Verdict
A sizeable improvement on the already impressive Air 2S , the DJI Air 3 has marathon battery life and omnidirectional obstacle sensors , which take almost all the stress out of fly . That said , its most transformative raw feature by far is the treble camera : its 70 mm tantamount telephotograph lens adds a wonderfully cinematic perspective to users ’ aerial imaging armoury , while 10 - bit D - Log M offers Brobdingnagian scope for impactful post - production color grading . All thing considered , it ’s a fantastic mid - range lagger with excellent image quality .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Wedged between the tinyMiniand premiumMavicranges sits DJI ’s Air series . These mid - range folding television camera drone pipe are n’t aimed at founding father or pro , but somewhere in between : the enthusiast who require big airy image tone , but not at with child expense .
The DJI Air 3 is the first Modern Air fashion model since 2021’sAir 2S(a highly telling drone that I awarded a full five - headliner rating at the clock time ) . DJI has n’t rested on its laurel wreath when it comes to this model , up the ante with a dual camera apparatus and a stack of new features and quality - of - life upgrades .
That said , the DJI Air 3 is large and heavier than the Air 2S , and its camera sensors are somewhat little than the Air 2S ’s 1 - in CMOS – so with that in mind , are you better off sticking with the older model , or even overleap down to the tiny DJI Mini 3 professional ? Here are my thoughts .
Design
If you ’ve seen a DJI pen up trailer before , you ’ll find the Air 3 ’s aim familiar : a orthogonal soundbox with four fold - out propeller arms , a removeable barrage fire pack at the back and a gimbal - mounted camera unit at the front .
It ’s fabricate of hard grey charge card and feels reassuringly resilient , but like most drones is n’t designed to be flown in bad weather consideration – or into backbreaking objects ( more on how it avoids doing that subsequently ) . An included plastic cover charge can be used to protect the delicate camera and gimbal when the poke is n’t in use .
There ’s picayune in the fashion of connectivity asunder from a single rubber flap that give to reveal a microSD card one-armed bandit andUSB - Cport .
When folded down , the Air 3 measuring 207 x 100.5 x 91.1 millimetre and weigh 720 guanine , which makes it a bit heftier than the Air 2S ( 180 x 97 x 77 mm , 595 g ) , importantly healthy than theMini 3 Pro(145 x 90 x 62 mm , 249 g ) and almost as hefty as the Mavic 3 Classic ( 221 x 96.3 x 90.3 , 895 one thousand ) .
If you ’re await for a drone that you’re able to haul around in your back pack all Clarence Day without knowing it ’s even in there , the Air 3 is n’t the one to find fault ( hint : the one to pick would be the Mini ) , but it ’s still fairly trim and tidy overall .
If you purchase the Fly More Combo , it even follow with a nicely appoint , well - made carrying travelling bag that can snugly hold the pilotless aircraft , its RC - N2 controller , up to three extra battery and the charging hub , and various extra like cables , bare propellers and ND filters .
The RC - N2 accountant flaunt a new pattern too , although is very similar to DJI ’s previous version . It weigh 375 g and boast a large touchscreen , twin stick control condition and shortcut clitoris for various television camera social occasion . It ’s solidly constructed , prosperous to hold and its barrage offers about six minute of purpose on a full charge .
repay to the weight front for a moment , possible UK vendee should note that as the Air 3 is above 250 g it must be flown no confining than 50 chiliad to detached citizenry , never over a bunch of people and at least 150 MB from ‘ residential , amateur , commercial and industrial site ’ . So despite the Air 3 ’s great deal of safety characteristic , flying stableness and long battery life , there are actually few places you could fly it without breaking the law of nature .
In the EU , however , it ’s categorised as a C1 bourdon , which puts it in a similar position to a sub-250 g drone like the DJI Mini 3 Pro – and means you’re able to fly it almost anywhere .
Performance
The DJI Air 3 has a much larger electric battery than the Air 2S , and as a result offers a flight time of up to 46 transactions on a full guardianship – a major melioration on the Air 2S ’s 31 minutes , and the same as the Mavic 3 Classic ’s flying time . In real - cosmos economic consumption , you ’ll get less than 46 minutes , but I can attest that it still feel like a very generous amount of time , and if you have one or two spare batteries you could drop what feels like hour in the air .
As with all DJI drone pipe , it ’s very easy to set up and wing : you just call on on the drone and the control , everything links up within a few seconds and ( after download any firmware updates and linking up with GPS satellite ) it ’s basically ready to go . Just tap the take - off button on the touchscreen and it ’ll spin up and elevate to a few metres , allowing you to take over with the unsubdivided twin stick controls .
Anyone intimate with a DJI ( or similar ) quadcopter will have zero issues aviate the Air 3 , and even fledgling will pick thing up quickly . It ’s slimly faster than the Air 2S when it comes to ascent and descent , and with the extra directional sensor now covering all angles , it can be flown around in Normal or Cinematic fashion good in the knowledge that it ’s highly unlikely to crash . Fly it in its fastest , most antiphonal Sport mode , however , and all obstruction avoidance is turn off , so do be careful there .
Noise grade are about modal at 81dB , and you will definitely sleep together the drone is there when it ’s close by and go . Fly it up to 100 m or so , though , and keep movement to a lower limit and it ’s far less noticeable .
The controller ’s UI is dim-witted , well laid - out and intuitive , and boast several options for tweaking tv camera and flight performance , should you like . The flight app also boast a number of modes for automated flight , including FocusTrack , which lets you choose a topic and have the Air 3 fly while observe its camera locked onto it ; it ’s impressively tenacious when it come to sticking to the matter , and will even avoid obstacle while auto - flight .
Camera
The main attracter of the DJI Air 3 for most will be its tv camera . Or rather , its photographic camera . While DJI ’s premium Mavic line has had multi - cam models in the past , this is the first model in the Air compass to come with a dual - camera setup – and it ’s a huge success in my opinion .
The first photographic camera offers a full - angle opinion tantamount to 24 millimetre in standard 35 mm photographic camera terms . This is a commonly usedfield of viewfor drone cameras , and feels familiar . It ’s idealistic for all - encompassing establishing shots or top - down video .
The second photographic camera extend a unlike medium telephoto field of survey , equivalent to 70 mm on a received photographic camera . This offers a tighter , more tight viewpoint that ’s enceinte for isolating subjects and bringing the backdrop nigher to them , akin to a Greco-Roman helicopter shot from a picture show . It ’s also good for grow in nearer on a guinea pig without disturbing them with monotone dissonance , which could work very well when shoot wedding , sport or wildlife .
Both cameras use a 1/1.3 - inch CMOS sensing element with 48 - megapixel resolution . The resolution is something of a litigious issuing , as it ’s a Quad Bayer frame-up that really feels more like a 12 - megapixel resolution than a ‘ true ’ 48 - megapixel one when it comes to contingent ; each pixel on the detector is rive into four subpixels . It does n’t really matter much for video recording , but for stills you may want to use the 12 - megapixel option when pullulate in low tripping conditions ( here the pixels are congeal up to capture more light in a shorter timespan ) and 48 megapixels when blast in bright sunlight .
The sensor are more or less smaller than the 1 - column inch 20 - megapixel detector on the Air 2S ’s camera and ca n’t capture 5.4 K telecasting ; they ’re ‘ limited ’ to 4 K at up to 100fps . However , any reverence about their quality vanish as soon as you watch the figure of speech and videos they produce . Detail and color science are potent points , and unlike the Air 2S you may commemorate video in HLG or D - Log M coloring material profiles in summation to the regular visibility . These are ideal for exploiter who need to wring every last bit of active image out of videos in post - production .
There ’s also a Night mode , which reduces frame pace to a maximum of 30fps but increase sensitivity for meliorate low-toned - light functioning , and a dull Motion mode which can germinate 4 chiliad at 100fps or 1080p at 200fps for tranquil playback .
exposure can be shoot in DNG RAW too , which is how I shot all the sample distribution icon post here ( before work on them in Lightroom ) , but even the stock JPEGs look ample in detail and colour .
The Air 3 ’s image quality and imaging flexibleness surpasses all premature DJI mid - cooking stove and entry - degree good example , and you have to go to the larger , pricier Mavic 3 range to find anything that beats it . I was very proud of with all my outcome straight out of the camera(s ) here , and the addition of D - Log M means I was also able to colour degree footage when I wanted .
Image and video recording file cabinet are put in either on a microSD card and/or on the 8 GB of build - in outer space .
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Should you buy it?
Cheaper than aDJI Mavic 3but highly capable in terms of battery life story and camera capability , the Air 3 ’s treble - camera apparatus is a great option for quality - conscious pilots .
TheDJI Mini 3 Pro ’s sub-250 g score it subject to few flight restrictions in the UK , so if you desire a midget but highly capable bourdon you may pilot almost anywhere , it ’s still our top selection .
Final Thoughts
The DJI Air 3 is a terrific consumer drone at an accessible damage . Not only is it a delight to live with thanks to its long battery life , myriad safety features , drug user - friendly UI and excellent control , it also produces superb photograph and videos with its versatile forked tv camera .
Its size of it means theMini 3 Prostill has a very authoritative billet for enthusiasts , while theMavic 3range ’s special mental imagery quality go along it relevant too , but this wonderful drone fits right on in the middle of the pack , settling well into its own recession . Check out ourBest Droneguide for even more options .
Trusted Score
How we test
We thoroughly test camera drones with hours of flight time , as well as capture sample distribution photos and videos . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever take on money to review a ware .
FAQs
The DJI Air 3 has a zoom functinality for video mode , but it ’s not supported for photopraphy .
Yes , the DJI Air 3 supports Omnidirectional object detection .
Full Specs
