DJI Air 3S Review - The Best Middle Weight Drone Ever

DJI Air is a medium-sized drone between smaller Mini and larger Mavic drones. For many - this is the golden middle, especially after the introduction of the 3X camera with the Air 3. Air 3S is a new facelift update for this drone, and I bought one to test it out. In this article, I will provide an honest opinion, examples, and facts about the drone so you may determine if it is a tool that suits your needs.

Hardware

DJI has a monopoly on the drone market for a reason. They are at a stage where no significant built quality or material improvements are necessary for the drone to be as good as it needs to be. In fact, aerodynamics and visual design are now taken into consideration, which results in the drone looking and feeling like a mature, no-compromise piece of hardware.

There is nothing to fault here. The buttons, latches, hinges, fitment, and sturdiness feel right. The one somewhat flimsy cover is the cover for the DJI Cellular dongle, which enables this drone to be controlled over the 4G network. It is just a bit thin, but it clicks in nicely and allows the dongle to be installed inside the drone without any external mounting kits.

I got the Fly More combo, which comes with a good quality carrying back, 2 additional batteries, a charging case for all three, ND filters in a case, spare props, and a measly USB C to C cable. I opted for the DJI RC2 version, which means that the remote controller has a screen and does not require a mobile phone to operate the app. The RC2 is worth the extra because it has none of the issues the RC1 had in the past. It just works well.

Software

The software is the DJI Fly app—familiar to all who have used recent DJI drones. It works, it is stable, and because we are using DJI RC2, we do not need to download and install it; just update it when necessary. The update comes decently fast because the DJI RC2 has 5ghz Wi-Fi support; otherwise, there is not much to say about the app.

Flight Experience

DJI Air 3S offers the best flight experience. It is too light to have considerable inertia like a Mavic 3 Pro, but it is too powerful to be a liability in reasonably strong winds, unlike the Mini 4. Yes, it could be faster or have an even bigger battery, but battery life is excellent as it is. If you get an additional battery, you can cycle it nonstop with a good charger to achieve continuous flight.

The O4 transmission is a highlight. Gone are the days of not fully trusting the signal of your remote controller. Thinking over which spot to take off from or a poor-quality video signal is no longer a thing in any reasonable scenario. The same goes for the obstacle avoidance systems, which take a leap with the Air 3S introducing a forward-facing LIDAR sensor, which works even in low light conditions and with reflective surfaces. It is not a revolutionary addition but a noticeable step forward, and it just works. DJI Air 3S is the safest and the most satisfying drone to fly on the market. It is now the benchmark.

Photo Examples

As I always say, a drone is a flying camera. Flying is one half, and the camera is the other. Without one, the other is useless. And the camera on the Air 3S is anything but useless. In fact, from what I have seen in other reviews, it kind of flies under the radar—pun definitely intended—because it might actually be the best.

(photo samples coming soon)

The 1-inch type sensor is making a comeback, but now it is a 50-megapixel quad-bayer affair. The real difference maker is the bright f1.8 aperture lens in front of it.

If my chatGPT is correct, an f1.8 lens in front of a 1-inch type sensor gathers more light than an f2.8 lens in front of a micro four-thirds sensor in the Mavic 3 Pro. More light means more image quality if everything else is equal.

The 3X shooter is the same f2.8 70mm + 48-megapixel quad-bayer combo we have seen in the previous drone and the Mavic 3 Pro. It is still good and provides an amazing aerial perspective.

Video Examples

Both the 1x and 3x modules can do 4k60p with three color modes—Normal, HLG, and DLOG-M—all capturing data in 10 bits and 4:2:0 color sampling. Here, we have one real shortcoming of this drone—both cameras lack an adjustable aperture. So, if you wish to control your motion blur, you will need to use the included ND filters in bright conditions. The camera module certainly seems large enough to include a physical aperture, and I think 4:2:2 color sampling should become mainstream already. Below is a 4k60p video of different color modes in gloomy Autumn lighting conditions.

Neither photo nor video quality will stifle your creativity or be really limiting in any real scenario. As a tool for creating visual content, this camera ticks all the boxes; it has all the shooting modes we expect, the latest generation tracking, and all the necessary settings, all while on a great flying platform.

Additional Comments

• This drone has 42 gigs of free internal storage. You might not be wholly screwed when you forget the SD card.

• The gimbal tilts a good 60 degrees up, and both cameras remain unobstructed.

• O4 real-time transmission works at 60p, which feels very nice and smooth.

• The Air 3S can do 4k120p slow motion with both cameras.

• The camera has a “Style” setting, which allows you to adjust the amount of sharpening and noise reduction applied to the footage.

• You can turn on the bottom LED manually.

• DJI Air 3S weighs in at 724 grams, which makes it a C1 drone.

Conclusion

Another good product from DJI. If you think you can use it for work or fun, get it. It is not cheap, but it also does not feel cheap. You get what you pay for, and the only negative thing about it is that it has no competition. Imagine what DJI could do with their backs against a wall. Next article—we are using Pixpro waypoints and doing photogrammetry with this thing.