Some more initial thoughts

[davedrone 178]

Comparing my new Air 3 to my Mavic 3, I'm finding: 1. Not seeing any extra benefit with the new O4 system. Flew both drones on the same path and height. It was a mixed terrain of open space and some neighborhoods. I coaxed the Mavic 3 about 1000 ft. farther before she initiated a RTH because of a poor signal. 2: Flight time seems to favor the Mavic 3 also, but just by a couple of minutes. 3: The Air 3 seems to be a little more accurate landing from RTH. It lands within a couple of inches of takeoff every time. 4: The Air 3 tele camera is really useful, especially at night, which was really a surprise. 5: Love the Air 3 images at 4k. No doubt it gives you a sharper picture with it's normal settings compared to the Mavic 3 or Mini 3 pro. It also has a "style" setting in the APP. I set the sharpness to minus 1 for a perfect picture. And finally, it's a way better drone than my Air 2s.

 

[Gadgetdude]

Good and valid findings. I have many of the same except item 1.

Of course every user is going to have different findings and experience. In my particular situation I live in a busy downtown area with lots of high rise living which of course lends to over saturation of Wi-Fi, cell phone, etc signals. I was always having issues with both my M3 and my Mini 3P. But now with the Air 3 and OS4 it is a total game changer for me!

 

[Droning on and on...]

4: The Air 3 tele camera is really useful, especially at night, which was really a surprise. 5: Love the Air 3 images at 4k. No doubt it gives you a sharper picture with it's normal settings compared to the Mavic 3 or Mini 3 pro. It also has a "style" setting in the APP. I set the sharpness to minus 1 for a perfect picture. And finally, it's a way better drone than my Air 2s.

But but but (spittle flying) 1" sensor!!!!!

Sorry, couldn't resist

 

[davedrone 178]

Good and valid findings. I have many of the same except item 1.

Of course every user is going to have different findings and experience. In my particular situation I live in a busy downtown area with lots of high rise living which of course lends to over saturation of Wi-Fi, cell phone, etc signals. I was always having issues with both my M3 and my Mini 3P. But now with the Air 3 and OS4 it is a total game changer for me!

Thats good. I actually just did another flight and we surpassed the Mavic 3 number so that new technology I'm sure has some merit. But I'm finding the flight time can't quite match my Mavic 3. The Air flew 18 minutes landing with 33% battery left, flying against a small wind, half in sport, half in normal. A little disappointing.

 

[davedrone 178]

But but but (spittle flying) 1" sensor!!!!!

Sorry, couldn't resist

Spent a lot of time with the Air2s. I think the Air 3 can match it's image quality and absolutely kills it at night. And it has twice the real world flight time.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Spent a lot of time with the Air2s. I think the Air 3 can match it's image quality and absolutely kills it at night. And it has twice the real world flight time.

The capability of a sensor is size + technology.

I have no interest in a 4/3" sensor from 2010 to take any pictures.

 

[Dave Maine]

Why do you talk about a 2010 sensor? DJI would never use a sensor 13 years behind the technology. The only valid comparisons would be when you have the sensor model number and manufacturer of the old and new. Sony, Canon, and others are continuously evolving their sensor product lines, generally on a 2-3 year cycle.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Why do you talk about a 2010 sensor?

Because sensor size is the only thing that matters.

 

[Wreckhunter]

Because sensor size is the only thing that matters.

Absolutely not,it is not the only thing that matters,way too much crying
about the Air 3 not having a 1" sensor so what if it is a little smaller than what is
in the AGEING air2s .It is all about,modern up to date technology.Now if their was a 1"
sensor with the same stacked technology that is being used in the Air 3 cameras that
may be a different story,but in the case of the replaced air 2s it is not.DJI put 1/1.3 sensors
in the Air 3 for a reason,probably because the gimbal with two cameras with one being a 1' sensor would be too large for the air frame size they chose.The company Omnivision that makes the
sensors may not even make a 1" size.Give DJI credit for putting together this fantastic piece of
technology in the Air 3.i have a DJI older model,but currently fly an Autel Lite+ with a super 1"
camera sensor on it.But I am going to be getting the Air 3 soon ,as I believe it will be that good.

 

[Droning on and on...]

@firsthobby, I've pushed back the most on those that insist sensor size is all that matters around here. I'm poking fun now that the A3 is out and we're seeing the real (stunning) photos and video.

 

[davedrone 178]

@firsthobby, I've pushed back the most on those that insist sensor size is all that matters around here. I'm poking fun now that the A3 is out and we're seeing the real (stunning) photos and video.

I've been doing a lot of testing with my Air 3, Mini 3 Pro, and Mavic 3. Air 3 has a noticeable advantage in picture quality over the Mini 3 Pro, day or night, when viewed on my high-end 65" TV. You can really control the sharpness of the picture compared to the Mavic 3. Dynamic range, as reported, is incredible. Clearly not the same camera/sensor of the Mini 3 Pro. I'm very happy.

 

[davedrone 178]

Only thing I'm disappointed about is the flight time which I thought would be slightly better. Some drone Youtubers were touting mid to 30 minutes. I'n not
seeing it. But it's still twice as good as my Air 2s.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Only thing I'm disappointed about is the flight time which I thought would be slightly better. Some drone Youtubers were touting mid to 30 minutes. I'n not
seeing it. But it's still twice as good as my Air 2s.

You can achieve close to DJI's Max flight time, but you don't want to fly the mission profile that achieves that long flight. You really don't

Twice as good as A2S is a much better expectation, and realistic.

 

[davedrone 178]

This drone is awesome at night with the 3x tele camera even though we're limited
to a 2.8 aperture. Hard to figure since the Air 2s also had a 2.8 aperture but a larger sensor but the Air 3 tele camera blows that camera away at night. DJI did a skillful job of making that smaller sensor deliver the goods.

 

[FiShBuRn]

This drone is awesome at night with the 3x tele camera even though we're limited
to a 2.8 aperture. Hard to figure since the Air 2s also had a 2.8 aperture but a larger sensor but the Air 3 tele camera blows that camera away at night. DJI did a skillful job of making that smaller sensor deliver the goods.

In normal video mode or in "night mode"?

 

[davedrone 178]

It seems that "night mode" is not adding any light gathering function. What it seems to be doing is smoothing out the picture to reduce noise. That helps a little but it introduces "smearing" artifacts that I don't care for. I'm getting better results just in "auto' mode.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Hard to figure since the Air 2s also had a 2.8 aperture but a larger sensor but the Air 3 tele camera blows that camera away at night. DJI did a skillful job of making that smaller sensor deliver the goods.

Omnivision deserves the credit far more than DJI.