Mavic 3pro or Air 3?

[James in the Desert]

I've got a collection of comparison images from the three cameras of the Mavic 3 pro that show the differences between the wide, short and long tele cameras.
The short tele of the Air 3 is the same camera as the Short tele on the Mavic 3 pro.
See the comparisons here:

Mavic 3 pro camera comparisons - Above & Beyond Photography

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abovephotos.smugmug.com

Thank you for sharing.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I'd like to see the same object - like a sign - from the 7x M3 and 3x MA3 for comparison.

Yes, I'd give up the 7x camera all day long for the sensor behind the 3x camera on the A3.

 

[GadgetGuy]

You are correct; the Phantom Pro 4 is like a workhorse it does everything I needed, the only reason I upgraded was because of the transmission. I kept losing signal a lot. However, with the RC Pro and the Mavic's renowned Hasselblad camera lens it was like getting the 1st iPhone groundbreaking stuff lol

Not to mention the significant increase in portability! P4P is a beast to travel with, compared to any Mavic. It can't be folded up.

 

[Paul Harvey]

The additional 7x telephoto camera on the Mavic 3 Pro makes it the same game changer the Mavic 3 was when it first came out. The optical 7x is usable at 14x and even up to 28x for surveillance and exploring. There are many situations where you cannot fly closer, but still want to reach the distant subject. Wildlife is one example where you don't want to disturb, but want to observe. Airspace restrictions may prevent you from flying over your subject, but you can still photograph it from outside those restrictions with a 7x telephoto lens. If none of this rings a bell for you, get the Air 3 instead.

Do you happen to know if the Air 3 has digital zoom on either of its cameras?

 

[GadgetGuy]

Do you happen to know if the Air 3 has digital zoom on either of its cameras?

Yes. Up to 3x digital on each. 1x-3x on the 24mm and 3x-9x on the 70mm.
However, so far, it has no Explore mode like the Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Pro to allow you to continuously go from 1x to 9x without turning off video and restarting it to switch cameras. Certainly possible with a future FW update, though.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yes, I'd give up the 7x camera all day long for the sensor behind the 3x camera on the A3.

I haven’t seen any comparisons between images and video shot on the 3x on the Air 3 and the 3x on Mavic 3 Pro. Are they that different? You can have it all on the Mavic 3 Pro. No sacrificing of the new and improved venerable 7x telephoto. You get all 3 cameras in one drone, and an Explore mode to support them!

 

[swadrvr]

The Air 3 is a terrific drone!

Better than classic or pro (3)?

 

[RangerEd]

If you ever plan to fly in Europe, the M3 Pro will be more restricted than the Air 3 because of the weight of the M3 Pro.

So really a better comparison would be the Mavic 3 Classic and the Air 3, closer in weight and price, though obviously the M3 Classic won't have two cameras.

I wonder if you can still get the original M3 which comes with the 2 cameras and still is under 900 grams so it will have the C1 label?

Don't get either. Both drones have already been made obsolete by the new O4 technology with brand new controllers which are not compatible with the current drones in the market except Air 3.

So with that ... get the Air 3.

 

[kilhan]

I wonder if the Hasselblad branding on the lenses of the Mavic 3 mean anything.

Is it noticeably better than their other drones which doesn't have Hassleblad or is it just marketing?

It is not just marketing, but this Hasselblad camera with 4/3 sensor gives really a very high quality of both photos and videos which don’t compare to any other prosumer drones. I make professional photos and video clips for agencies. Before, the best quality gave Phantom 4 Pro, now Mavic 3 gives the best quality. It concerns only the main Hasselblad camera, so I bought Mavic 3 Classic, because other cameras have very small sensors and the image/video quality is very low, so I don’t need them for anything. So the choice is obvious if the image/video quality on professional level is your priority

 

[cneedelman]

Don't get either. Both drones have already been made obsolete by the new O4 technology with brand new controllers which are not compatible with the current drones in the market except Air 3.

So with that ... get the Air 3.

I'm currently flying an AIr2s, with a P4P on the shelf. I'd love to get the Air 3, but I fly with an iPad Mini so clients can watch over my shoulder. The only option for that seems to be the built in screen on the RC2 which is smaller than my iPad screen which I use with a Hoodman. I wish there was an HDMI out. Any other options?

 

[Mikieh]

I need to upgrade an aging Mavic Pro in order to be complied with RID here in the US starting in September, and I'm on the fence between the Mavic 3 Pro and the newly released Air 3. I've seen a ton of comparisons between the Air 3 and the Mini 3 Pro, but not much between the Air 3 and and the Mavic 3 Pro. Lots of chatter about whether you should upgrade from the Mini 3 pro to the Air 3, but not a lot of conversation around how much of a real gap there is between the Mavic 3 pro and the Air 3. Anyone have any experience with the two that can speak to the differences, especially in light of the price difference?

**Apologies in advance if this is in the wrong forum group...was a toss up between posting it here or in the Mavic 3 Pro group**

I have 3 pictures taken with my Mavic 3(not pro, not classic). First at 51mm 35mm equivalent, next 372mm , and 24mm . You can really pull in tight with the 4/3 sensor if you like. Go 1:1 up to 28x zoom in explorer mode. I really like that.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I have 3 pictures taken with my Mavic 3(not pro, not classic). First at 51mm 35mm equivalent, next 372mm , and 24mm . You can really pull in tight with the 4/3 sensor if you like. Go 1:1 up to 28x zoom in explorer mode. I really like that.

For clarity, the first image is 2.1x digital on the 4/3 camera, the second is 16.1x (from 2.3x digital on the 7x telephoto camera), and the third at 1x on the 4/3 camera.

It's actually called Explore mode, and the max digital zoom on the 4/3 sensor is 4x, which is almost unusable, which is why in Normal mode it is limited to 3x. The 7x-28x in Explore mode is all on the smaller 7x telephoto camera, with anything above 7x being digital.

 

[Paul Harvey]

Yes. Up to 3x digital on each. 1x-3x on the 24mm and 3x-9x on the 70mm.
However, so far, it has no Explore mode like the Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Pro to allow you to continuously go from 1x to 9x without turning off video and restarting it to switch cameras. Certainly possible with a future FW update, though.

Thanks much!

 

[Meta4]

I bought Mavic 3 Classic, because other cameras have very small sensors and the image/video quality is very low, so I don’t need them for anything. So the choice is obvious if the image/video quality on professional level is your priority

If you won't use those cameras, you're stuck with having to shoot everything with the (very good) wideangle camera, which limits your photographic ability.
Some subjects just don't photograph well with a wideangle lens.
Some subjects can't be shot with a wideangle lens.

Compromising is a big part of drone photography.
Weight limitations that don't affect terrestrial photography are critical with drones.

It would be great to have 1 inch sensors or bigger for the three cameras of the Mavic 3 pro, but that's just not practical.
The extra size and weight of the lenses that would be required would mean the drone would have to be bigger and more expensive.

It's easy to dismiss the tele cameras of the mavic 3 pro because of their small sensor sizes, but is it really valid?
I've been using all three cameras on the Mavic 3 pro and despite the small sensors, I'm managing to get some great results with shots I couldn't get with the main camera.
Here are a couple from the last few days:
The short tele - 70 mm equivalent

The long tele - 166mm equivalent

Compromising with the small sensors is working out well for me and when things are right for a wideangle shot, I still have the main camera for shots like this:

.

 

[Mikieh]

For clarity, the first image is 2.1x digital on the 4/3 camera, the second is 16.1x (from 2.3x digital on the 7x telephoto camera), and the third at 1x on the 4/3 camera.

It's actually called Explore mode, and the max digital zoom on the 4/3 sensor is 4x, which is almost unusable, which is why in Normal mode it is limited to 3x. The 7x-28x in Explore mode is all on the smaller 7x telephoto camera, with anything above 7x being digital.

Well? Do you like the pictures or have any opinion? I was going by mm divided by 35mm so maybe I was wrong about the zoom factor. I think you can use the pictures and they are presentable. You can definitely digitally zoom in on a 4/3 sensor camera better than a 1 inch or lesser sensor.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Well? Do you like the pictures or have any opinion? I was going by mm divided by 35mm so maybe I was wrong about the zoom factor. I think you can use the pictures and they are presentable. You can definitely digitally zoom in on a 4/3 sensor camera better than a 1 inch or lesser sensor.

I find the 2x digital on any of the 3 cameras to be very usable. Yours are certainly very close to 2x digital. However, in all cases, the equivalent optical focal length, on even a lesser sensor, is superior to a 3x digital on even the 4/3 sensor. Compare a 3x digital on the 24mm equivalent 4/3 to the same image on the optical 3x on the 70mm equivalent camera. The optical wins hands down every time, despite the much smaller sensor, which is why the new third camera at 70mm equivalent and 3x optical, bridging the optical 1x and 7x gap on the original Mavic 3, is such a welcome addition!

 

[Mikieh]

I find the 2x digital on any of the 3 cameras to be very usable. Yours are certainly very close to 2x digital. However, in all cases, the equivalent optical focal length, on even a lesser sensor, is superior to a 3x digital on even the 4/3 sensor. Compare a 3x digital on the 24mm equivalent 4/3 to the same image on the optical 3x on the 70mm equivalent camera. The optical wins hands down every time, despite the much smaller sensor, which is why the new third camera at 70mm equivalent and 3x optical, bridging the optical 1x and 7x gap on the original Mavic 3, is such a welcome addition!

Yes I agree optical is always better, but good digital zooms can sometimes be very good.