Just when you thought your wallet was safe from a seriously tempting new tech purchase, DJI casually drops new teaser What appears to be his next drone – and rumor has it that ‘Explore Vivid’ will see the arrival of a cheaper version of his flagship aircraft. DJI Mavic 3.
The so-called DJI Mavic 3 Classic is scheduled to launch on November 2 at 9AM ET/1PM GMT (which runs at 12AM ET on November 3). And the big proof that it could be the new Mavic is that the viewfinder is in the joke.
It looks identical to the Hasselblad cam on the DJI Mavic 3, just without its trademark telephoto lens. This is in line with some of the recently leaked images of WinFuture along with a previous FCC filing, notes that the DJI Mavic 3 Classic is on its way to giving drone enthusiasts an affordable way to own a Micro Four Thirds camera.
As a DJI Mini 3 Pro owner, this matters to me. Not because my mini drone and DJI Mavic 3 Classic will in any way be direct competitors – the Mavic series is now DJI’s premium range, while the Mini series delivers a taste of its power in a less than 250-gram package that slots neatly into a compact package. camera bag.
But if the Mavic 3 Classic arrives at a competitive price, it could rise to the top of our guide to The best drones. After getting a little rough and ready when it launched about a year ago, a series of DJI Mavic 3 firmware updates have been seen fulfilling its early promise as an Air Force One with a few peers.
The third quadruple 20MP camera is excellent and much larger than the 1 / 1.3 inch CMOS sensor on my Mini 3 Pro. This means it handles noise at higher ISO settings pretty well, which makes it handle shooting in dim conditions (here in the UK, this is our default weather). The Mavic 3 camera also has an adjustable aperture, which allows you to easily make exposure changes in the air.
Despite all this, I never thought of the DJI Mavic 3 when it first landed, due to its hefty price tag. Its standard version cost $2,199 / £1,879 / AU$3,099, while, at the time, the Fly More Combo went for $2,999 / £2,549 / AU$4,199 – more than the cost of a full frame. Sony A7 IV. Not a blocker for a professional aerial videographer but a bit overkill for a hobbyist in a cost-of-living crisis.
It is not yet clear how much the DJI Mavic 3 Classic will cost, but rumors of the likes Drone XL They suggested it could fall for $1,400 (about £1,200 / AU$2,150) or even less. Considering the DJI Mini 3 Pro’s RC Smart Controller bundle – which means you don’t need to use your phone to fly the drone – it costs $909 / £859 / €829, which could put some drone buyers off.
Then again, the reason the DJI Mavic 3 Classic can be expected to fetch this low price is because it likely lacks one of its brother’s most interesting features…
Zoom and melancholy
According to leaks from WinFuture And the Tweet embed (Opens in a new tab) And the Tweet embed (The Mavic 3 Classic likely lacks the telephoto camera seen in the current DJI consumer flagship. This means that, as DJI’s invitation suggests, it will only offer a single 20MP CMOS sensor for video and photos.
This is not a disaster considering DJI Mavic 3 review I found the camera’s performance to be “no less than excellent”. But the Mavic 3’s 162mm telephoto zoom lens, while inferior to the main camera, now lets you take raw photos. And this ability to compress your photo, and provide a dramatic background “parallax effect,” has created some of the most interesting videos I’ve seen this year.
Hello #Mavic3classic. Removing the Telelens made it 4g lighter. And thanks to my friend @rquandt for digging up these photos. pic.twitter.com/dMaTiB6yg2October 27 2022
So while the DJI Mavic 3 Classic, if that’s really what DJI will announce next week, will undoubtedly be an upgrade on my Mini 3 Pro, it may not be a game changer in terms of the kinds of photos and aerial videos I can shoot. But if you’re still deciding between the Mavic 3 and the Air 2S, it’s definitely worth waiting until next week to see which new vehicle has been added to DJI’s fleet.
Of course, there’s a chance that DJI will launch another product entirely, like the DJI Pocket 3 with a Four Thirds camera. This is another product that I would love to see in DJI’s lineup. But so far, we haven’t seen any leaks of a new Jeep, and all indications are pointing to a new drone.
What is not yet clear is why DJI’s launch announcement has the slogan “Explore Vivid”. Could it be a reference to the Mavic 3’s versatile Hybrid Log Gamma update, which gave the drone an HDR format that’s also compatible with most displays? It’s possible, but thankfully, we have less than a week to find out what (for sure) DJI’s final launch of this year will be.