DJI has announced their newest drone, the DJI Air 3. The last drone in the Air series was the Air 2S, released in April of 2021, which followed the Air 2, released 3 years ago, back in April 2020.
The Air series is a more affordable lineup than the flagship Mavic series, while still offering an incredible lineup of camera hardware and software smarts.
With the Air 3, DJI has included a dual-camera system that offers some of the great zoom capabilities that we seen in the recently reviewed Mavic 3 Pro.
The camera system combines a wide-angle camera with a 3x medium tele camera. This is a great mix of a wide field of view for landscape photography and cinematography while offering the ability to get tighter shots from a distance.
This is really just the start of a long list of features in the Air 3. This all-around drone offers stunning photos of up to 48MP and the ability to shoot video in 4K resolution at 60fps (with HDR).
When it comes to flight time, DJI is hard to beat, and the Air 3 is no exception. You can fly for up to 46 minutes and with the fly more combo, you can effectively triple that, with a short landing to switch out the battery.
Some of the best footage is captured in wide open spaces, but some of the most exciting is when the drone is flying close to objects, at speed. Thanks to omnidirectional obstacle sensing, the drone does a great job at avoiding obstacles like poles and trees, while the transmission of the video from the drone’s camera to the controller leverages the great O4 HD Video Transmission System.
The DJI Air 3 is the first drone of our Air Series which offers professional features like dual primary cameras and omnidirectional obstacle sensing and at the same time retaining its lightweight capabilities with a weight of just 720g for more freedom and flexibility.
Ferdinand Wolf, Creative Director at DJI.
The drone is the perfect all-rounder for your outdoor adventures and offers you a more diverse camera language.
I’ve had a chance to get hands-on with the DJI Air 3 over the past week and will have a full review for you shortly.
Dual Primary Cameras
The DJI Air 3 boasts the first dual-primary camera system of the Air Series, which embeds a 1/1.3-inch CMOS wide-angle camera and a 1/1.3-inch CMOS 3x medium tele camera in a compact space.
The two cameras have the same sensor size but different focal lengths, which results in more consistent image quality and more diverse camera language.
With the wide-angle camera, you can capture sweeping landscapes in all their glory. It offers 2.4μm pixel size, an equivalent of a 24mm lens with a F1.7 aperture. The 3x Medium Tele Camera offers 2.4μm pixel size, a 70mm equivalent and a F2.8 aperture.
The 3x medium tele camera can achieve 3x optical zoom and also create a strong sense of spatial compression, enabling a unique perspective to present the user or anyone else as the subject of aerial photography. While this may be less than the 7x optical zoom found on the Mavic 3 Pro, it’s a great middle ground between zoom and price.
The DJI Air 3 has 2x 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensors that support dual native ISO for direct output of 4K/60fps HDR video at high frame rates and up to 4K/100fps without FOV cropping.
Your videos will be recorded with rich colour details and natural lighting transitions to restore the stunning landscape before your eyes. Both cameras support 10-bit D-Log M and 10-bit HLG colour modes. 10-bit D-Log M mode can retain more highlight and shadow details for more flexible post-production.
The DJI Air 3 is the first drone of the Air Series to support 2.7K vertical video shooting (9:16), which can be shared immediately on social media.
Battery Life and Flight Time
Compared with its predecessor in the Air Series, the DJI Air 3 has 48% more max flight time of up to 46 minutes. Thus, pilots can seek the best position and adjust the composition with more peace of mind during a single flight.
The new battery charging hub supports a power accumulation function. Users can press and hold the function button to transfer the remaining power from multiple batteries to the battery with the highest remaining power. This feature gives pilots the freedom and flexibility to make the most out of their flight during for example hiking in the mountains or biking in the forest, where charging possibilities are limited.
Omnidirectional Obstacle Sensing and O4 Video Transmission
The DJI Air 3 is the first drone in the Air Series to include omnidirectional obstacle sensing. This feature enables comprehensive environmental awareness, allowing the drone to detect obstacles in all directions.
In the front and at the back the drone is equipped with a pair of fisheye lenses to achieve forward, backwards, left, right and upward sensing, while the bottom is equipped with binocular lenses and a 3D TOF, achieving powerful omnidirectional obstacle sensing.
When an obstacle is detected, the DJI Air 3 can also use APAS 5.0 to actively avoid and smoothly bypass obstacles, which ensures uninterrupted shooting for a greatly enhanced flight experience. This allows users to fly with confidence and unlock more creative ideas.
The ActiveTrack function further frees the pilots’ hands and works with Advanced RTH to achieve fully automatic flight as well as worry-free return-to-home.
The next-generation O4 video transmission system endows the DJI Air 3 with outstanding performance. It not only offers a transmission distance of up to 20 km, but also further improves transmission stability to avoid stuttered live view for safer flight. It supports up to 1080p/60fps live feeds, and a higher frame rate ensures a smoother viewing experience.
Intelligent Features, Infinite Inspiration
FocusTrack for both cameras: Consisting of Spotlight 2.0, ActiveTrack 5.0 and Point of Interest 3.0. FocusTrack keeps the subject in the centre of the frame. When using the 3x medium tele camera, a unique sense of spatial compression will be generated to highlight the pilot or any other person as the subject in terrific status.
QuickShots: Empowers the DJI Air 3 to perform creative camera movements like Rocket, Dronie, Circle, Helix, Boomerang, and Asteroid.
2.7K Vertical Shooting: The DJI Air 3 supports dual-camera 2.7K vertical video shooting. The wide-angle camera can include rich image information, while the 3x medium tele camera can portrait the pilot or others as the subject, facilitating more eye-catching vertical aerial photography. The 2.7K vertical shot output can be shared immediately on social media without post-cropping.
MasterShots: Allows the DJI Air 3 to automatically perform diverse camera movements, shoot multiple clips, edit the clips, and add music to generate fast and effortless cinematic footage.
Night Mode: Thanks to the noise reduction algorithm, the DJI Air 3 can capture up to 4K/30fps clean footage in low-light environments.
Hyperlapse: Select from four sub-modes of Free, Circle, Course Lock, and Waypoint to shoot up to 4K horizontal or 2.7K vertical timelapse footage.
Slow Motion: Select 4K/100fps or 1080p/100fps to directly record a 4x slow-motion video.
SmartPhoto 3.0: In single shot mode, the DJI Air 3 uses SmartPhoto 3.0 by default, which can automatically select among HDR, hyperlight, and scene recognition according to the scenario for better imaging results. In HDR DNG format, the camera can record a larger dynamic range with built-in contrast enhancement. The image file can achieve JPG-level quality in post-editing software, reducing the difficulty of post-production.
QuickTransfer: Quickly download photos and videos from the aircraft to your smartphone through a wireless connection, saving time and effort.
LightCut: Connect the DJI Air 3 wirelessly to the LightCut app on the phone for intelligent recognition of highlight moments and one-tap editing. There is no need to download the footage during the process, saving storage on the phone.
One-Tap Edit: Intelligently identifies the composition and flight path, selects clips with delicate composition and stable camera movements, automatically matches the best template and sound effects, and then generates a cinematic video effortlessly.
Tilt-Shift Effects: Enjoy incredible effects that make the shot look miniature and toy-like with just one tap. Apply this feature to footage shot with the 3x medium tele camera for even better results.
Waypoint Flight: This feature is available on the Air Series for the first time. The user can plan flight routes and shooting actions for the DJI Air 3 in advance to achieve difficult camera movements like one-takes. Pilots can also save a flight route to repeat the same mission precisely later, making it easy to create long-duration timelapse videos that capture transitions such as day to night or season to season.
Accessories
- DJI Air 3 ND Filters Set: This set provides ND8/16/32/64 filters, allowing the user to create smoother footage at slower shutter speeds.
- DJI 100W USB-C Power Adapter: The power adapter can fast charge the battery and remote controller simultaneously, or mobile devices through the USB-C ports.
- DJI 65W Car Charger: The lightweight and portable car charger uses a universal port. It can charge a battery, remote controller, smartphone, laptop, and other devices.
DJI Care Refresh
DJI Care Refresh, the comprehensive protection plan for DJI products, is now available for DJI Air 3. The replacement service covers accidental damage, including flyaway, collisions and water damage.
For a small additional charge, you can have your damaged product replaced if an accident occurs. DJI Care Refresh (1-Year Plan) includes up to two replacements in one year. DJI Care Refresh (2-Year Plan) includes up to four replacements in two years.
Other services of DJI Care Refresh include an official Warranty and free shipping. For a full list of details, please visit: www.dji.com/support/service/djicare-refresh
Price and Availability
The DJI Air 3 is available to order from d1store.com.au and authorised retail partners, with shipping starting today, in the following configurations:
- DJI Air 3 (DJI RC-N2) for the retail price of $1,699
- DJI Air 3 Fly More Combo (DJI RC-N2) for the retail price of $2,049
- DJI Air 3 Fly More Combo (DJI RC 2) for the retail price of $2,349
You can get more information on the DJI Air 3 at www.dji.com/air-3
