DJI AIR 3

The latest Air has a dual-camera system but a lower resolution

- Adam Juniper

www.dji.com £959 / $1,099

DJI's consumer line has plenty of choice in the ultralight category drones at around 250g and two distinct airframes above that before things start getting expensive: the Mavic 3 and now the Air 3. These two drones eschew the lowest weight category in favour of the advantages a heftier aircraft can offer, not least sturdier performance against the wind but also enough power to lift a better camera.

Given that the DJI Air 2S competed as much with the Mavic 3 as with any other drone, DJI offered surprisingly little compromise on the photography front. The 20MP 1-inch CMOS sensor captured video at up to 5.4K (at 30fps). That's not too bad at all.

The new Air 3 is looking to drop into the same slot in the range as the Air 2S, but rather than chase higher resolutions, DJI has taken a leaf out of the Mavic 3's book, and indeed that of most smartphones, by offering multiple cameras. This actually comes at the cost of the 5.4K option, so the question is have things got better, or worse? Or have we taken a side-step into a new world?

Key features

The Air 3 is a folding drone with dual 4K cameras, a wide-angle 24mm EFL and a telephoto at 70mm EFL. Both have a 48MP sensor, making the Air 3 more consistent than previous hybrid camera drones. It comes with the phone-ready DJI RC-N2 controller and a battery, or in a choice of Fly More Kits with three batteries, a charging hub and either the RC-N2 or the RC 2 with a built-in screen. The drone has quieter propellers than many rivals and DJI offers a choice of charger power draws.