First let me say that the
Mavic 3 is by far my favorite drone to date. It's my first choice from my personal arsenal which includes the
Inspire 2 with Z7 lenses. However, when it comes to doing real work, especially anything that requires mapping, I have to leave it at home. Yes, I realize we now have the
Mavic 3 Enterprise line, but that doesn't silence the disappointment I have with DJI when it comes to the original
Mavic 3's inability to do simple mapping.
Please hear me out before sending replies stating DJI never intended to allow waypoints for the
Mavic 3 or anything along those lines. When the
Mavic 3 was released I purchased it with the thought that this will eventually replace my
Mavic 2, which is what I use for all drone work and perhaps making the M2 a reliable backup to the
Mavic 3. Now this part is important, AT THAT TIME, there was no indication, advertisements or announcements from DJI regarding the
Mavic 3's inability to perform waypoints. None! Every drone prior to the
Mavic 3 with exception to the FPV either have waypoints built in or it is provided by 3rd party software upon SDK release.
The
Mavic 3 is now a year old, and yet no Waypoints and no signs of DJI releasing the SDK. To me this is TOTALLY unfair to those that purchased this drone with hopes of it doing any serious drone work. The
Mavic 3 is incredible, my drone of choice as I stated above. DJI has gradually upgraded this drone with features beyond our expectation such as cruise control and night mode to name a few. But why omit waypoints? Why leave out that last nugget that would make the
Mavic 3 whole?
Is this just another marketing ploy to force the purchase of the M3E? If that's the case who needs both? Who knew there would be an enterprise line at the time of the
M3 release except DJI? It really looks bad in hindsight. Reflecting back I'm so happy the
Mavic 2 didn't have this same philosophy else I would have never had the desire to pursue my Part 107 and take on drone missions. Discovering the power of waypoints using the
Mavic 2 fueled my desire to explore into drones and it even ignited my desire to explore deeper its capabilities with the
Inspire 2. Why the gap with the
Mavic 3?
I'm still a fan!