Mavic 3 my honest conclusion

[Frylikebird]

7 hours with the camera on the ground. 20 hrs flight.
What I like;
1. Flight time a good solid 25-30 minutes doing all the fancy moves, like mastershots within 120m altitude limit.

2. Fast take off!

3. Quiet and quieter than most drones but can be easily spotted when up in the air around 100m.

4. Very stable for its size.

5. Very stable gimbal resulting in good photos and video even down to 1/20s or slower.

6. Good build quality but the sticker was a lazy work. See pic

7. Photo quality is 7 out of 10 on main camera. 5 out of 10 on 2nd gimmicky camera.

8. Video quality 8 out of 10 on main camera. 2nd camera is noth worth the time and your SD card.

What can be changed or dislike.
1. Take out the 2nd camera
2. Please or petition for way points!!!
3. Wish it was white
4. Needs a better lens on the main camera. It looks like a good 1inch camera but it's m43.
5. Cheap controller bundle and somewhat outdated. RC Pro is more suitable.
6. Annoying pop ups on related features before execution.
7. Expensive not worth the upgrade from even the Air 2s
8. I had 2 Signal losts within 1km range with the standard controller.
9. Lens change could be easier.
10. Manual instruction is terrible especially on the bundle charger.

Am I happy? Yes because I have the latest but not quite the m43 quality as claimed.

 

[Meta4]

7. Photo quality is 7 out of 10 on main camera. 5 out of 10 on 2nd gimmicky camera.
4. Needs a better lens on the main camera. It looks like a good 1inch camera but it's m43.

Am I happy? Yes because I have the latest but not quite the m43 quality as claimed.

I'm curious about why you'd only give the camera 7/10 or what lack of photographic quality you perceive ?
Why do you say that it needs a better lens?

 

[GadgetGuy]

I'm curious about why you'd only give the camera 7/10 or what lack of photographic quality you perceive ?
Why do you say that it needs a better lens?

And why would he remove the second 7x telephoto camera?

 

[vtcats]

7 hours with the camera on the ground. 20 hrs flight.
What I like;
1. Flight time a good solid 25-30 minutes doing all the fancy moves, like mastershots within 120m altitude limit.

2. Fast take off!

3. Quiet and quieter than most drones but can be easily spotted when up in the air around 100m.

4. Very stable for its size.

5. Very stable gimbal resulting in good photos and video even down to 1/20s or slower.

6. Good build quality but the sticker was a lazy work. See pic

7. Photo quality is 7 out of 10 on main camera. 5 out of 10 on 2nd gimmicky camera.

8. Video quality 8 out of 10 on main camera. 2nd camera is noth worth the time and your SD card.

What can be changed or dislike.
1. Take out the 2nd camera
2. Please or petition for way points!!!
3. Wish it was white
4. Needs a better lens on the main camera. It looks like a good 1inch camera but it's m43.
5. Cheap controller bundle and somewhat outdated. RC Pro is more suitable.
6. Annoying pop ups on related features before execution.
7. Expensive not worth the upgrade from even the Air 2s
8. I had 2 Signal losts within 1km range with the standard controller.
9. Lens change could be easier.
10. Manual instruction is terrible especially on the bundle charger.

Am I happy? Yes because I have the latest but not quite the m43 quality as claimed.

Why take out the second camera? (or should I ask replace with what?). Now that you cans shoot raw I’ve been able to process some nice images.

 

[Meta4]

Why take out the second camera? (or should I ask replace with what?). Now that you cans shoot raw I’ve been able to process some nice images.

You don't even need to shoot raw.
This was shot in jpg and is surprisingly good for the dinky lens and sensor of the secondary camera.
It's not as good as the images from the main camera, but it has its uses.

 

[Frylikebird]

All I have to say is this the Air2s photo and video is enough and can't really tell the difference between the Mavic 3 unless pixel peeping. Air2s might lack complete obstacle feature but who really use it when up in the open sky unless you film in the woods. Mavic 3 is big, fast and stable, photo and video could be better for a m43

 

[Meta4]

photo and video could be better for a m43

How?
Can you give some details about what you think is lacking in image quality?

 

[Suren]

My personal is that the camera is amazing coupled with the Telephoto camera. The drone handles very well and gives a very stable flight. Granted we faced issues with it around GPS and I still have no working Airsense but I still really like the drone and it's reliable in heavy winds. The RC-N! is a very cheap RC to be coupled with a drone like the Mavic 3 but the more I fly the Mini 3 Pro, I am happy that I don't have that RC for the Mavic 3 as it feels very cheap as well. The RC Pro is more solid and fits the Mavic 3 very well. Not sure what yo mean about Lens Change? Is it for putting on a Filter - That is very easy to do and straight forward.

 

[CanadaDrone]

"Dislike" #4 doesn't make sense to me. The lens and sensor are entirely independent - a worse lens doesn't equal a smaller sensor or vise versa. If you have a 4/3 sensor you are getting 4/3 image quality from it, and the one in the M3 is a modern sensor fabricated by Sony Semiconductor that delivers performance directly in line with other 4/3 sensors on the market in other cameras. Also, M43 refers to an interchangeable lens mount (which the Mavic 3 does not have), rather than the sensor size. 4/3 = sensor size, M43 (micro four thirds) = a type of interchangeable lens mount.

I've read so many threads here with people saying they can't really notice the image quality increase moving up to the M3, and I often wonder if those folks would have been better off with a M2P or A2S unless there are other specific features on the M3 they are after (which of course is completely reasonable). In perfect conditions, the image quality from most drones is going to look about the same - just like you might have trouble telling a smartphone photo apart from one taken with $10,000 of full frame camera equipment in a very un-demanding scenario or if viewed at a small size. In an even more extreme example, some Hollywood films have scenes that switch between a $150,000+ Arri Alexa setup to a $500 GoPro and most people probably have no idea - that doesn't mean that a GoPro can replace a professional camera or that the Arri isn't worth it.

The advantages of the 4/3 sensor become much more apparent in very challenging or low-light shooting conditions, or when trying to extract every ounce of shadow or highlight detail out of 10bit log footage. If you aren't using it for that, you aren't going to see much of a difference from the 1" sensor (or smaller) models. That also seems to be contributing to some people's feeling that the drone is overpriced, as they might be expecting to see a significant difference in more casual shooting scenarios, but in reality they are just paying for something they don't use. A huge part of the M3 price is that 4/3 sensor, so if you aren't taking advantage of its capabilities, you're paying a disproportionately high amount for the other features you might be after.

Now, if you are noticing that one area of the image is very soft but others are sharp, you probably have a decentered lens element and that needs to be addressed via warranty. This is not uncommon in the "traditional" photography world as well - in fact most lenses are slightly decentered, but not enough to impact image quality or warrant a replacement. It's much more common on wider angle lenses. Also, if you select an aperture above F5.6, diffraction is going to kick in and start softening the image as a whole, so if you do a lot of shooting at F8-F11 you are likely going to notice a significant drop in image quality - better to use the proper ND filter instead and stay at F5.6 or below if you are concerned about image quality.

 

[Crash Pro]

I do not currently own a M3 Pro, but it’s on my list to purchase in the near future.

In viewing comparisons online of the Mavic 3 Pro vs. Air2 S, there is a huge difference in image quality on the M3 Pro, especially in the shadow areas. The images/video contain so much more data, hence more detail, making for superior images.

While the Air2S is a really good drone for the money, it doesn’t hold up to the M3 for professional use. That’s my two cents worth.

 

[Frylikebird]

My personal is that the camera is amazing coupled with the Telephoto camera. The drone handles very well and gives a very stable flight. Granted we faced issues with it around GPS and I still have no working Airsense but I still really like the drone and it's reliable in heavy winds. The RC-N! is a very cheap RC to be coupled with a drone like the Mavic 3 but the more I fly the Mini 3 Pro, I am happy that I don't have that RC for the Mavic 3 as it feels very cheap as well. The RC Pro is more solid and fits the Mavic 3 very well. Not sure what yo mean about Lens Change? Is it for putting on a Filter - That is very easy to do and straight forward.

The sensor is m43 and it's good what I'm blaming is the lens on the camera. It's not a good lens, it doesn't seem to resolve enough the M43 sensor. DJI would have been better off teaming up with Panasonic or Olympus on the lens part.

 

[Frylikebird]

"Dislike" #4 doesn't make sense to me. The lens and sensor are entirely independent - a worse lens doesn't equal a smaller sensor or vise versa. If you have a 4/3 sensor you are getting 4/3 image quality from it, and the one in the M3 is a modern sensor fabricated by Sony Semiconductor that delivers performance directly in line with other 4/3 sensors on the market in other cameras. Also, M43 refers to an interchangeable lens mount (which the Mavic 3 does not have), rather than the sensor size. 4/3 = sensor size, M43 (micro four thirds) = a type of interchangeable lens mount.

I've read so many threads here with people saying they can't really notice the image quality increase moving up to the M3, and I often wonder if those folks would have been better off with a M2P or A2S unless there are other specific features on the M3 they are after (which of course is completely reasonable). In perfect conditions, the image quality from most drones is going to look about the same - just like you might have trouble telling a smartphone photo apart from one taken with $10,000 of full frame camera equipment in a very un-demanding scenario or if viewed at a small size. In an even more extreme example, some Hollywood films have scenes that switch between a $150,000+ Arri Alexa setup to a $500 GoPro and most people probably have no idea - that doesn't mean that a GoPro can replace a professional camera or that the Arri isn't worth it.

The advantages of the 4/3 sensor become much more apparent in very challenging or low-light shooting conditions, or when trying to extract every ounce of shadow or highlight detail out of 10bit log footage. If you aren't using it for that, you aren't going to see much of a difference from the 1" sensor (or smaller) models. That also seems to be contributing to some people's feeling that the drone is overpriced, as they might be expecting to see a significant difference in more casual shooting scenarios, but in reality they are just paying for something they don't use. A huge part of the M3 price is that 4/3 sensor, so if you aren't taking advantage of its capabilities, you're paying a disproportionately high amount for the other features you might be after.

Now, if you are noticing that one area of the image is very soft but others are sharp, you probably have a decentered lens element and that needs to be addressed via warranty. This is not uncommon in the "traditional" photography world as well - in fact most lenses are slightly decentered, but not enough to impact image quality or warrant a replacement. It's much more common on wider angle lenses. Also, if you select an aperture above F5.6, diffraction is going to kick in and start softening the image as a whole, so if you do a lot of shooting at F8-F11 you are likely going to notice a significant drop in image quality - better to use the proper ND filter instead and stay at F5.6 or below if you are concerned about image quality.

I understand all of your points. What I didn't make myself clear is that the Hassy lens doesn't seem to have the resolving power to resolve the M43 sensor, it's an ok glass. I'm blaming the lens/glass.

 

[Meta4]

What I didn't make myself clear is that the Hassy lens doesn't seem to have the resolving power to resolve the M43 sensor, it's an ok glass. I'm blaming the lens/glass.

Can you give an example to show why you think this?

 

[Dale D]

7 hours with the camera on the ground. 20 hrs flight.
What I like;
1. Flight time a good solid 25-30 minutes doing all the fancy moves, like mastershots within 120m altitude limit.

2. Fast take off!

3. Quiet and quieter than most drones but can be easily spotted when up in the air around 100m.

4. Very stable for its size.

5. Very stable gimbal resulting in good photos and video even down to 1/20s or slower.

6. Good build quality but the sticker was a lazy work. See pic

7. Photo quality is 7 out of 10 on main camera. 5 out of 10 on 2nd gimmicky camera.

8. Video quality 8 out of 10 on main camera. 2nd camera is noth worth the time and your SD card.

What can be changed or dislike.
1. Take out the 2nd camera
2. Please or petition for way points!!!
3. Wish it was white
4. Needs a better lens on the main camera. It looks like a good 1inch camera but it's m43.
5. Cheap controller bundle and somewhat outdated. RC Pro is more suitable.
6. Annoying pop ups on related features before execution.
7. Expensive not worth the upgrade from even the Air 2s
8. I had 2 Signal losts within 1km range with the standard controller.
9. Lens change could be easier.
10. Manual instruction is terrible especially on the bundle charger.

Am I happy? Yes because I have the latest but not quite the m43 quality as claimed.

Look at the very bottom of today's list-the last of today's listings. My submission. The M3 has a very good camera. I have submitted some really nice panos for you to evaluate.

 

[Frylikebird]

Can you give an example to show why you think this?

I guess I'm not the only one noticing the quality of the lens. Out of nowhere my YouTube algorithm recommended me this video but it's in Chinese with subtitles. I was very surprised the guy talked about the lens. I hope someone here share my thought about the lens.

 

[CanadaDrone]

I guess I'm not the only one noticing the quality lens. Out of nowhere my YouTube algorithm recommended me this video but it's in Chinese with subtitles. I was very surprised the guy talked about the lens. I hope someone here share my thought about the lens.

There isn't really anything to talk about - the lens on the M3 is completely fine, unless your specific unit is defective (which is a possibility). As I mentioned earlier, things like decentered elements are a legitimate issue (for lenses of all types, not just the M3) and if you have that, it needs to be addressed via warranty. I've downloaded RAW files from the M3 myself and processed them, and they look completely fine. Image quality is directly in line with what one would expect from a 4/3 sensor and a decent lens on any other system, drone or otherwise. Every professional review I have seen on the drone does not mention anything about poor lens quality.

Objectively evaluating lens quality is an expensive and difficult endeavor - not something you would typically see from a random YouTuber with unknown credentials and an unknown understanding of optical design or even photography in general. Another huge factor is processing. RAW images and RAW video footage are soft by design, as you are required to process them after the fact. Also, as I mentioned previously, these very small sensors run into diffraction relatively early, so you are going to see noticeable image degradation from that when using smaller apertures beyond F5.6 (again this applies to all cameras, not just the one on the M3).

Another thing you want to make sure is that you aren't using autofocus - for 99% of scenarios, you want to manually set focus using the focus peaking feature and never touch it again. Given the sensor size and typical shooting distances, everything from roughly 3 feet to infinity will be in focus on most drones including the M3 if you set it up properly.

So if you think you have a problem with your lens, you need to do some controlled testing. If you have a defective lens, then you have a warranty issue. If you don't have a defective lens and you aren't happy with the quality, it's almost certainly a settings issue. To me it seems like you are more interested in convincing yourself there is some kind of widespread issue with the M3 lens rather than determining if your specific unit is defective or not and having the issue resolved. If you've done the appropriate troubleshooting and you have determined you have a defective lens, contact DJI for a replacement - simple as that. I hope I'm not coming across as rude, and I mean no offense, I just don't understand why you aren't starting the process to remedy your issue if you believe you have a defective lens on your drone.

You've been asked a few times not to post some samples of exactly what you are seeing but you don't seem to want to. Everyone's just trying to help and maybe it's a simple fix. If you want to post a RAW file I'd gladly take a look and let you know if I think there are any issues - I've been a professional photographer for over 20 years and I am extremely picky with lens sample variation.

 

[Meta4]

I guess I'm not the only one noticing the quality lens.

So a week later, you still can't say anything more than you don't like the lens?
No explanation of what it is that you don't like about it, no examples, no nothing.

Out of nowhere my YouTube algorithm recommended me this video but it's in Chinese with subtitles. I was very surprised the guy talked about the lens.

Then when you mention some Youtube video to support your complaint, you don't even provide a link to it !!

I hope someone here share my thought about the lens.

How could anyone share your thoughts?
You haven't shown what they are.
Why post anything if you aren't going to give any details?

 

[Frylikebird]

So a week later, you still can't say anything more than you don't like the lens?
No explanation of what it is that you don't like about it, no examples, no nothing.



Then when you mention some Youtube video to support your complaint, you don't even provide a link to it !!

How could anyone share your thoughts?
You haven't shown what they are.
Why post anything if you aren't going to give any details?

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[GadgetGuy]

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The date of the video is in English. From Nov 8th, 2021, based upon prerelease FW. Guy's review is actually very objective for that time period, and DJI has since fulfilled their promises of the prospect FW updates that he refers to. However, he has failed to update his own review, as promised, when they did. Today is June 24th, 2022, 7 months later, and the drone is now mature.

 

[canadian drone videos]

There isn't really anything to talk about - the lens on the M3 is completely fine, unless your specific unit is defective (which is a possibility). As I mentioned earlier, things like decentered elements are a legitimate issue (for lenses of all types, not just the M3) and if you have that, it needs to be addressed via warranty. I've downloaded RAW files from the M3 myself and processed them, and they look completely fine. Image quality is directly in line with what one would expect from a 4/3 sensor and a decent lens on any other system, drone or otherwise. Every professional review I have seen on the drone does not mention anything about poor lens quality.

Objectively evaluating lens quality is an expensive and difficult endeavor - not something you would typically see from a random YouTuber with unknown credentials and an unknown understanding of optical design or even photography in general. Another huge factor is processing. RAW images and RAW video footage are soft by design, as you are required to process them after the fact. Also, as I mentioned previously, these very small sensors run into diffraction relatively early, so you are going to see noticeable image degradation from that when using smaller apertures beyond F5.6 (again this applies to all cameras, not just the one on the M3).

Another thing you want to make sure is that you aren't using autofocus - for 99% of scenarios, you want to manually set focus using the focus peaking feature and never touch it again. Given the sensor size and typical shooting distances, everything from roughly 3 feet to infinity will be in focus on most drones including the M3 if you set it up properly.

So if you think you have a problem with your lens, you need to do some controlled testing. If you have a defective lens, then you have a warranty issue. If you don't have a defective lens and you aren't happy with the quality, it's almost certainly a settings issue. To me it seems like you are more interested in convincing yourself there is some kind of widespread issue with the M3 lens rather than determining if your specific unit is defective or not and having the issue resolved. If you've done the appropriate troubleshooting and you have determined you have a defective lens, contact DJI for a replacement - simple as that. I hope I'm not coming across as rude, and I mean no offense, I just don't understand why you aren't starting the process to remedy your issue if you believe you have a defective lens on your drone.

You've been asked a few times not to post some samples of exactly what you are seeing but you don't seem to want to. Everyone's just trying to help and maybe it's a simple fix. If you want to post a RAW file I'd gladly take a look and let you know if I think there are any issues - I've been a professional photographer for over 20 years and I am extremely picky with lens sample variation.

I must agree, the camera and lens on the M3 are fine. Just as clean as the x5s under basic conditions. I specifically bought the M3 only to get that 4/3 sensor. I deeply wish they had spent the money on that explore camera on something else? Like… one camera with a little optical zoom?