UPDATE: Fresh schematics of what appears to be the much-anticipated DJI Mavic 3 drone have been published on Twitter, lending further speculation to an impending announcement.
Twitter user OsitaLV, an aerial photographer and drone pilot, tweeted the image below, adding, somewhat criptically, "Mavic is still moving." However the user gave no further information, or details of the annotations, so it is unclear whether the image in question is of an 8K video-equipped Mavic 3 Pro or a Mavic 3 Zoom version – or indeed if the DJI Mavic 3 will be released in these versions at all.
ORIGINAL STORY (8 May 2021): The latest in a long line of rumors concerning the DJI Mavic 3 drone have started to circulate, this time fleshing out possible details of a Mavic 3 Pro model – and increasing speculation that it will be able to shoot 8K 30p. With a Mavic 3 Zoom version also supposedly in the pipeline, replacements for both the current DJI Mavic 2 drones – the Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom – could well be on the horizon.
Rumors emerging of a new 8K DJI Mavic 3 Pro include an August or September release date and suggest prototypes are already being tested. It looks set to be priced higher than the Mavic 2 Pro, which is currently around $1600 / £1130 / AU$2030.
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The DJI Mavic 3 rumor mill has been in operation since October 2019, when speculation was rife about a DJI Mavic 2 replacement thought to be due in January 2020. After that failed to materialize, the rumors went quiet. However, in August 2020 the first patent was leaked with details of a larger sensor, updated battery and new sensor locations.
We heard nothing further until last month, when technical drawings started circulating. Now hot on the heals of these illustrations comes this latest rumor from Photo Rumors.
So, what do we know about the new DJI Mavic 3? In truth, little is confirmed, but further speculation includes the inclusion of OcuSync 3.0 for improved transmission range, a new f/2.0 Hasselblad L1D-20c camera, upgraded Active Track 3.0 and Return Home without GPS functions.
If DJI does release two Mavic 3 models, the key differences between them will likely mirror those of their predecessors, the Mavic 2 Pro and 2 Zoom – i.e. a trade-off between the better image sensor of the Mavic 2 Pro and the powered zoom lens of the Mavic 2 Zoom. However, if the rumors prove true, the one stand-out difference will be the Mavic 3 Pro's ability to shoot 8k (the Mavic 2 Pro tops out at 4k 30p).
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