DJI Mavic 3 Classic Review – A Worthy Upgrade from the DJI Mavic 2 Pro?

Here we have the brand new DJI Mavic 3 Classic, and in today’s video, I’ll let you know everything you need to know about this drone. So, this drone is the actual successor of one of the most popular drones we’ve ever seen from DJI, the Mavic 2 Pro.

We will know with the release of the Mavic 2 Pro and the one-inch Hasselblad sensor, it was pretty much game over for any other portable drone as up until this point, nobody had ever created such a powerful but tiny and compact drone.

DJI Mavic 3 Classic features the same Hasselblad camera

And now we have the Mavic 3 Classic, which aims to replicate the same success by introducing a four-thirds Hasselblad sensor with a single camera.

So unlike the regular DJI Mavic 3 which comes with a wide-angle camera and a telephoto camera, this one comes with just one camera, the wide option, which is, in a 35-millimeter equivalent, a 24-millimeter wide-angle camera.

And that is a massive difference compared to the Mavic 2 Pro, which has a 35-millimeter equivalent camera of 28 millimeters. So not only does this camera have a bigger sensor, it also has a wider view.

Before I continue with the rest of the things you need to know about the Mavic 3 Classic, here is a comparison between this drone and a Mavic 2 Pro so you can appreciate how much things have developed over the years. And what difference can you expect coming from the Mavic 2 Pro to the Mavic 3 Classic? Let’s check it out.

Unlike the regular Mavic 3, which comes with two cameras, a wide-angle camera, and a telephoto camera, this one comes with just one wide-angle camera, which still has the same four-thirds CMOS Hasselblad sensor with 20-megapixel photo capabilities and 12.8 stops of dynamic range.

Of course, we still have the adjustable aperture between f/2.8 and f/11, just like on the regular DJI Mavic 3. And we still have that same flat D-Log color profile which shoots 10-bit video and is amazing to color grade.

DJI Mavic 3 Classic video recording

Similar to the regular Mavic 3, the Classic also shoots at 5.1K at 50 frames per second; that’s the maximum resolution you can set.

And, of course, you still have 4K 60 and 4K 120 frames per second if you need to shoot something that needs to be slowed down.

DJI Mavic 3 Classic gimbal protector

When it comes to the design, you can see DJI continues to experiment with the way they produce these straps to keep the propellers tucked in and also to keep everything nice and secure when it comes to protecting the drone, the sensors, and the camera.

So we can see the new design of that strap, which now buckles here on the back of the drone instead of the top, which is what we have here on the regular Mavic 3.

So it’s an interesting new design that I’m not really sure if I like better than this one. This one, maybe I’m a bit more familiar with it, and I tend to lock it in a bit quicker compared to this one, which, as I said, closes here on the back.

But I still think they keep tweaking the design, meaning that they are trying to make it better, so that must be a good thing.

I might prefer this one a little bit better, but we’ll see how this holds up. it’s not a huge deal anyway, but yeah, I’ll keep you informed about this design, whether it stands as it is right now or whether it keeps improving in my view at least.

On the outside, nothing really else has changed besides the camera and the strap design, so the props are the same and the berries (?) are the same. Everything else looks exactly the same as the regular Mavic 3.

Different remote controllers for the M3 Classic

Well, there is a small difference actually, and that is that if you want to buy just the drone itself, you can do that, you can buy it without any remote controller. You can buy it with the DJI RC-N1, the regular flat, boring-looking remote controller.

Or you can get it with the DJI RC, which we’ve now seen on many other drones, such as the Mini 3 Pro.

The DJI Air 2S has been recently upgraded to work with this remote as well. The regular Mavic 3, and now the Mavic 3 Classic, they all work with this remote.

So if you already own one of these, you can just buy the drone itself and just bind it to this remote, and it will work just fine.

Transmission range and flight time

Now like I said since we have the same batteries as the Mavic 3 you can literally expect exactly the same battery life on this drone as well.

Something along the lines of 35 to 40 minutes, depending on your flight style, would be something realistic that you can expect.

And of course, we have the same O3+ transmission technology available on the Mavic 3 Classic, which promises up to 15 kilometers of flight range, and FCC mode, which is amazing, of course.

And although I never pushed the drone that far away from me, it’s great to know that the signal will be rock solid even when flying in urban areas.

When I fly in areas with a lot of interference, I have zero problems with the Mavic 3 and the Mavic 3 Classic.

So it’s great peace of mind knowing that the drone will be able to perform well and you still have that 1080p 60 frames per second feed on your remote controller giving you great feedback as soon as you do something on the drone, you will see it on the remote.

So it’s very fluid, very smooth, and you don’t have any problems with the signal whatsoever, even in dense urban areas.

So as you can see, pretty much everything is the same as the Mavic 3.

DJI Mavic 3 Classic with Cruise Control

However, there is one new feature that I’m really excited about when it comes to the Mavic 3 Classic, and that is cruise control.

Cruise control is a feature that can be enabled by going to the bottom customization options and setting it to a custom button.

So let’s say you set it to C2, which is the button on the back of the remote controller. At any given point, while you’re flying the drone, you’re moving the sticks in any direction, you can press the C2 button or any other button that you have customized to start the cruise control feature, and the drone will continue going in that direction.

So let’s say you’re going forward and you’re gaining altitude a little bit by also using the left stick to go a little bit higher.

By pressing the C2 button, it will lock these commands, and the drone will continue to gain altitude, and it will continue using the same speed as it was using before you pressed the button.

And it will just keep doing that same movement until you either press cancel, you press the button again to stop cruise control, or you reach an area that is the maximum flight altitude, for example, or you enter a note fly zone or something like that.

This cruise control feature will not only make long-distance flying more effortless because you don’t have to do anything, but it will also help you reduce some shakiness during manual control that sometimes happens when you’re pushing the sticks yourself.

Finally, this drone also supports DJI’s APAS 5.0 to sense objects in all directions and bypass them quickly and smoothly. You have active track 5.0. You have Master Shots, Quick Shots, Hyperlapse, and Panorama.

All of these features that we’ve seen on the Mavic 3 and the Mavic 3 Cine, which are a lot more expensive, are now here on the Mavic 3 Classic, which I think is a great thing.

Especially coming from the Mavic 2 Pro, for example, which is their previous big flagship drone, it’s a massive upgrade with all of these camera improvements.

All of these new features that, over the years, DJI has developed and has, I would say, been perfected slowly but surely. Now you can have them too at a much more reasonable price tag.

DJI Mavic 3 Classic pricing information

So speaking about the prices, I’m currently looking at the different price tags depending on which bundle or which version you want to go for.

• So the regular Mavic 3 Classic, which is just the drone, comes in at $1,469
• The Mavic 3 Classic with the RC-N1 remote controller comes at $1,599
• The Mavic 3 Classic with the DJI RC comes in at $1,749
• And the Mavic 3 Fly More Kit, which is sold separately, comes in at $649 dollars.

I know for a fact that many people don’t want to spend such a high amount of money for the tele-camera and the built-in SSD, and the Prores codec that the Mavic 3 and the Mavic 3 Cine versions have.

So the Mavic 3 Classic is the perfect middle ground for people looking to upgrade to I would say, one beast of a camera, which still has all the cool features and all the cool automated modes that the Mavic 3 has.

So pretty much a win-win for anyone looking to upgrade to a much, much better-looking camera.

If there’s anything specific you want to know about the Mavic 3 Classic, don’t hesitate to drop a comment down below to let me know what you think about this drone.

And while you’re at it, drop a like. Subscribe for more videos like this one.

This is Mike from Drone Supremacy. Thank you so much for watching. I’ll catch you in the next one. Ciao.

Photos courtesy of Mike from Drone Supremacy.