Mavic 3 What is still coming may change your Mind !

[15PSI]

There is a good reason for the comments on the Mavic 3. Sure, you don't have to purchase it. But the comments might assist potential new drone buyers to understand the current capabilities and possible pitfalls.

 

[RonBower]

DJI isn't forcing anyone to buy anything. If you feel the product isn't ready, then don't buy one, end of story. Having a clear list of upcoming features added via firmware doesn't make anyone a "beta tester", and most certainly not an "involuntary" one. Beta testing is the final round of pre-release testing done in a production environment but before official release to the general public - so nobody is a beta tester unless you received your M3 before November 4, and you weren't an involuntary beta tester unless DJI forced you to do it or tricked you into doing it. Regardless of how much testing is done beforehand, there will also ALWAYS be issues/bugs with new products, that's how the world works and that's why warranties and firmware updates exist - if any of that bothers you, then buy it at the end of it's life cycle where those things are minimized. If you willingly buy a product through a normal retail channel that has features added sometime in the future, especially if it was disclosed to you prior to purchasing, you are not a beta tester by any definition.

The reality of it is that it's very common in the electronics industry to do what DJI is doing. It's especially common in the camera/video industry, the computer industry, the home theater industry, and even the automotive industry to an extent. Products are very often released with a "roadmap" or some kind of indication of what will be added sometime down the line. People who want it early can get it, with a list of caveats clearly disclosed in advance - they aren't trying to fool anyone. If that bothers you, then you're free to wait and buy it later. This way DJI is able to offer the best of both worlds, satisfying the largest number of people and I don't see a problem with that. The alternative is that the drone is released sometime in the future, and there would be no advantage to that because the people who were going to wait anyway wouldn't get it any sooner, and the people who wanted it ASAP who were OK with the caveats would have no option to do so.

I agree with you. I managed software development for quite a few years, and more than once we decided to release a product, knowing we would need to follow it with a point release quickly. More often than not, that decision was driven by quarterly earnings deadlines. I'm not saying that was the right practice, and it was usually driven by sales and corporate management types. In the case of the M3, I am pretty dismayed by the long list of delayed features. But, when I look at the list, most of the delayed functionality doesn't affect me. I am a photographer first and foremost. I don't do video. I am coming up on 4 years of Mavic ownership and I understand what I need in terms of features/quality. I don't worry about automated flight capabilities and features (other than stability). I just need to be good enough to position the camera for the best composition, and understand the exposure options. I sometimes sell very large metal prints of my aerial photos, so any improvement in dynamic range, sharpness, or focus will be noticeable. A large scale print can sometimes look great, but it also exposes flaws in the capture. I would enjoy playing around with some of the promised new capabilities, but they won't be part of my workflow. So, I am keeping my place in the order queue. I do recognize that DJI has a PR problem right now. They really blew it, but in the long run, their targeted market (certainly not everyone on this board) won't shrink. The Air 2 has a bigger market for sure, and most of that base won't see a reason to upgrade. As always, just my opinions. CanadaDrone.... I typed this as a reply to your post, but I am really responding to those who are super upset (and I get it).

 

[mmoguls]

Yes I get one of mine delivered tomorrow and i am tempted not to fly it until these are activated as I think there will be quite a few changes. The SC being one of them.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain.

I'll bet you can't resist flying it!

 

[gemniii]

Buy on present performance, not promises.
If it does what you need NOW then that is what matters.

 

[PompousWindbag]

As for me, I have no incentive to go from my Air 2S to the Mavic 3 - at all. The image quality is more than adequate for my purposes as a recreational flyer and I just don't see much beyond diminishing returns with the 3. But that's just me.

 

[Dougcjohn]

Not sure I'd call it a scam per se, but it's certainly not making me want to hit the BUY button until these features are fully in the product. I wonder (conspiracy theory alert) if the reason they brought it to market early is that a competitor (Autel? Skydio?) are also about to announce new products, and DJI wanted the attention.

I feel that is very accurate.. DJI in past has modified news releases and product to lower the competitions attention.

Autel has the EVO2 Enterprise, and their 2 new smaller crafts... Lite and Nano. Now they're having their own delivery issues... but I do think M3P was hurried to release to help with Autel releases.

 

[vindibona1]

I don't know about you guys but I think we are being scammed by DJI! They are advertising and selling an incomplete product, and expect the buyer to pay for future promised goodies that do not exist now! That is really incredible that they rushed this out for the Christmas season without warning people of the deficiencies of the product. There are more automated flight modes on my M2P and even on my old Mavic Air 1 than there on the M3. Considering that and the fact that the tele camera is only JPG and not RAW makes me draw back immediately from any consideration of purchasing at this time.

I wouldn't necessarily say scammed, but without promises and only hints of future upgrades that may or may not come to fruition. I more resent the downgrade in the controller in their $2200 and $3000 packages. They are betting that a lot of folks will want/need what the image quality and battery life of the M3 has, and will suck up having a very basic controller or shell out another $1200 to have pretty much (sans monitor) what came with the M2.

Knowing what I know about sensors, optics and lenses, I have to wonder how much image improvement is due to the internal processing of the M3 and if that can somehow be mimicked with an M2P? As I mentioned in another thread, detail at distance is the critical element for all lenses and sensors. Secondly, I have to wonder if DJI has upgraded the lens of the main camera from that which they put the the M2P or Air2s? Typically, the larger the sensor the better the glass needs to be to take advantage of the bigger/better sensor.

I came across some discussion on the DP Review forum and thought I'd share it.

...Apart from the common 1/2.3" sensor I have a choice of a 1" or 4/3" sensor. Considering photo quality is there much difference between a 1" sensor and a 4/3" sensor camera?

Not a lot, especially when light is good.

I noticed that most 4/3" cameras seem to have a limit of 3x zoom, is this something to do with the sensor size?

The larger the sensor, the more difficult and expensive it is to build a good zoom, especially zooms with wide ranges.

What are the major advantages of 4/3" sensor over a 1" sensor?

Larger sensors usually give you more control over depth of field and less noise in shadow areas. When light is good, you will find it difficult to see a difference in noise levels.

 

[guzewski]

To bad DJI didn’t just stick with the GO apps. Better and easier than FLY, IMO. And worked on more devices as well.

Yeah I discovered that the Fly app would not work on my Samsung Galaxy s5, although Go 4 works flawlessly. Fortunately, I guess, my phone died shortly after I got my Mini II and I replaced it with an S10, which runs Fly just fine. Apparently, the Fly app requires a 64-bit Android version, but Go 4 doesn't mind a 32-bit OS. BTW I really prefer Go 4 over Fly.

 

[Hauptmann]

I'm sure DJI intended and hoped to have all features working by release date, but development fell behind. The Christmas season was just too big a marketing opportunity to miss. COVID was undoubtedly a factor as well.

 

[Point Zero]

I'm sure DJI intended and hoped to have all features working by release date, but development fell behind. The Christmas season was just too big a marketing opportunity to miss. COVID was undoubtedly a factor as well.

I think DJI's marketing department has been to blame here. Marketing people are very different from the development types and those two forces in my experience tend to not gel very well.

DJI did that triple release announcement, with the new Ronin film camera, then the Action 2 and the grand finale the Mavic 3. Out of all those releases the Mavic 3 was by far the most immature.

Yes its smashed the ball out of the park with flight times and sensor size but it certainly feels like corners were cut to make that release date. Only DJI knows if that gamble paid off or not.