DJI launches Air 3 drone
DJI has launched (another) new drone, the DJI Air 3.
The standout features of the company's newest compact drone include both a wide-angle and 3x telephoto camera capable of capturing 48MP stills and 4K 100p video.
According to DJI, the Air 3 has a 46 minute flight time, 48% longer than the DJI Air 2S, and weighs just 720 grams.
Interestingly, both cameras on the Air 3 share the same 48-megapixel 1/1.3 CMOS sensors, which will make for a more consistent shooting experience than is typically found on drones. The wide camera is 24mm equivalent with an f/1.7 aperture, and the telephoto has a 70mm equivalent f/2.8 aperture lens.
Video maxes out at 4K 100p, without frame-of-view cropping compared to its predecessor, the DJI Air 2S. Onboard you'll also find 10-bit D-Log M and 10-bit HLG colour modes.
Additionally, DJI’s new battery charging hub, which is sold separately and holds three batteries, supports what the company calls a “battery accumulation function”. It allows users to press and hold the function button to transfer the remaining power from multiple batteries to the battery with the highest remaining power.
The Air 3 is also the first in the series to feature omnidirectional obstacle sensing. DJI says this feature enables environmental awareness, allowing the drone to detect obstacles in all directions.
The front and back of the drone are equipped with a pair of fisheye lenses to enable forward, backward, left, right and upward sensing, while the bottom is equipped with binocular lenses and a 3D time-of-flight (TOF) to provide omnidirectional sensing capability.
In terms of features, you'll find many of the DJI staples - FocusTrack to keep a subject in the centre of the frame, QuickShots hyperlapse shooting, and a Night Mode for improved results in darker situations. It also has MasterShots, which allow the drone to automatically perform a series of camera movements, shoot multiple clips, edit the clips, and add music to generate a complete video quickly.
The DJI Air 3 is available now for $1,699 with the standard RC-N2 controller. With the RC 2 controller it will set you back $2,349. More info here.