Mavic 3 / Mavic 3 Cine

Pro Res will only record to the SSD drive, and the connection for download is MP3 to computer. Unfortunately. Lose the drone, and lose the footage.
 
David Saraceno said:
Pro Res will only record to the SSD drive, and the connection for download is MP3 to computer. Unfortunately. Lose the drone, and lose the footage.
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To try to avoid that, losing footage.

In the case of a mishap, I've frequently used the P4 Pro+ using its Clean Feed HDMI output which I can run at UHD 3840 x 2160 50/60p or full HD to a Ninja V and record ProRes on the fly. Most of my flying is fairly close range so it's rare I get much in the way of break up on the signal. Generally, I find I can use those Ninja V ProRes files for the primary edit and keep the card recordings as backups or in case of a WiFi drop out.

I've also used the HDMI out to feed a big screen on motorsport meets and also with an HDMI transmitter which I've found useful. The fact that the HDMI out on the Pro+ controller is a full-size HDMI and on the back of the unit and partially protected by the metal loop stand also offers a bit of connection security which I like. When checking with the Mavic 3 was surprised to see that the HDMI output is now totally exposed and on the front of the DJI RC Pro controller pointing straight at your chest basically and has also changed into a Mini HDMI port. Mini HDMI connectors rate highly on my pet hate connectors list! Surprised they did that. I guess one could always design/devise some kind on Mini HDMI cable clamp to make that output more secure.

P.S. EDIT:
I should have mentioned that this is all available under the P4 Pro+ GL300E_v1430_20200519 firmware update.

Chris Young
 
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Joshua Milligan said:
You can put up to a 512GB micro SDXC card in the Mavic 3 Cine’s remote too to record a backup copy.
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Yeah, you'll get a 1080P signal that's been run through the O3+ compressor for transmission down to the drone. Not sure I'd call that a "backup".

Hopefully while it's recording ProRes to the SSD, it can at least put h.265 onto the MicroSD card.
 
jbregar said:
Yeah, you'll get a 1080P signal that's been run through the O3+ compressor for transmission down to the drone. Not sure I'd call that a "backup".
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Almost par for the course these days. I shudder every time we are use LiveU units to stream live football for Stan Sports. All cameras streamed to the studio, direction via phone the app "Unity" and then switched in studio, commentary called, graphics added and out it goes as a complete live stream to all those hungry viewers. All said and done that highly compressed H.265 stream, 7Mbps per camera stands up surprisingly well. As I said I've had little problem with the live stream out of the P4 Pro+ controller to ProRes. Granted not the best but for many here today and gone tomorrow productions it's all becoming more the norm.

Chris Young
 
Sure. Or you could use a drone that records its footage to a removable card and avoid the situation altogether.

My clients are by and large fine with the 10-bit h.265 off of my M2Pro and Autel Evo II Pro. They'd be very happy with ProRes 422... but they'd hit me upside the head if all I had to offer them because of a crash was a "live stream" quality 1080P signal recorded at the remote control.

If the M3 can simultaneously record h.265 to the SD card and ProRes to the SSD, that goes a long way towards alleviating that concern. I'm just not sure it can.
 
The Autel Evo II Pro only has a 1" sensor and doesn't have the ability to record to a codec as robust as ProRes. I fail to see how that's comparable to the DJI Mavic 3 Cine. In fact, I cannot believe that people are complaining about a $5,000 drone that's small and compact with the ability to record ProRes HQ to an SSD drive with a 4/3 sensor, 10-bit 4:2:2 color, 5.1K resolution up to 60p, 4K up to 120p, that also has a long flight time, 360 degree obstacle avoidance, and an incredible remote with a built-in high-bright screen. One that also comes with three batteries, a three bay battery charger, 6 pairs of props and 8 ND filters. How on earth is this a product we can complain about?

We must be living on different planets.
 
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Joshua Milligan said:
I fail to see how that's comparable to the DJI Mavic 3 Cine. In fact, I cannot believe that people are complaining about a $5,000 drone that's small and compact with the ability to record ProRes HQ to an SSD drive with a 4/3 sensor, 10-bit 4:2:2 color, 5.1K resolution up to 60p, 4K up to 120p . . .
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46 minutes in the air also a substantial edge over competing drones.
 
jbregar said:
The big issue with Remote ID compliance is, the specs that manufacturers have to comply with by next September haven't even been released yet.
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I hadn't realized this. Hmmm. Odd. Thanks.
How confident do you feel manufacturers will be able to update their existing drones into compliance - once those specs are released? Is this as simple as a software update?

I'm certainly in the market... and would prefer not to stay with DJI - so am still following Autel. Hoping they will answer these latest specs with their own down the road.
 
Joshua Milligan said:
The Autel Evo II Pro only has a 1" sensor and doesn't have the ability to record to a codec as robust as ProRes. I fail to see how that's comparable to the DJI Mavic 3 Cine. In fact, I cannot believe that people are complaining about a $5,000 drone that's small and compact with the ability to record ProRes HQ to an SSD drive with a 4/3 sensor, 10-bit 4:2:2 color, 5.1K resolution up to 60p, 4K up to 120p, that also has a long flight time, 360 degree obstacle avoidance, and an incredible remote with a built-in high-bright screen. One that also comes with three batteries, a three bay battery charger, 6 pairs of props and 8 ND filters. How on earth is this a product we can complain about?

We must be living on different planets.
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The codec from the Autel Evo Pro is plenty robust.
It is 10bit 4.2.2 in H.265 (which is roughly twice
as efficient as H.264.) It also has over 40
minute flight time per battery, claimed 6k resolution
(I’d personally put it closer to 5k) 360 degree obstacle
avoidance and a controller with a built in screen
(although nowhere near as good as the new Mavic’s
screen.) Also shoots 4K 60. Point being it does
a lot of what this new drone does. It’s not as well
specced as this new Mavic but if you haven’t shot
with it, don’t discount it. It has the best camera
I have personally ever seen in a small drone. It
is legit. Enough so that I bought one myself
as opposed to any of the offerings from
DJI.
 
jbregar said:
Sure. Or you could use a drone that records its footage to a removable card and avoid the situation altogether.

My clients are by and large fine with the 10-bit h.265 off of my M2Pro and Autel Evo II Pro. They'd be very happy with ProRes 422... but they'd hit me upside the head if all I had to offer them because of a crash was a "live stream" quality 1080P signal recorded at the remote control.

If the M3 can simultaneously record h.265 to the SD card and ProRes to the SSD, that goes a long way towards alleviating that concern. I'm just not sure it can.
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Current thinking - the internal SSD is a complete joke, it's essentially another annoying workaround to navigate when in theory it might've been tough enough just getting the higher cine 3 rental rate over the line. But the biggest issue is certain Preditors love taking media without needing to transfer in the field. I guess you could leave the entire drone with them for the transfer, they'd love that.

If I'm Producing/Directing a shoot, I'd potentially be more upset that the drone pilot crashed a drone rather than losing the footage!

I understand your concern non-removable media and salvaging footage if a crash happens but I think it's a relatively low percentage vs. amount of time not crashing. We lost our i2 in the ocean, so internal SSD or micro SD cards are both ruined if water is involved. You can still have a lesser drone as a backup option, cleared ahead of time as an OK alternative if things go wrong.

I've also seen some 35 minute flight times - I don't know how much can be addressed with firmware, probably a huge amount. It's not a deal breaker for me because longer than half an hour is a huge victory. But like with most electronics these days we wait til the dust settles and can evaluate properly after the YouTube salespeople have moved onto their next commercial.

H.264 images are looking pretty good to my eyes so far, so hopefully I'd be able to use micro SD cards for the majority of shooting.
 
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David Saraceno said:
Pro Res will only record to the SSD drive, and the connection for download is MP3 to computer. Unfortunately. Lose the drone, and lose the footage.
Click to expand...

I think I heard someone say that you can record on the controller handset? So that might be a backup option.
 
alaskacameradude said:
The codec from the Autel Evo Pro is plenty robust.
It is 10bit 4.2.2 in H.265 (which is roughly twice
as efficient as H.264.) It also has over 40
minute flight time per battery, claimed 6k resolution
(I’d personally put it closer to 5k) 360 degree obstacle
avoidance and a controller with a built in screen
(although nowhere near as good as the new Mavic’s
screen.) Also shoots 4K 60. Point being it does
a lot of what this new drone does. It’s not as well
specced as this new Mavic but if you haven’t shot
with it, don’t discount it. It has the best camera
I have personally ever seen in a small drone. It
is legit. Enough so that I bought one myself
as opposed to any of the offerings from
DJI.
Click to expand...

The base EVO II controller's built in screen is largely unusable as a preview screen, though it is nice to have it in a pinch.

On the other hand, for the cost of the DJI M3 Smart Controller... the Autel EVO Smart Controller is vastly superior. The screen is massive and very bright. I'm super disappointed that DJI increased the pricing on the new Smart Controller and not the size of the screen.

I've also had no complaints about image quality from any of my drone footage. My EVO stuff just got mixed in with Alexa footage for a high-budget TV spot and they loved it. Is the M3 better? Probably... but we're reaching a point of diminishing returns here very quickly.

I don't think the Mavic 3 sucks... quite the contrary, I think it's a solid offering... but I also don't think it's a clear-cut value proposition. It highly depends on your workflow and client base... and it costs enough that you need to care about that. At $2k (where the previous M2P was) it wasn't as much of a concern. At $5k it's a lot more of an investment. Especially since I've been burned by DJI's geofencing enough times on paid shoots that I will always have a non-geofenced drone (Autel) in my toolbox.
 
jbregar said:
I've also had no complaints about image quality from any of my drone footage. My EVO stuff just got mixed in with Alexa footage for a high-budget TV spot and they loved it. Is the M3 better? Probably... but we're reaching a point of diminishing returns here very quickly.
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1" sensor compared to 4/3 micro.

How is the Evo's controller software? As sophisticated as DJI's?
 
Can't seem to locate this information, but does the Mavic 3 record h.265 10-bit? And is it 4:2:0 in the non-Cine version?
 
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