Air 3S - Wondering why I upgraded.

[bkushner]

This is my opinion only. After several weeks with this new drone I'm wondering why I ever sold my Air 3. For my flying and photography here are my observations.

Cons:
1. Don't find the images to be any better then the Air 3 and the video might be worse.
2. Battery life not as long.
3. Range is not as good. Places I routinely flew to with the Air 3 I'm having signal loss with the Air 3S
4. Issues with Avoidance System


Pros: It can fly a little faster.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Presumably the Free Panorama mode?

 

[bkushner]

Presumably the Free Panorama mode?

I find that you can get the same thing with WIDE ANGLE.

 

[GFields]

This is my opinion only. After several weeks with this new drone I'm wondering why I ever sold my Air 3. For my flying and photography here are my observations.

Cons:
1. Don't find the images to be any better then the Air 3 and the video might be worse.
2. Battery life not as long.
3. Range is not as good. Places I routinely flew to with the Air 3 I'm having signal loss with the Air 3S
4. Issues with Avoidance System


Pros: It can fly a little faster.

Exactly why I haven’t

 

[Rchawks]

I upgraded from the Air 2 and very happy so far with the A3S. It seems smooth and not very loud compared to my A2. This may change as I haven't had enough flights with it to see any issues yet. I thought about just upgrading my m3p to the m4p but there didn't seem to be enough added features for me to do this and I needed a RC2 for my neo so I bought the A3S. No complains yet.

 

[Cafguy]

If the Air3S is built anything like the air2S I will upgrade to that soon. Reason: My Air2S has flown many hours past its expected life (except for a motor/arm replacement for a motor that should have died) I was more than happy with the Air 2S. If I don't upgrade I will just get another Air 2S from Camrise.

 

[Rotofiend]

That's an interesting take for sure. I considered the regular Air 3 for a while, but could never get over the image quality. It's good, don't get me wrong, but the smaller sensor makes it just a bit too digital and "sharp" for me. I felt like I was watching videos taken from a flying iPhone. Air 3S can never match the quality of the Mavics' Hasselblad cameras but there are plenty of comparison videos online showing how it edges out the original Air 3 and Air 2S.

Ultimately though, its crap launch in the US and not to mention Mavic 4 around the corner has turned a lot of people away from it and I don't blame them.

 

[Droning on and on...]

With your observations, sounds like a bad purchase for you.

As there are many opinions, and some presented with side-by-side comparisons with real images and video, others have shown me, to a convincing degree, that the 3S is substantially better for video, my main use, than the A3 I currently own.

When this customs garbage gets sorted out I'll be upgrading.

 

[mavic3usa]

Perhaps all of us will be eventually getting Air 3S if that becomes the last of the great Chinese drones able to import to the US.

 

[Macinfo]

It sounds like to me that the his unit has issues and perhaps he can show thats it defective in some way, DJI would replace it..

After watching number of reviews, I have no reason to think that the Air3S doing worse then the previous generations. From what I can see there are a variety of improvements.

There is always some speculation that some new model is around the corner that will kill the Air3S, such as the noted Mavic 4, how long has that rumor been around? Course, maybe is is right around the corner and there have been rumors and videos of Mini 5 Pro for weeks now, nothing real in sight yet? I am patiently wait for a model that may prompt me to upgrade, not there yet...

 

[Rchawks]

Presumbally we have to the end of the year to decide. That's why I didn't wait very long to buy it.

 

[Ben Anderson]

I upgraded from the Air 2 which I still have. A lot of improvements:

1. Omnidirectional sensors. Both significant crashes with the Air 2 were from flying sideways into objects.
2. RTH. The 3S is simply better at finding its way back when flying near obstacles.
3. Flight time. With Air 2 about 22 minutes. Air 3S normally 30-35 minutes. That is 50% more flying time.
4. Video quality. The 4k 60fps from the 3S is beautiful with better dynamic range..
5. Memory. The built-in memory of the 3S can sometimes save the photo shoot.
6. Flight. The 3S is faster in speed and acceleration and more stable. The 2 moves around much more in gusts.
7. Noise. At 400 feet altitude hovering I can still hear the 2, but not the 3S.

I would think there are fewer reasons to upgrade from Air 3.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I find that you can get the same thing with WIDE ANGLE.

How so?
Obviously, one can create the same "Free Panoramas" manually with either lens, but how does WIDE ANGLE get you the same thing, if the goal is to increase the pixel count from a higher resolution stitch of a specific part of the frame?

 

[bkushner]

That's an interesting take for sure. I considered the regular Air 3 for a while, but could never get over the image quality. It's good, don't get me wrong, but the smaller sensor makes it just a bit too digital and "sharp" for me. I felt like I was watching videos taken from a flying iPhone. Air 3S can never match the quality of the Mavics' Hasselblad cameras but there are plenty of comparison videos online showing how it edges out the original Air 3 and Air 2S.

Ultimately though, its crap launch in the US and not to mention Mavic 4 around the corner has turned a lot of people away from it and I don't blame them.

For me best camera I ever used was the Phantom 4 Pro.

 

[GadgetGuy]

For me best camera I ever used was the Phantom 4 Pro.

It's only limitations are its flight time and the lack of any telephoto lens.

 

[Suren]

For me going from the Air 3 to 3S did not seem much of an upgrade. Other than the revamped RTH feature and free pano the Air 3 was a better drone. I am not much of a video or phot guy and just enjoy an eye in the sky but the difference between the cameras are noticeable. The range on the Air 3 was also much better compared to the 3S. I could get further on Air 3 like 7km with 1 bar drop but the 3S dies at 2.5km

 

[twickers14]

I upgraded from the Air 2 which I still have. A lot of improvements:

1. Omnidirectional sensors. Both significant crashes with the Air 2 were from flying sideways into objects.
2. RTH. The 3S is simply better at finding its way back when flying near obstacles.
3. Flight time. With Air 2 about 22 minutes. Air 3S normally 30-35 minutes. That is 50% more flying time.
4. Video quality. The 4k 60fps from the 3S is beautiful with better dynamic range..
5. Memory. The built-in memory of the 3S can sometimes save the photo shoot.
6. Flight. The 3S is faster in speed and acceleration and more stable. The 2 moves around much more in gusts.
7. Noise. At 400 feet altitude hovering I can still hear the 2, but not the 3S.

I would think there are fewer reasons to upgrade from Air 3.

Those all sound great except point 7. With my eyes and driving glasses on I very occasionally loose sight of my MA2 (very illegal I know but on a bright day with a few puffy clouds to break the sky up), I rely on my RC and the noise of the props to help me get eyes on again!

 

[GadgetGuy]

For me going from the Air 3 to 3S did not seem much of an upgrade. Other than the revamped RTH feature and free pano the Air 3 was a better drone. I am not much of a video or phot guy and just enjoy an eye in the sky but the difference between the cameras are noticeable. The range on the Air 3 was also much better compared to the 3S. I could get further on Air 3 like 7km with 1 bar drop but the 3S dies at 2.5km

The range crippling that both you and @bkushner are reporting on the Air 3s, compared to the Air 3, is certainly disappointing. I wonder if it was intentional.

 

[Mrktn]

For me going from the Air 3 to 3S did not seem much of an upgrade. Other than the revamped RTH feature and free pano the Air 3 was a better drone. I am not much of a video or phot guy and just enjoy an eye in the sky but the difference between the cameras are noticeable. The range on the Air 3 was also much better compared to the 3S. I could get further on Air 3 like 7km with 1 bar drop but the 3S dies at 2.5km

Is New Zealand CE or FCC transmission? Assuming you’re getting these range results in NZ of course

 

[wco81]

Even 2.5 km is BVLOS.

Why are people talking about 6 or 7 km?