It’s out… Are they nuts?

[Spikemixture]

What turned me off, even before I saw the price, was when I checked the specs.... seems they don't have the time or energy to convert the numbers from metric to standard.... but then over half the stuff they listed there, even if they did do the conversions, I would not have a clue what it meant... all written for some super drone nerds.

Hey Blume, I do find your comments entertaining. Typical North American attitude forgetting the rest of the word is metric.
I grew up with imperial measurements, am older than you and generally understand both - because I had to!
Anyway may I suggest if it gets too hard just ask Alexa or google !!

 

[Vic Moss]

I do understand the complexity in cost and development, but I certainly feel DJI is taking advantage of loyal DJI customers that are willing to pay more than what they paid for the previous generation. Also, I feel like we all have been conditioned that the MSRP's for a lot of this equipment is perfectly fine. Wouldn't it have been fine to sell an upgraded camera for the Mavic 2 Pro?

That would work. There are many more upgrades than just a camera. It’s not that simple.

 

[Dougcjohn]

I do understand the complexity in cost and development, but I certainly feel DJI is taking advantage of loyal DJI customers that are willing to pay more than what they paid for the previous generation. Also, I feel like we all have been conditioned that the MSRP's for a lot of this equipment is perfectly fine. Wouldn't it have been fine to sell an upgraded camera for the Mavic 2 Pro?

There are RD, Development, Production & Insurance/Filing costs. I'd agree on high costs being higher than needed... lipo gel isn't newly developed and the electronics & FW aren't new... all building on previous technologies. Profit is high, clearly visible in the chain of Distribution and the Company gains; But, that is the market we've accepted by purchasing.

Apple (and others) stopped providing sockets on MB for multiple reasons... one being focused to stop 3rd Party User Updates. You can purchase equivalent NVMe storage memory and identical types of RAM for a fraction of the Apple Upgrade costs. On the new MBP... $400 to add 1TB storage or 16GB RAM... that's high but will be purchased since it's the only option.

 

[Emanáku]

Makes me wonder what a single battery will cost?

It became cheaper compared to a Mavic 2:
Mavic 2 Intelligent Flight Battery 149 USD for 31 minutes
--- that is 4.8 USD per minute
Mavic 3 Intelligent Flight Battery 209 USD for 45 minutes
--- that is 4.6 USD per minute

 

[Mikieh]

My setup. M2Pro M2zoom . Inspire 1 Pro with Olympus 4/3 14-42 Zoom. I could sell everything and get the 3000.00 fly more kit. 3 less expensive drones to do the work of one. At least dji is on the right track. I would have to see the 4/3 video and stills to consider budging.

 

[jencarta]

I may have lost track... haven't been into news as much lately.
Regarding Fed Govt Bans... that was proposed and bill introduced that generated several States and Business Entities to write there own version of Ban to so-call join the bandwagon.

Then later, the Fed Bill was voted down and not passed. There are several Govt entities and some Military still using and acquiring DJI or other Chinese drones.

Main Ban concern are individual Entities, not Fed Govt.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has been making noise and that has resurfaced discussions about the bill that went nowhere. And some of my coworkers are on a project for US Treasury and apparently, there has been a lot of discussion about this and some misconceptions that there are new regulations in place prohibiting the use of Chinese drones. There *may* be regulations within the US Treasury itself that I am unaware of, but we don’t actually do any flying for them anyway! I’m frustrated trying to convince our VP this is a non-issue for us.

 

[Dougcjohn]

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has been making noise and that has resurfaced discussions about the bill that went nowhere. And some of my coworkers are on a project for US Treasury and apparently, there has been a lot of discussion about this and some misconceptions that there are new regulations in place prohibiting the use of Chinese drones. There *may* be regulations within the US Treasury itself that I am unaware of, but we don’t actually do any flying for them anyway! I’m frustrated trying to convince our VP this is a non-issue for us.

Yep, you hit that one... "misconceptions that there are new regulations...". So much with various Entities taking their own direction based on ?? That has driven more over reaction and over reach... you may be correct, some Fed Entities may have applied their own restrictions... that I wouldn't know but would question their validity.

I still go back to basics... if this was truly a concern, there are a whole lot of other electronic devices that would be a much higher concern than drones. Cell phones, Video cameras, IP Cameras, Smart TV's, various listening devices of convenience, etc. connected to Business Networks, Home Networks or Cellular Infrastructure. Cell Phones by the millions are carried into many more places & locations collecting videos & photos constantly being uploaded, that clearly is an ignored concern compared to a drone being flown 20minutes a few times per day / week in limited environments... most of all these devices use Chinese components.

 

[clydesur]

Ordered and now i got my shipping information. Should get it next week. Now it time to put the M2Z up for sale...

 

[maven4336]

Sure wish I’ve been saving my money but no way I’m spending five grand for the cinema version if I was a full-time photographer yes but I just do this for fun so I’ll get the cheapest version still has the same camera and the big sensor and later on I think about getting the smart controller I’m not very fond of the smart controller I have for the Mavic two, if the new controller is anything like the one I have I don’t want it so I’m finding myself lately fly my Mavic one bro there’s something still very good about that Drone after I download it to the computer, it does make it hard though because I know everybody wants the new Mavic three and they’re not making it easy for the consumer putting out the best one at five grand during these times except for the rich still looks like a very powerful little drone even if you get the least expense Version it looks like a powerhouse and one more thing what I like about my phantom for pro is that I can video 4K and take pictures without stopping the video I wonder if it will do that I doubt it I’m sure it has an electronic shutter not a mechanical shutter lock the phantom just my thoughts sorry for the long explanation guys

 

[dilwyn555]

Makes me wonder what a single battery will cost?

£179

 

[LakeTravis]

I'll definitely be ordering the Fly More combo once B&H Photo gets some in stock here in the US. When I use their Payboo credit card, they pay the sales tax and I save quite a bit of money... 8.25% Texas sales tax, to be exact!

 

[Hack43]

Nope, sticking with my Mavic2 Pro and Mavic Pro. I don't see $2200 worth of improvement! This doesn't appear to cater to Mavic pro users at all, maybe first time users with acceptably large budgets.

 

[slozukimc]

With an uncrashable drone how are ya gonna get that rush when you drop over the tree line to get an impossible shot and the signal goes out????lol

But for real, the tight places around here I would like to fly in would make it awesome, not $3000 worth of awesome though. And just how fragile is that gimbal with that massive camera on it?

 

[Paradigm]

Nope, sticking with my Mavic2 Pro and Mavic Pro. I don't see $2200 worth of improvement! This doesn't appear to cater to Mavic pro users at all, maybe first time users with acceptably large budgets.

The improvement amount would be the difference in price between the Pro 2 and the M3, not the full cost of the M3. I believe the difference is 600, assuming the P2 goes for $1600.

I personally do believe the range, sensors, cameras, and battery life (as well as design that I am hoping helps with the swelling and popping off mid flight) are worth the 600 more.

I am disappointed with the lack of optical zoom as well as the Pro Controller having more antennas and the capability of LTE flight.

The interesting thing, product wise, is that the M3 makes their Air 2S even more attractive and helps cement it as their most popular drone for most of their customers.

I’m not sure if that was their intent, but price wise, that is what it did.

I’m also curious how much the price is due to supply issues, chip shortages, tariffs, etc.

 

[wco81]

One thing about the prices, there's been talk that the US govt. could ban DJI, like they have with Huawei, because of concerns that Chinese companies making consumer products are linked to the Chinese military or intelligence.

Thus Huawei products are subject to import bans.

So maybe DJI is trying to grab as much much as they can, just in case they're locked out of major markets like the US.

 

[vindibona1]

Interesting... I hadn't heard of a convertor that upgraded media to ProRes. The quality improved sounds questionable, it may convert the media to ProRes format but the depth, bit level, and uncompressed detail I don't see that being recaptured.

Upscaling such as with Topaz Video Enhance does work nicely and Resizing small photos also works nicely (On1 Resize & Topaz GigaPixel)... this one is new to me converting to ProRes.

The average guy isn't going to need the kind of resolution that cinematographers need for high end Hollywood projects. The advantage of converting to ProRes appears to be making things more fluid in post. If you're shooting in 10 bit color, there isn't much further you can go on a practical level as most screens, large and small can't take advantage (at least yet). Will even higher bit rate provide any practical and noticeable improvements to the viewer? Frankly I'm not that impressed with the functionality of the 7x zoom on the M3. It's not like you can "zoom in". And the zoom has a few limitations. Functional for some? Sure. Worth it? You be the judge. We all can get decent zoom on the Air2s, but let's face it, while the compression is different for a true zoom lens, we can always fly closer to stuff. And the longer lens, with smaller sensor will require even more stabilization.

I found a video that did a pretty good comparison between the Air2S and the M3.

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[Dougcjohn]

I'll definitely be ordering the Fly More combo once B&H Photo gets some in stock here in the US. When I use their Payboo credit card, they pay the sales tax and I save quite a bit of money... 8.25% Texas sales tax, to be exact!

B&H PayBoo is great, tax refund at checkout & free shipping is a nice discount on higher dollar items!

I pay off to avoid interest... that's high on PayBoo. Made mistake of not watching email and missed their e-stmt... got me on interest once, ouch!

 

[Dougcjohn]

The average guy isn't going to need the kind of resolution that cinematographers need for high end Hollywood projects. The advantage of converting to ProRes appears to be making things more fluid in post. If you're shooting in 10 bit color, there isn't much further you can go on a practical level as most screens, large and small can't take advantage (at least yet). Will even higher bit rate provide any practical and noticeable improvements to the viewer? Frankly I'm not that impressed with the functionality of the 7x zoom on the M3. It's not like you can "zoom in". And the zoom has a few limitations. Functional for some? Sure. Worth it? You be the judge. We all can get decent zoom on the Air2s, but let's face it, while the compression is different for a true zoom lens, we can always fly closer to stuff. And the longer lens, with smaller sensor will require even more stabilization.

I found a video that did a pretty good comparison between the Air2S and the M3.

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Nice video!
Totally agree on prores comments and M3 Zoom.
I'll need to look at the ProRes convertor tool... still makes no gains in footage quality due to lacking the ProRes benefits prior... but I can see if needing to include it into workflow with other ProRes clips.

 

[3goldens]

Why don’t they sell M3 without the controller so folks can purchase the smart controller?

 

[vindibona1]

Ya know... As I look at the early YouTube reviews a couple things come to mind after digesting. While I was very lucky to get a refurb M2P and a discounted fly more add on at a ridiculous price, but retail was around $2000 for the M2p flymore. To get essentially the same package in the M3 the price is bumped $1000. So what do you get extra for the extra $1000? Updated camera system and better sensors and battery redesign.

Ok... so the M3 has a 4/3 sensor. I dunno... You don't get PRORES until you fork out $5k. And the 7x camera is a nice novelty. But $1000... and you don't even get as good a controller as with the Mavic 2 (IMO). You get the same brick that you get with a Mini2. That IMO speaks for itself.

I suppose if you wait a few months you can buy the M3 for $2200, spend $400 on two more batteries and buy a third party multi port charger and save $500 on the unnecessariness. Who knows... At some point there will be some refurbs out there which might grab my attention if my thinking changes and there's nothing better out there.

In the meantime, I would love to see a face off between the M3 and soon to be released EVO3.