DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

Mavic 3 Disappointments

Hello fellow pilots! So, I purchased a Mavic 3 a while back, and, after flying it for a while, a few disappointments have emerged. I wanted to share those here and see if anyone else has had the same experiences.

First, the SD cards that are recommended in the user manual do not appear to be sufficient for recording video in 5.1K. I have recorded several videos in 5.1K at 50 fps using a brand new SanDisk Extreme UHS-I V30 A2 (512GB) card. All of the videos were so choppy that they were basically useless. Now, before I get roasted on here, I am well aware that this card is not the fastest out there and probably isn't well-suited for recording 5.1K video. However, it is a recommended card for recording in 5.1K at 50 fps according to the user manual, so the fact that a DJI-recommended card does not actually perform as documented is disconcerting. I have ordered a Delkin Power UHS-II V90 card in the hopes that this will allow me to record smooth video at 5.1K. This seems to be the fastest card on the market, so if that doesn't resolve the issue, I might be returning the drone to DJI.

Secondly, I'm disappointed in the flight characteristics of the Mavic 3, specifically when it comes to turns. In previous DJI drones, the pilot could apply yaw and pitch control simultaneously and independently to perform a fast, tight turn (similar to the way most manned aircraft are turned). In the Mavic 3, however, it appears that the flight controls have been modified so that applying only yaw control also automatically applies pitch control to effect a turn. Attempting to apply both yaw and pitch controls really doesn't result in a different turn than applying yaw control alone. I guess this is okay, but I still prefer having full control over the turn with the ability to independently apply yaw and pitch control to execute exactly the kind of turn I want. But by far the most disappointing aspect of this is that when moving forward and yaw is applied to turn, the drone automatically brakes quite a bit. The result is severely limited variation in the kind of turn that can be executed. I noticed this in both normal and sport modes, and it is incredibly frustrating.

Finally, I've noticed that when flying with no cloud cover and the sun is about 30 or so degrees above the horizon, the vision sensors apparently occasionally suffer from lens flare, depending on the drone's orientation to the sun. This causes a notification to be displayed to the pilot stating that the visions sensors are "dirty" and that the vision sensor system is disabled. This notification is intermittently displayed and then disappears as the drone changes position relative to the sun. I still had this problem after confirming that the vision sensors are crystal clear.

Given the very hefty price tag of the Mavic 3, I expected near perfection. With a very high cost comes very high expectations, and I just feel that DJI fell well short of those expectations with this one. Hopefully these issues will be resolved with firmware updates, and hopefully those updates come sooner rather than later. But we shall see.

Have any other Mavic 3 pilots experienced any of these same issues?
The Delkin (bought two) are not going to help.. If I use, it tells the sd card is too slow haha. I guess this type is not suitable for the mavic 3 (never saw an sd card with that many contacts)

Now i use a sandisk extreme uhs-1 a1. Works fine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jeff Voigt
Thanks for your reply. Using the more basic controller that came with the Fly More package, I have access to the gimbal settings. This includes gimbal pitch speed and smoothness as well as (aircraft) yaw speed and smoothness.

I’m referring to two settings that aren’t available on the DJI Fly app: sensitivity and gain. Both are supported on the DJI Go4 app (used for the M2P and Inspire 2). Sensitivity (I believe) allows us to increase or decrease stick sensitivity on the M2P and I2. Both are very graceful flyers. Turning and banking are smooth and graceful.

I’m not a M3 basher. I love my M3. The hardware and build quality is fantastic. I think it’s a better camera platform than my Mavic 2 Pro and even the Inspire 2.

I just want a little more graceful looking flying. I hope the firmware updates next month will allow us to tweak the flight characteristics.

All the best. Jeff/Annapolis
 
You have found the biggest problem for the Mavic 3 of all its many problems.

The Fly app is totally crippled compared to the GO 4 app. After flying Phantoms for years with GO and GO 4, this is a huge step backward.

Both are supported on the DJI Go4 app (used for the M2P and Inspire 2).
 
I absolutely agree with your thoughts on flight characteristics. My M2P and Inspire 2 turn gracefully. Using the Go4 app, you can adjust the sensitivity and gain functions to created smooth coordinated turns.

The DJI Fly app doesn’t provide access to the sensitivity and gain functions. So my $3,000 M3 makes terrible looking turns. When in Normal or Sport mode, the aircraft nearly stops in flight when initiating a turn. It’s jumpy. The sticks are far too sensitive.

DJI needs to fix the flight characteristics of the M3.

I love the cameras and the build quality of the drone. Let’s fix the software.
Try using after market joy sticks and make them long, and fly with your fingers not your thumbs. I can’t fly this bird smooth in a corner with my thumbs, not too bad with long joysticks and holding them like pens it works fine. Mount the controller on a tripod or set it on your lap or a table, getting smooth nice turns I find very hard while holding the controller, very sensitive indeed.
 
Hello fellow pilots! So, I purchased a Mavic 3 a while back, and, after flying it for a while, a few disappointments have emerged. I wanted to share those here and see if anyone else has had the same experiences.

First, the SD cards that are recommended in the user manual do not appear to be sufficient for recording video in 5.1K. I have recorded several videos in 5.1K at 50 fps using a brand new SanDisk Extreme UHS-I V30 A2 (512GB) card. All of the videos were so choppy that they were basically useless. Now, before I get roasted on here, I am well aware that this card is not the fastest out there and probably isn't well-suited for recording 5.1K video. However, it is a recommended card for recording in 5.1K at 50 fps according to the user manual, so the fact that a DJI-recommended card does not actually perform as documented is disconcerting. I have ordered a Delkin Power UHS-II V90 card in the hopes that this will allow me to record smooth video at 5.1K. This seems to be the fastest card on the market, so if that doesn't resolve the issue, I might be returning the drone to DJI.

Secondly, I'm disappointed in the flight characteristics of the Mavic 3, specifically when it comes to turns. In previous DJI drones, the pilot could apply yaw and pitch control simultaneously and independently to perform a fast, tight turn (similar to the way most manned aircraft are turned). In the Mavic 3, however, it appears that the flight controls have been modified so that applying only yaw control also automatically applies pitch control to effect a turn. Attempting to apply both yaw and pitch controls really doesn't result in a different turn than applying yaw control alone. I guess this is okay, but I still prefer having full control over the turn with the ability to independently apply yaw and pitch control to execute exactly the kind of turn I want. But by far the most disappointing aspect of this is that when moving forward and yaw is applied to turn, the drone automatically brakes quite a bit. The result is severely limited variation in the kind of turn that can be executed. I noticed this in both normal and sport modes, and it is incredibly frustrating.

Finally, I've noticed that when flying with no cloud cover and the sun is about 30 or so degrees above the horizon, the vision sensors apparently occasionally suffer from lens flare, depending on the drone's orientation to the sun. This causes a notification to be displayed to the pilot stating that the visions sensors are "dirty" and that the vision sensor system is disabled. This notification is intermittently displayed and then disappears as the drone changes position relative to the sun. I still had this problem after confirming that the vision sensors are crystal clear.

Given the very hefty price tag of the Mavic 3, I expected near perfection. With a very high cost comes very high expectations, and I just feel that DJI fell well short of those expectations with this one. Hopefully these issues will be resolved with firmware updates, and hopefully those updates come sooner rather than later. But we shall see.

Have any other Mavic 3 pilots experienced any of these same issues?
Could be your frame rate verses shutter speed? I use the exact same SD card and I’m having no issues in 5k 50 FPS. Could be your computer can’t handle 5k from a 43rd sensor?

I get the same “dirty” error too.

Never expect near perfection from a consumer drone, lots of people had unrealistic expectations. After all this drone is only $600 Canadian more then the P4P was. The only thing remarkable about this drone is the 4/3d sensor capable of shooting 5k.

This will be the last drone of this basic size I buy that doesn’t come with interchange lenses with a sensor equivalent to this M3 sensor. If DJI can’t come up with one my next drone won’t be a DJI drone. This drone will never get any better, it takes excellent video. The only possible way to get me to buy an M4 is if it has interchangeable lenses, I wouldn’t even care if it has a full frame sensor, don’t need one. There is no way to make this drone better, give me the Go4 app, that would be nice, but not near enough to entice an M4 out of me. This Mavic line has peaked, I don’t want a fixed lens with optical zoom, I want interchangeable Prime lenses.

Drone manufacturers know what we want, if Dji doesn’t build it someone else will.
 
Try using after market joy sticks and make them long, and fly with your fingers not your thumbs. I can’t fly this bird smooth in a corner with my thumbs, not too bad with long joysticks and holding them like pens it works fine. Mount the controller on a tripod or set it on your lap or a table, getting smooth nice turns I find very hard while holding the controller, very sensitive indeed.
Good thoughts. I’ll give it a go.
 
Good thoughts. I’ll give it a go.
This device holder can be found on Amazon, I have one and just love it. 1/4 thread to put it on tripod mount.
 

Attachments

  • 677F17A2-1BFE-4AA7-8F00-FDD3DFC15660.jpeg
    677F17A2-1BFE-4AA7-8F00-FDD3DFC15660.jpeg
    1.4 MB · Views: 13
  • 03415259-7986-4266-B2EA-8E3CC54358E0.jpeg
    03415259-7986-4266-B2EA-8E3CC54358E0.jpeg
    1.3 MB · Views: 13
Hello fellow pilots! So, I purchased a Mavic 3 a while back, and, after flying it for a while, a few disappointments have emerged. I wanted to share those here and see if anyone else has had the same experiences.

First, the SD cards that are recommended in the user manual do not appear to be sufficient for recording video in 5.1K. I have recorded several videos in 5.1K at 50 fps using a brand new SanDisk Extreme UHS-I V30 A2 (512GB) card. All of the videos were so choppy that they were basically useless. Now, before I get roasted on here, I am well aware that this card is not the fastest out there and probably isn't well-suited for recording 5.1K video. However, it is a recommended card for recording in 5.1K at 50 fps according to the user manual, so the fact that a DJI-recommended card does not actually perform as documented is disconcerting. I have ordered a Delkin Power UHS-II V90 card in the hopes that this will allow me to record smooth video at 5.1K. This seems to be the fastest card on the market, so if that doesn't resolve the issue, I might be returning the drone to DJI.

Secondly, I'm disappointed in the flight characteristics of the Mavic 3, specifically when it comes to turns. In previous DJI drones, the pilot could apply yaw and pitch control simultaneously and independently to perform a fast, tight turn (similar to the way most manned aircraft are turned). In the Mavic 3, however, it appears that the flight controls have been modified so that applying only yaw control also automatically applies pitch control to effect a turn. Attempting to apply both yaw and pitch controls really doesn't result in a different turn than applying yaw control alone. I guess this is okay, but I still prefer having full control over the turn with the ability to independently apply yaw and pitch control to execute exactly the kind of turn I want. But by far the most disappointing aspect of this is that when moving forward and yaw is applied to turn, the drone automatically brakes quite a bit. The result is severely limited variation in the kind of turn that can be executed. I noticed this in both normal and sport modes, and it is incredibly frustrating.

Finally, I've noticed that when flying with no cloud cover and the sun is about 30 or so degrees above the horizon, the vision sensors apparently occasionally suffer from lens flare, depending on the drone's orientation to the sun. This causes a notification to be displayed to the pilot stating that the visions sensors are "dirty" and that the vision sensor system is disabled. This notification is intermittently displayed and then disappears as the drone changes position relative to the sun. I still had this problem after confirming that the vision sensors are crystal clear.

Given the very hefty price tag of the Mavic 3, I expected near perfection. With a very high cost comes very high expectations, and I just feel that DJI fell well short of those expectations with this one. Hopefully these issues will be resolved with firmware updates, and hopefully those updates come sooner rather than later. But we shall see.

Have any other Mavic 3 pilots experienced any of these same issues?
It seems by all that I've read that the M3 isn't really ready for prime time yet
 
Hello fellow pilots! So, I purchased a Mavic 3 a while back, and, after flying it for a while, a few disappointments have emerged. I wanted to share those here and see if anyone else has had the same experiences.

First, the SD cards that are recommended in the user manual do not appear to be sufficient for recording video in 5.1K. I have recorded several videos in 5.1K at 50 fps using a brand new SanDisk Extreme UHS-I V30 A2 (512GB) card. All of the videos were so choppy that they were basically useless. Now, before I get roasted on here, I am well aware that this card is not the fastest out there and probably isn't well-suited for recording 5.1K video. However, it is a recommended card for recording in 5.1K at 50 fps according to the user manual, so the fact that a DJI-recommended card does not actually perform as documented is disconcerting. I have ordered a Delkin Power UHS-II V90 card in the hopes that this will allow me to record smooth video at 5.1K. This seems to be the fastest card on the market, so if that doesn't resolve the issue, I might be returning the drone to DJI.

Secondly, I'm disappointed in the flight characteristics of the Mavic 3, specifically when it comes to turns. In previous DJI drones, the pilot could apply yaw and pitch control simultaneously and independently to perform a fast, tight turn (similar to the way most manned aircraft are turned). In the Mavic 3, however, it appears that the flight controls have been modified so that applying only yaw control also automatically applies pitch control to effect a turn. Attempting to apply both yaw and pitch controls really doesn't result in a different turn than applying yaw control alone. I guess this is okay, but I still prefer having full control over the turn with the ability to independently apply yaw and pitch control to execute exactly the kind of turn I want. But by far the most disappointing aspect of this is that when moving forward and yaw is applied to turn, the drone automatically brakes quite a bit. The result is severely limited variation in the kind of turn that can be executed. I noticed this in both normal and sport modes, and it is incredibly frustrating.

Finally, I've noticed that when flying with no cloud cover and the sun is about 30 or so degrees above the horizon, the vision sensors apparently occasionally suffer from lens flare, depending on the drone's orientation to the sun. This causes a notification to be displayed to the pilot stating that the visions sensors are "dirty" and that the vision sensor system is disabled. This notification is intermittently displayed and then disappears as the drone changes position relative to the sun. I still had this problem after confirming that the vision sensors are crystal clear.

Given the very hefty price tag of the Mavic 3, I expected near perfection. With a very high cost comes very high expectations, and I just feel that DJI fell well short of those expectations with this one. Hopefully these issues will be resolved with firmware updates, and hopefully those updates come sooner rather than later. But we shall see.

Have any other Mavic 3 pilots experienced any of these same issues?
This is why im not getting this drone for now anyway if all the bad reports I read start getting better maybe later, it is very sad 😞 I waited so long for this drone thinking it would be just mind blowing just that they did not use the Dji do 4 app was horrible that fly app seams very chezzy I’m just stunned then again maybe a lot is pilot error
 
on page 61 under H:264 5.1K, the card you are using is not listed there. Fly in sport mode if you want better turns. flying towards the sun, all bets are off for obstacle avoidance.
agreed on obstacle avoid my pro hates flying into the sun
 
Send this to DJi
I did. They wrote back in poorly written English stating that I should recalibrate my RC to fix the flight characteristics. I calibrated my RC (and IMU and compass) as soon as I first took it out of the box, and it has flown as I described since its first flight. RC calibration is not the issue, and DJI clearly isn't interested in understanding or addressing it.

They also felt the need to explain to me what lens flare is and said that the problem I was experiencing is "unavoidable," even though I've never had this issue in any of my other drones that have obstacle avoidance. I specifically mentioned that it was a problem with the vision sensors for obstacle avoidance, and their solution was to "remove the lens cover." Um, what?

So, while I had hoped that they would take my feedback seriously and forward it to the folks there who could actually investigate and perhaps resolve the issues, they were instead pretty dismissive and offered non-solutions.
 
Are you certain that the problem is the recorded video, and not that your computer is unable to decode and play the video smoothly?
Actually, no, I'm not certain, and you are 100% correct. I played the video on another (newer) computer with better graphics capabilities and it played fine. I had done some research on the causes of choppy video and everything I read indicated that it was a problem with the speed of the SD card. And since the card I was using wasn't the fastest, I assumed that was the cause. Lesson learned.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and cluing me in to what the real issue was. Much appreciated!
 
  • Like
Reactions: sar104
Your problem isn't the SD card, it's that your computer is not capable of playing the 5.1K video smoothly.
Turn the video resolution down.
Yep, you're right. @sar104 pointed that out to me. Thanks for setting me straight!
 
I absolutely agree with your thoughts on flight characteristics. My M2P and Inspire 2 turn gracefully. Using the Go4 app, you can adjust the sensitivity and gain functions to created smooth coordinated turns.

The DJI Fly app doesn’t provide access to the sensitivity and gain functions. So my $3,000 M3 makes terrible looking turns. When in Normal or Sport mode, the aircraft nearly stops in flight when initiating a turn. It’s jumpy. The sticks are far too sensitive.

DJI needs to fix the flight characteristics of the M3.

I love the cameras and the build quality of the drone. Let’s fix the software.
Totally agree. The Phantom 4 and even the Mini 2 turn as expected.

The DJI Fly app, when used with the M3, does actually provide the ability to adjust the sensitivity (Settings > Control > Advanced). Unfortunately, adjusting those settings doesn't seem to help the issues that I have a problem with.
 
on page 61 under H:264 5.1K, the card you are using is not listed there. Fly in sport mode if you want better turns. flying towards the sun, all bets are off for obstacle avoidance.
Flying in sport mode does not resolve the issue.

I do not have the issue with obstacle avoidance when flying into the sun. Since the sensors are at 45 degree angles (roughly) to the longitidunial and traverse axes of the drone, the issue occurs when the drone is at various angles to the sun. During a normal flight with several random turns, the sensor warning appears all throughout the flight. Again, this doesn't happen all the time - just when the sun seems to be at a certain angle to the horizon. Not a huge deal, but just enough to be annoying and not what I would expect of a drone of this caliber and price.
 
Totally agree. The Phantom 4 and even the Mini 2 turn as expected.

The DJI Fly app, when used with the M3, does actually provide the ability to adjust the sensitivity (Settings > Control > Advanced). Unfortunately, adjusting those settings doesn't seem to help the issues that I have a problem with.
Does the new firmware have any effect on your drone’s flight characteristics? Mine got noticeably better with the new firmware. Maybe you could give it a try, too
 
Does the new firmware have any effect on your drone’s flight characteristics? Mine got noticeably better with the new firmware. Maybe you could give it a try, too
Yes, definitely notice a difference! Still not exactly where it needs to be, but it’s better. Now I’m noticing some weird, jerky auto-brakes in straight and level flight. Hopefully they’ll get it 100% right with a subsequent firmware update (and hopefully soon). Seems like they really rushed the launch of this model, but glad to see they’re working on it.
 
Yes, definitely notice a difference! Still not exactly where it needs to be, but it’s better. Now I’m noticing some weird, jerky auto-brakes in straight and level flight. Hopefully they’ll get it 100% right with a subsequent firmware update (and hopefully soon). Seems like they really rushed the launch of this model, but glad to see they’re working on it.
I also had autobrakes once in a while… AirData shows „side shock detected“ but there was nothing there … I had the drone in sight. Maybe the sensors are still too sensitive? But otherwise, the other notifications say, that obstacle avoidance and vision systems are off because it’s too dark.

However, I also think we’re on the right way with the new firmware regarding flight characteristics and hope there’s more improvement. But I’m also waiting for the panorama modes.
 

Attachments

  • E21ED28F-08CF-404E-85AB-0045C71518BC.jpeg
    E21ED28F-08CF-404E-85AB-0045C71518BC.jpeg
    489.4 KB · Views: 15
Last edited:
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,599
Messages
1,554,247
Members
159,603
Latest member
refrigasketscanada