DJI Updates Mavic 3: It Now Has All Capabilities Promised at Launch

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DJI Launches the Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Cine Dual-Camera Drones

DJI has announced the Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Cine drones that feature two main cameras. The first features a 4/3-sized, 20-megapixel sensor behind a 24mm adjustable aperture prime lens, and the second is a 28x hybrid zoom camera, effectively combining the Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom, but with upgraded hardware.

DJI says that it has completely redesigned the Mavic 3 and says that it is the most comprehensive improvement to its drone series in three years, claiming that it has boosted the performance in every key area. It starts, of course, with the cameras.

The Mavic 3 series features two main cameras, and the larger 4/3-sized sensor is a jump over the previous one-inch sized sensor that was found in the Mavic 2 Pro. Not only is the sensor larger, but the 24mm lens (84-degree field of view) in front of it has a more adjustable aperture between f/2.8 and f/11. DJI says that the larger image sensor gives the Mavic 3 higher video resolution and dynamic range while also better suppressing noise in low light conditions. The camera, again developed in conjunction with Hasselblad, can capture 20-megapixel still images in 12-bit RAW format and videos in 5.1K at 60 frames per second as well as 4K at 120 frames per second. It should be noted that the 120 frames per second in 4K is expected to come down the road as part of a planned firmware update.

The Mavic 3 records aerial videos at high resolutions and framerates and captures up to one billion colors thanks to the 10-bit D-Log color profile.

The Mavic 3's second camera features a 162mm telephoto lens (15-degree field of view) with 28x Hybrid Zoom (digital + optical) and a fixed aperture of f/4.4. That level of optical zoom allows the drone to capture more unique and dynamic perspectives that were only possible with interchangeable lens drones like the Inspire or the standalone Mavic 2 Zoom. Now that has been built-in to the Mavic 3, so deciding between the zoom and the better quality of the larger sensor is no longer required. DJI says that the new Vision Detection autofocus technology allows for quick focusing and works with multiple vision sensors on board to capture distance data to optimize focusing speed.

DJI says that the Mavic 3 series can deliver extremely accurate color straight out of camera thanks to the partnership with Hasselblad and its Natural Color Solution (HNCS) that it says is built on decades of photographic experience and was originally introduced to DJI cameras with Mavic 2 Pro.

The difference between the Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Cine is a short list, but major for filmmakers: the Cine version includes a built-in one terabyte SSD and supports Apple ProRes 422 HQ video recording. The Cine version, as a result, is also just a little bit heavier than the standard version.

Battery life has been dramatically improved on the Mavic 3. While most drones previously have hovered around 30-minutes of flight time, the Mavic 3 leapfrogs those marks for up to 46-minutes in the air. DJI says this was achieved through the development of motors and propellers with higher energy efficiency, a higher-capacity battery, and reduced the weight of the drone’s structure and components. The drone itself is more streamlined as well and produces 35% less drag than previous generations which allows it to fly easier and faster than before.

The Mavic 3 can operate at a distance of up to 15 kilometers (about 9.3 miles) while providing a 1080p 60 frames per second feed to the controller.

The Mavic 3 has improved flight safety features as well in the form of APAS 5.0, which combines inputs from six fisheye vision sensors and two wide-angle sensors that continuously sense obstacles in all directions in order to plan safe flight routes to avoid them, even in challenging or complicated environments.

DJI claims that the omnidirectional obstacle sensing system also enables more intuitive subject tracking with the upgraded ActiveTrack 5.0. Previous iterations of ActiveTrack enabled the camera to follow a subject as it moved directly toward and away from the drone while remaining largely stationary as well as fly alongside a moving subject. In contrast, ActiveTrack 5.0 allows Mavic 3 to move with the subject as it moves forward, backward, left, right, and diagonally, and fly alongside as well as around a moving subject. In addition, if the subject moves too fast and temporarily goes out of frame, the visual sensors on the aircraft will continue to track and frame the subject intelligently and pick it back up when it reappears. DJI says that these new directions enable much more fluid and diverse drone and camera movement while using ActiveTrack.

These advancements have also led to a different "return to home" functionality than in previous drones. Previously, the drone would ascend high enough to clear any obstacles in its path, fly back in a straight line, and descend straight down to the home point. DJI says the Mavic 3 updates and improves this system by allowing the aircraft to automatically determine the shortest, safest, and energy-efficient route to land back at its home point. At the same time, the drone measures the wind speed of the current environment and calculates the power required for returning home based on the wind speed and the return path in real-time. DJI says this provides users with more time to fly safely before triggering the "return to home" action which kicks in when it senses it is running critically low on battery or if it loses connection.

DJI adds that the Mavic 3 can also faster lock on to multiple satellite signals so that it can hover in place, motionless, even better than before.

As is always the case with DJI, the Mavic 3 features a new set of intelligent modes, which include the following:

• MasterShots: This mode lets users create high-quality content more easily and quickly. After automatic editing and dubbing in the app, videos can be created in minutes and directly shared out of the app.
• 100MP Panorama Mode: The Mavic 3 directly stitches and processes internally without the DJI Fly App or any post-production, which it uses to create extremely high-resolution panoramic photos.
• Trimmed Download: This feature allows users to export a selected portion of a clip instead of the entire file, which saves storage space.
• QuickTransfer: QuickTransfer lets users store and process materials on their mobile devices without linking with the remote controller. Mavic 3 can now transmit materials from the drone to the mobile device more quickly through the WiFi 6 protocol (WiFi 6 support is coming in a future update).

DJI is also offering a large number of accessories with the Mavic 3, as is the norm with DJI products, including a new smart controller, portable charger, bag, wide-angle lens attachment, storage cover, ND filter set, and a high-speed data cable. As a result, the Mavic 3 is available in three different configurations:

The Mavic 3 Standard version retails for $2,199 and includes the drone, one Intelligent Flight Battery, an RC-N1 Remote Controller, an RC-N1 cable, the battery charger, storage cover, and three pairs of spare propellers.

The DJI Mavic 3 Fly More Combo retails for $2,999 and includes Mavic 3 the drone, three Intelligent Flight Batteries, an RC-N1 Remote Controller, three RC-N1 cables, a battery charging hub, storage cover, six pairs of spare propellers, the ND filters set (ND4\8\16\32), and the bag.

The DJI Mavic 3 Cine Premium Combo retails for $4,999 and, as previously noted, includes a built-in 1TB SSD and supports Apple ProRes 422 HQ video recording. The Mavic 3 Cine Premium Combo also includes a lot more accessories and components, including three Intelligent Flight Batteries, a DJI RC Pro remote controller, three RC-N1 cables, a battery charger, a battery charging hub, storage cover, six pairs of spare propellers, two ND filters sets (ND4\8\16\32 and ND64\128\256\512), DJI 10Gbps data cable, and the bag.

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Sony’s Airpeak Drone Can Hold Position and Stabilize in 44 MPH Winds

Sony has published a new video that shows the company's testing methods for its impending Airpeak drone. In the video, the test shows the new drone stabilizing footage and maintaining position in 43.6 mile-per-hour winds (19.5m/s).

Sony has been teasing small bits of new information about its Airpeak drone project since it was originally announced in November of 2020. The drone itself was finally shown to the public in January.

Sony says that it is combining its expertise in imaging, sensing, and AI robotics technology together into the development of Airpeak. This wind resistance test is one of several that Sony says that it is evaluating right now in various field tests.

"The Austrian mountains shown in the CES 2021 video were covered in snow, and the test course was thick with fog. These conditions were actually a lucky accident, and not something we had planned for, but it has meant that we can go on to test the accuracy of Airpeak’s sensing and control functions in various different weather conditions," the company writes.

Sony

As noticed by Sony Alpha Rumors, Sony tested the Airpeak prototype at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) wind tunnel that can generate artificial airflow at a constant speed that is ideal for testing.

"Our goal here was to see how the drone could be affected by strong wind, and up to what wind speed the drone could endure," Sony writes on its Airpeak website. "Our test results showed that the prototype could maintain stable flight up to around 20m/s - a wind so powerful an average person would have trouble standing upright."

Sony

In the video, the drone appears very stable and able to withstand 19.5 meter-per-second wind speeds, which is about 44 miles-per-hour or 70 kilometers-per-hour. Not only is the drone stable, but the video feed shown from the attached Sony Alpha camera on the gimbal is also remarkably steady, although just short of totally immobile.

"A drone’s propulsion system, which mainly comprises the propellers, motors, and ESC (Electric Speed Controller), is essential to maintaining stability in strong wind," Sony continues. "Airpeak’s propulsion system is optimized to ensure stable flight even in strong winds and features an ESC designed for superior control, highly efficient and responsive 17-inch propellers, and lightweight, high-performance, high-power brushless motors."

Sony

Sony recognizes that in the real world, the wind doesn't just come from one stable direction though, and says that simply speeding up propellars is not the answer to making an agile, responsive, and stable drone.

"The key to stable flight is to design a system that is both highly responsive to the environment, and can maintain control under any condition.
We are developing a unique propulsion system and flight controller for the device, and testing the technology in strong winds and other challenging environmental conditions as we strive towards an optimum level of flight stability for Airpeak."

If Sony sticks with its original Airpeak timeline, the official public availability of the drone is imminent: in January, Sony announced that it would be launching a new business that would feature its new drone targeted at professional photography and video production in the spring of 2021.

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