I bought the DJI Mavic 3 Pro after being disappointed by the image quality of my DJI Mini 3 Pro, especially when shooting the Litli-Hrútur volcanic eruption in Iceland in July 2023. The Mini 3 Pro lacked sharpness and really struggled to focus correctly in the blue hour once the ambient light dropped. Knowing I would spend a whole month in the Highlands of Iceland in the summer of 2024, I made the decision to bite the bullet and bought the DJI Mavic 3 Pro Flymore Combo in December 2023.

I won’t beat around the bush, the Mavic 3 Pro was everything I hoped it would be, and more! The only way I can describe the DJI Mavic 3 Pro is as a Beast! With its cutting-edge features and capabilities, it is far superior to the DJI Mini 3 Pro in every way.

I have now used the Mavic 3 Pro in both Lofoten and Iceland in winter, in Tuscany and the Faroe Islands in spring, and for a whole month in the Highlands of Iceland in summer. Flying in all these different locations and in very different weather conditions has really enabled me to put the drone through its paces, testing it thoroughly to fully understand its strengths and the few areas that I believe can be improved.

The aim of this review is simple – to provide you with a comprehensive, genuine review that reflects my experience using this drone.

Specifications:

Takeoff Weight: 958g
Dimensions (Folded without propellers): 231.1×98×95.4 mm (L×W×H)
Dimensions (Unfolded without propellers): 347.5×290.8×107.7 mm (L×W×H)
Max Ascent Speed: 8 m/s
Max Descent Speed: 6 m/s
Max Horizontal Speed (at sea level, no wind): 21 m/s
Max Flight Time: 43 minutes
Max Hovering Time: 37 minutes
Max Wind Speed Resistance: 12 m/s
Internal Storage: 8 GB
EU Drone License Class: C2
Image Sensor (Main Camera): 4/3 CMOS, Effective Pixels: 20 MP
Image Sensor (Medium Tele Camera): 1/1.3″ CMOS, Effective Pixels: 48 MP
Image Sensor (Tele Camera): 1/2″ CMOS, Effective Pixels: 12 MP
Photo Format: JPEG/DNG (RAW)
Battery Capacity: 5000 mAh
Battery Weight: 335.5 g
Battery Type: Li-ion 4S
Battery Charging Time: Approx. 96 minutes
Safety features

The Highlands of Iceland shot on my DJI Mavic 3 Pro

Safety Features

All Mavic 3 models, including the Mavic 3 Pro, offer excellent safety features including collision avoidance, precise GPS positioning, and advanced return to home. Due to years of R&D and continuous improvements, DJI has made sure that all their drones are incredibly intuitive and easy to fly, so beginner and expert pilots alike can fly the drone confidently.

Strengths of DJI Mavic 3 Pro

The DJI Mavic 3 Pro has become famous for its 3 different camera / focal lengths (24mm, 70mm, 166mm). This makes the drone incredibly versatile and using the longer focal lengths enables you to capture images with a really interesting perspective that previously just wasn’t possible.

Image Quality

The image quality of the DJI Mavic 3 Pro is so much better than anything that came before it, both in terms of detail and in terms of dynamic range. It's not just about having three different focal lengths, it's about the huge flexibility that these three focal lengths have on composition and perspective. The DJI Mavic 3 Pro can capture beautifully detailed and vibrant images, regardless of which camera is being used.

The larger image sensor (4/3 CMOS) gives the Mavic 3 Pro higher resolution and dynamic range and more effectively suppresses noise in low-light environments. A native dynamic range of 12.8 stops helps retain more detail in highlights and shadows, preserving rich visual information with a greater sense of depth and elevating imagery to a professional level. The Mavic 3 Pro also delivers a deeply accurate color palette straight out of its camera thanks to the unique Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution (HNCS).

Battery Life

There is a clear trade-off that comes with having 3 different cameras on the Mavic 3 Pro, and that is the increased weight and size of the drone, meaning a direct impact on battery life. The larger camera system with 3 focal lengths weighs significantly more than the main camera on the Mavic 3 Classic. This might seem like a minor detail, but it has a definite impact on battery life.

DJI lists the flight time for the Mavic 3 Classic as 46 minutes, whilst the flight time for the Mavic 3 Pro is 43 minutes. Don't get me wrong; you're still getting a substantial flight time, but it's not quite as long as you would hope for with the Mavic 3 Pro, considering it is the flagship model of DJI’s pro-sumer drones. In reality, I have found my average flight time is around 30-32 minutes, however, I do always fly in Sport mode and usually bring the drone back with 15% battery life remaining.

Drones are an exercise in compromise. Weight adds stability and build quality, but reduces battery life. Bigger camera sensors lead to better images but increased weight. Better batteries give a better range, but that then requires better transmission rates and RC range. In this respect, I think the Mavic 3 Pro is well-optimised.

The main camera (24mm equivalent)

The DJI Mavic 3 Pro has a professional-grade 4/3 CMOS sensor with a 24mm prime lens, producing stunning 20MP still images in 12-bit RAW format and videos in 4K at 120fps. This lens has an 84° FOV (Field of View).

The detail, color, and dynamic range are so much better than all previous models, making the DJI Mavic 3 Pro a serious tool for professionals and amateurs alike. The main camera also has a variable aperture (f2.8 to f11), which is super handy when needing to adapt to different lighting conditions without having to compromise on ISO or Shutter speed.

The 3X zoom Camera (70mm equivalent)

In my opinion, this is the most underrated feature of the DJI Mavic 3 Pro. Its the perfect focal length to get a really interesting perspective between foreground and background. This new lens changed the way I go about drone photography, using it more often than I use the regular wide angle lens. With its 70mm equivalent focal length (FOV: 35°) and fixed aperture of f2.8, it completely changes the way you think about composition, as you need to be much further away from your subject than you would otherwise be with the wide angle lens.

This new focal length allows you to shoot 48MP images (12MP Native) through some software trickery (Similar to the DJI Mini 3 Pro). The image quality is surprisingly good, with a good amount of detail across the frame, however, due to having a smaller sensor, it does not have as much dynamic range as the main camera (24mm).

The 7x Zoom (166mm Equivalent)

The 7X zoom (166 mm) lens has a fixed aperture of f3.4 and a FOV of 15°. DJI has obviously put a lot of work into improving this focal length, especially in low-light conditions. As a result, the optical quality is a noticeable improvement from the initial telephoto cameras that DJI released, however, it still lacks some detail and sharpness compared to the main camera (24mm) and noise is a little more prevalent in low-light situations due to the smaller sensor. The 7x zoom is the lens I have used least so far, both because of the very long focal length, but also because the images are not as detailed and sharp as I would like them to be.

A shot with the 7x Zoom from Iceland in Winter 2024

Summary of Camera System

Having three focal lengths on a single drone is the biggest advance in drone technology to date, the freedom and flexibility it gives you are incredible. This is what truly sets the DJI Mavic 3 Pro apart from all other drones in the DJI lineup.

It allows you to go from capturing wide vista shots to zeroing in on a specific subject or composition with just a tap of the screen. Whether you're a professional photographer, an amateur, or just a hobbyist drone pilot, this sort of flexibility can drastically change the way you create content and capture images.

Areas which could be improved

The DJI Mavic 3 Pro is a fantastic drone and is way better than everything that came before it, that being said, there are a couple of small things that could be improved that would make it even better! These insights are based on my own personal experiences from flying the Mavic 3 Pro as a professional landscape photographer.

Non-compatibility with the new DJI RC
DJI states that the Mavic 3 Pro uses the DJI 03+ transmission system that can transmit a 1080p/60fps live camera feed at a distance of up to 9.3 miles/15 km in the United States and up to 5 miles/8 km in other regions. This seems to be very optimistic, as in real-life scenarios I have found that the RC and Drone begin to lose signal by the time the drone gets to 2 Miles (3.2 Km). It would be great if we could use the new DJI RC2 to fly the DJI Mavic 3 Pro due to its significantly improved range using Occusync 4 technology, claiming a 20km maximum range. The external antennas and improved CPU and GPU in the DJI RC2 would probably also improve the relatively slow response of the DJI RC.
Slow response when changing camera settings
This is probably more of a gripe against the DJI RC rather than the Mavic 3 Pro, but it frequently has a very slow response when changing camera settings or changing shooting mode (Single shot to panorama).
Focus setting changes between cameras
I’ve also found it annoying that the focus setting doesn’t change automatically when you change lenses, for example, when shooting with the wide angle lens (24mm) and focus set at infinity, if you change to the 3x Zoom (70mm), the focus setting changes to autofocus instead of remaining at infinity, this is frustrating as if you don’t pick up on this then you may end up with some slightly soft shots.
Gimbal motor strength
This is an annoying issue that sometimes crops up when flying in moderate wind conditions where the gimbal suddenly jerks and tilts downwards. This issue was also present on my DJI Mini 3 Pro and is really frustrating as it requires you to tilt the gimbal back up to wherever you want it. I have also noticed that when facing straight down (-90 Degrees) and moving forward slightly, the gimbal sometimes seems to collide with the body of the drone, showing a dark vignette at the bottom of the frame. This can really disrupt your shots and is something you wouldn’t expect from such an advanced and expensive drone. There are also times when it seems the horizon is slightly tiled (Only a couple of degrees), but this could mean having to straighten images in post-processing and potentially losing out on image resolution if cropping.
The Weight and EU Regulations
The DJI Mavic 3 Pro weighs in at 958grams (C2 Class), this is a mere 58grams above the 900gram EU Threshold for the C1 class, pushing it into the C2 class which requires a different and more comprehensive license than the Mavic 3 Classic which weighs in at 895grams (C1 Class). Although this obviously can’t be updated with a firmware update, hopefully, DJI will take this into consideration when they eventually release a Mavic 4 drone.

These are just a few areas that I would love to see improved and would make the drone even better. Don’t get me wrong, despite these points, the DJI Mavic 3 Pro remains an absolute beast and a clear leader in the drone market.

Pros

Excellent image quality on the wide-angle and 3x telephoto camera.
Good battery life
Great dynamic range
3 focal lengths to choose from
Great stability in windy conditions
Well-built and tough

Cons

7x Zoom image quality could be improved
Jerky/jittery gimbal at times
Not compatible with DJI RC2
Size and weight (Classified as a C2 drone)
DJI RC is slow to respond when switching focal lengths

Do I regret buying the DJI Mavic 3 Pro?

Absolutely not… The DJI Mavic 3 Pro is everything I hoped it would be, and then some! Yes, there are some areas which I feel can be improved, there is simply nothing else on the market at this time that does the job better. In this modern consumer-driven world, there is no doubt that these improvements will appear in future iterations. The photographs that I have captured with this drone (Especially with the 3x Zoom), were well worth paying the premium price for me as a photographer who captures images for a living.

Are there other alternatives?

DJI has taken over the market, so in reality, there are no better options available at this point in time, the only alternatives are other DJI drones. For anyone looking for similar flight and performance capabilities but without multiple cameras, the DJI Mavic 3 Classic is a great option, however, in my opinion, the multiple focal lengths are what make the Mavic 3 Pro the great all-rounder that it is, and I would personally be more inclined to buy the near DJ Air 3 which has 2 lenses and the new DJI RC2, whilst being significantly smaller and lighter but with an equivalent flight time.

NOTE: All of these images have been captured during my Photography Tours, if you would like to join a tour you can find more information under the ‘Workshops’ menu above!

Review - DJI Mavic 3 Pro

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