DJI Mavic 3 – It Is Finally As Good As We Wanted
I wrote about the DJI Mavic 3 drone in March, and at the end of the article, I shared my wish for its improvement, saying “There are many unique benefits we get with this new drone, but there are still flaws. I hope that the Mavic 3’s issues can be resolved with software updates down the road, as they have done so far.”
By the time I wrote that article, the secondary camera – the telephoto lens – became useable, with not-so-bad image quality. DJI has launched a new Firmware Update, the V.01.00.0700 for the Mavic 3 Pro. If we take a look at the specs, it finally has all we wanted!
They let us use the tele camera like the main camera:
- We can switch to normal mode between the two cameras, no need for the exploration mode anymore, so using the telephoto camera it is easier and faster now
- We have the options for single shot, AEB, burst, and timed shot
- We can shoot RAW images!!! Finally…
- We can change the ISO and shutter speed (aperture is still fixed at f/4.4)
- Video mode: 4K@25/30/50fps, 1080p@25/30/50fps format, and ISO and shutter speed settings.
Is it better? Let’s compare!
Okay, we can take RAW images now, but does it really make any difference? The short answer is yes! I think it’s better for everyone can decide for themselves what they think about the new RAW images. I’ve included a dropbox link here where you can download a couple of RAW images to see for yourself.
I tried to create images of the same buildings over the last couple months, so that we can really compare them. I uploaded some full size JPEG’s here.
I’ll let the photos do the talking, here are a couple of examples of the image quality upgrades with the new DJI software update:
I will not pixel peep, because I never do in “real life”, but I can tell it looks and is sharper, we can pull great results out of the RAW files.
Create panoramas for larger images with a different look
As you can see above and in the example files, I like to create some large panoramas with the drone. The “rules” for creating a panorama do not differ from those created with a normal camera, all settings should be in manual, and focus also in manual. I usually focus with AF on the subject and then turn it to manual focus.
Lightroom does an amazing job stitching together these images.
Video capabilities
After the new firmware update, the tele camera simply became a new device for aerial filmmaking – a professional device – which is not only interesting because of the completely unique viewing angle, but the quality also makes it usable. Now we are not limited to 30fps and auto settings.
Before the update, we only used 2-3 shots with the tele camera in our videos, because it was difficult to make the colors and the quality of the shots similar. With the update, this has changed, as you can see in the video below.
Conclusion
I think DJI has finally finished the Mavic 3 and now we can fully exploit its potential. If we also cast our vote next to the drone, we get a device that can fly for a long time and take wonderful pictures. If you are thinking about upgrading, you have to decide whether the 161mm telecamera is a device you need. I hope this article can give you some help. Now that DJI has launched the Mavic Mini 3 pro, I think it is even more difficult for us to decide because it also has many interesting features, which I plan to test soon.
To round out this article, I would like to show some of my images from the last couple of months taken with this amazing piece of equipment. You can pick up your very own DJI Mavic 3 from B&H.
