The DJI Mavic 3 Classic is the drone we wanted last year

With the announcement of the DJI Mavic 3 Classic, DJI is bringing to market the base-model drone we wanted when they first launched the Mavic 3 series in 2021. This new model packs the same great flight features, and a big Micro Four Thirds camera, but lands at a much more affordable price point.

The original Mavic 3 series offers a dual camera setup, optional internal SSD, and ProRes video formatting. Make no mistake, the Mavic 3 Cine is still the best consumer camera drone on the market, but the new Classic model foregoes these few great features in order to cut the price.

This is an abbreviated announcement for the DJI Mavic 3 Classic, please visit our partners at Drone Rush to learn more!

The Mavic 3 Classic is a folding drone that is fairly compact, but is one of the largest Mavic-series machines around. It requires a little extra to carry the Hasselblad Micro Four Thirds camera, which offers 20MP still and 5.1K video. The Mavic 3 series drones offer a huge 46 minutes of fight time, and upwards of 15KM of connectivity, both of which are class-leading specifications.

All-direction obstacle avoidance is a welcome safety feature for many pilots.

We’re particularly excited to learn that the Mavic 3 Classic will connect to a handful of existing DJI controllers. If you’ve got a DJI RC, RC-N1, or RC Pro, you can get connected without having to buy new.

Like most Mavic drones before it, the DJI Mavic 3 Classic is a quadcopter airframe. The propellers are quick-release, two-bladed assemblies that fold, and the propeller arms also fold in for transport. The camera hangs under the nose of the craft, and the removable battery attaches at the top rear of the craft.

The remote controls are connected using DJI’s OcuSync technology. The third generation of which, O3, enables up to 15KM of HD video streaming connectivity. The connection for the controls exceeds this a little, but please remember that you must fly within visual line of sight in most countries across the globe. That extra range means you get an extra strong connection in closer range, which is a huge benefit in areas with radio interference.

The star of the show is the Micro Four Thirds camera. Built in partnership with Hasselblad, the 20MP sensor captures up to 5.1K video, offering up to 3X zoom at 5.1K resolution. We are told this is the exact same sensor and lenses as the Mavic 3 from last year, short only the secondary telephoto camera. This means you should expect crisp aerial imagery, accurate auto-focus, and silky smooth video capture.

It has been raining fairly heavily the entire time we’ve been testing the Mavic 3 Classic, we promise to share some sample images when the sun comes out.

Related reading: Best camera drones

The DJI Mavic 3 Classic is up for sale now! That’s November 2, 2022, at 9:00 AM ET, if you’re wondering. There are three drone packages to choose from with different controllers, and then you can choose between a couple of Fly More kits and a few other accessories.

• $1,469 — DJI Mavic 3 Classic (no remote)
• $1,599 — DJI Mavic 3 Classic with RC-N1
• $1,749 — DJI Mavic 3 Classic with DJI RC
• $649 — DJI Mavic 3 Fly More Kit
• $599 — DJI Mavic 3 Fly More Kit shoulder bag
• $129 — DJI Mavic 3 Classic ND filters
• $129 — DJI Mavic 3 Classic wide-angle lens
• $39 — DJI Mavic 3 Classic storage cover
• $99 — DJI Mavic 3 Classic battery charging hub