DJI recently released a new addition to the Air series, the Air 3S. Having owned the Air 2S for some time and briefly used the Air 3, among other drones DJI has released recently, I was curious to see what’s new with the new model.
DJI does introduce some new features that make the DJi Air 3S a contender for some of the best prosumer drones, but it only has a few differences from the first Air 3.
Read on as I discuss the Air 3’s new features and how it compares to other drones already on the market.
DJI Air 3S Overview
The DJI 3S is the latest drone in the Air series. It is an upgrade to the DJI Air3 and a more advanced option compared to the DJI Neo, which DJI also released not long ago. Below are its main specs.
– Dual camera system
– 1-inch camera
– Vertical shooting
– 45-Minute flight time
– LiDAr-enabled obstacle avoidance
– Auto-Mapping for RTH
– Expanded internal memory
– Enhanced night shooting
– Free panorama
– 48Mp and 50MP photos
– Auto-tracking
– Advanced ActiveTrack
DJI Air 3S Review
Below is a detailed review of the DJI Air 3S and how it performs.
Camera
If there’s one area that DJI works on improving, it is the camera, and they made the DJI Air 3S in a way that makes you feel the difference between it and its predecessors. For starters, it features a dual camera system, similar to the one on the Air 3. However, DJi upgraded the Air 3S camera, so now you get a 1″CMOS camera and a 1/.1.3-inch Medium Tele camera.
It’s like they combined the Air 2S and the DJI Air 3. With a larger sensor, the Air 3S performs better in low light, and the 3X zoom on the Tele camera allows you to observe or film objects that are far away. The Tele camera works great for portrait shots or filming vehicles, while the 1-inch camera (24 MM) works better for landscape shots.
With these cameras, you can shoot up to 4K 120 fps if you want slow-mo videos and 4K 60fps for regular footage, which you can also slow down if need be. The DJI Air 3S can also shoot in portrait mode, but again, the camera doesn’t tilt like in the DJi Mini 3 Pro, what happens is it automatically crops the footage.
The vertical shooting is limited to 2.7K, which is still decent, but it would have been great if they had increased it to 4K. DJI also upgraded the still images, and you can now take images up to 12/50 MP with the 1-inch camera and 12/48 MP with the Tele camera. That many pixels allow you to zoom in or crop without compromising the quality of the footage. You also get more F-stops for HDR (14) than the Air 3’s 12-stops. Footage recording comes in D-Log M and HLG, giving you enough room for post-processing.
Obstacle Avoidance
The DJi Air 3S features an all-round obstacle avoidance system that gives you peace of mind when flying in areas with obstacles. But DJi went further to include LiDAr-enabled obstacle avoidance (that’s right), which was the first in their consumer drones. LiDAr enables this drone to detect obstacles at night or in low light. Since the other obstacle sensors rely on light, they often don’t work at night, so this is a huge plus and looks promising, especially for enterprise drones.
However, the LiDAr system only detects obstacles from the front, so you still need to be careful of obstacles on the side, top, or behind the drone.
One surprising thing about the Air 3S’s obstacle avoidance is that it was able to detect power lines, as this YouTuber tested, a feature that most DJi consumer drones lack. However, this other video shows that during ActiveTrack, the drone could not detect tiny tree branches as obstacles and crashed into them. It would help if you were still careful when flying around power lines and other smaller obstacles like tree branches.
Safety Features
Besides the advanced obstacle avoidance, the DJi Air 3S features automatic RTH, which allows the drone to return to the last known home point. But what if the drone did not register the take-off point or could not fly back to it for some reason?
DJI has introduced a new auto-mapping feature. As the name suggests, the drone maps its surroundings and can fly back to where it took off from without registering the coordinates. I was skeptical about this feature when I first read about it, but it was interesting to see how it worked on various tests.
ActiveTrack
The DJi Air 3S features a dedicated Follow-Me feature that allows the drone to follow a subject from different directions. The interface looks different from what we have seen in other drones. What you get is a wheel that you drag to set the direction and distance the drone should track you in.
It also features an Automatic ActiveTrack feature that automatically detects subjects to follow and decides on the best way to follow them. Thanks to the advanced obstacle avoidance, you can rest assured that it will follow the subject while avoiding obstacles. You also get the POI and Spotlight features, which allow you to track the subject in different ways.
Intelligent Features
Like most other DJi drones, the DJi Air 3S has its fair share of intelligent flight modes. You get the Quickshots and Mastershots that allow you to create cinematic footage easily. DJI also retained Waypoints, which they introduced in Air drones the first time with the DJI Air 3. With Waypoints, you can pull off some complex drone moves by pre-planning the shots. DJI also added a Free Panorama feature that allows you to create a wide photo by combining several images. This would work great for landscapes, considering the 1-inch camera is also wide-angle.
Range
DJi did not upgrade the transmission system; you still get the O4 system, which is also in the DJi Air 3. However, the O4 system is still powerful, giving you a live stream of 1080 and a range of up to 12 Miles. It’s not like you will need to fly that far for most missions, but for short-range flights in a relatively normal environment or in areas with obstacles, the Air 3S will perform just fine.
Flight Time and Performance
The DJi Air 3S is an upgrade regarding flight time and performance. The advertised 45-minute flight time looks promising, but you get about 30 to 35 minutes in actual flight. Considering all the additional features, such as the new CPU and LiDAR, this is a considerable flight time, and with the three batteries that come with the combo, you have at least 100 minutes of flight time.
Speaking of performance, the DJi Air 3S has an increased Horizontal, Ascending, and Descending Speed. You can fly up to 60 MPH in Sport mode compared to the Air 3’s 47 MPH. You can achieve up to 22 MPH for ascending and descending, compared to the Air 3’s 17 MPH. Faster speeds allow you to get out of a situation faster or reach a destination faster.
Controller
The DJI Air 3S is compatible with the DJI RC 2, RC-N3, and RC-N2. If you own an RC-N2 or RC 2 from previous drones, you could use it with the DJi Air 3S. Unfortunately, DJI doesn’t offer an option to buy the drone without the controller. The RC-N3 is an upgrade to the RC-N2 that came with drones like the Air 2S.
They look and feel similar, though some users reported that the RC-N3 is lighter. This option is cheaper, and you have to use your smartphone for the screen. On the other hand, the RC 2 features an inbuilt screen and is dedicated to working with your drone. With this option, there are no interruptions, no overheating and you get better performance compared to using a smartphone. The RC 2 is also more expensive.
More Internal memory
Have you ever got to shoot and found that you forgot all your SD cards? With most other consumer drones, you would have to go back and get them or keep shooting short clips and dumping them, which is hectic, wastes flight time, and might not be effective for what you want to film. DJI considered this and added 42 GB SSD internal memory to the DJi Air 3S. Now, if you forget your SD cards, you have more internal memory to work with.
DJI Air 3S – Is it Worth Buying?
The DJI Air 3S is a great mid-range option for hobbyists and professionals. Unless you need a variable aperture or larger sensor, the Air 3S offers better footage, improved low-light performance, enhanced safety features, and overall superior performance. If you own the DJI Air 3, the differences might not warrant an upgrade, but selling it to switch is a viable option. For those with the Air 2S, Mini drones, or those looking for their first mid-range model, the DJI Air 3S is a solid choice.