And then it arrived, I sat looking at the large Amazon box unopened on the table, what had I done Ithought, should I send it back, it looked enormous. Broke open the box and behold the beast before me, thank goodness in a smaller box, the combo package. Apprehension not abating, should I have just sentit back, no, I ripped off the cellophane now fully committed, brokethe seal opened the box and removed a bag that could have been easily described elsewhere as a weekend case. No zips, great, pull back the lid and there the three large sealed bundles of heaven containing the drone, controller and battery pack, like a kid at Xmas I ripped open the bags in turn till I eventually revealed the new DJI Air 3 in all it's majesty.
But wait have I received the right one, it's not as big as all the hype had suggested, apart that is from the staggeringly large battery charging hub holding two of the three batteries. A quick check over to see if all the other “bits” were present, alas no ND filters, a basic set from DJI will cost meanother £79.99 though there are better third party ones available,for example a set from K&F are about £60. Then the other pre-warned disappointment, no power supply, thank goodness had I read as many of the reviews as I could prior to ordering, where most had remarked unfavourably that a power supply was not included. DJI had, not surprisingly recommend using their own power supply, but alas not in stock at present or anywhere else in the UK at time of writing,just a few odd ones from China on 'fleabay' best avoided.
So I had taken advice from YouTuber'Ian in London' and had purchased an Anker power supply, also from Amazon, I had selected the Anker 737 120w at £67.99 and began waiting rather impatiently as all three batteries in the hub flashed their led's wildly in turn as they were wrestled from their hibernated state, battery No. 1 took a little over 1 hour to becomefully charged as did 2 and 3 in turn with the Anker 737 hardly breaking a sweat, thanks Ian.
Meanwhile the new RC 2 controller had been fully charged using my old Motorola Razer charger, so here we go. Having fitted a 'Mr Shield' screen protector (also from Amazon),the screen lights up 'Welcome to DJI RC' the language is English by default, press “Next” and away we go or should that be 'Up and Away'......Next, powering up the drone for the first time.
So then the moment of what should have been great joy having completed registering the drone, was replaced by an age of frustration as the drone automatically carried out its firmware updating. Watching the circular countdown clock for what seemed like hours until the great moment finally arrived and the welcoming site of the DJI Fly app. appeared on the screen. A quick run through all the parameters and it's up into the “wide blue yonder”, but no, from what was a sunny day when I first opened the box, the weather had turned and it had started to rain. So I was left sitting with my new Air 3 resting on a table, staring through a window with me eagerly testing the new zoom lens against the backdrop of my garden.
Overall, I have been impressed by the ease of setup and a bit underwhelmed having endured all of the recent hype over this latest DJI drone and eyeing it up from where I am sitting its styling is much improved over the Air 2/2S, like the two small recesses either side of the upper body that the forward props slip into. The rear props still dangle precariously as I put the drone back in its bag, must get a strap sorted. Nice to have a front cover protection for both the camera and front avoidance sensors.
In conclusion my Air 2S was quickly listed on eBay, someone will get this low mileage beauty and hopefully get great service from it. Having migrated from the DJIMini, Mini 2, Air 2 and Air 2S, resisting the Mini 3 Pro, ignoring the Mini 3 & Mini 2SE and not being financially viable enough to go for the Mavic 3 Classic or Pro, I hope this Air 3 will be my last'new drone' until that is an Air 3S arrives fromDJI..................
But wait have I received the right one, it's not as big as all the hype had suggested, apart that is from the staggeringly large battery charging hub holding two of the three batteries. A quick check over to see if all the other “bits” were present, alas no ND filters, a basic set from DJI will cost meanother £79.99 though there are better third party ones available,for example a set from K&F are about £60. Then the other pre-warned disappointment, no power supply, thank goodness had I read as many of the reviews as I could prior to ordering, where most had remarked unfavourably that a power supply was not included. DJI had, not surprisingly recommend using their own power supply, but alas not in stock at present or anywhere else in the UK at time of writing,just a few odd ones from China on 'fleabay' best avoided.
So I had taken advice from YouTuber'Ian in London' and had purchased an Anker power supply, also from Amazon, I had selected the Anker 737 120w at £67.99 and began waiting rather impatiently as all three batteries in the hub flashed their led's wildly in turn as they were wrestled from their hibernated state, battery No. 1 took a little over 1 hour to becomefully charged as did 2 and 3 in turn with the Anker 737 hardly breaking a sweat, thanks Ian.
Meanwhile the new RC 2 controller had been fully charged using my old Motorola Razer charger, so here we go. Having fitted a 'Mr Shield' screen protector (also from Amazon),the screen lights up 'Welcome to DJI RC' the language is English by default, press “Next” and away we go or should that be 'Up and Away'......Next, powering up the drone for the first time.
So then the moment of what should have been great joy having completed registering the drone, was replaced by an age of frustration as the drone automatically carried out its firmware updating. Watching the circular countdown clock for what seemed like hours until the great moment finally arrived and the welcoming site of the DJI Fly app. appeared on the screen. A quick run through all the parameters and it's up into the “wide blue yonder”, but no, from what was a sunny day when I first opened the box, the weather had turned and it had started to rain. So I was left sitting with my new Air 3 resting on a table, staring through a window with me eagerly testing the new zoom lens against the backdrop of my garden.
Overall, I have been impressed by the ease of setup and a bit underwhelmed having endured all of the recent hype over this latest DJI drone and eyeing it up from where I am sitting its styling is much improved over the Air 2/2S, like the two small recesses either side of the upper body that the forward props slip into. The rear props still dangle precariously as I put the drone back in its bag, must get a strap sorted. Nice to have a front cover protection for both the camera and front avoidance sensors.
In conclusion my Air 2S was quickly listed on eBay, someone will get this low mileage beauty and hopefully get great service from it. Having migrated from the DJIMini, Mini 2, Air 2 and Air 2S, resisting the Mini 3 Pro, ignoring the Mini 3 & Mini 2SE and not being financially viable enough to go for the Mavic 3 Classic or Pro, I hope this Air 3 will be my last'new drone' until that is an Air 3S arrives fromDJI..................
