DJI Mavic 3 Drone

I recently bought a secondhand Original DJI Mavic Pro for chump change. For someone who knew nothing about drones it staggered me. For something so technologically advanced to be considered &#x27;old&#x27; tech (manufactured 2017) is just unreal.<p>It is now my frame of reference for all sorts of technology. Automatically not crashing, auto return to home, insane maneuverability on sport mode and all at a bizarrely low price for something that would have seemed science fiction to many punters 20 years ago.<p>By commoditizing this kind of consumer tech that interfaces with the real world, DJI has changed my perception of what existing technology could be capable of and changed the way I consider usability in my own work.

I think the real drone market is in the sub 250g area. Flying anything above this is <i>legally</i> a serious pain in most jurisdictions. I spent days researching it, sure you can get away with it, which I hazard a guess many, many people do. You can buy these classes of drone on Amazon with no licence checks. In most of Europe, legally, there is a very, very limited market for this drone IMO. They shouldn’t market it as a hobbyist product, because legally it really isn’t in that category. I’m sure I’ll get downvotes but.. I would love to fly this, but legally I know it would be very very problematic beyond what the slash page sells me. As an example, a friend bought a similar class drone on Amazon and was shocked when I told him that <i>legally</i> he couldn’t fly it anywhere within London, where he lives. Most people don’t read the rules and regulations.

Fun fact: most of my favorite companies these days are:<p>1) in shenzhen<p>2) less than ten years old (dji started in 2006, so a bit earlier)<p>3) making <i>really</i> cool shit.

Interested in opinions from other drone operators in picking a Mavic 3. I already have a Mavic 1, two Mavic 2s and a Mini 2. I photograph and film mostly tourism content. I&#x27;m interested in getting 50fps+ at 4K but with good stability in the wind (which I&#x27;m not sure the Air2S has).<p>There&#x27;s a solid jump from the base to flymore - $800. I need the batteries, need filters, need the charger but don&#x27;t care about the bag. Batteries are $420 for two. Charging hub is $90. Filters $180.<p>Cine is $5k. For the $2k jump, it gives more filters (never used higher than ND16), pro controller, SSD and ProRes. SSD would be handy, but I fly over the ocean a bit and frequently change microSDs to &quot;bank&quot; good footage I don&#x27;t want to lose if the drone drops or hits a bird. I&#x27;d be keen to get the smart controller. Does ProRes give enough to justify the cost (editing and grading performance, etc)?<p>Currently leaning towards the base, filters, charging options, smart controller and then a few batteries. Alternatively, I already have two iPad minis I use now, so I could stick with the default controller and keep using those. The new RC Pro is US$1,200!<p>Thoughts?

I&#x27;d love to get a drone but there&#x27;s no way in hell I can fly it in NYC airspace. Also, when people travel with a drone, do they actually look up the laws for each place they visit? Do they just wing it? How often do people get caught illegally flying drones? All of that seems like a headache.

Lots of mentions of Hasselblad. DJI bought the company and are now branding small 4&#x2F;3 sensors as Hasselblad, a brand associated with medium format sensors and optics.

I wish DJI would make their products more repairable. The gimbal mount on my Mavic Air 2 broke partially, and I can easily see how to fix it myself if I had a replacement. I had hobby drones in the past where you could order (or even go to a hobby shop) and get spare parts, and DIY repair was a huge part of owning it. Turns out the only way to repair the mount is to send it in to an authorized repair center for them to replace the entire gimbal and camera at a high cost. I resorted to using super glue for now.

Ouch $4,999 is quite the price for the Cine. That’s not a cheap drone. Wonder what they’re going to do with pricepoint for the future releases in the Inspire line.

Hopefully this means SDK 5.0 is forthcoming. The Mavic Mini 2 has been kneecapped for almost two years because there is no SDK release to support it.

Now they just need to explain why they stopped updating their app in the play store and force everyone to download it from their site.

Let&#x27;s be realistic: those specs are more in the realm of professional photographers&#x2F;videographers. For most people, a DJI mini 2 is far more than sufficient(which is what I have and just came back from shooting a few pictures and videos actually). Even a small one like this punches way above it&#x27;s weight category, literally and figuratively.

&gt; 46 Minutes Extended Flight Time &gt; 15 km Video Transmission Range &gt; 1080p&#x2F;60fps FHD High-Framerate Live Feed &gt; Extreme-Precision Positioning Technology<p>Love how the localization accuracy isn’t quantified, just “extreme”. Looks very cool though.

DJI has very nice hardware, but the app was really off-putting for me ...

No CE class label???<p>edit: Found this, which somewhat explains it: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;dronedj.com&#x2F;2021&#x2F;11&#x2F;05&#x2F;dji-mavic-3-ce-class-label&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;dronedj.com&#x2F;2021&#x2F;11&#x2F;05&#x2F;dji-mavic-3-ce-class-label&#x2F;</a>

This product page is phenomenal. Kudos to the frontend engineers, designers, and artists.

I have to share something about DJI.<p>Few months ago my brand-new DJI FPS drone was stolen from my room, together with an iPad, a wallet, a few important documents.<p>As you might know, all drones heavier than 250g have a transponder. DJI could have helped me find where the drone was, and more importantly, where the other stuff was.<p>I reported the theft to the local police, then reached out to DJI multiple times, using multiple channels. You can guess where the story goes: NOTHING from them.<p>Some thieves are walking freely because these a*holes don&#x27;t want to help me recover my drone.<p>I feel powerless: the law should force them to collaborate with the police in matters like these, but it only (maybe) happens for very violent crimes.<p>If anyone from DJI is reading this: your company sucks.

How does this compare to Skydio?

And as usual all the leaks were real. DJI truly is the most leaked tech company ever

I&#x27;m calling it, our first flying cars will be in drones.

Totally off-topic, but where did the idea come from that landing sites are supposed to look like that? How am I even supposed to navigate this fucking thing? It&#x27;s so frustrating when I try to scroll and objects start flying around frantically in random directions, then there are about 5 screens with literally no information, then a fading label appears that requires trying really hard to bring it into focus. Did they sell me Mavic 3? No fucking way, I (quite literally) didn&#x27;t even find it on their page.<p>And it&#x27;s not like DJI have especially bad landing page for Mavic, it&#x27;s no less that every third landing site looks like that nowadays. So, how do they all come up with the same nonsense? And when will this stop?

Why this is on HN? This isn&#x27;t a modified Mavic or this news don&#x27;t improve my knowledge and isn&#x27;t any topic to talk about.

If “imaging above everything” then why does the lens casing&#x2F;hood have 5 wacky-shaped lopsided panels?<p>I don’t know much about drones, but it wasn’t very long ago that even consumer level camera equipment came with some degree of dignity and sincerity with respect to their purpose and their users. This could be the greatest camera ever made and that silly mess on the front would just be that much more of an insult. I just don’t understand.