Recently, DJI debuted a new update for its DJI Mavic 3 drone, which offers some notable camera enhancements. This follows months of development whereby the drone has constantly become better since its release last year. In many respects, the Mavic 3 in 2022 is virtually a new drone totally unlike what it was in 2021. The most noteworthy changes I find to have come from the most recent firmware update, v01.00.0700, to the Mavic 3.
Greatly improved GPS
The Mavic 3’s awful speed in which it gains a satellite connection has been a persistent issue that has haunted it thus far during its career. For many months, I would have to stand there and wait patiently way too long every time I wanted to fly the Mavic 3. This is quite annoying attempting to catch a passing moment. But this most recent version seems to have at last fixed the long-standing fault in an otherwise great device.
Now, when the drone first launches into a new geographic location, it is just quite slow in obtaining a GPS lock. Once it knows roughly where it is, I find it picks out all the satellites required right away. It’s now, at least, on level with the Air 2S and Mini 3 Pro drones, in my opinion.
Huge telephoto camera upgrades
Among the most creative ideas to be used in a drone in many years is the zoom camera on the Mavic 3. Although the image quality from this secondary camera is not almost as good as that of the main camera and its large sensor, it is still a useful instrument nevertheless.
Many times, you just cannot fly near to the subject you wish to photograph. For instance, one cannot fly in a national park; but, the Mavic 3’s 7x zoom capability allows one to obtain an aerial perspective of a park from well beyond its boundaries. Wildlife photography is another instance. While using a great telephoto camera can allow you to capture animals from far distances that they would never know your drone is there is, you should never approach animals with a drone.
Having all this in mind, it makes me happy to see the telephoto camera in a few important respects improved. It is, first of all, far more stable now. In post-processing, footage taken with the super zoom camera sometimes required a substantial amount of stabilization. Jitters are now much lower, and unless you are accelerating the footage for a telephoto time-lapse (as I usually prefer to do), the telephoto camera can produce excellent, smooth footage without further digital stabilization.
The method you move between the main camera and the super telephoto lens has also been slightly but significantly changed. You had to switch to Explore mode first, then search through digital zoom choices until you came upon the 7x optical camera. If you would want explore mode, it is still there; but, now all it takes to reach the telephoto camera is tap the 7x icon next to the shutter button. Although this might not seem like a significant deal, using the telephoto camera with the Mavic 3 regularly makes a tremendous impact.
RAW image capture marks the third—and maybe most important—improvement to the telephoto camera. When I first started flying the Mavic 3, I was disappointed to find the telescopic camera lacked RAW capability since I like to capture still images in this format. It allows me to save underexposed or overexposed portions of the image that would be lost in a compressed JPEG image as well as to fix color. When shooting with the telephoto camera, you may also regulate shutter speed and ISO as well as change a few additional photo and video settings not accessible in telephoto mode.
Nice fresh ideas for avoiding obstacles.
The latest firmware greatly improved my ability to record cinematic video without including trees and other elements. An optional new Nifty mode included in APAS 5.0 basically lets the airplane pass more precisely to objects than in the normal mode. This allows one to fly the Mavic 3 through shockingly small openings with APAS 5.0 turned on, therefore offering some degree of safety in dangerous circumstances. The drawback, as the app will alert you, is that this mode raises inadvertent collision risk.
Flying with APAS 5.0 Nifty active allows me to record far more dynamic and entertaining footage than in other obstacle avoidance settings. A drone operating in Nifty mode can pass through rather small spaces in trees. I am a very skilled drone pilot, thus if you are not used to flying in close- quarters conditions, I advise flying carefully and avoiding finding yourself in circumstances when you are depending on object avoidance technology to save you from crashing. Still, it’s great to have if you’re at ease with more difficult flying.
Additional filming possibilities with HLG
Hybrid Log Gamma, or HLG for short, is a High Dynamic Range (HDR) format. HLG is, however, backward compatible with conventional dynamic range screens unlike other HDR systems. This makes it a quite flexible format, and I have learned to enjoy recording in this one. Though it requires less labor to edit in than D-log, it provides many of the same benefits. Though it’s only accessible when shooting with the main camera, it’s now my preferred option with the Mavic 3.
DJI now provides a suitable Rec.709 vivid LUT to help with editing if your usual shooting in D-log style. If you need to record really slow-motion, you also have the fantastic choice to film at up to 200 frames per second at 1080p utilizing the main camera on the Mavic 3. Most of the special modes, like Quickshots and Hyperlapse, now also incorporate D-Log and HLG, which makes such tools far more beneficial and simpler to include into your workflow. DJI has included ProRes 422 and ProRes 422 LT form to the main Hasselblad camera for owners of the more costly Mavic 3 Cine.
A fantastic drone gets even better
You truly see DJI’s commitment to the Mavic 3 when you combine these important new features to a huge list of other little enhancements and fixes included in this firmware update — and to almost half a year’s worth of other steady and significant advancements. It has corrected almost all of the original launch-apparent faults to provide what might very well be the ideal drone. Now it’s more attractive if you were unsure about switching to the Mavic 3 before.
Though it more than justifies the price, there are some excellent choices available that won’t be quite so difficult on your pocketbook. This is still a really expensive gadget. For example, I gave the DJI Mini 3 Pro a perfect grade last month; although it is less than half the Mavic 3, it is nevertheless quite competitive and a better choice if size and weight are main factors. Another choice would be the Air 2S, which stays a favorite of mine and can now be used with the Insta360 Sphere to record original 360 drone footage.
Still, the Mavic 3 keeps that title if you’re looking for the best drone money can afford. Now it’s better than it has ever been.