Thanks for studying this text on which drone I’d select: the DJI Mavic 3 Professional or the Air 3.
This 12 months (2023), DJI has been releasing drones seemingly again to again, and I’ve had the chance to completely check all the new 2023 releases.
With a selected curiosity to find the very best drone to behave as the principle workhorse for my images and videography enterprise, I’ve been utilizing the Mavic 3 Professional and Air 3 in an expert capability for 2 months.
On this article, I’ll look at the important thing variations between the Mavic 3 Professional and Air 3, the upgrades within the Mavic 3 Professional, my experiences over the past 4 to 5 weeks with every, and why I think about the Mavic 3 Professional to be the very best total “pro-level DJI shopper drone” obtainable.
In the event you’re a business drone pilot, like I’m, I may help you resolve which drone is correct for your small business wants.
Transient Overview
Mavic 3 Professional
Launched in Could of 2023, the Mavic 3 Professional is an improve to the unique Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Basic in that it has a tri-camera system that permits for 3 totally different focal lengths.
When searching for the best possible picture high quality in a DJI prosumer drone, the Mavic 3 Professional (together with the Mavic 3 Professional Cine) is the drone to amass when you have the price range for it.
- Tri-camera system for bringing cinematic imaginative and prescient to life from various views
- A number of Colour Profiles for added colour grading flexibility
- Waypoint Missions in-app to simply plan repeatable and complicated routes
- Apple ProRes Video Encoding, included within the Cine model, for skilled TV and Video productions
» MORE: DJI Mavic 3 Professional Overview (I’ve NEVER flown a drone that I loved a lot)
DJI Air 3
Launched just a few months after the Mavic 3 Professional, in July 2023, the Air 3 was a extremely anticipated improve to the very fashionable and much-loved Air 2S.
The Air 3 is a powerful alternative drone for pilots who’re solo content material creators and people trying to do numerous business tasks for purchasers.
Whereas the Air 3 has a smaller major digicam than the Mavic 3 Professional, it has much-needed upgrades in different elements.
- Twin-camera system, which provides viewers excellent parallax results
- Omnidirectional impediment sensing to make sure the security of the Air 3 whereas in flight
- OcuSync 4 Video Transmission System for stronger, interference-free video alerts
- Enhanced monitoring and added flight modes for these trying to movie themselves or specific topics
» MORE: DJI Air 3 Overview – Is This the Drone for You?
Fast Verdict
As a result of I used to be searching for a drone to retire my present shopper workhorse, I’ve used each the Mavic 3 Professional and the Air 3 on numerous business jobs.
For my functions, the Mavic 3 Professional is the clear alternative for shopper deliverables.
With a full spectrum of purchasers, all of which have numerous wants, the digicam on the Mavic 3 Professional is ideal for delivering the imagery my purchasers need, want, and have come to count on.
Whereas the Air 3 has nice high quality picture and video capabilities, the Mavic 3 Professional takes this up a notch, with the next dynamic vary for movies and better decision images.
With higher-resolution images, my purchasers are in a position to blow their photos up for numerous kinds of printing, some even utilizing the pictures for giant automobile wraps.
The Air 3 is a good drone for content material creators, these needing a backup business drone, and people performing some business work, relying on the business.
The Mavic 3 Professional, however, is a full business workhorse, one which handles all content material calls for with flexibility and the very best high quality.
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What are the Principal Variations?
I truthfully take pleasure in utilizing each the Air 3 and the Mavic 3 Professional. Nevertheless, when searching for a every day driver that accomplishes all the pieces wanted, the Mavic 3 Professional is the go-to for my functions.
When taking numerous kinds of images for purchasers, the Mavic 3 Professional carried out flawlessly.
The number of images ranged from Actual Property properties to Metropolis landmarks to landscapes for lake administration firms, and even for firms doing customized wraps for firm fleet automobiles.
What the Mavic 3 Professional has over the Air 3, for these searching for a business workhorse, is primarily camera-related:
- Tri-Digital camera System: Just like the Air 3, the Mavic 3 Professional has each 24 mm and 70 mm equal digicam lenses. It additionally has an extra 166 mm digicam lens, including yet one more dimension for creativity when filming video.
- Digital camera high quality: That is the place the Mavic 3 Professional actually units itself aside from the Air 3. The principle 24 mm digicam is a 4/3 20 MP Hasselblad digicam with glorious colour science. For professionals, having the next decision digicam, with bigger pixels than the Air 3, permits for extra dynamic vary and suppleness when working in publish and delivering content material to purchasers, as we’ll talk about shortly.
Moreover, if choosing the dearer Cine model of the Mavic 3 Professional, Apple ProRes video encoding is obtainable for all three cameras.
- Adjustable Aperture (24 mm digicam): In contrast to many drones available on the market, even these dubbed as “Professional”, the Mavic 3 Professional has a much-appreciated adjustable aperture of f/2.8 – f/11, which permits way more management over the principle digicam’s publicity.
- Dimension and Weight: That is extra of a desire factor. Nevertheless, the Mavic 3 Professional, being a heavier drone, means it’s extra secure within the air than the Air 3, making it much more ideally suited for windy filming situations. Its bigger measurement additionally makes it simpler to maintain inside VLOS (visible line of sight) if flying additional away from house base.
» MORE: DJI Mavic 3 vs. DJI Mini 3 Professional (Which One is Proper for You?)
Mavic 3 Professional
The Mavic 3 Professional is the following iteration within the Mavic 3 line.
Initially launched in 2021, it succeeded the Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Basic, and is particularly supposed for images and videography professionals trying to ship the very best high quality content material to their purchasers.
The Mavic 3 Professional provides a medium-tele digicam at 70 mm and improves the tele digicam of the Mavic 3, growing the focal size from 162 mm to 166 mm, whereas concurrently bumping up the picture high quality.
Whereas the bodily efficiency of the Mavic 3 Professional is just about similar to the Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Basic (relating to velocity and stability), the principle enhancements are discovered within the technically improved and expanded digicam system.
The Mavic 3 Professional continues the custom of getting 360-degree impediment avoidance safety because of the omnidirectional impediment avoidance sensors all through.
For a lot of professionals, that is important, particularly when filming difficult sequences in tough locales.
Key options of the Mavic 3 Professional:
- Triple-camera system
- Professional-level Distant Controller possibility
- Hasselblad 24 mm Principal digicam
- 5.1k 50 fps; 4k 120fps 10-bit D-Log, D-Log M colour profiles
- Apple ProRes (Cine Model)
- DJI Goggles and DJI Movement 2 compatibility
- Omnidirectional impediment avoidance
- Waypoints
Our Decide
DJI Mavic 3 Professional (Fly Extra Combo)
Flagship Triple-Digital camera Drone with 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad Digital camera, 15km Video Transmission, three Batteries, Charging Hub, and extra.
We earn a fee when you make a purchase order, at no extra value to you.
10/21/2023 06:46 am GMT
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DJI Air 3
The Air 3 is the successor to DJI’s fashionable consumer-level “business” drone, the Air 2S, and an incremental step up from the newly launched Mini 4 Professional.
The Air 3 appeals to drone lovers, content material creators, {and professional} drone pilots on a price range trying to get nice low-light photographs and 10-bit, 4k video for purchasers in numerous industries, notably the true property market.
In most elements, the Air 3 is a significant improve over the much-loved Air 2S, even after transferring from a 1-inch digicam right down to a 1/1.3-inch digicam.
The standard of the 24mm and 70mm medium-tele cameras, together with their low gentle efficiency, provides the Air 3 an honest footing within the skilled area.
Together with 10-bit capabilities and 4k 100fps sluggish movement, the Air 3 is nice to work with.
Air 3 key options embrace:
- Twin Cameras – 24mm and 70mm
- Omnidirectional impediment sensing
- OcuSync 4.0 Video Transmission System (12.4 miles)
- 4k 100fps, 10-bit D-Log M colour profile
- Lively Monitor 360
- Waypoints
- Wonderful price-to-features ratio
» MORE: DJI Air 3 Inexperienced persons Information (Step-by-Step Information)
Head-to-Head Comparability
Digital camera System
Winner: Mavic 3 Professional
In relation to drone images and videography, having extra focal size choices is at all times greatest. You may ask any skilled who makes use of floor cameras.
When filming, having not one however three digicam choices provides you the flexibleness to get actually artistic and inform tales in a way more dynamic approach.
Utilizing the 166 mm digicam brings a selected topic into focus whereas using the 70 mm digicam in the identical scene not solely brings focus to a selected topic but in addition establishes the rapid environment.
The 24 mm huge angle then places into perspective the topic in relation to the whole scene.
To raised current visible content material, the Mavic 3 Professional can shoot video in numerous colour profiles in 10-bit, these being:
10-bit provides larger flexibility for colour manipulation and grading when modifying video in post-processing, as there are just a little over a billion colours and variations to work with.
Moreover, capturing within the flatter D-Log colour profile means capturing the next dynamic vary than doable with the Air 3’s D-Log M profile.
Enhancing over the Air 3’s most of capturing in 4k 100 fps, the Mavic 3 Professional can shoot at a most of 5.1k 50 fps.
With this larger decision comes the flexibility to crop in much more than 4k footage to get higher framing choices, if not completely locked in throughout filming.
4k 120 fps is absolutely aboard and accounted for, with the addition of FHD 200 fps for easy, ultra-slow-motion photographs.
It wouldn’t be proper if we didn’t point out right here, once more, that there’s assist for Apple ProRes 422 video encoding which caters to these capturing for skilled movie and tv manufacturing.
Outdoors of the prosumer Mavic collection, there isn’t any different prosumer drone that does this. You’d have to maneuver as much as the professional-level Encourage collection to benefit from this video encoding.
Lastly, the Mavic 3 Professional has an adjustable aperture on the principle 24 mm digicam. The aperture could be adjusted between f/2.8 to f/11 within the DJI Fly app.
That is primarily helpful for exact changes to the publicity, particularly when filming video.
When the aperture is adjusted along with the shutter velocity, video can extra simply conform to the 180-degree rule when making an attempt to include movement blur.
In some instances, an ND filter should should be used to dial within the publicity completely.
» MORE: Greatest Reasonably priced Drones with 4K Digital camera
Distant Controller Compatability
Winner: Mavic 3 Professional
As a result of the Mavic 3 Professional stays on the OcuSync 3 video transmission system, there are presently extra controller choices obtainable to the Mavic 3 Professional, which embrace the next:
Because the Air 3 has comparable distant controller counterparts (DJI RC 2 and DJI RC-N1), the principle differentiating issue right here can be the Mavic 3 Professional’s compatibility with the professional-level, aptly named DJI RC Professional.
From an expert standpoint, the DJI RC Professional is at present the best possible management methodology for the Mavic 3 Professional as it’s a very strong and well-built, true all-in-one machine.
Referring to the RC Professional as an all-in-one machine is becoming due to with the ability to set up third occasion apps that can be utilized to help throughout shopper shoots, corresponding to getting access to drone-specific apps like UAV Forecast, B4UFLY, and Aloft Air-Management, which permits on-the-fly LAANC authorization.
» MORE: Greatest Drone Controllers
General Efficiency
Winner: Air 3
Whereas the Mavic 3 Professional is clearly the winner in the case of the digicam, the Air 3 surprises within the efficiency division.
This is likely to be as a result of, the place the Mavic 3 Professional makes use of the identical drone motors and airframe because the 2021 Mavic 3 collection, the Air 3 has been redesigned from the bottom up.
The Air 3 has each sooner ascent and descent speeds at 22.36 mph over the Mavic 3 Professional at 17.89 mph and 13.42 mph respectively.
The Air 3, when in sport mode, can journey at speeds near 47 mph, which is on par with the Mavic 3 Professional. Likewise, each the Air 3 and Mavic 3 Professional can resist winds as much as 26 mph.
Along with excellent efficiency and velocity, the Air 3 additionally has quieter propellers, which is because of a smaller measurement and pitch in comparison with the Mavic 3 Professional.
» MORE: Drone Motors Scorching? 5 Most-Frequent Issues (And What to Do)
Battery Life
Winner: Air 3
When out within the discipline filming, minutes matter, and the Air 3’s batteries are rated at 46 minutes, whereas the Mavic 3 Professional is rated at 43 minutes.
In fact, if not flying right down to zero % on a very calm day, these ranges are usually not virtually achievable. Nevertheless, by fixed use of each drones, I can say the Air 3 did certainly final barely longer than the Mavic 3 Professional when flying right down to 25% on numerous jobs.
The place the Air 3 actually shines, although, is just not essentially in how lengthy every battery lasts individually, however as a substitute how energy from every battery could be transferred to a different for longer battery life.
Utilizing the three-battery charging hub, whereas unplugged, press and maintain the black perform button, and the remaining energy from a number of batteries might be transferred to the battery with the very best remaining energy.
So, as a substitute of getting three partially powered batteries, now you can have one absolutely charged, or shut to totally charged, battery in your subsequent flight, extending the quantity of capturing time considerably.
An possibility like this is able to absolutely profit the Mavic 3 Professional!
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OcuSync Model
Winner: Air 3
The Air 3 operates utilizing the upgraded OcuSync 4 (O4) video transmission system, over the Mavic 3 Professional’s O3 system.
With OcuSync 4, the video sign vary has been prolonged from the earlier 9.3 miles of the Mavic 3 Professional to 12.4 miles.
Likewise, the Air 3’s transmission is at 2.4 GHz, 5.1 GHz, and 5.8 GHz, versus the two.8 GHz and 5.8 GHz bands of the Mavic 3 Professional.
This all signifies that the Air 3 has an excellent stronger and cleaner sign working between the drone and distant controller, which is good for each city and downtown areas.
The Mavic 3 Professional’s sign may be very sturdy. Nevertheless, the Air 3’s sign is a good bit stronger.
Conclusion
After two months of utilizing the Mavic 3 Professional and Air 3 commercially for repeat purchasers, I’ve to say that the Mavic 3 Professional fits the actual wants of my purchasers completely.
The digicam on the Mavic 3 Professional gives me with absolutely the flexibility and high quality wanted to present probably the most skilled finish outcomes to my vastly totally different purchasers, whether or not this be images or movies on-line commercials.
The Air 3 is a superb drone, particularly for content material creators and people desirous to delve into business work whereas on a price range.
Nevertheless, in case you are a critical skilled needing to ship the very best high quality content material and media to purchasers, the Mavic 3 Professional is the apparent alternative.
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