DJI Came out with the Mavic 3... then the Mavic 3 Cine... then the Mavic 3 Classic... then the Mavic 3 Pro.

I'm curious how the Mavic 3 Classic compares.  The M3 Classic has only one camera which hypothetically means more room for the optics.

Both the M3 and M3 Pro have multiple cameras requiring the image circle to be limited. The raw files have significant vignetting and distortion correction.
Does the M3 Classic with only one camera have the best image?

Great question, and I'm anxious to hear the answer from the experts on the forum.  Although I am not a camera guru by any means, I can tell you that my favorite camera results come from the M3 Cine.  The pro not so much.  And yes, I have one of each.  Just speaking anecdotally, the M3 Cine is my hands down favorite.

TonyPHX Posted at 4-24 17:06
Great question, and I'm anxious to hear the answer from the experts on the forum.  Although I am not a camera guru by any means, I can tell you that my favorite camera results come from the M3 Cine.  The pro not so much.  And yes, I have one of each.  Just speaking anecdotally, the M3 Cine is my hands down favorite.

I can't answer the main question in the post but I'm curious too. I have to ask though, does the Cine actually make a difference in quality for average people's uses? The Terabyte of internal storage would be great, no doubt. I'm just wondering if recording in ProRes is useful outside of professional type of productions? I assume photos are identical versus a standard M3, right?

Johnnokomis Posted at 4-24 17:21
I can't answer the main question in the post but I'm curious too. I have to ask though, does the Cine actually make a difference in quality for average people's uses? The Terabyte of internal storage would be great, no doubt. I'm just wondering if recording in ProRes is useful outside of professional type of productions? I assume photos are identical versus a standard M3, right?

Oh totally.  I don't think the hard drive is what makes the difference.  : )

I am just saying, based upon either my luck, or the time of day, or the price of chickens in jamaica, the M3 Cine has just become my best go-to for camera and video when I want quality.  I may be all in my head!!

Does the M3 Classic with only one camera have the best image?
It's the same camera, regardless of which package it came in.

Labroides Posted at 4-24 21:50
Does the M3 Classic with only one camera have the best image?
It's the same camera, regardless of which package it came in.

The Mavic 3 Pro weights 63 grams more than the Mavic 3 Classic. I assume all that additional weight is in the camera housing. Unless it has beefier motors, I could see where at least the gimbal performance may be different between the two.

Johnnokomis Posted at 4-25 03:45
The Mavic 3 Pro weights 63 grams more than the Mavic 3 Classic. I assume all that additional weight is in the camera housing. Unless it has beefier motors, I could see where at least the gimbal performance may be different between the two.

The motors are the same, but the Mavic 3 pro gimbal is beefed up to handle the larger camera housing.

Hi, sky_makai. Thank you for reaching out. The main cameras of these three models are the same so their outputs will be the same. Hope this helps.

I owned the OG Mavic 3 and then went on to the Mavic 3 Pro. Camera wise, the Pro is much better and has amazing quality video and picture wise. Other than the camera, all other features are the same.

Suren Posted at 4-27 16:18
I owned the OG Mavic 3 and then went on to the Mavic 3 Pro. Camera wise, the Pro is much better and has amazing quality video and picture wise. Other than the camera, all other features are the same.

Are you referring to the main 24mm camera?  

Seems like some people (above) think the camera (and image) is exactly the same on all the Mavic 3 series.  

You're not the first person to say they've seen much better image quality on another model.

DJI Gamora Posted at 4-26 06:49
Hi, sky_makai. Thank you for reaching out. The main cameras of these three models are the same so their outputs will be the same. Hope this helps.

HI, Gamora.

The sensor is the same?  But, the optics (lenses) are not the same... correct?  

I would very much like to get some sample images from every one of the Mavic 3 series, to compare.

sky_makai Posted at 4-27 16:20
Are you referring to the main 24mm camera?  

Seems like some people (above) think the camera (and image) is exactly the same on all the Mavic 3 series.  

The Mavic 3 videos and photos looked good but when compared to the Pro, it does not stand a chance( well to me) I compared zoomed images from the 7x and 28x and the Pro images and vides show more saturation (more natural colours) both videos and images and more natural sharpness - not much editing needed, I felt it was better in low light videos, I really enjoyed using the Pro in long exposure shots compared to the Mavic 3. Although both cameras on paper looks the same, the output is better on the Pro and the 70mm camera is the game changer. Even the 24mm on the Pro looks better to me.

DJI Gamora Posted at 4-26 06:49
Hi, sky_makai. Thank you for reaching out. The main cameras of these three models are the same so their outputs will be the same. Hope this helps.

The Mavic 3 Enterprise shares the exact same two sensors as all the other Mavic 3's but DJI didn't slap the Hasselblad name and logo on it. So what exactly is the difference there? The main question at hand here is about the optics, not the camera sensors. DJI loves to market the Hasselblad name as a game changer for drones. Yet, the M3E didn't receive this lens. Why is that and what effect does not having this lens have?

Suren Posted at 4-27 16:18
I owned the OG Mavic 3 and then went on to the Mavic 3 Pro. Camera wise, the Pro is much better and has amazing quality video and picture wise. Other than the camera, all other features are the same.

Other than the camera, all other features are the same.
Except that the cameras are the same too and provide identical video and still quality.

sky_makai Posted at 4-27 16:22
HI, Gamora.

The sensor is the same?  But, the optics (lenses) are not the same... correct?  

The sensor is the same?  But, the optics (lenses) are not the same... correct?  
The sensors are the same and the lenses are the same.
It's not really that difficult to understand
They have the same main camera.

Johnnokomis Posted at 4-27 19:10
The Mavic 3 Enterprise shares the exact same two sensors as all the other Mavic 3's but DJI didn't slap the Hasselblad name and logo on it. So what exactly is the difference there? The main question at hand here is about the optics, not the camera sensors. DJI loves to market the Hasselblad name as a game changer for drones. Yet, the M3E didn't receive this lens. Why is that and what effect does not having this lens have?

So what exactly is the difference there?
The addition of a mechanical shutter is the only difference.

Yet, the M3E didn't receive this lens. Why is that and what effect does not having this lens have?
Where did you get the idea that the lenses are different?  (they aren't)

Not having the labelling, makes no difference to the performance of the camera.

Labroides Posted at 4-27 20:51
So what exactly is the difference there?
The addition of a mechanical shutter is the only difference.

When the Mavic 3's released, a Hasselblad lens on the camera was used as a huge selling point. Where do I get the idea that the lens are different? I don't know maybe from the fact that there is no "Hasselblad lens" on the M3E. Just a lens. Unless you're saying that the only difference is the H logo on the camera. If that's the case, DJI lied to a lot of customers when they brag about how great the Hasselblad lens is on the M3 when it's only a logo and nothing else.

Johnnokomis Posted at 4-27 22:34
When the Mavic 3's released, a Hasselblad lens on the camera was used as a huge selling point. Where do I get the idea that the lens are different? I don't know maybe from the fact that there is no "Hasselblad lens" on the M3E. Just a lens. Unless you're saying that the only difference is the H logo on the camera. If that's the case, DJI lied to a lot of customers when they brag about how great the Hasselblad lens is on the M3 when it's only a logo and nothing else.

When the Mavic 3's released, a Hasselblad lens on the camera was used as a huge selling point.
Really?  I've not seen that in the marketing.
The first time DJI used the Hasselblad branding in a drone (the mavic 2 pro) there was never a claim that Hasselblad provided the lens.
It was the colour science that came from Hasselblad.
https://blog.mingthein.com/2018/ ... mavic-2-pro-review/

And have Hasselblad ever made lenses?
They made good cameras, but in the past their lenses came from specialist lens makers, just like their sensors come from specialist sensor makers.
https://cdn.hasselblad.com/f/778 ... ution_of_lenses.pdf

Where do I get the idea that the lens are different? I don't know maybe from the fact that there is no "Hasselblad lens" on the M3E. Just a lens.
A label is just a label.
Lack of the label doesn't tell you whether the lens on one model is different from that on another model with the branding.
Particularly when the branding isn't specifically referring to the lens.

Unless you're saying that the only difference is the H logo on the camera. If that's the case, DJI lied to a lot of customers when they brag about how great the Hasselblad lens is on the M3 when it's only a logo and nothing else.
Again ... I haven't seen DJI suggesting that any of their lenses came from Hasselblad.
It's just a logo and nothing else.
Hasselblad don't suggest that the lens is theirs:
https://www.hasselblad.com/collaborations/dji-mavic-3

But happy to change my mind if you can point to a source for your opinion.
Until then, I'm happy to accept the word of the moderators on this.
Why would DJI go to the trouble of making a different lens when they already have a perfectly good one for the camera?

Labroides Posted at 4-27 20:43
Other than the camera, all other features are the same.
Except that the cameras are the same too and provide identical video and still quality.

Then why is there so much difference?

Killerbee Posted at 4-27 23:42
Then why is there so much difference?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H31HoVbI5sA

Exactly what I was saying. The Pro camera is better although same on paper it is just better because of newer tech within camera.

Killerbee Posted at 4-27 23:42
Then why is there so much difference?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H31HoVbI5sA

Then why is there so much difference?
Why so much difference ??
This thread is about the main cameras (which are identical).
But the video you posted isn't about the main cameras and it's irrelevant to this thread.

As the presenter says in his first sentence, it's about the long tele cameras (which are quite different)
It's no surprise that different cameras are different.

Original Mavic 3
Camera    DJI FC4370
Lens    166.0mm f/3.4
Focal Length    30.7 mm (166.0 mm in 35mm)
Aperture    f/3.4

Mavic 3 pro
Camera    DJI FC4170
Lens    161.0mm f/4.4
Focal Length    29.9 mm (161.0 mm in 35mm)
Aperture    f/4.4

Suren Posted at 4-28 00:09
Exactly what I was saying. The Pro camera is better although same on paper it is just better because of newer tech within camera.

The Pro camera is better although same on paper it is just better because of newer tech within camera.
And you know this how?
You are just guessing ... the cameras are identical.
If DJI had upgraded the cameras, even if only trivially, their marketing people would have told the world.

Labroides Posted at 4-27 23:07
When the Mavic 3's released, a Hasselblad lens on the camera was used as a huge selling point.
Really?  I've not seen that in the marketing.
The first time DJI used the Hasselblad branding in a drone (the mavic 2 pro) there was never a claim that Hasselblad provided the lens.

DJI Mavic 3’s customized L2D-20c aerial camera embeds a professional-grade 4/3 CMOS sensor with a 24mm prime lens in a sleek and compact form. Rigorous Hasselblad standards for hardware performance and software algorithms...

www.hasselblad.com/collaborations/dji-mavic-3/

The Hasselblad camera offers benefits such as superior image quality

So if the M3E doesn't have a Hasselblad camera, why is the only difference between it and the others a mechanical shutter as you say? Unless of course, Hasselblad on the Mavic 3's means absolutely nothing and it's only purpose is for marketing and hype. DJI owns them after all so they are free to use their name however they wish. So which one is it? Both of your claims cannot be true.

Labroides Posted at 4-28 01:56
The Pro camera is better although same on paper it is just better because of newer tech within camera.
And you know this how?
You are just guessing ... the cameras are identical.

you can recall when the Mavic 3 first came out, they had round lens, the newer iterations launched a few months later had oval lens. Many have compared those two and said that the oval was much sharper and clearer. There are many threads that were around at that time with many arguments till we all ended up posting the pictures of our Mavic 3 cameras that showed the different lens. Dji never published that they had made a change and on paper it was listed as the same camera but field tests proved other wise. In this same instance when compared to the Pro, on paper its the same but by my own experience, having owned both drones at the same time till I sold 1, the Pro main camera was better and that is how I know this.

Suren Posted at 4-28 14:02
you can recall when the Mavic 3 first came out, they had round lens, the newer iterations launched a few months later had oval lens. Many have compared those two and said that the oval was much sharper and clearer. There are many threads that were around at that time with many arguments till we all ended up posting the pictures of our Mavic 3 cameras that showed the different lens. Dji never published that they had made a change and on paper it was listed as the same camera but field tests proved other wise. In this same instance when compared to the Pro, on paper its the same but by my own experience, having owned both drones at the same time till I sold 1, the Pro main camera was better and that is how I know this.

you can recall when the Mavic 3 first came out, they had round lens, the newer iterations launched a few months later had oval lens. Many have compared those two and said that the oval was much sharper and clearer.
And many also said there was no difference other thna the change on the housing shape.
But forums like this are full of uninformed people convincing each other of things that aren't true.

Dji never published that they had made a change and on paper it was listed as the same camera but field tests proved other wise.
Field tests?  
By Forum Freddy or a credible authority?

In this same instance when compared to the Pro, on paper its the same but by my own experience, having owned both drones at the same time till I sold 1, the Pro main camera was better and that is how I know this.
I don't believe your feelings are any kind of proof.
I've also owned both and used them extensively  for professional work.
I get very good results from both and don't believe that there has been any change in the main cameras.

Johnnokomis Posted at 4-28 08:58
DJI Mavic 3’s customized L2D-20c aerial camera embeds a professional-grade 4/3 CMOS sensor with a 24mm prime lens in a sleek and compact form. Rigorous Hasselblad standards for hardware performance and software algorithms...

www.hasselblad.com/collaborations/dji-mavic-3/

I can't see any inconsistency in what I wrote.
There's nothing in there that suggests that Hasselblad was responsible for the lens as you've asserted.

Labroides Posted at 4-28 14:30
I can't see any inconsistency in what I wrote.
There's nothing in there that suggests that Hasselblad was responsible for the lens as you've asserted.

Who knows what part Hasselblad is responsible for making. They just say The Hasselblad camera. So who knows? One thing is for sure though, the M3E doesn't have this Hasselblad camera. So either..
A) The only difference is the mechanical shutter. Which would leave this Hasselblad camera claim absolutely meanless and makes no actual difference in quality. It would be the equivalent of putting an offroad 4x4 decal on a Prius.



B) The Hasselblad camera claim is actually a hardware difference and produces higher quality images. Which would then make your statement of a mechanical shutter as the only difference incorrect.


I'm not just trying to argue with you. I would actually like to hear an answer from DJI on this.

Johnnokomis Posted at 4-28 18:15
Who knows what part Hasselblad is responsible for making. They just say The Hasselblad camera. So who knows? One thing is for sure though, the M3E doesn't have this Hasselblad camera. So either..
A) The only difference is the mechanical shutter. Which would leave this Hasselblad camera claim absolutely meanless and makes no actual difference in quality. It would be the equivalent of putting an offroad 4x4 decal on a Prius.

I'm not just trying to argue with you. I would actually like to hear an answer from DJI on this.
I've told you, DJI has told you but you haven't heard what you want to hear.

Labroides Posted at 4-28 21:21
I'm not just trying to argue with you. I would actually like to hear an answer from DJI on this.
I've told you, DJI has told you but you haven't heard what you want to hear.

So A or B? That's what I want to hear.

Johnnokomis Posted at 4-28 21:38
So A or B? That's what I want to hear.

I've said my piece quite clearly.
There is no A or B.
You are either trolling or just unable to understand simple English.
At this point, alI I can tell is that you have no idea what you are saying and there's no point engaging further with you.

Like a few other members on this thread, I have both the Mavic 3 and the Mavic3 Pro. Even though I personally find the Pro's 24mm camera to be shooting better photos and videos, I don't have anything objective to prove it. However, my Mavic3, which is one of the very first batch; despite having all the latest firmware updates, is still by far the slowest of all my DJI drones to get a home point from a cold start. What I'm trying to say is DJI may not necessarily inform consumers on hardware changes, and this can also apply to the 24mm cameras on the Mavic3 and Mavic3 Pro too. My suspicion is even on the original Mavic3 there 'might' have been different versions of cameras fitted to different batches, and this is something ONLY DJI knows. We've seen tear down videos which claim that the hardwares are all the same but in reality there is a big limitation to the accuracy of such claims. Since we don't know how many different batches of a certain model were produced and sold to the end users; no accurate conclusion can be drawn unless we've seen a tear down video of each of the variants out there.

Labroides Posted at 4-28 23:19
I've said my piece quite clearly.
There is no A or B.
You are either trolling or just unable to understand simple English.

Yes there is most certainly an A or B and you are now trying to avoid the question. Since my English is apparently bad I made a simple flow chart since my Southern American accent is confusing you. Let me know if you are still confused by your own logic.

Thanks for everyone's thoughts on this.  Just to reiterate, I'm asking about the 24mm eq. main camera.  Particularly because the M3 Classic, having only one camera, didn't have to compromise the optics of the 24mm camera to make room for 2-3 more cameras.

I do recall independent reviews and conversations about small changes in the housing and possibly the optics, with later generations of the Mavic 3.  But, I haven't found any side-by-side examples.  Someone would have to have all of the Mavic 3 models.  In leu of that, I'd like to see some raw images (not video) from the Mavic 3 Classic.  What does the image look like before profile corrections, when opened in a raw editor (not Lightroom)?

Johnnokomis Posted at 4-29 08:54
Yes there is most certainly an A or B and you are now trying to avoid the question. Since my English is apparently bad I made a simple flow chart since my Southern American accent is confusing you. Let me know if you are still confused by your own logic.

[view_image]

It's  your comprehension that's faulty
There's no inconsistency in what I wrote.

sky_makai Posted at 4-29 11:07
Thanks for everyone's thoughts on this.  Just to reiterate, I'm asking about the 24mm eq. main camera.  Particularly because the M3 Classic, having only one camera, didn't have to compromise the optics of the 24mm camera to make room for 2-3 more cameras.

I do recall independent reviews and conversations about small changes in the housing and possibly the optics, with later generations of the Mavic 3.  But, I haven't found any side-by-side examples.  Someone would have to have all of the Mavic 3 models.  In leu of that, I'd like to see some raw images (not video) from the Mavic 3 Classic.  What does the image look like before profile corrections, when opened in a raw editor (not Lightroom)?

I do recall independent reviews and conversations about small changes in the housing and possibly the optics, with later generations of the Mavic 3.
It's not like they crammed the additional cameras into the same housing.
The housing for the Mavic 3 pro is much larger to accommodate the extra cameras.

sky_makai Posted at 4-27 16:22
HI, Gamora.

The sensor is the same?  But, the optics (lenses) are not the same... correct?  

Hi there. Their main cameras, including sensors and lenses, are exactly the same.

Johnnokomis Posted at 4-27 19:10
The Mavic 3 Enterprise shares the exact same two sensors as all the other Mavic 3's but DJI didn't slap the Hasselblad name and logo on it. So what exactly is the difference there? The main question at hand here is about the optics, not the camera sensors. DJI loves to market the Hasselblad name as a game changer for drones. Yet, the M3E didn't receive this lens. Why is that and what effect does not having this lens have?

Hi, Johnnokomis. The DJI Mavic 3E adopts the wide-angle camera developed by DJI, and the camera shell is printed with “DJI”. The DJI Mavic 3 Consumer drone, on the other hand, adopts the Hasselblad lens, and the camera shell is printed with “Hasselblad H”. Its specifications are the same as those of the DJI Mavic 3, but the cameras are different. Hope this helps.

Labroides Posted at 4-28 14:30
I can't see any inconsistency in what I wrote.
There's nothing in there that suggests that Hasselblad was responsible for the lens as you've asserted.

There's nothing in there that suggests that Hasselblad was responsible for the lens

After reading Gamora's comment above, is there anything you'd like to change regarding your previous statement?

Johnnokomis Posted at 4-30 05:39
There's nothing in there that suggests that Hasselblad was responsible for the lens

After reading Gamora's comment above, is there anything you'd like to change regarding your previous statement?

I've found that you cannot rely on the moderators here for accurate technical information.
It's likely that Gamora assumed the lens if from Hasselblad, just as you have.
It's extremely unlikely that Hasselblad made the lenses because as I suggested earlier, Hasselblad have never made lenses ... they have bought them in from specialist manufacturers.
Read the 2nd para from the first post here:
https://www.hasselbladdigitalforum.com/index.php?topic=9565.0
But you prefer to ignore facts and assume that Hasselblad have changed their method of operation and opened a lens factory just for Mavics?


But Gamora is correct that the cameras are identical as I've attempted to tell you multiple times.

Labroides Posted at 4-30 06:29
I've found that you cannot rely on the moderators here for accurate technical information.
It's likely that Gamora assumed the lens if from Hasselblad, just as you have.
It's extremely unlikely that Hasselblad made the lenses because as I suggested earlier, Hasselblad have never made lenses ... they have bought them in from specialist manufacturers.

There's one thing we can at least agree on. These mods don't know a camera lens from a hole in the ground. Gamora's comment uses a fair amount of words but really says nothing. Saying the cameras are different but can't say what exactly is different. The wide-angle camera developed by DJI vs the lens of Hasselblad. The specs are the same and so are the companies. I am now certain that the only actual difference is the Hasselblad H logo.