Drone Discussions: An Amazing Review of the Mavic 3

Are you looking to take your photography to new heights? Are you looking to offer a new service to your clients, or add new revenue streams to your photography business?

Then getting a drone and taking aerial photographs and videos is in your best interest. Drone photography services are very popular right now. And those who have the highest quality drones, with top-notch cameras, and solid operating skills, are likely to have a never-ending stream of work.

If you are wanting a professional-grade drone, without completely emptying your life savings, then the Mavic 3 from DJI is probably the drone for you.

DJI is the king of modern drones for both individuals and large companies. The technology and revolutionary features they pack into each drone are staggering.

Wondering why the DJI Mavic 3 should be your next purchase? Read our Mavic Pro 3 review below to learn more.

About DJI Drones

DJI stands for Da-Jiang Innovations which translates to Great Frontier Innovations in Mandarin. The company was founded in 2006 in Shenzhen, Guangdong, otherwise known as the Silicon Valley of China. Manufacturing takes place across the globe, with offices in the US, Europe, and across Asia.

Not only do they make the best drones in the world, but they also make the most. And by a longshot. DJI’s drones make up more than 70% of the entire drone market worldwide. No other individual company owns more than 5% of the market share.

Their drones are used in many industries, from filmmaking to agriculture, search and rescue to nonprofits, and everything in between.

In 2016, DJI released the first Mavic drone. This was the top-of-the-line drone at the time. In 2018, the Mavic 2 came out.

And the Mavic 3 release date was slated for early November 2021. Some of the key software that the drone will use won’t be released until January 2022, however.

The DJI Mavic Pro 3 offers vast improvements over the Mavic 2. This model is currently the best drone rated for consumers, though DJI makes an even more expensive drone intended for media companies and filmmakers; the Inspire, which costs over $3,000.

The Mavic 3 Pro has a base price of $2,200 USD, putting it out of reach for most first-time drone owners. But once you have experience flying an entry-level model like the DJI Mini 2 at $450, then upgrading to the Mavic 3 makes more sense.

Mavic 3 Camera

The Mavic 3 comes with a custom Hasselblad camera. DJI acquired a majority stake in Hasselblad, the Swedish camera maker, creating a unique partnership to push drone capabilities forward.

The custom camera, built exclusively for flying, contains both a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens.

The telephoto lens can take 12MP photos using a 1/2-inch CMOS sensor. The wide-angle lens can take 20MP with a 4/3 CMOS sensor and 24mm prime lens.

The big sensors help to keep images crystal clear, even in low light conditions such as during golden hour or blue hour. The camera can focus on objects as close as one meter away and has 28x zoom functionality. It has an adjustable aperture ranging from f/2.8 to f/11.

And thanks to the Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution, the colors captured with this drone are rich, vivid, and second to none. With the 10-bit D-Log color profile, your video footage will capture up to one billion colors.

With the Mavic 3, you’ll get a 5.1K video recording and DCI of 4K/120fps.

Mavic 3 Pro Specifications

The Mavic 3 can fly for a whopping 46 minutes at a time, which is 15 minutes longer than that of the Mavic 2. It can transmit video footage from 15 km away at 1080p/60fps.

It’s outfitted with omnidirectional obstacle sensing to ensure you never hit anything, damage your drone, and botch your footage. The drone has multiple wide-angle vision sensors, which work with an onboard computer to sense obstacles and plan an automatic flight route to avoid them while capturing smooth footage.

The Mavic 3 weighs 895 grams (31 oz), a few grams lighter than the Mavic 2. The drone folds down, making it easy to pack and take with you anywhere.

Flight and Capture Modes

The advanced return to home (RTH) function makes it as easy as possible to bring your drone back to you automatically. Just press the button and the drone will choose the most direct, optimized route back to you.

The Mavic 3 is equipped with ActiveTrack 5.0. This flight mode lets you select a target and the drone will follow that target. Previous versions of ActiveTrack only allowed for simple movements, like forward and backward.

But with 5.0, the Mavic 3 can follow the subject forward, backward, left, right, and diagonally. It will fly alongside the subject, and will even find the subject again after it disappears out of view.

This makes it easy to capture fast-paced, smooth footage of objects like cars, cyclists, skateboarders, wildlife, and anything else you can think of. And advanced object detection makes this possible even in complex environments such as wooded forests.

It also has the MasterShots function. This lets you edit videos automatically in the app, helping you to finish videos and share them in just a few minutes. No more long post-production editing for simple footage.

The camera is capable of producing panoramas by stitching together photos automatically. No post-production is required, and your panorama will look rich and vivid.

Mavic 3 Hardware

This drone comes in two options; the standard Mavic 3, and the Mavic 3 Cine. The standard Mavic 3 comes with 8GB internal storage.

With the Cine, you’ll get Apple ProRes 422 HQ encoding. This offers a maximum data rate of 3772Mbps. It comes with a built-in 1TB SSD and a 10Gbps lightspeed data cable.

These features make the drone capable of capturing more and processing information faster, giving you more power and control over the filming and editing process.

The Mavic 3 also comes with geofencing functionality. If flying in or near sensitive areas, such as controlled air space, the drone will alert the operator. It can also alert the operator of nearby airplanes or helicopters.

What You Get

In the box of the standard Mavic 3, you’ll find everything you need to capture professional footage. Alongside the drone itself, you’ll get the DJI RC-N1 Remote Controller. It also comes with a spare set of controller sticks, in case yours get lost or break off.

You get the flexibility of options with a standard micro-USB cable, a USB-C cable, and a lighting cable. One battery, battery charger, and a set of spare propellers are also included. And it comes with a Mavic 3 storage cover for protection.

The Fly More Combo is available for $3,000 USD. This comes with three intelligent flight batteries rather than one, and a charging hub that lets you charge all three at once. You’ll get a set of ND filters for more shooting options. And you’ll get a carrying bag to store it all in.

And professional photographers can purchase the Mavic 3 Cine combo for $5,000 USD. This is the model that supports ProRes 422 HQ video recording, features a built-in 1TB SSD, and the DJI RC Pro controller which includes a hi-res screen. With this controller, you won’t need to attach your smartphone in order to see your live stream.

Additional Accessories for the Mavic 3

The Mavic 3 is amazing as it is. Any serious drone operator, or aspiring drone photographer, should consider it a worthy investment. But there are a few other things you can pick up along with the standard package to ensure optimal usage.

If you buy the standard Mavic 3 package, you can pick up any of the other accessories mentioned a-la-carte. So you should probably pick up one or two intelligent flight batteries. And the three-battery charging hub is extremely useful.

Get a micro-USD memory card with 128 GB storage. And whenever you want advanced controls, you can upgrade to the DJI RC Pro controller whenever it feels right. A hood is available for the controller as well to block sun and glare and to keep moisture off of it.

Third-party accessories are also available, such as hard travel cases specifically designed for the size and shape of the Mavic 3 and its accessories.

Is the Mavic 3 Right for You?

The Mavic 3 isn’t intended for beginners. While the flight modes offer many ways to fly and capture footage automatically, the options may be a bit too complex for total newbies.

The Mavic 3 is intended for those consumers who already have drone experience. Maybe you bought the DJI Mini 2 and have learned to fly drones and capture footage with this unit.

The Mini 2 is the best beginner drone and is the most compact and travel-friendly. If you don’t plan on using a drone for commercial reasons, ie to make money, then a more affordable drone like the Mini 2 or the Mavic Air 2 makes more sense.

However, if you are a freelance photographer, content creator, or someone who can make money with professional drone footage, the DJI Mavic 3 is worth every penny. The upgraded camera, outstanding object detection, and automatic capture modes will make sure you get the best possible footage with the highest level of detail.

Elevating Your Photography

The Mavic 3 from DJI is the best consumer-grade drone on the market. It’s packed full of insane camera technology that no one thought could ever be attached to an unmanned aircraft.

The obstacle sensing technology and intelligent flight modes make this an investment that is completely worth it. Though for some recreational photographers or drone flyers, it may be a bit overkill.

Looking for more photography and drone inspiration? Head over to our blog now to find other helpful articles.