Review: DJI Mavic 3 Pro
The latest addition to the DJI family, the Mavic 3 Pro shares the same body as its predecessor, the Mavic 3 from 2021. Where it stands out is as the first folding drone equipped with a trio of onboard cameras.
The Mavic 3 Pro is available in two variants - the Mavic 3 Pro itself, which will set you back $3,099 in its cheapest form, and the Mavic 3 Pro Cine, which retails for around $6,900 as a combo.
The Cine is identical except in its support for Apple ProRes encoding (422 HQ, 422, and 422 LT) and the inclusion of 1TB of internal storage to handle that footage.
The Mavic 3 Pro, which I reviewed, features a unique gimbal-mounted camera system boasting a wide-angle and telephoto camera like its predecessor, the Mavic 3.
However, the Mavic 3 Pro takes it up a notch by adding a medium telephoto (70mm equiv.) to the array. This does make it more versatile for both aerial photographers and videographers.
However, after a series of flights with the Mavic 3 Pro in good (and not so good) conditions, I found myself questioning whether the added capabilities were truly worth the investment and increased weight (958g vs 895g) when compared to its predecessor. So let's take a closer look.
Build quality
When it comes to construction, the DJI Mavic 3 Pro showcases a design that closely resembles its predecessors in the Mavic line-up. That means you can expect the familiar folding and rotating arms with props at each end.
The battery, although larger, still slots effortlessly and snuggly into the back, while a rubber door provides protection for the onboard USB Type-C port and MicroSD card slot.
DJI provides two controller options for the Mavic 3 Pro - the DJI RC and the DJI RC Pro, depending on your chosen kit. Both controllers offer a user-friendly layout with two joysticks, two gimbal control wheels, and shortcut buttons for various functions.
Additionally, they also feature two customisable buttons for personalised adjustments.
The decision between the two controllers depends on individual preferences and budget, and there's a fair difference in price between the two.
The DJI RC Pro ($1529 AUD) offers advanced features including a brighter screen (1000 nits vs 700 nits) 32gb of onboard storage, improved internals for greater computing and graphical power and a stronger signal, while the standard DJI RC ($399 AUD), is a reliable and efficient option without extra frills.
For this review I was using the Pro controller and found the big bright screen a delight to use - it really helps immerse you in the experience. However, without firsthand experience using the RC controller, I can't provide a direct comparison.
Overall, the Mavic 3 Pro impresses with its robust build quality, providing a sense of durability and reliability that boosted my confidence during aerial explorations.
The camera
What makes the Mavic 3 Pro appealing is its whopping 48MP medium telephoto camera, offering a focal length equivalent to around 70mm on a 'standard' sensor.
This combines with the 20MP Hasselblad-branded wide-angle camera and the 12MP telephoto featured on the standard Mavic 3, resulting in a three-camera array that sets the Mavic 3 Pro apart from the competition.
The Hasselblad camera is the real showstopper with its large 4/3 sensor and support for three different 10-bit colour profiles: D-Log, D-Log M, and HLG. In my opinion, this camera truly shines, delivering exceptional detail, impressive low-light performance, and an impressive dynamic range.
RAW files have plenty of detail to push and pull in post, making editing a breeze if you don’t overexpose too heavily when shooting.
The new telephoto cameras allow for 10-bit HLG and D-Log M footage capture, and with ProRes if you buy the Cine edition. Having the telephoto lens brings a different perspective and opens a whole new world of photographic opportunity.
I found it particularly useful for capturing distant subjects when at times getting closer isn’t safe to do so.
Focusing with the DJI Mavic 3 Pro was simple and accurate most of the time. In use, it resembles the focus system found in most smartphones rather than mirrorless cameras.
While this is suitable for most aerial shots with fairly static subjects, it's worth noting that photographers seeking to capture fast paced action shots should be aware of a slight delay between tapping the screen to focus and the actual capture of the shot.
I did however enjoy the half-press focusing feature, but found myself forgetting about it and using the screen to tap focus 90% of the time.
ISO performance and quality was generally good, however once pushed to ISO 1600 or above image quality does take a noticeable hit with significant degradation.
Australia's drone rules mean you'll most likely be flying and shooting during the day when light is plenty, and in most cases the gimbal stabilisation is so good that there are no issues with shooting longer exposures either, which I generally find with drone photography gives better results than ramping up the ISO.
One negative was noticeable purple fringing in some images. While this issue can be corrected in post production, I found some overexposed areas still retained a faint purple hue making it difficult to completely remove. To achieve optimal results it's always best to underexpose shadows to prevent excessive highlight clipping.
It's worth noting that recovering shadow details in post-production was easy, and even recovering two to three stops in shaded areas possible with little image degradation.
Video
The main camera of the Mavic 3 Pro excels for video, allowing for impressive footage at various resolutions. It can capture video in stunning 5.1K/50p, DCI, or UHD 4K/120p (slow motion). Additionally, all three cameras offer support for up to 4K/60p resolution, ensuring high-quality recordings.
The Mavic 3 Pro offers various colour modes for enhanced video recordings. The main camera has D-Log, the medium-telephoto camera introduces D-Log M, and the long-telephoto camera has Normal (8-bit) colour settings.
These options provide flexibility in post-processing and enable you to achieve the desired visual style and mood for your footage, but it’s worth noting that the long-telephoto lens without D-Log is basically useless. Thankfully with other two lenses make up for that.
In flight
As you would expect from a third generation product, the Mavic 3 Pro is easy to operate, with the overall flight performance on par with the previous Mavic 3 series. With a fully charged battery, the Mavic 3 Pro offers a flight time of around 43 minutes, which is actually slightly less than the Mavic 3's flight time of 46 minutes.
What impressed me with the Mavic 3 Pro was its omnidirectional object sensing system, which serves as a safeguard against potential collisions with various obstacles such as trees, walls, and other structures.
Used alongside DJI's ActiveTrack 5.0, the Mavic 3 Pro excel in tracking and following subjects while intelligently evading obstacles, allowing for the capture of moving objects. Spotlight mode further enhances the drone's capabilities by enabling precise subject focus during manoeuvring.
This advanced system ensures comprehensive coverage from all angles, instilling a sense of confidence in Normal or Cinema mode. However, it's important to note that Sport mode deactivates these safety features, requiring extra caution during operation.
I did experience a couple of signal issues between the Mavic 3 Pro and the RC Pro, but only when dipping behind trees at a distance over a couple of kilometres. Thankfully the RTH (return to home) feature kicked in within seconds and I was able to gain control to continue flying.
In summary
The Mavic 3 Pro is a mature product from DJI, and it shows. It offers an intuitive control system, a minimal learning curve and excellent image quality in most situations.
What I enjoyed most about the Mavic 3 Pro is the creative flexibility opened up by the three lens array.
The Micro Four Thirds camera with the 24mm equivalent lens remains my go-to choice, but I also appreciated how in situations where time was limited, safety was a concern, or I desired more background compression, that I could also experiment with the 70mm or 166mm lenses with the click of a button.
Operating the Mavic 3 Pro was enjoyable, helped by a user-friendly app shared with other DJI drones. Overall, I liked how DJI's product design allowed me to fully immerse myself in aerial photography without worrying about the technicalities of flying.
The wrap-up
Handling ★★★★
Excellent. Everything worked as it should making for a smooth and joyful flying/shooting experience.
Build Quality ★★★★★
Great. Everything feels solid and robust which you would expect.
Features ★★★★
Plenty of useful features. For stills, the addition of the 70mm is where it’s at. If you purchase the RC Pro controller than you have more functionality operating the drone, but it ain't cheap.
Image Quality ★★★★
Great, however the purple fringing was bothersome at times.
Final word
As a folding consumer-level drone, the Mavic 3 Pro continues to set a benchmark in its category, delivering exceptional visual capabilities that elevate aerial photography to new heights. The trio of lenses combined with the new Pro controller are what make this beast a solid, although not essential, upgrade from its predecessor.
For existing users of the Mavic 3, there's perhaps less here to entice you to upgrade, and if you can’t justify the cost, then I encourage you to stick with the Mavic 3 as that’s still a fantastic quadcopter. For everyone else, the Mavic 3 Pro is a great drone option.