DJI returns to the market with their latest iteration of their mid-range drone the DJI AIR 3S featuring improvements across the board; a new camera, LiDAR and more.
While an upgraded version of the previous Air 3 drone that was released mid last year, this was my first foray into DJI drones being quite a newcomer to this type of content creation; so I was interested to see how I went.
We checked out the DJI Air 3S Fly More Combo which retails for $2,429 AUD. This combo includes the drone itself, a DJI RC 2 Remote Controller, a total of 3 batteries, a battery hub, ND filter set and shoulder bag. The DJI Air 3S is also available in a drone and RC-N3 controller combo for $1,699 AUD and a fly more combo with the RC-N3 controller for $2,129 AUD.
Out of the box visually, it looks like the DJI Air 3S sports the same dual-camera system as its predecessor but don’t let that fool you. The Air 3S cameras feature the upgraded 1-inch CMOS primary and a 70mm medium tele camera; both supporting up to 14 stops of dynamic range.
Another noticeable upgrade on the front of the drone is forward facing LiDAR – the first DJI drone to feature this. While I’ve been told it has a solid improvement for night time / low light flying, due to limits of night time flying in Australia, I was not able to take advantage of the new safer night time flying without a commercial licence which recreational pilots should be wary of when looking to upgrade.
The new and improved camera is probably the biggest highlight of the DJI Air 3S – the larger sensor allows creators some incredible imagery and video with ease. Supporting up to 4K60fps with HDR and also 4K120fps; creators will have a lot to chew at with this drone as you find yourself discovering different ways to capture your footage depending what you’re shooting.
The stabilisation on this drone was near perfect. At first, I was pretty gentle with the drone flying basic movements and capturing shots, however once you start feeling more comfortable, the camera does a damn good job capturing the footage you want effortlessly. The term effortlessly goes along with DJI’s drone as I think your non-tech savvy relative can fly it without a hitch.
THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $1,699
There’s quite a few preset modes already included which will help newcomers capture the ‘perfect’ shot without learning manual movements from the pros on YouTube. While I do highly recommend learning said moves per se, if you want to quickly pop out the drone and capture a certain preset shot – you can with ease. MasterShots also makes a return with the Air 3s allowing you to automatically send the drone up. Again, effortlessly creating content with the touch of a button.
There’s a lot of safety nets when it comes to flying, so if it’s your first time piloting one of these; you’re in safe hands. The drone has omni-directional detection so it will help you detect safe take off and landing as well avoid any objects which also includes anything moving especially. While daunting at first, relying on most of the flight assistance, the DJI Air 3S does a fantastic job navigating itself especially when it comes to return to home (RTH) automatically.
While it’s not new to the DJI family, the RC 2 Remote Controller that comes included with this bundle is an incredible piece of tech and it was my first time using it. Essentially a smartphone embedded into a controller body, the RC2 was just so easy to use. It was easy to fly and review the footage with this controller thanks to the 5.5-inch 1080p screen with a 700-nit brightness screen.
Using this in broad daylight, I could easily track the drone and review footage without pulling out something external or wasting my smartphone battery. On a full charge, I was able to get out almost 2-3 hours of flying with the controller which covers the extra batteries in the fly more combo for the DJI Air 3S.
While the DJI Air 3S sits in the mid-range position of its family and may not be as small as the DJI Avata 2 or Mini; the size and weight of the drone was rather compact and light at 724g, making it easier to transport. I can easily throw this drone into my backpack with its spare batteries and take it out for a day trip or even overseas. If you do grab the Fly More combo however – does come with a handy shoulder that fits the entire package in.
I like how effortless the DJI ecosystem is from flying the drone itself to transferring and reviewing footage. It just works coming from a total newcomer to this sort of content. This was my first foray into DJI drones and I feel like they’ve come a long way in this space to make this sort of tech accessible to anyone. After a few weeks with the DJI Air 3S, I may have found myself in the drone rabbit hole…
