Mavic 3 Release, Price and Value

New photo leaks abound as the Mavic 3 is set to release November 4th.  Pilots might be surprised by the comparatively high price point.  Let’s calculate the value this drone provides.

The Mavic 3 is set to wow drone pilots with this weeks release. So will the price; but will the value stack up to the price? The drone news teams have been ripe with new photo leaks of the Mavic 3 as it is set to debut this week.  The Mavic 3 sports dual cameras and is set to offer a variety of features.  As we reported previously, we believe the shutter option on the drone could potentially unseat the Phantom as the best mapping drone.

While the Mavic 3 is set to debut dual cameras, the price point of the new drone might reflect this upgrade.  As our favorite DJI leaker, OSITALV on twitter has leaked price points in China.

If you’re not into Forex Trading, the Chinese Yuan is pretty much fixed against the USD at 6.4 Yuan to 1 USD. Which means drone pilots will be shelling out some doll hairs to pick up the Mavic 3.  Of course, many pilots will not be able to purchase this drone once it is released.  Other drone manufacturers have launched new drones, only to see empty shelves and no ability to purchase them.

Drone Pilots will most likely pay the following prices for the Mavic 3:

Mavic 3 Fly More Combo: $2799

Mavic 3 Cine: $5,199.

Pilots will remember that the Mavic 2 Pro came out at $1499 and the fly more combo was about a $400 upgrade.  When the Mavic 3 Cine is about a 250% increase in price.  Is this due to the chip shortage? Why would the Mavic 3 cost so much more than the older Mavic? It seems that the value of the Mavic 3 is substantially higher than previous drones, but will the price match up to the value?

Calculating the Value of the Mavic 3

In order to make an apples to apples comparison, we have to consider the feature upgrades of this drone.  We must also consider what combination of aircraft would provide the same level of comparable feature sets?  The Mavic 3 Cine is supposed to offer a stunning array of new features.  Let’s face it, dual cameras, mechanical shutter, larger sensor and internal SSD pretty much crushes any attempts from “competitors.” Which there are none.

The Mavic 3 Cine offers two cameras, the wide Hasselblad sensor, and a smaller 12mp zoom sensor.  DJI went with the Micro 4/3rds sensor created by Hasselblad. This should provide an amazing color gamut on the drone.  The larger Micro 4/3rds sensor is a 24mm equivalent field of view.  The zoom camera offers a 162mm equivalent or a 6.75x zoom from the wide.

Why is this a big deal?  Well you won’t need an Inspire 2 or M300 to get zoomed images for inspections. Powerline inspections, cell tower inspections, roof inspections and warehouse inspections will be a cake walk with the Mavic 3’s camera payload.  Skydio will have a huge uphill battle marketing inspections.  Skydio states they can fly faster and get closer, well not anymore as the competition gap just widened significantly. Who needs to fly close when you can zoom in with that capability? Inspections would even be shorter in duration with the help of dual cameras and zoom.  Navigate with the wide camera, shoot with the zoom. The workflow just changed vastly. In fact, we may need to update our inspection classes!

The Mavic 3 Cine also sports a mechanical shutter on that beautiful micro 4/3 sensor.  Why is this important?  As we mentioned previously, the Mavic 3 could be the drone platform that mappers have been waiting for. The Mavic 3 could effectively replace the Phantom line of drones for mapping. This Mavic 3 could also create a new class of drone platforms.   It would take years for the Mavic 3 to saturate the market, as the phantom already has.  Yet having a mapping drone platform with zoom, could accelerate the process.

Are we really comparing a Mavic 3 price and value to a Mavic 2 Pro?  Or…Are we comparing the price of the Mavic 3 to the Phantom?  Maybe we’re really comparing the Mavic 3 to the combo of the following drones:

1. Mavic 2 Pro: for those beautiful videos and photos (on AEB with attitude mode hack)
2. Phantom 4 Pro V2: For mapping applications
3. Inspire 2: For Lens options to have zoom, conduct inspections, and Cine SSD for studio productions.

In our eyes, the Mavic 3 Cine is really a combination between multiple aircraft. Its a video/photo consumer drone paired with a mapping drone, paired with a set-ready cinematography drone, paired with a zoom drone made for inspections.  Even if you compared the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual Advanced to the Mavic 3 Cine,  the Mavic 3 would still be a better deal and cheaper value. As the M2EDA comes in around $7k vs $5.1k for the M3C.  Maybe DJI is having fun with the price? Shoots 5k video, costs 5k! (we doubt it)

When considering the value of the Mavic 3 Cine, we really have to consider all the features it offers and how we would replace those features with other aircraft. Let’s break it down.

1. Mavic 3 Cine: $5199
2. Phantom 4 Pro V2: $1999
3. Inspire 2 with X7: $7,599.00
4. Mavic 2 Pro: $1599 (can’t even buy one)

So the calculation is really $11,197.00 vs. $5,199.  While the Mavic 3 may seem expensive, it is actually a huge value for professional drone pilots.  Commercial pilots will rejoice, while hobbyists might stick to that Mavic Air 2s with no adjustable aperture.

One quick note on a feature setback.  Seeing the Mavic 3 review leaked online, we are incredibly bummed that the new Mavic 3 is flown from the DJI Fly App. Look DJI, we’re not all WSB Apes…(maybe we are) and we appreciate real time information to fly safe.  We need battery voltage on screen in order to fly safe. Period. You gave back attitude mode, lets keep pilots safe and display voltage.  Another con may be how the Mavic 3 takes flight.  The most recent consumer drone models from DJI have been “dumbed” down for newer pilots.  The software based controls have taken away from the overall flying experience.  Maybe that’s why so many pilots have purchased FPV drones as well?  It will be fascinating to see how the drone actually maneuvers in the air.  This won’t be something we can learn from Youtube videos, it will take veteran drone pilots to really push the limits and discover the true capability of the Mavic 3.

The Mavic 3 could actually be a huge win for commercial and prosumer pilots. And with a higher price point, the competition could be cut to a minimum.  Will you be purchasing a new Mavic 3 Cine… will it actually be available to purchase once its launched?  One thing is for sure, with a 7pm PST Launch time on November 4th, Netflix will be losing market share to pilots watching YouTube videos on the M3.