T3 - UK (2022-01)

JANUARY 2022 T3 77

DJIMavic 3

Apple-like functionality. Beyond the
build, the drone comes armed with
obstacle sensorsabove, below and to
the sides. Consequently, its ability to
avoid crashing intowalls, treesand
other obstructionsis second to none. A
January 2022 firmware updatewill
give the Mavic 3 the ability to followa
subject automaticallyusing Active
Track 5.0.QuickShotsand MasterShots

• a cool featurethattakes 10different
  video sequences and stitches them
  together with zeroinput from the pilot


• will also be added.

Camera, action
e Hasselblad camera fitted to this
beast of a drone is on another level.
e camera is builtlikea brick so
should survive a minor impact.And
it’sequipped with a four-thirds
sensor capable ofshooting in 5.1K at
up to 50fps, 4K at up to 120fps and
1080pat up to 200fps. Its 24mm lens
shoots 20 megapixel stills in both
JPEG and RAW.
Alongside its abilityto produce
staggeringlysharp visuals in broad
daylight, it canshoot in really
low-light conditionswith very little
imagedegradation. Its abilityto

reproduce a scene insuch rich detail

left us speechless.

A second camera sits directly above

the main camera but isn’t really

suitable for shooting footage. etele

camera and its 28x hybrid zoom serves

as a sort of scout, so pilots cansave

valuable batterytime by being able to

zoom inon a subject froma distance

and see if they want tocontinue.Great

idea but we’renot sure how often it

will used in the real world.

But what about the drone itself?

is beautyflies with such

confidence-inspiring steadiness and

reliabilitythatallpre-flight nerves

simply evaporate as soon as you push

up on the perfectly sprung joystick.

e Mavic 3’s 46mph top speed is

just two more than the current Mavic

2 Pro.However,its ascent speed is

radically quicker – 18mph, which

means you cancreate sensational

climbing footage without the need to

speed itup inpost production. Its

increased 13mph descent speed, too,

is handy for getting the drone down

in anairborne emergency.

Although you shouldn’t, by law, fly

beyond ‘line ofsight’,the drone hasa

transmission range of 15km. Which

means you will get a crisp image from

the front camera on yourphone from

nearly 10 miles away.Amazing.

As we’ve already mentioned, the

Mavic 3 isn’t cheap, but you getallthe

top end features of the drone, a hand

controller, battery, simple charger,

three different connecting cablesfor

yourphone and a spare set of props. If

you want to up theantea little you

can get the full-house package for an

extra £700.is addsa set of four ND

filters, twomore batteries, and two

spare sets of props.

And all of this comes ina superb

shoulder bag-cum-rucksack. Note

you will need a licence to fly, but if

you’vegot one and can afford the

Mavic 3, we say go out and get it.

Everything feels so

slick and smooth

when you’re flying

the drone

DJI AIR 2 S
Available at a far
friendlier price
and offering 5.4K
video and a more
manageable size
to boot, the Air 2S is the obvious choice for most
consumers. You’ll be passing up fancy features like
full obstacle avoidance, though.
£ 899 , dji.com

POWEREGG XWIZARD

This drone gives

the amateur

videographer a lot

more than just fancy

AI-assisted shooting:

it also converts from

drone to a stabilised

handheld or an auto-tracking tripod. Handy!

£ 935. 90 , amazon.co.uk

THE ALTERNATIVES

WE’RE IMPRESSED Produces

pin-sharp images; superb for

low-light shooting;full obstacle

avoidance; second zoom camera.

WE’D IMPROVE Complicated

CAA licensing;veryexpensive.

THE LAST WORD The first

compact,foldable drone

designedfor professional use.It’s

not cheap, but it is equippedwith

a set of must-have, hard tobeat

features and has a flight time in

excess of 40 minutes.

VERDICT

Find the best deals for the DJI

Mavic 3 at: bit.ly/t3djimvc3