Hands On With the Dual Camera DJI Air 3 Drone

pcmag.com:

The DJI Air 3 brings the mid-sized drone series back into the forefront, after a few years of DJI paying more attention to its lightweight Mini and pro Mavic folding drones. The Air 3 is small enough to carry in a small bag, but heavy enough to require FAA registration. The extra size makes room for a new dual camera system, all-around obstacle avoidance, and generally zippier performance than you get from the next model down in the line, the Mini 3 Pro.

The Mavic Air 2 (the last in the series to include the Mavic badge) is a few years old now, so it's ripe for an upgrade. It already had a pretty good spec list—4K HDR video, a 34-minute battery, and forward-rear obstacle sensors. Since the Mini 3 Pro already does all of that (or better), it compelled DJI to put more into the Air 3.

And more is the story with this release: more cameras, more battery life, more features. The Air 3 has a dual camera system that includes wide angle 24mm F1.7 and short telephoto 70mm F2.8 with matched Type 1/1.3 Quad Bayer sensors. That means both cameras support the same exact video features: 4K60 video with standard, HDR, or D-Log color, along with full-width 4K100 slow motion, and Raw DNG or JPG stills. DJI includes its automated QuickShot and MasterShots modes, along with Hyperlapse and a low-light Night Mode, so there are a wealth of creative tools built-in. Planned waypoint flying is included too, a first for the Air series.

The gimbal-stabilized camera is strictly for landscape work, it doesn't twist for vertical like the Mini 3 Pro. DJI recognizes the popularity of services like TikTok that call for 9:16 footage, so it includes a 9:16 recording mode. There are limitations: it seriously crops the view of the lens, just taking the