DJI Mavic 3 Quadcopter Drone Fly More Combo - Ready-to-Fly - Grey

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] My expectations were very high coming to experience the DJI Mavic 3 because of the brand recognition. DJI is known for having top of the line drones and I now get to put the Mavic 3 to the test. I have the “Fly More Combo” and it’s loaded with everything to keep you flying the drone for hours. The first thing I did was the unboxing and find the quick start guide to get started. I had the drone battery and remote controller both plugged in to charge. It took me about 2 hours waiting for a full charge. While I was waiting I downloaded the DJI Fly app to watch tutorials, read the manual and other helpful things within the app to get me familiar with the Mavic 3. For anyone new to flying a drone you will need to visit the FAA website to register or add your new small aircraft. There is also information on how to take The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST) and obtain your free certificate. So now I turn on my Mavic 3 and remote control to link them together. After a few seconds I connect my phone with the included cable to have the camera view, flight status and many more features. Fly Time: The Mavic 3 is capable of getting a range of about 9 miles away from the remote. Honestly it’s good to know but I will not be pushing it to get 9 miles range because it will be out of my sight. I honestly didn’t like the look of the remote but as I hold it I think it fits nice and that’s more important than the looks. Everything for the remote is all stored away in designated areas on the remote control. With my years of experience flying drones I think the Mavic 3 was easy to operate. I was ripping the air with speed and different maneuvers. The Mavic 3 reacted quickly to everything I command on the remote. I was flying for about an hour and since it started getting dark I noticed the led lights on the bottom of the drone which gave a daylight spotlight to help with my landing. The Mavic 3 is phenomenal when handling. The “Fly More” combo will give you about 3 hours of flying. I’m getting closer to an hour for each fully charged battery. With high winds I’m sure that will decrease but that’s impressive. Unhappy moment: I live a few miles from an airport so I found out that my Mavic wouldn’t even take off. I don’t like the fact that DJI made an absolute brick of the Mavic 3 because of the airport. I understand safety but I think DJI could of limit how high it goes up and display a notification so the operator understands why. I cannot lower my rating because the Mavic 3 is really a fun drone while looking so cool. When I’m flying I get safety features such as the obstacle avoidance which is nice. I get a few bystanders that are amazed of what it can do and usually ask me plenty of questions every time I take it out. This are some shortcomings I know DJI can address in future updates and will make this more enjoyable. I like taking pictures of landscapes and nature but with restrictions I cannot always take advantage of all the opportunities. When I’m able to I get fantastic pictures like the attachments that I included in my review. My pictures were in beyond 4k quality even when I zoomed in the pictures were beautiful. Some future updates for camera features are also promised for January 2022. I don’t like to be repetitive and boring but I really like the Mavic 3 and I’m sure I will get many more people that have the same feeling.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom were getting long in the tooth with release dates back in 2018. That’s an eternity when it comes to tech. Since then, DJI has come out with the Mavic Mini, Mini 2, Air 2 and the Air 2s. All these newer drones use the DJI Fly app and the newly designed remote control that the latest Mavic 3 utilizes. If you’ve flown with these later drones, then flying the latest Mavic 3 would be an easy transition. Pros: • Large Hasselblad 4/3 sensor size (for 1x camera) • 7x Optical zoom (See attached photos for all zoom levels) • Insanely large flying time per battery • Awesome carrying case with the “Fly More” Cons: • No ActiveTrack and other programs available at launch • Slow drone to phone app transfer speeds of 5mbps • $$$$ even for their flagship drone The latest Mavic 3 is a giant leap from the Mavic 2 and has a nice familiarity if you have flown any Air 2 or newer drones. The Mavic 3 does come in 3 packages. The Fly More package includes an innovative carrying case and 2 extra batteries. The Cine package is like the “Fly More” but comes with the fancy “Pro Controller”, ability to capture using Apple ProRes and the larger internal 1TB memory. After a week of flying, I’m truly impressed at DJI’s latest flagship model. Off the bat, the battery life is ridiculously long. It’s rated for 46m without wind but I’m certain on normal days, you can easily get in the high 30m of flight time. That is a long time to be in the air and exploring around. I was also able to fly full speed on “sport mode” at nearly 50mph. I’m sure that’s with a tailwind but is blazingly fast nonetheless. The Mavic 3’s second neatest feature are the 2 cameras. The main camera is the Hasselblad 4/3rd size sensor. The main camera is 1x Optical with 2x and 4x as digital zoom. The 2nd camera is a smaller ½” sensor size and is equipped with a 7x optical with 14x and 28x as digital zoom. None of these zoom options are like the last Mavic 2 Zoom and more so like how cell phones do zoom. While 28x zoom is impressive on paper, it’s a digital zoom and I wouldn’t print or exclusively shoot in this setting. You lose a lot of detail at 28x but you do get to see beyond the standard range without actually flying closer. I would only use 28x if you absolutely can’t get any closer or would like to scope out your location without wasting battery life flying to it. Stick to 7x and smaller and you will be very pleased with the quality. See my attached photo of all the zoom levels and what they look like. The included carrying bag that comes with the “Fly More” package is an impressive feat in itself. Can easily convert from messenger style to full on backpack for more storage. In the most compact messenger style, it’s still spacious and had a dedicated space for the drone, batteries and remote. When expanded out to the backpack, I can easily stuff a jacket or other bulky things without trouble. The only thing I’m disappointed at is that not all features were available at launch. Mavic 3 came out at launch early November 2021 without ActiveTrack and other creative video modes. The company promises that the features will be unlocked in January of 2022. Why launch a flagship model without the features that makes it fun to use? You currently can only fly and do manual recordings. I would love to try the ActiveTrack paired with their 360 omnidirectional Obstacle sensors. As far as I can tell, the new obstacle sensors work great as I couldn’t crash into the trees at the park I was filming at. Depending on your setting, the Mavic 3 simply flew around the trees instead of straight into them. I know that it’s not fail proof but it did inspire confidence that if the drone was Actively tracking my location that I wouldn’t worry about it flying into the side of a hill…. like my Air 2 did. In summary, I do recommend the Mavic 3 for folks looking for the best DJI has to offer. The Mavic 3 will cater anyone from the prosumers to the pro-content creators. Might not be an easy pill to swallow with the steep price tag, especially if you are coming from a Mavic 2 Pro or Zoom but the newer battery tech and camera quality is worth the price of admission. I just can’t wait till the promised January 2022 for the other important features to be unlocked.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The Mavic 3 is more than I expected and I don’t just mean its price. The value of the Fly More combo is even more subjective as DJI is putting what seems like an exorbitantly high price on the included bag of what is already a premium priced drone. I know I would have probably spent much less on buying a bag separately, however after using the Mavic the past few days I feel the Fly More bundle is actually a better buy over the base Mavic 3. Upon opening the box you are welcomed to a nice grey canvas bag that is of unexpected quality. Nested inside the velvet interior is a muzzled Mavic 3, the RC231 remote, 2 spare batteries, a charging hub, 2 in 1 compact 65w/10w charger, 2 spare sets of props (8), and a set of neutral density filters. Concealed within the zippered flap are shoulder straps that clip on to the bag, converting it into a backpack. This provides ample room to store additional equipment like a small camera bag and a sub 13” laptop or tablet. In my case I can store my MacBook or iPad and my Mavic Mini case within this compartment unfolded. Within another compartment is an adjustable waist strap to further secure the bag during a hike. In addition to the premium textiles used, all hardware is metal adding to the overall craftsmanship. After unpacking, charging, updating, registering, and admiring the bag, I moved on to the star of the show, the Mavic 3. Now, in its third iteration, the Mavic 3 is an impressive evolution of DJI’s flagship drone. Though still predominately plastic, the fit and finish are second to none. Visually, the Mavic 3 is striking with streamlined arms, larger props, and an aggressive stance. The body is raised higher off the ground to accommodate the new 20MP Hasselblad 4/3 sensor. The 24mm equivalent has adjustable aperture of f/2.8 - f/11, capable of capturing 5.1k/50, 4k/120, and FHD/200. The base model does not support ProRes but the H.264/H.265 formats look great using the standard HNCS profile, though 10-bit DLOG is available. Riding piggy-back to this fantastic sensor is a 1/2”, fixed f4.4, 162mm equivalent red headed step child. Though I was stoked to have the tele lens, the 28x hybrid zoom is more marketing than anything. Beyond 7x the image is soft and fuzzy, due to the fact it is applying a digital zoom to a fixed length lens. DJI even labels the use of this sensor as “Explore Mode”, removing manual controls but offering the option to “zoom”. You really only have 1x and 7x, everything in between is digital, switching sensors at the 7x mark. Using this mode is extra fluff and I would just prefer the option to program the function button as a toggle between the two sensors with full control instead of switching to “Explore Mode”. Image quality of the main sensor is excellent and the tele is useable but pales in comparison. Unfortunately, the Mavic 3 shipped missing some of the great features DJI is known for such as a QuickShots or ActiveTrack. The new APAS 5.0 however is working fantastic for me. Thanks to the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance, I traversed a heavily wooded trail on our property with ease. You can adjust the action to either bypass or brake when confronting with obstacles, which is nice as the bypass was having trouble navigating the trail without wanting to climb vertically. After torturing it in the woods, I proceeded to the sky where it really shines. Having not flown the Mavic 2, I found the speed to be impressive. Getting into position in Sport mode is very satisfying, though I tend to fly in Normal or Cine for stability of the video and the added safety of APAS for me. The footage shot looked great, clearly outclassing my 2.7k Mini SE. The image quality on my phone (iPhone 13 pro) looked good, providing a better image compared to the Mini. The advanced RTH worked well, coming in at a lower approach and often closer to the home point. So far, I feel much more confident flying with the Mavic 3 mostly thanks to APAS 5.0. I am also really looking forward to using the automation features such as MasterShots coming early 2022, along with faster WiFi transfer speeds among the many other missing features. Coming from a Mavic Mini SE, this was quite an upgrade. I am looking forward to taking the Mavic 3 with my family when traveling, due to its ease of use, portable design, and performance. Though at the price this drone may be aimed more at prosumers, I think the craftsmanship, features, and performance also makes this appealing to those who are looking to advance in this hobby, as well as newcomers.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I was wowed from the start, opening the carefully packaged Fly More Combo option, I knew this drone was something special. Before I even get to the drone details, I want to highlight how it comes packaged. Inside the retail packaging was a very high quality carry case, canvas and metal hardware greeted me after opening the outer packaging. The case is essentially a 3 in 1, with a quick modification is goes from a carry case to a backpack or shoulder sling. It is neat how DJI gives you options depending on your activity to include the Mavic 3 by designing a versatile carry case that’s ready for anything you can throw at it. They went as far as to design the case to have a luggage handle pass through. I stress the quality and design of the case to establish how much thought went into every item in this package, in my opinion no detail was spared! Fit and Finish - Initial Impressions Quality of materials and design immediately challenges you to describe this as the best drone currently on the market. Feature rich and packed to the gills with the most current technology on the market. I am comparing this drone to my current drone of several years the DJI Spark. Initial Set up This next generation drone required me to download the latest DJI app for my smartphone and that was easy enough with the supplied instructions and scannable QR codes. Once installed the app instructs you how to log in or create an account, sync or connect with the controller and establish a connection with the drone itself. Nice job DJI on making this initial set up a breeze. Next steps were some firmware updates which the app also made it painless to get the most current version installed. While these updates processed, I opened the battery packs and charger and followed the instructions to activate and charge the supplied battery packs. I also took inventory of all the other accessories that were part of the Fly More Combo. First Flight GPS Strength/Signal - More efficient finding strong GPS signal than past drones I have flown. Operating Noise - Shocked with how quiet this drone is, I have a DJI Spark and this tiny drone is noticeably louder than the Mavic 3. DJI incorporated some new cutting edge propeller tips that decrease the overall noise when the Mavic 3 is in flight. The decrease in how loud this drone flies reduces the potential negative experience of anyone in the general vicinity when flying in public places. Camera Quality - WOW! The Primary camera gives you so much flexibility to get as carried away as you like. The drone allows manual control of camera settings for aperture, exposure, white balance, etc. You can expedite the capture of incredible footage by choosing any of the automatic settings that I find are outstandingly easy to select. Omnidirectional Obstacle Sensing - Another HUGE gain in technology is the inclusion of a full Omnidirectional sensing system. What this means to the every day user is a sense of security the drone is actively trying to prevent a collision with something while you are focusing on capturing that priceless moment. This technology helps the drone with improved return to home mapping which is designed to maximize the flight times and keep the drone in the air as long as humanly possible. APAS 5.0 is their technology that makes all this possible. Battery Life - DJI claims approx. 46 minutes of flight time in ideal settings, I can validate that I got approx. 40 minutes with a slight breeze and testing out the flight capabilities. This type of flight time when you consider the Fly More Combo includes 3 total batteries could give you more than 2 hours of overall flight time! Observations/Concerns Outstanding Manufacturer Support- DJI online content and tutorials Concern - Controller Phone Holder - I have an iPhone 7+ with a QuadLock case and it just doesn’t exude confidence being held properly in the remote. I did troubleshoot this and it is because of the design of how the QuadLock phone case works with mounts and how it rests/interferes with the extendable slides on the remote. (see photos) I did try the remote with other phone models and all other phones fit better in the prongs that hold the phone in place. (Additional example is the iPhone SE) Concern - Some of the standard flight modes and features are not available til January 2022 via firmware updates Summary - Wildly impressed with every item included in the Fly More Combo, this is by far the coolest, most fun drone to pilot. This drone with all its incredible features allows someone brand new to become a seasoned, confident operator. DJI provides with the Mavic 3 a professional quality drone in a consumer friendly package!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This is a truly an amazing piece of technology, with a hefty price tag you absolutely get your money’s worth in the DJI Mavic 3. I have owned and flown a few drones in my past, more recently I am flying a competitor’s drone (of an orange color). As soon as I unboxed and got into the hardware that comes with the Fly More package I was immediately impressed. The carrying case the Mavic 3 comes in has soft leather insides and rugged exterior fabric with actual metal clips for closure, which you don’t see often. The case itself fits everything perfectly and even has an option to convert into a backpack, super handy! I initially charged all the batteries on the included multi dock charging station, after about an hour I had all 3 batteries fully charged and ready to go, one thing I would like is if the batteries indicated they were fully charged, it seems they only just stop flashing their LEDs once a full charge has been obtained. That is mostly an aesthetic thing for me. Another item that sets the DJI Mavic 3 apart is the protective cover that clips onto the Mavic 3 to secure and protect the camera and the propellers into place, this really makes transfer in and out of the carrying case super simple and gives me the sense that the Mavic 3 camera is protected well. The cover is easy to mount and unmount as well for quick transition. Now for the flying! WOW! The Mavic 3 is so easy to fly and super fun, I felt like a little kid when I got the drone up and flying around a local beach. The Mavic 3 boasts 46 minutes of flight time in normal conditions, with some wind at the beach my first initial flight was around35 minutes total, and I was impressed. The wind did not deter the flight of the Mavic 3 at all, and it held position and flight path perfectly given the decent breeze where I was. I was also surprised at how quiet the Mavic is during flight, it wasn’t until it was 25-30 feet away that I could hear it, and even then, it was super silent. My old drone was significantly loud during initial take off and flight. The added obstacle avoidance sensors still have to be tested more thoroughly but I was able to fly this safely through wooded area’s during the day with ease, my next steps are to perform tracking through a walking trail to really see if branches and such can be avoided without direct control (once the firmware updates become available in 2022). At first, I was unsure if I would prefer to have the upgraded controller but once I got going, I think the RC remote with phone attachment was better than I expected. My older drone had a similar controller setup, but the controller itself was awkwardly heavy and became somewhat of a nuisance to hold for extended periods of flight. The RC remote is easy to hold and has a great mount for your phone (I’m using an iPhone 12 Pro Max with a case) with a small cut out for the phone to remote connection which is hidden when you store the phone mount in the RC. Very convenient and well thought out! The first thing I enjoyed was the physical toggle button for the 3 modes of flight, cine, normal and sport. This makes it all the difference for me because my old drone forced me to select these modes within the app which was not easily located and a struggle to do while in flight, the Mavic 3 is just a quick shift of the toggle button, and you are ready to transition from one mode to the next. The scroll wheel to change the pitch of the camera is smooth and helps keep video shots consistent and not jerky, I was able to shoot video at the beach early in the morning with minimal light and the camera gave me true color and added light with the adjustable aperture. The pictures and video really speak for themselves in the Hasselblad camera, I have never seen anything near as advanced or comparable to the Mavic 3’s capabilities. The Fly More combo adds some ND filters, which are great for reducing incoming light and getting more out of the camera with time lapse photos and scenery shots. They snap on and off the camera easily making a quick change that gives great enhancements to pictures and video! The zoom on the camera is very functional, up to 28x you can really get a good view of an object from a distance, easy to use on the app. Overall, the DJI Mavic 3 is an impressive piece of technology that I am thrilled to have. Truly an industry standard in recreational drones, with attention to minor details that personally set the Mavic 3 apart from the competition. A lot of things like battery placement, controller aesthetics and ease of transport go a long way. Although I would have preferred the feature enhancements shipped with the Mavic 3, I do look forward to some of the added capabilities DJI is claiming to have available. Bottom line, this is a dream to fly and I can’t wait to get outside to continue to put the Mavic 3 to good use and just have a blast while doing it!