A few years ago, I bought my first drone, the DJI Mavic Air 2. I loved shooting videos all over the country with it but in my neck of the woods, there’s nothing interesting to shoot. Due to all the restrictions and the nearby airports, heliports, stadiums, state parks and other places where you are not allowed to fly, it made me almost want to give up flying my drone. I joined a drone club and that sparked my interest again flying with other like minded people. Even though the drone shot 4K video and great still photos, I wanted something better. The drone had only a few sensors to keep it away from objects and the sensors didn't prevent it from bumping into a tree, hitting the ground, and breaking. Of course, I had the DJI refresh policy on it so they replaced the ... MoreA few years ago, I bought my first drone, the DJI Mavic Air 2. I loved shooting videos all over the country with it but in my neck of the woods, there’s nothing interesting to shoot. Due to all the restrictions and the nearby airports, heliports, stadiums, state parks and other places where you are not allowed to fly, it made me almost want to give up flying my drone. I joined a drone club and that sparked my interest again flying with other like minded people. Even though the drone shot 4K video and great still photos, I wanted something better. The drone had only a few sensors to keep it away from objects and the sensors didn't prevent it from bumping into a tree, hitting the ground, and breaking. Of course, I had the DJI refresh policy on it so they replaced the drone for a small fee. Still, I felt my drone was kind of a toy, not quite a professional piece of equipment. I could not afford to get a very professional model, so I decided to live with the replacement drone until something better came along that was affordable. Enter the DJI Mavic 3 Classic! Since I am only a recreational flyer and not looking to make money with the drone, this drone was one that I could afford. The build of this drone seems much sturdier than the previous one and has sensors on all sides of it to keep it away from trees, buildings, people, etc. I feel safe flying it knowing that I won’t have to have it repaired after a small mishap. It is slightly larger and slightly heavier, but I still had to register it with the FAA as I did with the previous one. With the DJI Mavic Air 2, I had to use my iPhone attached to the controller and since I had the Pro Max model, it didn’t fit comfortably on the controller. I had to buy a bracket to hold it on the controller which made it awkward to hold. Before I got the DJI Mavic 3 Classic, I was worried about what would happen with next year’s iPhone since there are rumors that the Lightning port that connects it to the controller would be eliminated and another rumor said that the next iPhone would fold in half. How would I then use it to fly my drone? The DJI Mavic 3 Classic kit that I bought came with the DJI RC controller that has the screen built in. The benefit of this screen is that I won’t get text messages and emails popping up on the screen to distract me while I am flying. The battery on the older drone gave me about 22 minutes of flight time whereas the battery on the DJI Mavic 3 Classic gives me about 45 minutes. There is now a night mode for flying when it’s dark and there is also a cruise control option on the controller to make the flight smoother than trying to hold the stick in one position to keep it flying at a steady speed. I’m glad I upgraded to the newer model as I now feel like a professional filmmaker and I might even go for my Part 107 Professional Pilot license.

I was super excited when I got my hands on the much-awaited DJI's Mavic 3 Classic. This is DJI's latest flagship drone that brings in a few new features along with the best features you find on Mavic 3 (and cine) minus the tele photo lens at a very affordable price. Night mode, cruise control, and hyperlapse preview are the new additions on Classic 3. I used the Mavic 2 pro to shoot nature videos and compared those videos and images with Mavic 3 classic. The quality of the images is amazing- sharp and crisp- and better than Mavic 2 ones. With the dynamic range you can shoot stunning and vibrant videos that are rich in color. The amount of details you can capture with different color profile settings and 108 deg ultra-wide angle view is amazing. I definitely ... MoreI was super excited when I got my hands on the much-awaited DJI's Mavic 3 Classic. This is DJI's latest flagship drone that brings in a few new features along with the best features you find on Mavic 3 (and cine) minus the tele photo lens at a very affordable price. Night mode, cruise control, and hyperlapse preview are the new additions on Classic 3. I used the Mavic 2 pro to shoot nature videos and compared those videos and images with Mavic 3 classic. The quality of the images is amazing- sharp and crisp- and better than Mavic 2 ones. With the dynamic range you can shoot stunning and vibrant videos that are rich in color. The amount of details you can capture with different color profile settings and 108 deg ultra-wide angle view is amazing. I definitely recommend upgrading to Classic 3 if you have been waiting to do so just to take advantage of the new features and the improved flight time. I played around with the night mode and was thoroughly impressed by the details it captured even in low light settings. My primary use of this drone will be photogrammetry and I can't wait to take it out on my next assignment and compare its performance with high end drones that I used in the past. Features • The professional grade Hasselblad camera, with an adjustable aperture, can capture images at 20MP and videos at 5.1k/50fs or 4k/120fps, which is a major upgrade compared to Mavic 2 Pro and Air 2S. This is the best camera you can find in the market today on consumer drones. While in night mode the camera automatically adjusted the settings to adapt to lowlight conditions to capture videos with high fidelity even with noise reduction. It defaults to 4k/30fps video in night mode and am hoping a future software upgrade will allow me shoot night videos at 5.1k/50fs. It has a 3X digital zoom which is good enough for not having a tele camera lens that can come at an additional cost. • Classic 3 has 46 min flight time (rated) which can vary a bit based on the wind conditions. I had no problems running it for 30 mins in windy Chicago. It's rated for 15 km range (distance between the RC and the drone) compared to 12k on the Mavic 2 and Mine 3 Pro. I didn't really get to test the range as I was flying it in windy conditions and didn’t want to lose sight of the drone. • Cruise control is my favorite feature. One less thing to worry about as I can now focus more on camera orientation and zoom. This function is great when you are shooting video while circling an object and you can capture every bit of detail even at low speed while in cruise mode. It will automatically circle the object until you turn off the cruise control. This is by far the best feature that DJI added to its feature list, and I absolutely love it! • Active tracking is the next best feature I like on this drone, can't wait to shoot my surfing buddings on my next visit. I was able to get GPS lock in 20 sec from the time it took off, which is amazing. I remember the previous gen one took minutes to get a GPS lock. • It has 8GB internal storage with the capability to add an additional 16GB/32GB/64GB memory stick. • It has omni directional sensors for obstacle detection which is a life saver for me as I shoot nature videos and tend to fly close to foliage and mountains. The DJI classic 3 is a game changer for the features it offers in its price range. Definitely recommend it if you have been waiting to upgrade from Mavic 2 and if you are looking to take your drone skills to a whole new level!

This drone is new addition to the Mavic 3 family, compared to the regular Mavic 3 - it does not include telephoto camera, but it's a bit cheaper so if telephoto is not necessity - it's a great choice! You still get a 3x digital zoom with Mavic 3 Classic and 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad camera is truly outstanding. It can shoot in 5.1k at 50fps or 4k at 60fps and 4k 120fps slow motion, it's mounted on a 3 axis gimbal that assures image is always perfectly stable (FPV mode is available to emphasize bank as aircraft turns to make your footage more airplane-like). Props never come into camera field of view. Aperture setting (2.8 to 11), shutter speed and ISO (up to 12800) can be either automatically set or manually chosen in master mode, there is a way to put histogram on the ... MoreThis drone is new addition to the Mavic 3 family, compared to the regular Mavic 3 - it does not include telephoto camera, but it's a bit cheaper so if telephoto is not necessity - it's a great choice! You still get a 3x digital zoom with Mavic 3 Classic and 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad camera is truly outstanding. It can shoot in 5.1k at 50fps or 4k at 60fps and 4k 120fps slow motion, it's mounted on a 3 axis gimbal that assures image is always perfectly stable (FPV mode is available to emphasize bank as aircraft turns to make your footage more airplane-like). Props never come into camera field of view. Aperture setting (2.8 to 11), shutter speed and ISO (up to 12800) can be either automatically set or manually chosen in master mode, there is a way to put histogram on the remote's screen to aide operator in setting the correct exposure. 20MP photos (5280x3956) can be taken in the camera mode which also allows for exposure bracketing for those HDR images. Total flight time is advertised as 46 minutes and I was able to achieve around 30 in a pretty high wind (wind resistance up to 12m/s which is 23 knots) before I had to start heading back "home". Drone is equipped with intelligent return to home function that skips climb to the safe altitude if obstacle avoidance is possible - which saves time. Speaking of obstacle avoidance - in certain modes like "active track" it's a really great feature as it would allow operator to concentrate on the video being taken. Battery charge takes about 1.5 hours and I recommend purchasing a battery charging hub, you'll probably buy more batteries later anyway, plus it allows for better battery cooling during the charge process (battery won't charge if it's too hot). Included remote with an integrated touch screen is absolutely a blast - no need to fiddle with your phone anymore, it significantly cuts down the pre-flight time! Remote has threaded mounting holes for different accessories as well. Prop noise and performance - being a bigger drone - I actually like how quiet it is! Big propellers (that are easy to remove by just push and twist action) make significantly less noise than small drones! Maximum airspeed of this drone is 42mph in a sport mode, 33mph in Normal and 11mph in cinematic. It's also equipped with a cruise control function which allows for a smoother flight while taking a video. Aircraft maximum service ceiling is 6000ft above sea level. Overall - it's an excellent photo/video drone, could not wish for a better camera! Easy to control, safety features include obstacle avoidance and air sense (detection of the manned aircraft via ADS-B), smart return to home - guarantee long and productive service life of your investment!