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DJI Mavic 3 Pro launched

There is a Mavic 3 Pro, which arrives in four different combos including a Pro Cine version, all of which usher in a new era for the Mavic Pro series of camera drones.

DJI has finally updated the flagship prosumer Mavic Pro drone, which arrives nearly five years after the previous generation launched, although to be fair they have been busy, releasing the cinema-ready Inspire 3 Combo in the same month, which is the ultimate ‘affordable’ cinema drone, at just over £13k.

If the Inspire is beyond your reach, fear not as the DJI Mavic 3 Pro now packs three different cameras, all of which feature a different focal length and sensor, in order for you to capture incredible content spanning 24mm to 166mm (full-frame equivalent) with just a tap on the screen.

Find out everything you need to know about the 25 April 2023 launch of the Mavic 3 Pro, Mavic 3 Pro combos and Mavic 3 Pro Cine, in our bite-sized review right here.

No doubt drawing inspiration from mobile phone designs.

What’s new in the DJI Mavic 3 Pro?

The headline feature is that DJI Mavic 3 Pro now includes 3 different cameras with 3 sensors, each of which offers a different focal length. Mavic 2 Pro was the first consumer drone with a 1-inch sensor, while the Mavic 3 Pro features the same 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad Camera seen in the Mavic 3 / Mavic 3 classic.

As well the 24mm (equivalent) customised Hasselblad L2D-20c aerial camera there is a 1/1.3-inch CMOS Medium Tele Camera and a 1/2-inch CMOS Tele Camera. Between them you can now record 5.1K/50fps and 4K/60fps or DCI 4K/120fps, which is entirely unique from a single drone.

The two tele cameras offer an equivalent focal length of 70mm and 166mm, providing the opportunity to not only scope more effectively, but capture distant subjects without needing to fly too near. This will be incredibly useful for wildlife, however a telephoto lens also compresses the scene so you can capture distinct images and lets you shoot further away from busy locations.

When you’re storytelling from the sky, it is extremely useful to be able to switch between the three focal lengths by simply tapping the screen on your controller and gain a completely new perspective instantly.

DJI also added a new 10-bit D-Log M colour mode, which supports a staggering one billion colours and offers a wide dynamic range of up to 12.8 stops when using the Hasselblad camera, which also supports 12-bit RAW photos.

Flight times are now to a maximum of 43 mins on a single battery in favourable conditions, up from 31 minutes in the previous generation Mavic 2 Pro. This is just three minutes shy of the Mavic 3/Classic, which employ the same Intelligent Flight Battery as the 3 Pro.

Longer battery life is impressive, providing ample opportunity to get everything right for each scene with a single charge. Naturally the additional batteries in various combos listed below will be welcome for multi scene shots and exploring further.

Sample image with the Hasselblad L2D-20c camera at 12.29mm focal length. 1/80th second. f/4. ISO 100

One drone, 3 separate cameras

The Hasselblad wide angle camera offers a variable aperture and 20 megapixel file sizes, and can go even wider when attaching the Mavic 3 Pro wide angle lens. However the two telephoto cameras are also powerful, with 3x optical zoom from the 70mm and 7x optical + 28x hybrid digital zoom on the 166mm camera.

How is the DJI Mavic 3 Pro Cine different?

Apple ProRes support on all three cameras is the key difference between the DJI Mavic 3 Pro Cine and the standard Mavic 3 Pro. The Cine model also boasts 1TB internal SSD storage (over 8 GB) saving on MicroSD cards, and comes with DJI’s 10Gbps high-speed lightspeed data cable.

Apple ProRes is available in HQ, 422 and LT codecs for space-saving compression to accommodate every type of scene you capture.

Mavic 3 Pro, Combos and Cine Pro compared

With four different DJI Mavic 3 Pro versions to choose from we thought a quick comparison would be in order, clarifying the differences between each. All four versions include three sensors and lenses with different focal lengths, with the difference being whether you opt for the combo, RC Pro combo or Pro Cine combo.

Mavic 3 Pro safety features

When you have a professional drone which is capable of flying over 15km you need a suite of comprehensive safety features and DJI has taken this seriously with the Mavic 3 Pro, which includes:

• GPS + Galileo + BeiDou Global Navigation Satellite Systems
• ±0.5 m hovering precision using the high-precision positioning system
• Omnidirectional binocular vision system, supplemented with an infrared sensor under the aircraft
• O3+ Video Transmission System with 1080p/30fps or 1080p/60fps depending on the controller
• Maximum FCC 15 km unobstructed, free of interference video transmission
• Max Download Speed of 15 MB/s with DJI RC Pro and 5.5 MB/s with DJI RC using 4 antennas, 2T4R
• Advanced RTH automatic return functionality, which returns to home while bypassing obstacles

Intelligent image capabilities

One of the key advantages which the Mavic Pro series offers is the ability to capture professional content with simplified control. This is handled through a series of intelligent features which include:

1. FocusTrack is supported by the Hasselblad and medium tele cameras, in order to capture shots from multiple directions by shooting with ActiveTrack 5.0, Spotlight and Point of Interest
2. MasterShots is supported by the Hasselblad camera, which completely automates the entire process with shoot, edit, add soundtracks and subsequently generate cinematic footage
3. The Hassy camera also supports renowned QuickShots, which causes the drone to perform Dronie, Rocket, Circle and Helix movements automatically
4. Capture dramatic 100 megapixel Panoramas with the Hasselblad camera
5. The LightCut video editing app is available for Apple and Android phones, with AI-based one-tap editing without even needing to download the footage to your phone. This includes countless templates and generates 4K/60fps videos after recognising themes in your footage automatically.

Which DJI Mavic 3 Pro drone should you buy?

Any of the Mavic 3 Pro drones deliver professional photo and video quality, with a unique tri-camera design, which provides more fluid storytelling capabilities than possible previously. This is DJI’s flagship prosumer drone and it delivers across flight capabilities, safety and image quality.

The good news is anyone upgrading from a Mavic 3 will be able to use many of the same drone accessories with Mavic 3 Pro, including batteries, propellers, propeller guards, chargers and more. Choosing between the DJI RC combo and RC Pro combo comes down to budget, with a £620 price difference between them. This is due to the significant advantages which the pro controller provides, such as the 1000-nit display, high-performance processor and the ability to compose shots more efficiently.

Lastly there’s the Mavic 3 Pro Cine Premium Combo, which adds all of the accessories needed from the outset, Apple ProRes support and larger internal storage. If you’re considering this model it’s all about the extensive colour grading and post processing opportunities it provides.

Browse our complete range of DJI drones to choose the perfect new aircraft for your aerial storytelling journey and create content, which will leave any audience in awe.

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By Nick Dautlich on 25/04/2023