ultimately focus on. The tele camera is also great to view areas at a distance where the subject may not even realize a drone is in the area. The live feed to the host shows video at 1080p at 60 fps. One slight inadequacy on the standard Mavic 3 compared to the pricier Mavic 3 Cine is it only comes equipped with 8GB of internal, compared to the 1TB SSD on the pricier Cine model, however you can expand the storage using a micro-SD card. I would have included pictures in my review however you’ll find much better picture examples from the Mavic 3 camera online in stunning environments in comparison to my neighborhood park I initially tested it out in.Some other improvements DJI made to the Mavic 3 compared to its predecessors are the flight time on a single battery that claim it will fly up to 46 minutes and up to 15 km away, both about a 30% increase compared to the previous Mavic drone. And when you get close to running out of battery, which I never got close to 46 minutes in one shot during my test flights, the drone will automatically return to your home point safely using the advanced auto-return function which calculates the best route back to the home point while avoiding obstacles and saving flight time. The return function also occurs when there is signal loss or can be initiated by the user.Overall, DJI continues to impress and exceed all expectations with the improvements on the new Mavic 3 drone. In my opinion, the most impressive improvements were the omni-directional sensors, dual cameras that allow the user to see the whole picture, the collaboration with the high-end Swedish Hasselblad camera, the increase in flight time and distance the drone can travel. I would have liked to have seen more storage included on the base model considering the enormous gap between the base model and the Cine model, and a more improved remote that included a video display especially at this price point.

The Mavic 3 got off to a rough start with some missing features and issues like GPS signal taking a long time. DJI fixed all those things through software updates. It’s now a fantastic drone. I upgraded from the Air2S which is also a fantastic drone. The things I most enjoy are the longer flight time, better camera with more zoom capability, and better low light capability. I recently used it to video a hot air balloon launch and it performed extremely well. I also had a chance to do some night video and the footage is really impressive. I ordered the DJI RC remote which has the built in screen and it makes the Mavic 3 so much faster to get in the air. You don’t have to mount your phone, hook up cables, open the DJI Fly app, etc. You also don’t have to deal with ... MoreThe Mavic 3 got off to a rough start with some missing features and issues like GPS signal taking a long time. DJI fixed all those things through software updates. It’s now a fantastic drone. I upgraded from the Air2S which is also a fantastic drone. The things I most enjoy are the longer flight time, better camera with more zoom capability, and better low light capability. I recently used it to video a hot air balloon launch and it performed extremely well. I also had a chance to do some night video and the footage is really impressive. I ordered the DJI RC remote which has the built in screen and it makes the Mavic 3 so much faster to get in the air. You don’t have to mount your phone, hook up cables, open the DJI Fly app, etc. You also don’t have to deal with annoying notifications popping up on your phone while trying to fly. I always get the Fly More Combo to get extra batteries, the multi battery charger, ND filters, and carry bag. The carry bag for the Mavic 3 is very well made and can be a backpack or shoulder bag. It has plenty of room for all your accessories. I highly recommend this drone to anyone that wants a premium and extremely capable flying camera.

This is a truly an amazing piece of technology, with a hefty price tag you absolutely get your money’s worth in the DJI Mavic 3. I have owned and flown a few drones in my past, more recently I am flying a competitor’s drone (of an orange color). As soon as I unboxed and got into the hardware that comes with the Fly More package I was immediately impressed. The carrying case the Mavic 3 comes in has soft leather insides and rugged exterior fabric with actual metal clips for closure, which you don’t see often. The case itself fits everything perfectly and even has an option to convert into a backpack, super handy! I initially charged all the batteries on the included multi dock charging station, after about an hour I had all 3 batteries fully charged and ready to go, ... MoreThis is a truly an amazing piece of technology, with a hefty price tag you absolutely get your money’s worth in the DJI Mavic 3. I have owned and flown a few drones in my past, more recently I am flying a competitor’s drone (of an orange color). As soon as I unboxed and got into the hardware that comes with the Fly More package I was immediately impressed. The carrying case the Mavic 3 comes in has soft leather insides and rugged exterior fabric with actual metal clips for closure, which you don’t see often. The case itself fits everything perfectly and even has an option to convert into a backpack, super handy! I initially charged all the batteries on the included multi dock charging station, after about an hour I had all 3 batteries fully charged and ready to go, one thing I would like is if the batteries indicated they were fully charged, it seems they only just stop flashing their LEDs once a full charge has been obtained. That is mostly an aesthetic thing for me.Another item that sets the DJI Mavic 3 apart is the protective cover that clips onto the Mavic 3 to secure and protect the camera and the propellers into place, this really makes transfer in and out of the carrying case super simple and gives me the sense that the Mavic 3 camera is protected well. The cover is easy to mount and unmount as well for quick transition.Now for the flying! WOW! The Mavic 3 is so easy to fly and super fun, I felt like a little kid when I got the drone up and flying around a local beach. The Mavic 3 boasts 46 minutes of flight time in normal conditions, with some wind at the beach my first initial flight was around35 minutes total, and I was impressed. The wind did not deter the flight of the Mavic 3 at all, and it held position and flight path perfectly given the decent breeze where I was. I was also surprised at how quiet the Mavic is during flight, it wasn’t until it was 25-30 feet away that I could hear it, and even then, it was super silent. My old drone was significantly loud during initial take off and flight. The added obstacle avoidance sensors still have to be tested more thoroughly but I was able to fly this safely through wooded area’s during the day with ease, my next steps are to perform tracking through a walking trail to really see if branches and such can be avoided without direct control (once the firmware updates become available in 2022).At first, I was unsure if I would prefer to have the upgraded controller but once I got going, I think the RC remote with phone attachment was better than I expected. My older drone had a similar controller setup, but the controller itself was awkwardly heavy and became somewhat of a nuisance to hold for extended periods of flight. The RC remote is easy to hold and has a great mount for your phone (I’m using an iPhone 12 Pro Max with a case) with a small cut out for the phone to remote connection which is hidden when you store the phone mount in the RC. Very convenient and well thought out! The first thing I enjoyed was the physical toggle button for the 3 modes of flight, cine, normal and sport. This makes it all the difference for me because my old drone forced me to select these modes within the app which was not easily located and a struggle to do while in flight, the Mavic 3 is just a quick shift of the toggle button, and you are ready to transition from one mode to the next. The scroll wheel to change the pitch of the camera is smooth and helps keep video shots consistent and not jerky, I was able to shoot video at the beach early in the morning with minimal light and the camera gave me true color and added light with the adjustable aperture. The pictures and video really speak for themselves in the Hasselblad camera, I have never seen anything near as advanced or comparable to the Mavic 3’s capabilities. The Fly More combo adds some ND filters, which are great for reducing incoming light and getting more out of the camera with time lapse photos and scenery shots. They snap on and off the camera easily making a quick change that gives great enhancements to pictures and video! The zoom on the camera is very functional, up to 28x you can really get a good view of an object from a distance, easy to use on the app.Overall, the DJI Mavic 3 is an impressive piece of technology that I am thrilled to have. Truly an industry standard in recreational drones, with attention to minor details that personally set the Mavic 3 apart from the competition. A lot of things like battery placement, controller aesthetics and ease of transport go a long way. Although I would have preferred the feature enhancements shipped with the Mavic 3, I do look forward to some of the added capabilities DJI is claiming to have available. Bottom line, this is a dream to fly and I can’t wait to get outside to continue to put the Mavic 3 to good use and just have a blast while doing it!