The DJI Air
The DJI Air 3 is easy to fly, has an ample 46-minute battery life, and is equipped with two cameras, giving you options for more varied and interesting shots than its predecessor. We recommend the Fly More combo option because it’s the only package that includes the DJI RC 2 controller, which features a built-in screen and is a marked improvement over the standard controller that relies on your phone’s screen for live view.
The Air 3 can sense and avoid obstacles approaching from all directions, adding side sensing that our previous pick lacked. These new sensing abilities make the ActiveTrack feature, which directs the drone to autonomously follow and film a subject while also avoiding obstacles, easier to use in more situations.
It can hold its position steadily, even in moderate winds, so you can focus on your cinematography. And the Air 3 can go with you almost anywhere. Measuring 8 by 3.5 by 3.25 inches folded and weighing roughly 1.5 pounds, it fits well in most standard size backpacks.
The DJI Mavic 3 Pro takes many of the best features of the Air 3 and, for a little more than twice the price, ups the camera count to three. Not only do you get a Hasselblad-branded 24mm-equivalent wide-angle lens with a Four Thirds sensor, but there are also two telephoto lenses: a 70mm-equivalent with a 1/1.3-inch sensor and a 166mm-equivalent with a 1/2-inch sensor.
Thanks to the comparatively huge sensor on the main camera, the Mavic 3 Pro can capture more detail than our other picks and in a much wider band of lighting conditions. As a result, it produces better images right out of the camera but also gives editing software more data to work with to improve the images even further.
This model can capture vibrant, detailed still images with its three cameras, and its video—at up to 5.1K resolution—looks more color-accurate than that of the competition. It also has a 43-minute battery life, which isn’t the longest we’ve ever seen (our top pick beats it by a bit) in our tests but comes pretty close.













