Should I sell my Mavic 3 Classic for the Mavic 3 Pro?

[3rdof5]

The Mavic 3 Pro is clearly DJI's new flagship in the Pro Photography niche. And rightly so, all the Mavic 3 aircraft, regardless of the camera setup, are identical and excellent aircraft.
This step by DJI will render the Original Mavic 3 and M3 Cine finished in favor of the Pro and Classic which will sell very well.
That being said, the Mavic 3 Pro is not available as a drone only purchase that I have seen yet. So if you sell your Classic, which I think would be easy, you still need to make a purchase that includes at least another RC.

 

[AroundTheWorld]

The Mavic 3 Pro is clearly DJI's new flagship in the Pro Photography niche. And rightly so, all the Mavic 3 aircraft, regardless of the camera setup, are identical and excellent aircraft.
This step by DJI will render the Original Mavic 3 and M3 Cine finished in favor of the Pro and Classic which will sell very well.
That being said, the Mavic 3 Pro is not available as a drone only purchase that I have seen yet. So if you sell your Classic, which I think would be easy, you still need to make a purchase that includes at least another RC.

Yeah if I decide to sell something, it will be the whole package. I'm just trying to figure out if a C2 drone will really be problematic for my use or for traveling cause I use my drone most of the time abroad.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Thank you for the clarification. I was just planning on showing the app to prove that the Mavic 3 Classic didn't fly at all but I didn't know it was unreliable and could be faked. I don't know any other way to prove it then.

Not every prospective buyer is as sophisticated as @Yorkshire_Pud . The app will be good enough for 95% of your prospects, especially with your truthful statement, as long as you appear credible and trustworthy.

 

[AroundTheWorld]

Not every prospective buyer is as sophisticated as @Yorkshire_Pud . The app will be good enough for 95% of your prospects, especially with your truthful statement, as long as you appear credible and trustworthy.

Yeah, not to mention that the drone still has all the stickers on. You can guess that it's brand new.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yeah, not to mention that the drone still has all the stickers on. You can guess that it's brand new.

You'll be fine! You can also show battery cycles, and your date of receipt!

 

[AroundTheWorld]

You'll be fine! You can also show battery cycles, and your date of receipt!

The main question will be the law. Using it in Europe will apparently be a problem unless I plan to pass the A2 certification but I don't have any idea of the price here since it's not available yet.

And then you can be sure that the Mavic 4 will come out with a better camera system under 900 grams to meet the law requirements.

Really don't know what to do.

 

[GadgetGuy]

The main question will be the law. Using it in Europe will apparently be a problem unless I plan to pass the A2 certification but I don't have any idea of the price here since it's not available yet.

And then you can be sure that the Mavic 4 will come out with a better camera system under 900 grams to meet the law requirements.

Really don't know what to do.

I doubt they can shave 75g off that big honking camera module to get it under 900g. They might be able to lose some weight on the drone itself with some tweaking. However, if you need under 900g, the Mavic 3 is still your best bet, giving up the extra weight added by the 70mm third lens. DJI Refurbished Mavic 3 units are still available for $1750. Alternatively, enjoy your compliant Mavic 3 Classic. It's a great M2P upgrade.

 

[ZmoothOperator]

Oh really ? And how much does it cost to be a certified A2 pilot?

In my country, around 100 euro. In A2 you will have to fly 30m from people (5 meter in slow mode (max 3m sek).)

 

[GadgetGuy]

The main question will be the law. Using it in Europe will apparently be a problem unless I plan to pass the A2 certification but I don't have any idea of the price here since it's not available yet.

And then you can be sure that the Mavic 4 will come out with a better camera system under 900 grams to meet the law requirements.

Really don't know what to do.

Just realized that DJI can easily shave 75g off the Mavic 3 battery, by reducing the flight time, and have a special EU battery with say 35 mibutes of flight time instead of 43 minutes. They did the same thing for the Mini 2 sold in China that had to weigh 200g instead of 250g. They made a special light weight battery!

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

sophisticated as @Yorkshire_Pud .

I would have said "fussy beep beep" rather than sophisticated, lol.
I am hoping that DJI do revert to the DAT counter going beyond 99+1 as that would give some indication of usage and can't, as far as I know, be faked.

Yeah, not to mention that the drone still has all the stickers on. You can guess that it's brand new.

My Mavic Mini still has all its stickers on and it's coming up on 900 flights. BTW I am not trying to belittle your efforts etc. I am just pointing out the practicalities.

You'll be fine! You can also show battery cycles, and your date of receipt!

You can also check the activation date, from memory the relevant link is somewhere in the thread. Warranty / Status / Age Check
It used to be that the activation date was included in, and understandable, the .txt flight log but I think some, if not all, of the fly app drones either scramble the date or do not show the date.

 

[SmilingOgre]

I've become immune to most marketing over the years but I am picking up a lot of chatter that I do find interesting. I am in no hurry to purchase the M3P so I will continue to investigate. I have stated in the past that a 1/2" sensor is just too small for my applications but thinking further I do carry a little DJI pocket camera that in a pinch I will gather footage with and use sparingly in a production. I hear claims that the 7X has been reworked and produces a much better image that with the M3. From what I'm seeing the approx 3/4" sensor looks pretty decent as well. If after finding unprocessed d-log footage to review this pans out, it could be a option. It might work out to "roll" the fleet up having the M3P as primary, the M3C as backup and gifting the M2P to my grandson who is a fairly accomplished videographer having videoed professionally for an outdoors series. He loves flying the Air 2 which I gifted to his father. I'm keeping an open mind and following this drone as more information becomes available.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I would have said "fussy beep beep" rather than sophisticated, lol.
I am hoping that DJI do revert to the DAT counter going beyond 99+1 as that would give some indication of usage and can't, as far as I know, be faked.

My Mavic Mini still has all its stickers on and it's coming up on 900 flights. BTW I am not trying to belittle your efforts etc. I am just pointing out the practicalities.

You can also check the activation date, from memory the relevant link is somewhere in the thread. Warranty / Status / Age Check
It used to be that the activation date was included in, and understandable, the .txt flight log but I think some, if not all, of the fly app drones either scramble the date or do not show the date.

Realistically, when you buy anything used, no matter how unused, you are really buying your perception of trust of the seller. If you trust him, and his representations, that's more important than all the documentation that can be forged by a crook. I'd take a handshake from a trusted person over a signed ironclad contract from a crook!

 

[AroundTheWorld]

I doubt they can shave 75g off that big honking camera module to get it under 900g. They might be able to lose some weight on the drone itself with some tweaking. However, if you need under 900g, the Mavic 3 is still your best bet, giving up the extra weight added by the 70mm third lens. DJI Refurbished Mavic 3 units are still available for $1750. Alternatively, enjoy your compliant Mavic 3 Classic. It's a great M2P upgrade.

Yeah I was talking about a new drone design to get it under 900g. The refurbished unit is not for sale in my country which is also why I chose the Mavic 3 Classic in the first place.

 

[AroundTheWorld]

In my country, around 100 euro. In A2 you will have to fly 30m from people (5 meter in slow mode (max 3m sek).)

Thanks. I will try to find more info about the price in France but I don't think that this type of certification is already available here.

 

[AroundTheWorld]

Just realized that DJI can easily shave 75g off the Mavic 3 battery, by reducing the flight time, and have a special EU battery with say 35 mibutes of flight time instead of 43 minutes. They did the same thing for the Mini 2 sold in China that had to weigh 200g instead of 250g. They made a special light weight battery!

Yeah that's right! They could easily do that. I hope that they will think about it.

 

[AroundTheWorld]

I would have said "fussy beep beep" rather than sophisticated, lol.
I am hoping that DJI do revert to the DAT counter going beyond 99+1 as that would give some indication of usage and can't, as far as I know, be faked.

My Mavic Mini still has all its stickers on and it's coming up on 900 flights. BTW I am not trying to belittle your efforts etc. I am just pointing out the practicalities.

You can also check the activation date, from memory the relevant link is somewhere in the thread. Warranty / Status / Age Check
It used to be that the activation date was included in, and understandable, the .txt flight log but I think some, if not all, of the fly app drones either scramble the date or do not show the date.

Thanks. Yeah showing the activation date is a good idea too. The invoice will also prove that the drone has been bought very recently.

 

[chifineart]

Like others have echoed on here: it's all about your use case. I have the original Mavic 3 but I can see clear differences between the Classic and Pro. For me, being a photographer, the Classic is the best option. I have zero motivation to gain access to a drone with 3 built-in lenses when only ONE produces the best photos. But a lot of my friends that uses drone to produce videos, they would benefit greatly from the 3 lens setup.

 

[Bob in Savannah]

Honestly, I'm just disappointed that this (better) drone wasn't available just months ago when I purchased the M3. I know the M3 is a BEAST and I'm quite happy with it. Actually, I LOVE it. lol But if I had known this thing was going to come out or even the fact that its the same freaking price, for crying out loud.. omg

That's the issue. Sure, It would be nice to have another zoom lens closer than the 7x, but I just feel more cheated than anything else. I'm mad at myself and this just validates another poor decision on my part. grrr..

The irony is that I'm not at a skill level to be using anything other than the Mini 2, if you want to know the truth about it. Im a total student with editing video. A novice, really. lol. I just felt a little violated when seeing the price of the Mavic3Pro and that the M3 wont be offered anymore. I spent a lot.

I think I'm entitled to feel this way, too, regardless of my skill level.

 

[chifineart]

To be fair, the original Mavic 3 came out over 2 years ago so I do see the Mavic 3 "Pro" as kind of a mid-cycle refresh with a Mavic 4 in the wings in about 2 years. Almost all product makers do this including drone manufacturers, phones, and automobiles. What is interesting is how DJI released the Mavic 3 first and then waited a year before releasing the Mavic 3 Classic which was obviously a step backwards. In most cases, it should have been the M3 Classic, then M3, then M3 Pro. But the problem with releasing it in that order is there would have only been a 1 year gap between the M3 and M3 Pro and that would have even pissed off more people and actually, if it were in that order, then the original M3 would not have been needed. So I guess what I'm saying is DJI released the M3, M3 Classic, and then M3 Pro in that exactly order to maximize profits. I see a LOT of original M3 owners saying they will now get the M3 Pro which is exactly what DJI wanted to do and this squeezes as much profit as possible.

I mean, I think we all know what DJI is doing these days. The same thing that Apple or any other company that is about maximizing profits. You can't blame them and as a matter of fact, they absolutely own the consumer/prosumer drone market. So unless other competing companies step up big time, DJI can pretty much dictate the flow of their product and release cycles.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Like others have echoed on here: it's all about your use case. I have the original Mavic 3 but I can see clear differences between the Classic and Pro. For me, being a photographer, the Classic is the best option. I have zero motivation to gain access to a drone with 3 built-in lenses when only ONE produces the best photos. But a lot of my friends that uses drone to produce videos, they would benefit greatly from the 3 lens setup.

As a photographer, surely you also understand the significant difference in perspective between different focal lengths, and why flying closer with the wide angle view cannot replicate the image created by a telephoto lens from much further away, not to mention not disturbing the subject, and being able to get the desired shot inside an NFZ while legally shooting from outside of it.