Key specs:
Digicam: 44.7MP Full-frame Zenmuse X9-8K Air Gimbal Digicam
Video decision: As much as 8K
Body charges: 8K as much as 75fps / 4K as much as 120fps
Video transmission vary: FPV Digicam approx. 9.32 miles (FCC), 4.97 miles (CE/SRRC/MIC)
Flight modes: Sport, Regular, Perform, Angle
Batteries: 4280 mAh / as much as 28 minutes flight time (two used directly)
Charger sort: Battery Charging Hub 100-240 V AC, max 8 A
Weight: 140.91 oz / 3,995 g (contains gimbal digicam, two batteries, lens, PROSSD, and propellers)
Dimensions: 27.9 x 6.9 x 19.7 inches / 709.8 x 176 x 500.5 mm (in Journey Mode)
Drones are available in quite a lot of styles and sizes, providing options aimed toward particular use circumstances with the finest drones accessible providing one thing for everybody. The vast majority of fashions on the market cowl the crossover between customers and prosumers, however there are fashions aimed particularly at high-end skilled use.
Now, that is the place DJI’s most up-to-date skilled drone mannequin, the DJI Encourage 3, is available in. It’s aimed toward skilled filmmakers and drone pilots working in constructing inspections and surveying.
The DJI Encourage 3 is primarily a drone for cinematography and options quick, nimble, and exact flight alongside wonderful picture high quality due to the brand new full-frame Zenmuse X9-8K Air Gimbal Digicam. This digicam is appropriate with 4 lenses which can be bought individually and may seize 44.7MP images in Uncooked and JPEG alongside video in 8K as much as 75fps and 4K as much as 120fps. Plus, there are lots of options and extra equipment aimed toward skilled filmmaking on the highest ranges.
It is a giant and heavy drone at 140.91 oz/3,995 g when in comparison with shopper fashions such because the DJI Mavic 3 collection, and the set-up time is longer, so it’s nowhere close to as straightforward to move as smaller shopper fashions. The dimensions and weight additionally imply that it must be flown additional away from folks and built-up areas than smaller drones (except you may have skilled permissions to take action) which suggests it’s in the end not appropriate for the on a regular basis shopper.
That definitely doesn’t imply you may’t purchase this high-spec drone in the event you’re a passionate hobbyist and have the price range to take action, however you do should be conscious that the DJI Encourage 3 is far much less handy than smaller fashions such because the DJI Mavic 3 Basic and the DJI Mini 3 Professional, that are each wonderful fashions that are perfect for customers and professionals alike.
The Encourage 3 Combo equipment prices $16,499/£13,419 (opens in new tab) with none lenses or the Encourage 3 Uncooked License for CinemaDNG and Apple ProRes RAW codecs, so it’s an extremely high-end drone with an expert price ticket to match.
DJI Encourage 3 assessment: Design
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- Journey Mode reduces measurement
- FPV and gimbal cameras
- Giant and heavy
The DJI Encourage 3 is a big and heavy drone in comparison with shopper fashions at 27.9 x 6.9 x 19.7 inches/709.8 x 176 x 500.5 mm in Journey Mode. It is a sort of folding mode the place the drone makes use of a powered mechanism to flatten for transportation and storage after the digicam and gimbal have been eliminated. And, not like earlier Encourage fashions, the brand new folding propellers will be left hooked up within the trolley case for comfort. Together with the gimbal digicam and a lens, two batteries, a PROSSD, and propellers, the Encourage 3 weighs 140.91 oz/3,995 g which is heavy when in comparison with shopper drones, however, in actuality, that’s thought of light-weight for an expert mannequin.
The primary physique has a locking gimbal attachment on the entrance and the touchdown gear rises and falls throughout take-off and touchdown. This characteristic will also be adjusted manually throughout flight to benefit from Tilt Increase 80-degree upward capturing with the touchdown gear down, and 360-degree Pan of the digicam with the touchdown gear up.
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Then there are two batteries hooked up to the rear of the drone that may present as much as 28 minutes of flight time. After all, that is depending on situations and flight fashion. Nonetheless, throughout our testing we discovered that the flight instances had been round 18 minutes per pair of batteries.
Alongside the primary gimbal digicam, there’s additionally a 161-degree extremely wide-angle FPV lens with a 1/1.8-inch night-vision sensor that can be utilized by the pilot for extra exact flight management. That is notably helpful in skilled filmmaking as a result of the pilot can use the FPV digicam whereas a digicam operator, utilizing a second DJI RC Plus controller, can handle digicam management and filming that in the end produces far more spectacular video. The DJI Encourage 3 will also be operated by a pilot working alone, and on this scenario the primary digicam feed will be seen on the controller display.
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The DJI RC Plus controller includes a 7-inch 1,200-nit touchscreen with direct entry controls for adjusting digicam and gimbal settings shortly and simply. Construct high quality is superb and designed for skilled use, and though it’s fairly sizable it’s snug to make use of. To be used over longer intervals, a shoulder strap and rear body assist to help the controller which might provide as much as three hours of use on a single cost. Batteries are additionally hot-swappable and a bigger capability exterior battery can be utilized whereas an exterior monitor will also be related to the controller.
DJI Encourage 3 assessment: Performance
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- Superior impediment avoidance
- Waypoint Professional & 3D Dolly
- 58 mph max pace and extremely maneuverable
As you’d anticipate from a big skilled drone, the DJI Encourage 3 is highly effective with a prime pace of 58 mph and a wind resistance of 31 mph. And, regardless of its giant measurement and heavy weight when in comparison with shopper drones, it’s truly extra agile with the power to make quick and easy turns alongside sharp ascents and descents. The controls are additionally extremely exact, which mixed with DJI’s most superior collision avoidance and options together with Waypoint Professional and 3D Dolly, make it excellent for flight in complicated environments akin to movie units.
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Satellite tv for pc positioning is supplied by GPS, Galileo, and BeiDou, whereas the Omnidirectional Sensing System can detect obstacles in all instructions and distances utilizing six fisheye sensors, two wide-angle sensors, and one omnidirectional ToF sensing system, which presents customizable settings and is very efficient. Plus, when impediment avoidance is switched off, the pilot can nonetheless see the space of obstacles on the controller display, which is customizable relying on necessities, alongside an audio alert. This makes the Encourage 3 extremely secure no matter whether or not impediment avoidance is switched on or off.
When it comes to flight options, there’s nothing like Quickshots (automated flight patterns for video) accessible. However, Waypoint Professional supplies exact route and shoot planning the place the digicam and gimbal will also be programmed or managed manually whereas the Encourage completes the programmed route. Routes and digicam/gimbal applications are repeatable so the identical photographs will be captured time and again – supreme in filmmaking and surveying. Then there are 3D Dolly modes that may produce conventional digicam actions akin to dolly and crane however with out the necessity for the {hardware} that’s historically required for these.
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The DJI Encourage 3 options entrance and rear-stacked ceramic antennas with anti-magnetic-interference capabilities for elevated flight accuracy and security. And, though Waypoint Professional is superb for creating and executing autonomous flight, an non-compulsory D-RTK 2 Cell Station (opens in new tab) can be utilized to extend flight accuracy when utilizing Waypoint Professional to 10 mm. That is an costly and specialist non-compulsory accent that prices $3,600/£2,700 however could possibly be invaluable in some conditions.
DJI Encourage 3 assessment: Efficiency
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- Wonderful picture high quality for images and movies
- 44.7MP full-frame CMOS sensor
- Video as much as 8K in ProRes Uncooked & CinemaDNG
With a full-frame digicam, picture high quality is excellent general and presents as much as 14-stops of dynamic vary for images and movies; it’s nearly as good as a full-frame mirrorless digicam however doesn’t provide the entire automated options you’d anticipate with an ordinary digicam. The Zenmuse X9-8K Air Gimbal Digicam solely presents Program, Aperture Precedence, Shutter Precedence, and Guide (P, A, S, M) capturing modes, however any capturing method can nonetheless be achieved, albeit manually.
Video is captured in flat/Uncooked colour profiles, so all footage must be colour graded and processed in video modifying software program, which is normal inside an expert workflow so no shock right here. Video codecs accessible embody ProRes Uncooked and CinemaDNG, if you are going to buy the Encourage 3 Uncooked License, alongside ProRes 422HQ and H.264 which can be found natively.
Video will be captured both full-frame or in Tremendous 35 (this makes use of a smaller portion of the sensor), with the power to shoot in 8K as much as 75fps in ProRes Uncooked and 8K as much as 25fps in CinemaDNG. 4K supplies body charges as much as 120fps in all codecs besides CinemaDNG, which is barely decrease at 100fps in 4K, so sluggish movement seize is feasible.
For images, the sensor captures 44.7MP Uncooked and JPEG information so photos will be reproduced at giant sizes. The picture high quality produced by the 4 lenses is superb and having 18 mm, 24 mm, 35 mm, and 50mm f/2.8 lenses accessible means that you can choose solely those that fit your images and video. And, being a full-frame digicam, the quick f/2.8 lenses present pleasing bokeh that’ll be of most curiosity in filmmaking.
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The digicam is managed by way of the brand new DJI Pilot 2 app (opens in new tab) for Encourage with direct entry buttons and a jog wheel on the controller for shortly altering publicity settings. The app presents a cinema-grade interface so it’s barely extra difficult than shopper drone apps, plus there’s the power to sync the timecode between the drone and floor cameras.
DJI Encourage 3 assessment: Value
It is a high-spec skilled drone with a value to match, so it is going to be out of attain for many customers and even many professionals who’re served nicely by mid-size prosumer fashions. The Encourage 3 Combo equipment prices $16,499/£13,419 (opens in new tab) and contains the DJI Encourage 3, Zenmuse X9-8K Air Gimbal Digicam, RC Plus distant controller, 6x TB51 Clever Battery, Charging Hub, PROSSD 1TB, Trolley Case, 3x Foldable Fast-Launch Propellers (Pair), Lens Carrying Field, RC Plus Strap, and different equipment. No lenses are included, so these should be bought individually.
There are 4 prime lenses accessible for the Zenmuse X9-8K Air Gimbal Digicam together with the brand new DJI DL 18 mm F2.8 ASPH Lens (opens in new tab), DJI DL 24mm F2.8 LS ASPH (opens in new tab), DJI DL 35mm F2.8 LS ASPH (opens in new tab), and DJI DL 50mm F2.8 LS ASPH (opens in new tab). These lenses vary from $1,199/£1,199 to $1,299/£1,299 so their value will should be factored in relying in your necessities. Plus, on prime of that the Encourage 3 Uncooked License for CinemaDNG and Apple ProRes RAW codecs prices $979/£899, so this additionally must be thought of in the event you intend to seize video in these codecs.
Do you have to purchase the DJI Encourage 3?
A big and heavy skilled drone such because the Encourage 3 isn’t aimed toward customers. Regardless of this, it’s pretty intuitive to make use of and likewise presents further complexity for extra superior customers. It’s definitely not the sort of drone you may throw in a backpack and carry round with you all day. So, except you’re an expert drone pilot with particular necessities, then this most likely isn’t the drone for you.
For skilled filmmakers and drone pilots working in inspections and surveying, the flight precision and options accessible alongside wonderful picture high quality from the full-frame Zenmuse X9-8K Air Gimbal Digicam with interchangeable lenses make it a compelling possibility. That is simply essentially the most intuitive skilled drone accessible. Nonetheless, in our opinion, it presents extra superior options than most individuals would ever want or make use of.
If the DJI Encourage 3 is not for you
Skilled drones, together with the DJI Encourage 3, could provide one of the best options and picture high quality round, however you may nonetheless get pleasure from a extremely succesful drone in a way more user-friendly bundle. What’s extra, wonderful picture high quality and flight efficiency will be present in smaller, lighter, cheaper, and, in the end, extra handy fashions.
In case you’re on the lookout for a transportable drone with skilled video capabilities and a way more reasonably priced price ticket, then the DJI Mavic 3 is a good possibility. The 4 Thirds 20MP primary digicam produces wonderful images and video appropriate for shopper {and professional} use.
Or, in case your price range doesn’t stretch fairly to this point, the Autel EVO Nano Lite+ includes a 1-inch 20MP sensor with comparable flight options and energy because the Mavic 3 fashions making it price consideration.
