Which Mavic 3 model to go from Mavic 2 Pro and smart controller?

[Chrislaf]

The Tele lens @7X is optical. That image you posted looks like the digital zoom from the Tele lens. Pretty hard to know if we don’t know if the original was digitally zoomed or not.

Regardless there have been some testing of the 7X optical by pros like christangey on this forum with good results so it’s not all as bad as it’s made out to be.

Chris

 

[GadgetGuy]

That’s new vs refurb and the price quoted looks like drone only vs the basic kit with RC-N1. Once refurb Mavic Classic is available you can compare the two for price.

You are incorrect. The $1549 M3 Refurb price is the exact same package as the $2049 Retail package. There is no difference between the two! Both are brand new. However, the Refurb with the exact same 12 month warranty and DJI Care availability is $500 cheaper today! If a Refurb Mavic 3 Classic were available, it would be a different matter. However, it isn't an option. So why pay $50 more for the stripped down, "poor man's" Mavic 3 Classic than the Mavic 3?

 

[GadgetGuy]

Ok. After my own research and discussions with others, I am leaning for, as the best upgrade from M2Pro:

Mavic 3, CP.MA.00000439.01 $2,050
RC Pro Remote, CP.MA.00000406.02 $1,200

This config,
would not have the Apple ProRes, 1TB internal drive (vs. M3 Cine)
would have the zoom lens (vs M3 Classic)

I am missing anything else important in comparing M3 models and the best controller?

Only the additional $500 savings that the $1549 Mavic 3 Refurb will guarantee you, which will pay for 2 more M3 batteries and a Hub to charge all three batteries in! Anyone who has ever bought or received a Refurb drone from DJI (say from a warranty replacement) will tell you that they are brand new and indiscernible from the "new" ones. I just bought one myself as a backup. Identical!

 

[GadgetGuy]

I have a question with the word refurbished so $1549 for a Refurb Mavic 3 with 7x zoom...What was the drone in the beginning before this refurbish took place ? Does this modification deteriorate the durability, functioning of all the drones capabilities and programs and how about the longevity of this modified drone ? Thank you

It is not a modified drone. It is a brand new, unflown drone that was returned within 7 days of purchase to DJI, which legally cannot be resold as "new." It has been bench tested for full functionality by DJI, comes with a full 12 month warranty, just like every other DJI drone, and is also eligible for DJI Care. It's the exact same drone you would receive from DJI under DJI Care, or any warranty repair! It is brand new, sealed in a retail box, and if it didn't have a black U on the outside of the box, no one would know you paid $500 less for it than everyone else! I just bought one myself as a backup to my now 1 year old original Mavic 3 that I originally paid $2200 for last year!

 

[GadgetGuy]

Many believe that a refurbished drone has a higher chance of good quality than a new drone as it would be fully inspected whereby a new drone may or may not be spot checked coming off the line. I don't know. DJI has not yet invited me to audit their manufacturing and refurbishing process. DJI does not give the purchaser of a refurbished drone the history of the drone. Carfax doesn't cover drones yet either.

Incorrect. The history of every Refurbished DJI drone is that it is an unflown new drone returned within 7 days of purchase. It cannot be resold as new. It is bench tested, recertified, and repackaged as a new Refurb, and has the same 12 month warranty as all other DJI drones, and is also eligible for DJI Care. It's the exact same Refurb everyone gets after any warranty replacement or any DJI Care replacement. If you buy a new one, and have a problem with it, DJI is going to replace it with a Refurb anyway. Why not just start with a bench tested Refurb and save $500?

 

[GadgetGuy]

Here's my take on it all.

If I was making my choice now, I would still go with the Mavic 3 and here in Canada there is no option to get the refurbished Mavic 3 from DJI or an approved reseller. Why? Because it provides options and creative potential everytime I am up in the air. To me the price differential is worth it. I often don't think people understand importance of having TWO cameras on one drone. I find the 7X optical Tele lens very useful and even though I don't often use images from the digital zoom, I find it very useful for exploring.

In a way the same sort of complaints have happened with the Mini 3 Pro vertical shooting mode - many people have complained about its usefulness but here again it provides options and creative potential that didn't exist before.

With regard to the Smart controller, I am not sure if the OP is referring to the new DJI RC with built in screen or the RC Pro. Here again there are options. I have the RC Pro and although it is expensive, I love mine. It is fast, bright and has the ability to load additional apps which the lower end DJI RC doesn't have. In addition many people who have the lower end RC seem to have to buy a screen shade to help with seeing the screen in bright conditions.

Regardless, good luck with your decision whatever it may be.

Chris

Hear! Hear!

 

[GadgetGuy]

View attachment 158255 Armchair critic?

But this doesn't mean I couldn't observe countless threads with hundreds of examples of photos and video over almost a year now, to come to MY conclusion. Correct? As I said, I have plenty of time behind cameras looking through lenses of equal or greater length, should I not use that experience to guide me? Well my conclusion is that the 7X is something of a gimmick - it is neither the primary payload/tool of the M3 or the sole purpose to upgrade to the M3.

The 7X zoom camera on theM3 (in my opinion), is somewhat gimmicky. And if you do a quick search, you'll find countless M3 owners (not armchair critics) on this very forum who have, or are, coming to the same conclusion.

As I said: there may be those who find the quality and images from the 7X lens as beneficial or quite useful, and I get that. But I am buying the M3 Classic sans the 7X because I know precisely what I will (and most importantly) - will not, be doing with it.

I don't care if DJI has versions of the M3 that come with bottle openers, screwdrivers, air compressors or 3D printers onboard, AND a handy-dandy-7X micro lens in front of a tiny 1/2 inch sensor - and threw it all in for FREE - I don't want it on my ship! Refurbished or not.

Here is an example (not mine of course) of an M3's 7X zoom at 100% - that I cropped to fit here. This is just one example of many like it. If you were a working photographer - made your living as such - would you deliver this kind of content to a paying client - simple because you could?

View attachment 158259

There are multiple threads on this forum of 7x images in good light that are virtually indistinguishable from the 4/3 sensor still images. The image you have selected and posted is complete junk to fit your narrative. Using a 7x telephoto on the ground is not the same as using one from the air on a drone to explore and photograph and video subjects that one cannot more closely approach for legal reasons, safety reasons, or just to observe undetected, whether it be wildlife or for surveillance. The 7x telephoto recently had a major FW upgrade that now gives photographers full manual control over it, and it now shoots DNG as well as JPG. It now also supports Spotlight and Orbit. If you owned one, you would know this. Those still complaining about it and libeling and slandering it obviously don't own it!

Check out @Meta4 's recent ship photos taken with the 7x telephoto. Until he finally bought a Mavic 3 with the latest telephoto FW update, and used the 7x telephoto for his stellar ship photos, he, too was a skeptic and a critic. He'll now defend it as I do!

Mavic 3 Tele Lens

I see some members dismissing the tele lens that's incorporated into the Mavic 3 and confess that I was initially skeptical about it. With a fixed aperture and dinky 1/2 inch sensor, I didn't think it would be capable of producing the quality I wanted. It definitely has limitations and can't...

mavicpilots.com

 

[Meta4]

The 7X zoom camera on theM3 (in my opinion), is somewhat gimmicky. And if you do a quick search, you'll find countless M3 owners (not armchair critics) on this very forum who have, or are, coming to the same conclusion.

I don't know about those countless owners.
But here are a couple of recent shots from that gimmicky lens.

The sensor isn't as good as the main camera, and it's not as good in low light, but you can still get quite reasonable results if you know what you are doing.

Here is an example (not mine of course) of an M3's 7X zoom at 100% - that I cropped to fit here. This is just one example of many like it. If you were a working photographer - made your living as such - would you deliver this kind of content to a paying client - simple because you could?

I definitely wouldn't.
But my clients were quite happy with the photos I posted above.

 

[lomposlapos]

Re the tele options (M3 vs M3 Classic). Can you please list scenarios where the tele function is handy or a must?

 

[Chrislaf]

Re the tele options (M3 vs M3 Classic). Can you please list scenarios where the tele function is handy or a must?

About a month ago I was shooting some local area building ruins from the early 1900s and couldn't get in close due to the danger of colliding with trees so I used the optical 7X Tele to get the shots I wanted. It is in situations like this where the 7X optical shines. The same shot with the wide angle lens is a completely different perspective. As I said in my post above without the 7X optical lens, I wouldn't have had the option of a different perspective.

Chris

 

[lomposlapos]

I used the optical 7X Tele

Thank you. Were the quality of photos usable for publication purposes or it is only for inspection, scouting?

 

[lomposlapos]

Are the M3 and M3 Classic specs exactly the same in everything except the M3 Classic missing the tele lens or there are other differences, however minor? The main lens is exactly the same?

 

[GadgetGuy]

Are the M3 and M3 Classic specs exactly the same in everything except the M3 Classic missing the tele lens or there are other differences, however minor? The main lens is exactly the same?

Specs are exactly the same, except for the missing 7x telephoto camera, the lack of a locking gimbal when off, and a less protective jock strap gimbal protector. You can buy a Refurb Mavic 3 kit with the RC-N1 for $50 less than the Mavic 3 Classic with the RC-N1!

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[Meta4]

Thank you. Were the quality of photos usable for publication purposes or it is only for inspection, scouting?

Didn't you see the photos in post #28 and in the link in post #27?

 

[Cosmo0g]

I love the tele lens. No reason to limit your options.

 

[lomposlapos]

Didn't you see the photos in post #28 and in the link in post #27?

Thanks, I did. Very informative.

 

[Chrislaf]

Thank you. Were the quality of photos usable for publication purposes or it is only for inspection, scouting?

I am just a hobbyist photographer so would not know the standards/criteria for publication. The photos I took had a bit of noise in them as it was overcast so I had to increase the ISO to get a good exposure. I haven’t got around to cleaning up the noise in Topaz but have had good results with other images in the past.

I use the 7X optical much like I use the wide angle lens - for photos and panoramas. I use the digital zoom mostly for scouting/exploring.

Chris

 

[RoryG]

<--
Cine if you want Prores. Personal note: I like the look of d-log much more than Prores and I don't use Final Cut Pro. I prefer having an sd card that I can remove from the drone for transfer to an sdd that I can't. -->

FYI ProRes is a CODEC (COmpress DECompress) designed by Apple whereas d-log is a logarithmic colourspace which is very flat and designed for grading (many camera manufacturers have their own log implementation, it's not a standard). You can record d-log in H.264, H.265, etc., however these are normally 8bit and 4.2.0 sub sampling, so only 255 colours per red, green and blue channels and missing a lot of colour information which leads to banding in areas of similar colour such as the sky. ProRes 4.2.2 is normally a 10bit format which has 1024 colours per channel. You have to post process d-log footage, having a 10bit file with 4.2.2 sub sampling to work makes a massive difference, I would never recommend recording d-log in an 8bit format. Most NLEs on Windows or Mac will support ProRes, not just FCPX.

The M3C can use an SD card just like the others in the family, however if you are recording ProRes it has to go to the SSD.

 

[Dave Pitman]

The Tele lens @7X is optical. That image you posted looks like the digital zoom from the Tele lens. Pretty hard to know if we don’t know if the original was digitally zoomed or not.

Regardless there have been some testing of the 7X optical by pros like christangey on this forum with good results so it’s not all as bad as it’s made out to be.

Chris

TL;DR The increased bit rate for video and flight time are the main benefits to upgrade to the classic from a M2P. Otherwise, the 4 year old drone still has it.

 

[Don Testme]

I use the 7x zoom to 28x as a surveillance system. What I surveil is my business. But it's a welcomed addition to camera system. There are many situations where I don't want to be noticed by crazy people. I like the choice I have of being close or far.