I am looking for opinions of those with experience with the M30T. We're a non profit organisation looking for a Thermal drone for wildlife observation and conservation. In particular koalas. Which for anyone that doesn't know are animals about the size of medium dogs that live in the tops of 30m high trees in forests.

We're in the early stages of finding the right solutions and are looking at the Matrice 30T or the Mavic 3T

The thermal cameras specs seem the same on both but the M30T comes with something called "Super-resolution Mode" that could be useful.

Other than that the thermal cameras seem the same from what I can tell. M30T has better zoom but the Mavic could be enough.

The M30T being water proof is of interest.

Does anyone have any opinion on why the the M30T would be worth the extra spend for us given what we intend to do with it?

As above, being able to fly in light rain is one advantage. Could the laser range finder be useful in plotting the location of the animals?

I did read in this forum about some issues with range in CE areas for the M30T, has that been resolved? We're in a CE region.

TY in advance.

I think the M3T is great for your use case. If you want you can buy two units and several batteries for the price of one M30T.

M3T : less noise, small unit, easy to operate ( one single case )
M30T : bigger and more environment resistant but are you planning on going outside when the weather is bad ( heavy wind and rain? )

Not fully aware of the Australia rules but does the extra weight of the M30T cause you any further restrictions?

DAFlys Posted at 5-6 01:11
Not fully aware of the Australia rules but does the extra weight of the M30T cause you any further restrictions?

Don't think so. Our pilots are certified up to 7kg.

AR_AirPrecision Posted at 5-6 01:07
I think the M3T is great for your use case. If you want you can buy two units and several batteries for the price of one M30T.

M3T : less noise, small unit, easy to operate ( one single case )

Thanks for your reply.

The koalas are situated in forests which include rainforests so rain is not uncommon.

Do you see any advantages in relation to the themal camera on the m30T? What about the "super resolution" mode. Could that be of use to use counting koalas in the tops of trees? Does the laser range finder work well? Provides GPS coordinates of the target?

The pricing isn't exactly as you say in our country, price of the M30T is $13273 while the M3T is $8624, so an extra cost of $4649 (which is not to be laughed at for sure, but not another M3T and batteries.)

WolfWeb Posted at 5-6 01:16
Thanks for your reply.

The koalas are situated in forests which include rainforests so rain is not uncommon.

I don't think you need "super resolution mode" as you look for heat spots and then fly to it to investigate if it's a Koala or another animal.

The price for the M30T is with one pair of batteries? And the M3T with the Fly more?

The laser range finder is accurate, you can then see the point on a map via FlightHub, or copy the coordinate.

When it rains the flying is never optimal, it's more "you have to fly cases" like person missing or ...

Can't you rent the units to test in the field which is the best match for you?

AR_AirPrecision Posted at 5-6 01:35
I don't think you need "super resolution mode" as you look for heat spots and then fly to it to investigate if it's a Koala or another animal.

The price for the M30T is with one pair of batteries? And the M3T with the Fly more?

Great info thanks.

Will look into rentals but they seem very limited here.

Just one battery for the M3T at that price.

WolfWeb Posted at 5-6 01:58
Great info thanks.

Will look into rentals but they seem very limited here.

On M300, it's near 1600EU per extra batteries pair.

Also not sure you need the RTK module on M3T.

AR_AirPrecision Posted at 5-6 02:58
On M300, it's near 1600EU per extra batteries pair.

Also not sure you need the RTK module on M3T.

Thanks. Batteries for M30 series $490 each here (pair required)  and Mavic 3 $290 so definitely a higher price to pay for extra flight time.

No don't think we'd use RTK at all, not needed so that's wasted $$ there for sure.

I use both the M30T and the M3T in my line of work (high tension power lines) I guess that you will not be able to drive too close to the areas where the Koala are living. Considering the weight difference between the drones the M3T is a better choice if you have to carry the drone a longer distance. Another is the size difference. The M30T is almost 4 times bigger and that could be an issue.

fans76b3ffc6 Posted at 5-6 06:34
I use both the M30T and the M3T in my line of work (high tension power lines) I guess that you will not be able to drive too close to the areas where the Koala are living. Considering the weight difference between the drones the M3T is a better choice if you have to carry the drone a longer distance. Another is the size difference. The M30T is almost 4 times bigger and that could be an issue.

Thanks, yes the weight and size will make a difference to us when we have to hike in to areas, thanks, great info.