Mavic 3 WILL NOT support Waypoint or Mapping missions

[Dougcjohn]

Playing on the P5, larger sensors, Inspire 3, interchangeable lenses.
I too would much enjoy interchangeable lenses, and I'm not sold yet that my M3 Cine fix lens will perform as well as a seperate glass mount lens. Just the difference in glass & size bring question.

If the M3 lens is same quality, then manufacturing mini/micro size swappable lenses should be eventually doable. Granted not the same small suze as internally fixed... but somewhere a bit larger payload should be able to use light weight swappable mini lenses with optics to adjust for the focal distance to sensor.

I always thought years back DJI left Yuneec's designs alone... didn't compete. But with Yuneec on a slow ride on a dead horse, I've thought DJI should jump on a small Hex... call it a P5 or whatever. Yuneec had many poor points in design... RC, Transmission range terrible, mount point, etc. But the H480 or H520 were ultra smooth & stable, redundancy in motors, super quite.

To Redundant Motors & ESC's, Add Redundant batteries, retract skids (M600Pro), center mount payload, and DJI's electronics & Radio. Add MFT & FF payloads with above mini-lenses In a package between P4P & I2 (H520 size) and they'd have a winner in multiple arenas: cinematography, mapping, modeling, etc.

Low cost payloads for hobbyist, Thermo for SAR & Inspection, higher end payloads for Pro or Cinematography.

Indirectly... it's not... but I'm hoping the new Inspire 3 incorporates a few of these.... or if in design, the new P5.

But I feel they need to continue with smaller interchangeable lenses platforms and a Go4 App type Flight conteoller. I'm really hoping the I3 doesn't use the Fly App.

 

[canadian drone videos]

Playing on the P5, larger sensors, Inspire 3, interchangeable lenses.
I too would much enjoy interchangeable lenses, and I'm not sold yet that my M3 Cine fix lens will perform as well as a seperate glass mount lens. Just the difference in glass & size bring question.

If the M3 lens is same quality, then manufacturing mini/micro size swappable lenses should be eventually doable. Granted not the same small suze as internally fixed... but somewhere a bit larger payload should be able to use light weight swappable mini lenses with optics to adjust for the focal distance to sensor.

I always thought years back DJI left Yuneec's designs alone... didn't compete. But with Yuneec on a slow ride on a dead horse, I've thought DJI should jump on a small Hex... call it a P5 or whatever. Yuneec had many poor points in design... RC, Transmission range terrible, mount point, etc. But the H480 or H520 were ultra smooth & stable, redundancy in motors, super quite.

To Redundant Motors & ESC's, Add Redundant batteries, retract skids (M600Pro), center mount payload, and DJI's electronics & Radio. Add MFT & FF payloads with above mini-lenses In a package between P4P & I2 (H520 size) and they'd have a winner in multiple arenas: cinematography, mapping, modeling, etc.

Low cost payloads for hobbyist, Thermo for SAR & Inspection, higher end payloads for Pro or Cinematography.

Indirectly... it's not... but I'm hoping the new Inspire 3 incorporates a few of these.... or if in design, the new P5.

But I feel they need to continue with smaller interchangeable lenses platforms and a Go4 App type Flight conteoller. I'm really hoping the I3 doesn't use the Fly App.

The Inspire 2 was fun to own, but also too big too involved. It’s a beast. The Mavic and Inspire line now both suffer from the same problem, pretty hard to improve them. A decent Flir camera is pretty expensive, be neat to have one but a decent one runs well past the budget of most people. The Mavic enterprise has Flir but it’s entry level. A Flir for the M210 can run $10-20k. A good Flir for any I3 will be the same.

The X7 is a full frame camera that functions very well in any condition you throw at it. Anyone that needs an I3 has already dropped $40k on a drone that carries actual movie cameras on the gimbal. No one shooting for the big screen is waiting for DJI to make a new drone, they don’t use them. They don’t need a better camera then the X7 for TV. DJI is what it is, the biggest “consumer” drone company in the world.

The M3 airframe has its limitations, all compact foldable drones have limitations. Very few people want to hear that but it’s true, there isn’t much you can do with an M3 the M2 won’t do.

Mass production of the P5 airframe with a 4/3 sensor and interchangeable lenses will kill both the Mavic series and Inspire series which is why they refuse to make it. However, this M3 won’t do much the M2 won’t, so they’ve killed the Mavic series anyways. The M3 showcases how complete the M2 was, people seem disappointed, but what were they expecting? The Mavic killed itself, there’s only so much you can do with it, the tech has maxed out. On the other hand the Phantom is far from maxed out, but it too will be maxed out if they mass produce the 5.

 

[Dougcjohn]

The Inspire 2 was fun to own, but also too big too involved. It’s a beast. The Mavic and Inspire line now both suffer from the same problem, pretty hard to improve them. A decent Flir camera is pretty expensive, be neat to have one but a decent one runs well past the budget of most people. The Mavic enterprise has Flir but it’s entry level. A Flir for the M210 can run $10-20k. A good Flir for any I3 will be the same.

The X7 is a full frame camera that functions very well in any condition you throw at it. Anyone that needs an I3 has already dropped $40k on a drone that carries actual movie cameras on the gimbal. No one shooting for the big screen is waiting for DJI to make a new drone, they don’t use them. They don’t need a better camera then the X7 for TV. DJI is what it is, the biggest “consumer” drone company in the world.

The M3 airframe has its limitations, all compact foldable drones have limitations. Very few people want to hear that but it’s true, there isn’t much you can do with an M3 the M2 won’t do.

Mass production of the P5 airframe with a 4/3 sensor and interchangeable lenses will kill both the Mavic series and Inspire series which is why they refuse to make it. However, this M3 won’t do much the M2 won’t, so they’ve killed the Mavic series anyways. The M3 showcases how complete the M2 was, people seem disappointed, but what were they expecting? The Mavic killed itself, there’s only so much you can do with it, the tech has maxed out. On the other hand the Phantom is far from maxed out, but it too will be maxed out if they mass produce the 5.

Some points on similar thought path.
Although DJI platforms like I2, M210, M300, M600 are Pro level and continue to be used in multiple Pro categories. Then the larger scale Agras for Ag present even more categories. You site the I2 is huge, I find the I2 a nice size for most projects.... and a Mavic a smaller platform, both functional.

The XT2 640, XT 640 are both excellent Thermos... not consumer grade. The X5S and X7... even the older X5R are Prosumer and continue to be used in professional environments by professionals. A DSLR gimbal mount under a M600Pro is often used... similar to a Alta 6 or 8. Mount a LiDar and M600Pro used by many professional agencies.

But you're correct, DJI provides multiple consumer platforms, but also provides multiple Prosumer / Pro platforms. Hold a majority market share in both categories. Regardless of what some may like or feel doesn't change their majority maket share in both categories.

That said, the new designs can be basically anything... can combine scope of P4P and I2 into one platform... don't know. They'll consistently release platforms in consumer & prosumer, and most likely retain the bulk of that market share for sometime.

Is the M3 pro level... for many yes, others no. It does offer pro capabilities.... more than the M2P... for many both are pro level. Many have generated nice income from Mavic... that's Professional level.

Does it replace a Inspire 2... for most no... some yes.
It's not ideal, but it does provide more in multiple ways... slides "currently" in other ways. Let's reexamine in 8-12 months from release.

You've expressed in several posts against DJI, what Brand / Model is your alternative. The Evolve 2 and Airpeak look great... but larger than Mavic series.

 

[brett8883]

Honestly the thing that really has us locked into DJI is the RC and video transmission system. Nobody else is even close. It’s a big deal too. I’ve had drones with bad video and RC transmission and an absolutely horrible experience.

 

[Suren]

Really? You can't send the Air2S off on a long mission and it won't complete the mission if it disconnects? Wow. That's crap.

You can with Litchi, when the update to the app is finished.

 

[Dougcjohn]

Honestly the thing that really has us locked into DJI is the RC and video transmission system. Nobody else is even close. It’s a big deal too. I’ve had drones with bad video and RC transmission and an absolutely horrible experience.

Absolutely! Their radio is the best!
Yuneec has good platform, but radio sucks. Can't even fly 20% the distance of DJI... about 2000 ft (less than 1/2 mile) it'll return home after loosing connection. In a neighborhood, about 2 blocks and it's looses video.

 

[Dougcjohn]

You can with Litchi, when the update to the app is finished.

I see Litchi Android update for Jan 31, 2022 list Air2S.
Where are you finding the non-connect mode supported?

I see iOS releases new SDK for Air2S in March 2022 too.
Litchi will add Air2S support at that time.

What's new - Litchi

flylitchi.com

 

[Dougcjohn]

On Litchi site, it states the newer DJI crafts can not continue to fly mission when signal loss.

Clip from Litchi site:
Exit Waypoint Mission on Signal Loss: When enabled, waypoint missions will end when signal is lost. When that happens, the drone will then execute the failsafe procedure (which can be changed with the "Signal Lost Behavior" setting). This setting cannot be changed for newer DJI drones (Mavic Mini 1, Mini 2, Mini SE, Mavic Air 2 and Air 2S) as they are not able to continue waypoint missions beyond signal range.

 

[Suren]

I see Litchi Android update for Jan 31, 2022 list Air2S.
Where are you finding the non-connect mode supported?

I see iOS releases new SDK for Air2S in March 2022 too.
Litchi will add Air2S support at that time.

What's new - Litchi

flylitchi.com

I use iPhone, that explains why I cannot see the update.

 

[Suren]

On Litchi site, it states the newer DJI crafts can not continue to fly mission when signal loss.

Clip from Litchi site:
Exit Waypoint Mission on Signal Loss: When enabled, waypoint missions will end when signal is lost. When that happens, the drone will then execute the failsafe procedure (which can be changed with the "Signal Lost Behavior" setting). This setting cannot be changed for newer DJI drones (Mavic Mini 1, Mini 2, Mini SE, Mavic Air 2 and Air 2S) as they are not able to continue waypoint missions beyond signal range.

Strange that they would have changed it. With Litchi it always completed the waypoint mission on Signal loss. Thats how it worked with my Mavic 2 and Zoom

 

[brett8883]

Strange that they would have changed it. With Litchi it always completed the waypoint mission on Signal loss. Thats how it worked with my Mavic 2 and Zoom

Those aircraft are different, that’s basically what this whole thread has been about.

 

[Dougcjohn]

Strange that they would have changed it. With Litchi it always completed the waypoint mission on Signal loss. Thats how it worked with my Mavic 2 and Zoom

Basically, any craft that uses the Fly App requires Radio connection to continually send flight data to craft. Any craft that uses Go4App can fly autonomous and continue if radio signal interrupted or lost.

It’s dependent on on-board firmware and processor if craft supports autonomous... and waypoint flights. That is an unknown at present, but based on the other crafts using Fly App… probably not.

As Brett8883, indicated above Post #17, app will control essentially by virtual sticks. With the improved Radio Ocusync3 range, that may not be an issue. Although some have indicated App control may be a little less smooth.

 

[Suren]

Basically, any craft that uses the Fly App requires Radio connection to continually send flight data to craft. Any craft that uses Go4App can fly autonomous and continue if radio signal interrupted or lost.

It’s dependent on on-board firmware and processor if craft supports autonomous... and waypoint flights. That is an unknown at present, but based on the other crafts using Fly App… probably not.

As Brett8883, indicated above Post #17, app will control essentially by virtual sticks. With the improved Radio Ocusync3 range, that may not be an issue. Although some have indicated App control may be a little less smooth.

Thanks, I learnt something today about the Fly app. Dji should have just put the Mavic 3 on the Go4 app

 

[bonzo]

At the cost of this drone, it is not for just hobbyists, it was initially advertised as a prosumer drone

There is no "prosumer" category. That term was made up by youtubers.
DJI only makes consumer and enterprise categories of drones, as shown on their website.

 

[Dougcjohn]

I didn't find any reference "Prosumer" was created by YouTubers.
There is a standard definition, 1980: a Consumer that purchases professional equipment; A professional consumer or Consumer desiring to purchase professional equipment.

I tend to maybe miss-use when I should use Professional & Serious Hobbyist but it's 1 word representing the meaning. The "Prosumer" in my context as with Others generally means Professional / Serious Hobbyist, and the price catagory well above what an average consumer would pay. In context Prosumer is generally acceptable description for Professional and Serious Hobbyist.

The DJI website has been redesigned a bit, but within the individual descriptions of several crafts, they contain content as “Professional”, "Professional Grade", "Professional... "

On the DJI Website... at least on their new pages: the Catagories: Consumer, Prosumer, and Professional is NOT listed. It now sites: Camera Drones, Enterprise and Agriculture... including Older "Professional" pages via mixed in from various routes... I didn't find a "Consumer" page. In addition, down within the "Content Index section" of Web Site, they still list Professional Retailers & Enterprise Retailers Links.

Several DJI Shops continue to apply the catagory Professional to their listings.
The Enterprise category represent product not available beyond DJI Certified Shops.

Sample DJI Professional and Enterprise Retailer:



Professional Retail Sites often have catagory as Prosumer Drones:

 

[ianwood]

It’s unlikely a Chinese camera maker is going to use Japanese sensors.

Check your facts. DJI has used Sony Exmor sensors in their cameras for years.

The M3 is a toy drone with a point and shoot camera. It’s no different then any other point and shoot toy camera. The M3 is made for consumers not professional photographers.

Maybe for you. You clearly do not like the Mavic 3. We get it. You've made your opinion painfully clear. But there are many professionals who do like the Mavic 3.

You should recognize that there is no one definition of professional equipment. Just the other day, I flew 4 Beta95x v3 "toy" drones on set with a major TV show. Why? Because they were best suited for the job at hand.

Different tools for different jobs. Which is why I have two Mavic 3 Cine drones to compliment the two Inspire 2s and the two RED Komodos with matching heavy-lift drones. The Mavic 3s are ALREADY being used professionally. It is a professional drone for me.

P.S. This is a big tangent. Back to topic. We will get waypoints via the API. I am impatiently waiting!

 

[brett8883]

I’ve always thought of “prosumer” to mean products that are marketed as consumer products but are commonly used professionally.

Full blooded “professional” products are ones that are either too expensive, too complicated, or unavailable for consumer use. Examples being the I2 or M600Pro that are too big, expensive, and complicated for anyone in their right mind to use for consumer purposes. I have an I2 and even so I’m not about to haul that thing around without getting paid to. No way not no how.

 

[Dougcjohn]

I’ve always thought of “prosumer” to mean products that are marketed as consumer products but are commonly used professionally.

Full blooded “professional” products are ones that are either too expensive, too complicated, or unavailable for consumer use. Examples being the I2 or M600Pro that are too big, expensive, and complicated for anyone in their right mind to use for consumer purposes. I have an I2 and even so I’m not about to haul that thing around without getting paid to. No way not no how.

I have 2x I2's, 2x M600Pro and S1000.
Got a chuckle from expressions... and agree it's a package to haul & setup after using Mavic.

The M600Pro is huge to setup... don't use it near people much. It attracts way to much attention on ground. Better out in county, beautiful stable flyer and so easy to see at distance. The I2 feels a lot smaller after a weekend with M600Pro.

 

[brett8883]

The I2 feels a lot smaller after a weekend with M600Pro.

I bet! Every time I see that drone the size amazes me. Like I know it’s big and I’ve seen plenty but every time it’s bigger than I remembered.

 

[Dougcjohn]

I bet! Every time I see that drone the size amazes me. Like I know it’s big and I’ve seen plenty but every time it’s bigger than I remembered.

If you've flown one... it's odd to describe... but even with an A7Riii hanging under... many have agreed, it's flight is so different and smooth. It flies like an old Bomber in comparison to Mustang Mavics; you can actually give a "wing-tip wave" to someone on ground... where they see it and wave back! The props also sound so smooth when it passes overhead.

It's big, heavy case to haul, gimbal case, 24 pak battery case no joy and takes lengthy time to setup gimbal & camera... but it is probably the most enjoyable to fly & watch slowly lumber through the sky. If it had OcuSync instead of LightBridge2... it'd be a dream!