Seven questions about the DJI Mavic 3 answered

"The zoom lens is unnecessary and a spy tool." That was my first thought about the DJI Mavic 3. On second look, I see it differently: the zoom lens is brilliant and adds a whole new touch to the drone's shots.

Drone

DJI Mavic 3 Fly More Combo

46 min, 895 g, 20 Mpx

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Drone

DJI Mavic 3 Fly More Combo

46 min, 895 g, 20 Mpx

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The first drone with a second camera

The telephoto lens is brilliant. It allows me to capture completely new perspectives that are unusual for a drone. The background is clearly separated from the foreground. The picture gets more depth. With the Hasselblad main camera, the depth effect is not as strong.

However, the telephoto camera does not come close to the main camera in terms of quality. This is mainly due to its much smaller sensor, which is less sensitive to light. With it, the Mavic 3 also achieves a 4K or Full HD resolution when zooming - but only with a maximum of 30 frames per second. Slow motion shots are therefore only possible with the main camera.

For video professionals, there's another limitation: Unlike the main camera, the telephoto lens does not record D-Log or 10-bit video. The recordings contain less information. This leads to limitations in editing options in post production, such as color grading.

EU certification is not a cause for concern

The DJI Mavic 3 does not (yet) have official EU certification. Therefore, many potential users are worried about not being allowed to launch the drone from 2023. In our estimation, these worries are unfounded.

In Switzerland, it is still written in the stars when the EU regulation will come at all. At the moment, there is no date. It could still take a long time. And after the introduction, there will be a transition period of two years during which the drone can be used without restrictions.

The lack of certification is probably not a problem in the EU either. The drone appears to meet the requirement for Class C1, but certification in general hasn't started yet. Presumably, the first drones with EU certifications will hit the market over the next year. Here's an explanation of why it's taking so long. DJI is working to get the Mavic 3 certified as well by 2023, at which point it will be allowed to continue selling it.

If you're interested in more details, you can find the current regulations for Switzerland, Germany and Austria here. More details on the planned changes can be found here.

Conclusion: Work tool instead of toy

The Mavic 3 is more of a work tool for professionals than a drone for leisure. It offers good flight characteristics, a usable battery life and excellent photo and video quality - especially from the main camera. The second zoom lens isn't perfect, but it's still great. If you see yourself more as a recreational flyer who doesn't grade their videos afterwards, you can safely go for the cheaper Mavic Mini 2 or Air 2S. These also produce excellent videos and photos.

UPDATE: 12/15. Earlier than expected DJI has rolled out the promised update. From now on Active Track 5.0 as well as the known, smart flight modes like MasterShots, Hyperlapse and FocusTrack are possible. Photos can now also be taken exclusively in RAW format. Until now, only RAW+JPEG together was possible.