Mavic 3 vs Mavic 2 pro for photography

[KS-6]

I spoke too soon. I have an odd zone on the left that is not in the corner like this guy has that won't really clean up:

Unhappy with Image Quality

I am writing to see if anyone else has a bad image quality from the mavic 3.I have a decent IQ at the centre of the image but not far to the left and right the image degrades quickly but then unlike other lenses it seems to get slightly better again towards the edges, I have cleaned the front...

forum.dji.com

I might just return it and fly my good drones...

 

[Meta4]

I spoke too soon. I have an odd zone on the left that is not in the corner like this guy has that won't really clean up:

Unhappy with Image Quality

I am writing to see if anyone else has a bad image quality from the mavic 3.I have a decent IQ at the centre of the image but not far to the left and right the image degrades quickly but then unlike other lenses it seems to get slightly better again towards the edges, I have cleaned the front...

forum.dji.com

I might just return it and fly my good drones...

Can you post an example to show what you are talking about?

 

[KS-6]

Can you post an example to show what you are talking about?

Other images have better corner representation but this tells it like it is. This is at F4, Left side, really shows the sloppy IQ...

Right side, much more even and expected.

 

[Filmarik]

I spoke too soon. I have an odd zone on the left that is not in the corner like this guy has that won't really clean up:

Unhappy with Image Quality

I am writing to see if anyone else has a bad image quality from the mavic 3.I have a decent IQ at the centre of the image but not far to the left and right the image degrades quickly but then unlike other lenses it seems to get slightly better again towards the edges, I have cleaned the front...

forum.dji.com

I might just return it and fly my good drones...

That is disappointing to hear. You brought my hopes up by your previous post and now crashed them again. Good to know though. It seems this M3 camera has a serious issues. I guess not every owner is as fussy as you (and me) but then again for the money it costs it should be able to produce decent IQ across the entire image. So far I have not seen one photo without lens decentering issue or without terribly soft top left corner. It seems to me that this drone is not worth the gamble.

 

[KS-6]

It's inconsistent, I seem to be getting better overall from directly above and focus point in terms of where at in the frame also makes a bit of a difference. But it is no Mavic 2 Pro and to be honest, not a single sample from a Mavic 3 has shown it self to be either and that is really bothersome considering the price tag on this darn thing.

The stitched images I am getting from the tele-cam are a different animal though, a full on game changer and beautifully sharp at 30-60MP.

 

[GadgetGuy]

It's inconsistent, I seem to be getting better overall from directly above and focus point in terms of where at in the frame also makes a bit of a difference. But it is no Mavic 2 Pro and to be honest, not a single sample from a Mavic 3 has shown it self to be either and that is really bothersome considering the price tag on this darn thing.

The stitched images I am getting from the tele-cam are a different animal though, a full on game changer and beautifully sharp at 30-60MP.

The stitching, as you indicate, cleans up any edge sharpness issues because of sufficient overlap from a sharper section of the lens in an adjacent image.

 

[KS-6]

The stitching, as you indicate, cleans up any edge sharpness issues because of sufficient overlap from a sharper section of the lens in an adjacent image.

Stitching is only in reference to the telephoto cam on this bird which has pretty much perfect uniformity of sharpness. It needs almost no overlap in that regard, only enough to make sure all the desired final image content is there.

The cam on my Mavic 2 with just some expected softness in the very corners is an easy 4 panel / short throw stitch to clean it up perfectly as you say above. The main cams on the two Mavic 3’s I have had thus far would fall far short in that application.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Stitching is only in reference to the telephoto cam on this bird which has pretty much perfect uniformity of sharpness. It needs almost no overlap in that regard, only enough to make sure all the desired final image content is there.

The cam on my Mavic 2 with just some expected softness in the very corners is an easy 4 panel / short throw stitch to clean it up perfectly as you say above. The main cams on the two Mavic 3’s I have had thus far would fall far short in that application.

My bad. However, the automated HiRes 60+ MB main cam 360° panos, stitched in the camera on the Mavic 3, with a cloned in ceiling, are stellar. 26 images allows for plenty of overlap to overcome any softness in the corners.

 

[UAVquadman]

It's all about photography. Assuming all else is equal, which it isn't, the increased flight time alone of a full 10+ minutes per battery is very significant. Low light performance is substantially better, and the 7x telephoto completely changes the perspective of photos for a more engaging view. Automated HiRes 60MB 360° panos every 75 seconds are a game changer. My M2P's are now backup birds only.

a backup would be another M3, why not sell your M2P's and get a true backup?

 

[Darkabaz]

I also got serious sharpness issues on my Mavic 3. I think a amateur consumer would not see this, but a little bit trained eyes will see it. On advice from dji I return my M3 to them. I think i will get a new one and will test it directly when i got it. At this point, without having a replaced m3, i think the M2P is better in most of the cases in photography. M3 is a bit frustrating when the corners are doubling the details. You can't give these photos to customers for any money. Or, you have the cut the image.

For the rumours of a M3 classic, if i was DJI i definitely take other hardware otherwise a lot of classic's will coming back to there service centr. With same issue i think.

 

[rhed6]

Is a M3 a good buy for a first drone? I was thinking of a M2 pro during pandemic. Then my interest for M2 just faded during the hard times. Now that the 3 came out I’m back on the market. It’ll be strictly for hobby use, night time video especially with ariel fireworks display every Fridays. And more at the beach type video footage. Sorry for jacking this thread OP if considered as.

 

[GadgetGuy]

a backup would be another M3, why not sell your M2P's and get a true backup?

What you are calling "a true backup" is actually redundancy (you might need to look that up, too! ) Many Pro's have different backup birds from Autel Robotics because of potential GEO issues with all DJI aircraft. Similarly, M2P's still use GO 4 instead of the FLY app, and can use Litchi for customized missions with LSMC, because the SDK already exists, and waypoints aren’t sent serially during the mission, like with the FLY app. One of my M2P's also still has completely optional GEO (read no GEO!) because it has deliberately never been updated, as DJI's GEO was still optional when the M2P was first released! Never completely abandon the old ship until you know the new ship can do everything the old one can! Keep it as a backup! My P4P's are also still backup birds for their mechanical shutters!

 

[UAVquadman]

What you are calling "a true backup" is actually redundancy (you might need to look that up, too! ) Many Pro's have different backup birds from Autel Robotics because of potential GEO issues with all DJI aircraft. Similarly, M2P's still use GO 4 instead of the FLY app, and can use Litchi for customized missions with LSMC, because the SDK already exists, and waypoints aren’t sent serially during the mission, like with the FLY app. One of my M2P's also still has completely optional GEO (read no GEO!) because it has deliberately never been updated, as DJI's GEO was still optional when the M2P was first released! Never completely abandon the old ship until you know the new ship can do everything the old one can! Keep it as a backup! My P4P's are also still backup birds for their mechanical shutters!

side note. I ordered a used RC Pro and will get in Sunday. Amazon Warehouse, I would feel bad if I got a new one just to try and see if I like it. (acceptable condition for about 1 grand including tax.) the last time I ordered this deal. They Sent me a DJI smart controller! you know what that means! (by mistake)

 

[GadgetGuy]

side note. I ordered a used RC Pro and will get in Sunday. Amazon Warehouse, I would feel bad if I got a new one just to try and see if I like it. (acceptable condition for about 1 grand including tax.) the last time I ordered this deal. They Sent me a DJI smart controller! you know what that means! (by mistake)

Awesome! It has extra utility, now that it has Air 2S and Mini 3 Pro support. All those extra customizable buttons and button combinations allows you to keep your thumbs on the sticks, and off the screen. The extra signal strength is also a real bonus. Good return policy, too, if it turns out to be defective, or just not worth the money to you!

 

[UAVquadman]

Awesome! It has extra utility, now that it has Air 2S and Mini 3 Pro support. All those extra customizable buttons and button combinations allows you to keep your thumbs on the sticks, and off the screen. The extra signal strength is also a real bonus. Good return policy, too, if it turns out to be defective, or just not worth the money to you!

the Smart Controller I got the last time was in an RC Pro Box! but they take photos of the item is my guess, so when I did the return, it went smooth.

 

[GadgetGuy]

the Smart Controller I got the last time was in an RC Pro Box! but they take photos of the item is my guess, so when I did the return, it went smooth.

Somebody probably pulled a fast one on Amazon, returning a Smart Controller instead of the RC Pro that they had originally ordered, claiming a defect, and Amazon didn't know the difference when they sent it back. Amazon then just resold it to you, as lightly used! They took you at your word on the mix up, giving you the benefit of the doubt.

 

[UAVquadman]

Somebody probably pulled a fast one on Amazon, returning a Smart Controller instead of the RC Pro that they had originally ordered, claiming a defect, and Amazon didn't know the difference when they sent it back. Amazon then just resold it to you, as lightly used! They took you at your word on the mix up, giving you the benefit of the doubt.

you would think they would take photos of the product. Imagine if they didn't take my word! I have a NIB DJI Smart Controller, maybe I should sell it on eBay. I paid $600 for it with a coupon at Best Buy before the price hike to $750

 

[GadgetGuy]

you would think they would take photos of the product. Imagine if they didn't take my word! I have a NIB DJI Smart Controller, maybe I should sell it on eBay. I paid $600 for it with a coupon at Best Buy before the price hike to $750

When no Smart Controllers were available, DJI shipped $1200 RC Pro's inside the Smart Controller boxes in the Air 2S Combo Kit with the Smart Controller last December and into early January. I'd sell the Smart Controller while there is still demand for it, unless you still have a need for it. It's long in the tooth, and not capable of compatibility with any of the newer aircraft using OcuSync 3.

 

[KS-6]

To recap, one of the main reasons I got the Mavic 3 is to stitch the tele cam, but I also had to go through 3 drones before I got a good wide angle cam which I now have. I am going into my second week here in Iceland and it has been truly phenomenal to fly and shoot with. I brought 6 batteries but the most I seem to be able to go through per day in finding slots in between wind and rain are 3-4. The drone is also competing with 46MP mirrorless bodies that have a focal range of lenses serving 14mm to 600mm.

Wind actually seems to play a bit of havoc with the main cam, I think it just gets “out-gimbald“ at times when the shutter speed is lower than 1/200th and the winds aloft are likely above 15-20MPH...but not all the time? It gets a bit softer in the corners in those conditions and in calm-ish air it does much better if not perfect. I also seem to do best when I touch the screen to focus once and then go to manual on a shot.

All in all, this sucker is delivering the goods out here and I am really happy with it. I am working from my iPad Pro right now so I don’t have the full workflow going but here is a “tile” from a 15 frame stitch of a glacier. It’s not even been put through DXO labs yet and it seems to be holding up well as one frame:

 

[Filmarik]

To recap, one of the main reasons I got the Mavic 3 is to stitch the tele cam, but I also had to go through 3 drones before I got a good wide angle cam which I now have. I am going into my second week here in Iceland and it has been truly phenomenal to fly and shoot with. I brought 6 batteries but the most I seem to be able to go through per day in finding slots in between wind and rain are 3-4. The drone is also competing with 46MP mirrorless bodies that have a focal range of lenses serving 14mm to 600mm.

Wind actually seems to play a bit of havoc with the main cam, I think it just gets “out-gimbald“ at times when the shutter speed is lower than 1/200th and the winds aloft are likely above 15-20MPH...but not all the time? It gets a bit softer in the corners in those conditions and in calm-ish air it does much better if not perfect. I also seem to do best when I touch the screen to focus once and then go to manual on a shot.

All in all, this sucker is delivering the goods out here and I am really happy with it. I am working from my iPad Pro right now so I don’t have the full workflow going but here is a “tile” from a 15 frame stitch of a glacier. It’s not even been put through DXO labs yet and it seems to be holding up well as one frame:

View attachment 155409

It us good to hear that the M3 is delivering. Was this shot taken with the main wide angle od the tele camera? It looks fenomenal. I am mean the scenery.