Is it time to reinvest in a Mavic 3

[leebroath]

Has everyone managed to iron out all the issues from the previous firmware's, what's everyone's thoughts?

The main reason I returned my M3 was due to the GPS and Satellite lock issues, I presume these have all gone now?

I have a Mini 3 Pro but sure am missing the sturdy built beast of a drone, and how its able to handle wind better

Or do you think there's a M3 (Gen 2) around the corner and to hold off?

Thanks

 

[Meta4]

Has everyone managed to iron out all the issues from the previous firmware's, what's everyone's thoughts?

It's all in this thread started yesterday:

do you like the Mavic 3 more than Mavic Pro?

Debating whether I should fix my Mavic Pro or get Mavic 3 or wait for Mavic 3S if it's going to come out next spring. I love the 40+ minute flight time with the Mavic 3, the better camera, the zoom option, but I've read there GPS issues with Mavic 3, or has that been fixed?

mavicpilots.com

No-one knows anything about additional models.

 

[veryzebra]

What I love most about the 3 are 3 things:
Stability in wind. Evidence of that is a 25 mins time-lapse from yesterday in strong wind here (compressed to 25 sec) -

The incredible zoom. Whether or not you use it for pics/video is your choice but I frequently zoom in to spot and then decide whether or not to fly there
The battery life - time in the air is just incredible. I also got a jackery300 and since I have 3 batteries I can seriously fly about 8 batteries worth which is a lot of time in the air.

 

[MaxE1955!]

What I love most about the 3 are 3 things:
Stability in wind. Evidence of that is a 25 mins time-lapse from yesterday in strong wind here (compressed to 25 sec) -

The incredible zoom. Whether or not you use it for pics/video is your choice but I frequently zoom in to spot and then decide whether or not to fly there
The battery life - time in the air is just incredible. I also got a jackery300 and since I have 3 batteries I can seriously fly about 8 batteries worth which is a lot of time in the air.

Wow, that bird really is rock solid!

 

[vindibona1]

Has everyone managed to iron out all the issues from the previous firmware's, what's everyone's thoughts?

The main reason I returned my M3 was due to the GPS and Satellite lock issues, I presume these have all gone now?

I have a Mini 3 Pro but sure am missing the sturdy built beast of a drone, and how its able to handle wind better

Or do you think there's a M3 (Gen 2) around the corner and to hold off?

Thanks

No doubt the Mavic 3 is an excellent drone. I'd love to have one, money notwithstanding. But I have a Mavic 2 Pro and FOR ME, at this time I could not justify spending that much extra cash on a drone that provided minimal upgraded features and a downgraded standard controller. When asking myself about upgrading, the over-riding question was "will my viewer/custom appreciate any of the images or film over what I'm producing with the Mavic 2 Pro? After canvasing some folks, I learned that they don't have the viewing equipment to appreciate what more would be packed in a Mavic 3 file, except for a few extra features. Low light? I had a low light project with my Mavic 2 and was blown away how well software handled noise and preserved details. The other thing is that my Mavic 2, being a "legacy drone", at least having had the SDK released eons ago, there is a wide range of 3rd party apps that are available. I waited 18 months for the SDK release of the MIni 2. How long for the Mavic 3 before you can use Litchi, or any 3rd party sofware? Maybe DJI will be quicker with a premium drone. Additionally, because of the limited functions of the "standard (RCN1) controller with the Mavic 3, I almost find it an insult to have to spend $1200 MORE if I want the RC Pro, which basically restores the features/buttons of the Mavic 2 Pro, adding in mostly only a built-in screen. In other words, it feels that they downgraded the standard controller to "encourage" folks to send the extra $1200 to get the better controller. JMO. Now ask me how I REALLY feel .

I did get a Mini 3 Pro with the DJI RC controller. It's pretty impressive for a little thing. The images from my Mavic 2 Pro are still a little better looking. I can't put my finger on it. But when comparing files side by side the Mavic 2 wins in the overall "gestalt" of the video files. But I did take a pano recently of a building and its will be used on the cover of an upcoming guide. Truth be told, I was only testing my Mini 3 to see how the pano thing worked .

So that's my 2¢ worth.

 

[GadgetGuy]

No doubt the Mavic 3 is an excellent drone. I'd love to have one, money notwithstanding. But I have a Mavic 2 Pro and FOR ME, at this time I could not justify spending that much extra cash on a drone that provided minimal upgraded features and a downgraded standard controller. When asking myself about upgrading, the over-riding question was "will my viewer/custom appreciate any of the images or film over what I'm producing with the Mavic 2 Pro? After canvasing some folks, I learned that they don't have the viewing equipment to appreciate what more would be packed in a Mavic 3 file, except for a few extra features. Low light? I had a low light project with my Mavic 2 and was blown away how well software handled noise and preserved details. The other thing is that my Mavic 2, being a "legacy drone", at least having had the SDK released eons ago, there is a wide range of 3rd party apps that are available. I waited 18 months for the SDK release of the MIni 2. How long for the Mavic 3 before you can use Litchi, or any 3rd party sofware? Maybe DJI will be quicker with a premium drone. Additionally, because of the limited functions of the "standard (RCN1) controller with the Mavic 3, I almost find it an insult to have to spend $1200 MORE if I want the RC Pro, which basically restores the features/buttons of the Mavic 2 Pro, adding in mostly only a built-in screen. In other words, it feels that they downgraded the standard controller to "encourage" folks to send the extra $1200 to get the better controller. JMO. Now ask me how I REALLY feel .

I did get a Mini 3 Pro with the DJI RC controller. It's pretty impressive for a little thing. The images from my Mavic 2 Pro are still a little better looking. I can't put my finger on it. But when comparing files side by side the Mavic 2 wins in the overall "gestalt" of the video files. But I did take a pano recently of a building and its will be used on the cover of an upcoming guide. Truth be told, I was only testing my Mini 3 to see how the pano thing worked .

So that's my 2¢ worth.

You should see the HiRes 360° panos the Mavic 3 creates on its own, complete with a cloned in ceiling, within 75 seconds per pano!

 

[vindibona1]

You should see the HiRes 360° panos the Mavic 3 creates on its own, complete with a cloned in ceiling, within 75 seconds per pano!

I'm sure it's gorgeous. I'm not into 360° panels, but I just did a 180°(?) pano of an internationally known achitechtural building in the Chicago area with my Mini 3 and just printed a gorgeous, highly detailed12" x 36" print. Yeah, with a Mini 3. It's a pity that I didn't have my Mavic 2 Pro with me at the time as it would have been a great test comparison, not that it would have been a comparison with a Mavic 3. The shot was only meant to be a test and the result was a surprise. Spectacular. When you get to a certain size at a certain distance, the lens becomes the weak link, followed by the censor. But today's quality sensors all can create stunning images. The truth be known, it almost always comes down to the quality of device that displays an image or the sophistication of the interpolation software of the printer. For the last 30+ years I've used the same professional lab and you'd be stunned at what they can print from a 300k jpg file.

 

[KS-6]

Charging my new M3 Cine right now. If the optics look good then this will be a nice expansion of my squadron.

 

[CanadaDrone]

What's the main reason you want a M3? And are you going to take full advantage of the larger sensor with your editing? (i.e. do you often wish you had that extra little bit of shadow/highlight detail when pushing 10bit log footage in post?) The only reason I ask is you pay a big premium specifically for the 4/3 sensor, and if your usage doesn't require it, you might be better off with a M2P or A2S at half the price. I have noticed that quite a few people here have had price-related buyer's remorse because they bought a M3 only to never take advantage of what they were paying such a premium for.

Of course if you want it for other reasons there's nothing wrong with that, but it may feel overpriced if you aren't specifically after that 4/3 sensor. The M3 itself seems to be pretty polished now, if you want one I wouldn't hesitate.

I have a M3P as well but I'm waiting to buy a M3 until they sell it as a standalone without remote.

 

[bkushner]

You should see the HiRes 360° panos the Mavic 3 creates on its own, complete with a cloned in ceiling, within 75 seconds per pano!

What is the setting for 360? I only see 180???

 

[GadgetGuy]

What is the setting for 360? I only see 180???

"Sphere." It's listed at the top of the still pano photos with a sphere icon. You do have to scroll down below the visible selections to find the Pano section, but if you see the 180° option, you have already done that. Sphere was not available on the original FW. It finally was added in the January or February update. Have you updated to the latest FW and Fly app?

 

[Johnmcl7]

Or do you think there's a M3 (Gen 2) around the corner and to hold off?

Thanks

No I don't think there's a new model round the corner and there's no confirmed information about a new model, usually approaching a new release we'll see it logged officially with the authorities and some leaked shots of the drone. Unfortunately these rumour sites just constantly make up fake information because they need to keep driving traffic to their sites, strangely people still believe them despite the sites being wrong most of the time.

Going back to November 2019 the rumour sites were claiming that a Mavic 2 successor was imminent and going to be released within the next couple of months:

Rumors: DJI Mavic 3 Pro and Inspire 3 expected in 2020

Before we get into the DJI Mavic 3 Pro and Inspire 3 rumors, let's take a step back and reflect a little on what has happened with DJI in 2019...

dronedj.com

This was frequently brought up here and people were holding off on buying a Mavic 2 since a new one was supposedly round the corner. Except of course it wasn't, the Mavic 3 was released almost two years later and there's still no Inspire 3 so those who were tricked by the rumour sites lost out. The Mavic 3S rumours fit exactly into the same mould as most rumours do, shortly after release start making up rumours about a new model and just keep on going from there. It's almost guaranteed there will be a better drone at some point but if the Mavic 3 does what you want you may as well get the benefits of it now and if a better one does come out, your Mavic 3 isn't going to perform any worse.

 

[bkushner]

"Sphere." It's listed at the top of the still pano photos with a sphere icon. You do have to scroll down below the visible selections to find the Pano section, but if you see the 180° option, you have already done that. Sphere was not available on the original FW. It finally was added in the January or February update. Have you updated to the latest FW and Fly app?

View attachment 153392

Thanks!!!

 

[GadgetGuy]

Thanks!!!

Had you just overlooked it, or was it missing because of a FW/app mismatch or missing update?

 

[bkushner]

I didn’t realize sphere was 360

 

[leebroath]

Sold the Mini 3 Pro today and got what I was asking for.

Looking now at Mavic 3 now all the issues are ironed out

 

[jephoto]

What I love most about the 3 are 3 things:
Stability in wind. Evidence of that is a 25 mins time-lapse from yesterday in strong wind here (compressed to 25 sec) -

The incredible zoom. Whether or not you use it for pics/video is your choice but I frequently zoom in to spot and then decide whether or not to fly there
The battery life - time in the air is just incredible. I also got a jackery300 and since I have 3 batteries I can seriously fly about 8 batteries worth which is a lot of time in the air.

Love to hear some thoughts on that Jackery 300. How fast can it charge a single M3 battery from say 20-30%? And what else is great about it in practical use?

 

[jephoto]

What I love most about the 3 are 3 things:
Stability in wind. Evidence of that is a 25 mins time-lapse from yesterday in strong wind here (compressed to 25 sec) -

The incredible zoom. Whether or not you use it for pics/video is your choice but I frequently zoom in to spot and then decide whether or not to fly there
The battery life - time in the air is just incredible. I also got a jackery300 and since I have 3 batteries I can seriously fly about 8 batteries worth which is a lot of time in the air.

Is that time-lapse processed in camera or did you manually process? And if so, what did you use to output the Timelapse?

 

[jephoto]

"Sphere." It's listed at the top of the still pano photos with a sphere icon. You do have to scroll down below the visible selections to find the Pano section, but if you see the 180° option, you have already done that. Sphere was not available on the original FW. It finally was added in the January or February update. Have you updated to the latest FW and Fly app?

View attachment 153392

Are the only options 180º or 360º? Can you set a smaller FOV?
I shoot a lot of panos - but 2-5 frame and single, double or 3 row. Going for flat wide panoramic still image rather than 360ºvr.
It would be nice if I could automate a 3x3 pano.

And if not I suppose I could let it shoot a 180x180 and just choose the frames I want to stitch later. Prob just take longer...

 

[veryzebra]

Is that time-lapse processed in camera or did you manually process? And if so, what did you use to output the Timelapse?

Only straight from the Mavic 3 - nothing post.