Air 3S photo quality is... disappointing

[GroovyGeek]

I have upcoming trips that can benefit from a more "tele" lens on a drone, so I was debating shelling out for a refurb Mavic 3 Pro vs an Air 3S. I am a photographer, don't do video, and there aren't that many DNGs of Air3S posted, fortunately someone made a good amount of RAW files available DJI Air 3S Example Files — Billy Kyle

OMG, what a disappointment.

• The 24mm images of foliage (DJI_20241009120036_0079_D.DNG) are complete mush, with lack of definition in the foliage and TONS of noise in the shadows
• The 70mm images of the Ferris wheel (DJI_20241014160517_0348_D.DNG) show noise in the shadows even at mid day (look around the lamp posts)
• And the closeup (DJI_20241014160813_0378_D.DNG) has all sorts of artifacts and purple fringing. Seems that there is some heavy handed pre-processing done by DJI

I am waiting for the Mavic 3 Pro files to download (20Gb and running) but based on what I am seeing from the 3S in these samples I am not impressed. Are there other DNGs out there I can look at? Particularly interested in something that stresses the supposed 14 stops of DR, ie, high contrast shots into a strong light source. JPGs are really not suitable for proper evaluation, hopefully people can point me to some DNGs to change my mind.

Thanks!

 

[GroovyGeek]

The Mavic 3 Pro files just finished downloading DJI Air 3S vs. DJI Mavic 3 Pro Example Files — Billy Kyle

And it is not even close, the 3 Pro wins hands down.

At 24mm

DJI_20241021004652_0591_D.DNG has deep shadows that look pretty clean. Ditto for DJI_20241021011915_0597_D.DNG - and unlike the Air3S files the Photoshop AI denoise does a good job cleaning up things. Same for DJI_20241021004503_0587_D.DNG - shadows look very, very good

DJI_20241020234041_0574_D.DNG has foliage that looks much, much better than the Air3S samples

At 70mm

DJI_20241021004520_0588_D.DNG is very clean. Same for DJI_20241020234211_0579_D.DNG.

At 166mm

I had read some pretty bad reviews of the 7x zoom lens but from what I am seeing in the sample images it is completely usable (DJI_20241021004530_0589_D.DNG)

The corresponding files for the Air 3S are just terrible. Just look at the mushy statue with bad purple fringing in DJI_20241020125449_0609_D.DNG.

I was hoping to shave some $$$ on an Air 3S but I guess I have a Mavic 3 Pro in my future. Will wait for the Mavic 4 to come out, hopefully DJI sweetens up the refurb deals or I find a good deal on a used one.

 

[Bad Santa]

Check to make sure there's not a protective plastic on the lens of the 3s.
It's unlikely but not outside the realm of possibilities.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Check to make sure there's not a protective plastic on the lens of the 3s.
It's unlikely but not outside the realm of possibilities.

Not my images so it is what it is. I expected to pay the price for quad binning but not that much.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Not my images so it is what it is. I expected to pay the price for quad binning but not that much.

Mavic 3 Pro Refurb wins hands down! Get it now. You won't regret it.
Air 3S can't even come close!

For samples, see @Meta4 's 2024 compilation.

M

Thread 'Some highlights of my flying year - 2024'

Wednesday at 4:54 PM

The Mavic 3 Pro has helped me to capture many memorable images throughout 2024
Having wideangle, short tele and long telephoto cameras gives a variety of perspectives and prevents all images from having the same look.
The ability of the Maavic 3 Pro to handle winds and produce great images continues to surprise.
The conditions I've flown in ranged from pre-dawn calm to a full gale at sea.
Here are just a few of my favourite images from the past year.

...

• Meta4
• Replies: 15
• Forum: Mavic 3 Pro

• 

Mavic 4 won't have any significant improvements over the Mavic 3 Pro, and will only be available at retail for at least a year and will come with all sorts of bugs that will take 6 months to clean up.

 

[JP4DESIGNZ]

I have both the Mavic 3 and Air 3s. For photography, the Mavic 3 wins on the wide lens due to it having a native 20mp M4/3 sensor. Even my Air 2s has better photo quality due to it having a native 20mp 1" Sensor instead of some Quad-bayer type sensor. As for the Air 3s, I only use both lenses at 12mp for shooting real estate. The higher 50mp and 48mp modes are a total gimmick for my uses due to the following:

Less Dynamic Range
Longer Capture Time
No discernible difference in details
Bloated File Sizes

Seems like DJI is more focused on video capture with some of their latest offerings, but I primarily shoot video so it's not a huge pain point for me. I will say, the Air 3s has a pretty useful bracketed panorama mode if you're into that.

 

[wco81]

Dang might as well stick with Mavic 2 Pro.

Issue with the Mavic 3 Pro is that it's too heavy for flying in certain areas in certain countries, specifically the EU.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Dang might as well stick with Mavic 2 Pro.

Issue with the Mavic 3 Pro is that it's too heavy for flying in certain areas in certain countries, specifically the EU.

If I did not "need" telephoto capabilities I would be perfectly happy with my Air 2S. Decent quality 20Mpx DNGs with good post processibg latitude.