The Mavic 3 Pro is DJI’s follow-up to the Mavic 3, which arrived in November 2021. It’s aimed at pros and content creators looking for something high quality without spending crazy money.
What makes it ‘Pro’ is that this latest drone has an upgraded camera with three lenses, something DJI is claiming as a world-first.
In addition to the 20Mp four-thirds Hasselblad camera that’s shared with the Mavic 3, there are two telephoto lenses, a ‘medium tele’ with a focal length of 70mm (3x optical zoom, 12- or 48Mp) and a longer 166mm (7x) lens, which is 12Mp and has an f/3.4 aperture, which is brighter than the Mavic 3’s tele camera.
Flight time is slightly reduced compared to the Mavic 3 at 43 minutes, but there’s the same obstacle sensing and 15km transmission distance (in the US) and 8km in other regions.
Mavic 3 Pro release date
- Pre-order now
- Shipping in May
As usual, DJI has made its latest drone available to pre-order immediately from its website , as well as some of its partners.
The Mavic 3 Pro will go on sale in May 2023, but DJI didn’t give an exact date.
DJI
Mavic 3 Pro price
There are various bundles to choose between.
- DJI Mavic 3 Pro (with DJI RC):£1,879/US$2,199/€ 2,099
- DJI Mavic 3 Pro Fly More Combo (with DJI RC) £2,549 GBP/$2,999/€2,799
- DJI Mavic 3 Pro Fly More Combo (DJI RC Pro) £3,169 GBP/$3,889/€3,499
- DJI Mavic 3 Pro Cine Premium Combo £4,109 GBP/$4,799/€4,599
The DJI RC is a controller with a built-in screen so you don’t need to use a phone or tablet. The RC Pro has the same 5.5in screen as the RC, but it’s brighter (1000 nits vs 700) and has dual-spring control sticks and more ports and buttons.
The Cine model is slightly different to the others in that it has 1TB of on-board storage, 10Gbps lightspeed data cable and support for Apple ProRes.
Mavic 3 Pro features
- 5.1K video (up to 50fps), 4K up to 120fps
- New 10-bit D-Log M colour mode
For the most part, features are the same as the Mavic 3 . That means omni-directional sensing so it can avoid obstacles, OcuSync 3 for up to 15km video transmission (1080p/60) and control, advanced return-to-home, waypoint flight and cruise control.
DJI
What’s new is the fact that there are now three cameras: wide, medium tele and telephoto. That makes it easy to get the perspective you want without flying too close to your subject.
Along with the cameras, whose full specs you’ll find below, DJI has added a new 10-bit colour mode: D-Log M. This is an HDR mode which is supposed to make it easier to colour grade your footage later. “Even in high-contrast scenarios, like sunrises and sunsets, [D-Log M] delivers natural color gradations with delicate details for a full-spectrum visual experience.”
The main and medium tele cameras support this, but not the 166mm tele. That has a bigger aperture (f/3.4) than the Mavic 3 and supports shooting up to 4K60. Officially it’s 7x optical, but supports up to 28x hybrid zoom. It’s also worth noting that the 166mm tele camera does not support ActiveTrack 5.0 as the other cameras do, but you can use Spotlight and Point of Interest with it.
Here’s a photo taken on the 7x medium tele camera:
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DJI
The decreased flight time is largely due to the fact that the Mavic 3 Pro is a bit heavier: 958g (963g for the Cine model). This means it falls into the C2 category, not C1 like the Mavic 3. That means you can’t fly it over assemblies of people but you can get as close as 5m in a low-speed mode. You’ll need a A2 Certificate of Competency to fly it, too.
Mavic 3 Pro full specs
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Author: Jim Martin, Executive Editor, Tech Advisor
Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.
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