The Mavic 3 Pro uses the same 5000mAh batteries as previous models. Presumably as a result of the additional weight, advertised flight times have been reduced from 46 to 43 minutes. In testing, flight times weren’t noticeably different and still sit around the 30-minute mark of the other Mavic 3 models, so this is pretty much negligible. I attached a nx500 to my Phantom 2 years ago and been getting 28mp images for years, with sharp image due to setting high shutter speed, it would take a Ar7 series too, bit of guess work, but once you know about photography its easy to predict right settings and get a great image, all of which are far superior to these 20mp phone quality images from a 5000 overpriced drone, at least the cine version. But more than that, it was the beginning of a new way of thinking around form and function. The Mavic Pro was immensely more portable than the Phantom line, folding down to a really compact size. It also had better flight time, and a much smaller and innovative controller. And while that controller may look slightly dated now against the current crop (Mavic AIR 2, AIR 2S controllers), it was really compact, and got the job done. Branching out Compared with the 166mm tele camera, using the medium tele camera may be better in some scenarios. It enables new aerial photography perspectives and can help to achieve different camera movements. You don't need to replace the camera on the drone during shooting. Just tap the screen to switch between different focal lengths, making transitions smoother and more natural. There is no optical zoom lens either; operation of the zoom is through software and the system switches from one camera to the other at the appropriate moment, like a multi-lens mobile phone, though somewhat less fluidly. In Explorer Mode you typically tap through zoom multiples; 1x, 2x, 4x, 7x (the optical ratio of the zoom in comparison to the main one), 14x, 28x. Predictably the 28x option, dependant as it is on a lot of digital help, is not exactly sharp. Perhaps some softness would come from gimbal vibration at this zoom level, digital 28x isn’t going to provide the clarity a paparazzo might be hoping for.

Until the Mavic 3 series, having a camera with a Four Thirds CMOS sensor placed on a drone meant purchasing a more expensive, and significantly bulkier, DJI Inspire and separately acquiring a Zenmuse X5 camera to mount on the drone's gimbal. The camera on the Mavic 3 also includes Hasselblad's HCNS technology which offers up enhanced color accuracy.

Now, we’d argue there are some cinematographers who actually prefer to shoot with the Goggles rather than staring at a tablet. So this one’s up in the air. Enhanced AI?

Although you shouldn’t, by law, fly beyond ‘line of sight’, the Mavic 3 has a transmission range of 15km (9.32 miles). This means you could feasibly take off on Hampstead Heath in London and fly the drone to Greenwich while receiving a crisp image from the front camera on your phone. Amazing. The Mavic 3 series features a dual-camera system with Hasselblad's HNCS technology. On the bottom is a 20MP, Four Thirds CMOS sensor while the top has a 12MP, 1/2" sensor with up to 28X zoom. With its low latency, higher resolution and greater range compared with OcuSync 2.0, we’d expect a minimum of OcuSync 3.0 – if not, possibly, the next generation. We also theorize (and we could be wrong here) that any drone equipped with OcuSync 3.0 should be compatible with the Goggles V2. It’s really just a question of whether DJI would want to enable that. I still remember the DJI Phantom 2 Vision drone with its bulbous white camera and no gimbal. I look at the 1080p footage I originally shot today and I’m aghast that I thought it was even a little bit good. The same thing happened with the Phantom Vision 2+ which was fitted with a gimbal. Wow, we all thought, this footage is way better. It was a bit but, in hindsight, it was still bloody awful. Nevertheless, DJI’s cameras continued to improve, and each time this writer and many others praised the company for pushing the cinematic envelope. Every one was better than the last. By the time DJI’s first aerial 4K camera was released many of us thought it couldn’t get any better. Well we were wrong again because the Hasselblad camera fitted to this beast of a drone is on another level. This new DJI RC Pro controller only comes with the Cine Premium Combo, with the Standard and Fly More bundles instead coming with the DJI RC-N1 pad. (Image credit: Future)

The drone also warns you of nearby aircraft using ADS-B; a useful safety feature. (Image credit: Adam Juniper/Digital Camera World) The Mavic 3 is a nimble drone that’s much more responsive in flight than its Mavic 2 predecessors. In this respect, it's actually more like the DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0. The controls are simply much more sensitive in both Normal and Sport Modes, while Cine Mode offers reduced control sensitivity and speed for smoother flights and more cinematic video footage. Measured with Mavic 3 flying at a constant speed of 32.4 kph in a windless environment at sea level until the battery reached 0%. Data is for reference only. Please pay attention to the RTH reminder on the DJI Fly app during flight. The Mavic 3 Pro flies extremely well, and it’s impossible to differentiate between its performance and that of other Mavic 3 models. There are three flight modes available: Sport mode provides a top speed of 47 mph with collision avoidance switched off; Normal mode is slower with collision avoidance on and is the most commonly used mode; while Cine mode provides the slowest flight speed with reduced control sensitivity and is mostly used for capturing smooth cinematic video footage. Wind speed resistance is just under 27mph, which opens up many more possibilities than sub-250g models with lower wind resistance.