The Mavic 3 is DJI’s latest top-of-the-line consumer drone. It’s foldable, expensive, and packs an impressive dual-lens camera and dramatically better drone-to-controller communication. The Mavic 3 is easily DJI’s best consumer drone yet. Unfortunately, a few key features were not available on pre-launch firmware, so a full review is in the works.

Here’s what’s new

• Dual-camera system that features a custom Hasselblad L2D-20c aerial camera. It has two lenses: a 4/3 CMOS sensor with a 24mm prime lens & a 28x hybrid zoom telephoto lens.
• First DJI drone that can transmit live 1080p/60fps video from the drone to the controller
• Support for Apple ProRes 422 HQ and H.264/H.265 with video capabilities up to 5.1k@50fps, DCI 4k@120fps, 4k@120fps
• Improved vision sensing system able to detect items from .5 to 200 meters thanks to new, improved sensors
• 46 minutes of flight time (5000 mAh battery)

DJI sent me a Mavic 3 last week, and I’ve been flying it nonstop. However, several key features were unavailable until the drone officially launched. Before today, I was unable to test the drone’s new ActiveTrack 5.0 system and APAS 5.0 object detection — both are said to be significant upgrades over past versions. As such, I’m unable to confirm DJI’s claims, and I’m eager to try the new ActiveTrack system. Past DJI implications failed to impress.

Camera

The DJI Mavic 3 features a new camera system that includes two lenses. The primary lens is a beast: 20 MP 4/3 CMOS sensor, 24mm prime lens, 84° field of view. The second camera features a 162mm telephoto lens with a 28x hybrid zoom affair. This system gives the Mavic 3 a fantastic prime lens and offloads the dirty work of zooming to a second camera.

With the new camera comes new supported video formats. The Mavic 3 supports encoding in Apple ProRes 422 HQ, DCI 4k, and 5.1k. However, the Apple ProRess 422 HQ encoding is only available on the more expensive Mavic 3, the $4,999 Mavic 3 Cine edition (it also includes a 1TB SSD).

The images straight off the camera are stunning. I compared the images to those captured using the DJI Air 2S, and the differences are noticeable with deeper tones and more nuance in shadows. Details are crisp and sharp.

Look for a full report in the coming days. Several key video features were locked until DJI officially announced the Mavic 3. I need to test the drone using the latest firmware.

Build quality

• The construction and build quality is better than that found on the DJI Air 2. It feels solid and doesn’t look like a toy.
• The Mavic 3’s prop arms are significantly thinner than those found on the smaller Air 2S.
• The props are 4.5 inches. The props on the Air 2S are 3.5 inches.

Battery

• The Mavic 3 uses a new battery design from previous models. It’s a four cell unit that weighs 335.5g. It slides into the drone’s body.
• Charges over DJI’s preparatory connector. The charging dock uses USB-C.
• Claimed battery life is 46 minutes. I saw, on average, around 30 minutes in windy conditions.

sourse:techcrunch