DJI Mavic 3 vs Mavic 2 Zoom - Does the Mavic 2 Zoom Have Better Zoom Capabilities?

[@DronodelAire]

Great review, i have the 2 Zoom and it is still a work horse. But i do wonder about the Air 3 and how it will stand vs the 2 Zoom. I have not seen one review about this. Best.

[@lifeflytours3604]

Aun muy feliz con mi mavic 2 zoom, tuve el mavic 3 y lo vendí y me quede con el poderoso mavic 2 zoom.

[@NickDoddTV]

Great, real world comparison/video! I just bought a mavic 2 zoom (upgrading from the Mini 1) and I'm glad to see it's still viable for business/video production!!

[@djeffway]

Thanks, Nick! It sure is still a great drone, and will continue to be one of my tools for professional work!

[@kirbyvacuummadman1814]

I own the mavic 2 zoom and the DJI mini 2, They are both great drones and I personally don't feel the need to upgrade. The Mavic 2 zoom can do it all just fine. It has never let me down and I'm sure it will continue to do the job for years to come.

[@djeffway]

Depending on your needs, both of those drones are great choices! No need to upgrade if you're getting the footage you need.

[@washbelly3000]

I bought the Mavic 2 Pro. I later bought a zoom gimbal for a couple hundred bucks. I'm sure you can buy a Pro gimbal. It's 6 1.5 hex screws. The aircraft updates to automatically to the gimbal that's on it. There's a few KZbin videos on it. I hope that saves you some cash

[@BOBY2944]

Hello sir, I am french and I do not speak English. I just wanted to know your opinion on which is the best long-range zoom between the Mavic 2 Zoom and the Mavic 3, in terms of the ability to see an object like a mobile phone on the ground from far away. Thank you for your response, and good luck to you.

[@Alecaom]

very good video thanks!!!!!

[@NordicDronePilot]

Hi David, did you stil keep to the zoom? im upgrading to the Mavic 2 zoom, im just a simple dronepilot and use it for fun and making some films from areas i visit from time to time. So i think this is a good investment for my kind uf use. I buy it nicly used for 450usd. So i think i get a good drone for a good price. What video editing softwares do you recomend? Thats is not to hard to learn?

[@rocheuro]

going outside the zoom debate. (2x looks SO much better on M2z,), but colors looks just more defined and true to life on M2zoom I have to admit. Strange thing. Nobody talks about the color and color separation, color density, color depth (sometimes) this is what actually stands out not the 8k resolution 7x zoom or even 240fps. Mavic 2 zoom is still incredible machine in many particular ways better than latest Mavic 3, insane.

[@cooldata2000]

I would upgrade if the Mavic 3 Classic had Waypoits like the Zoom 2

[@hmae]

THAT SWAG also amazing vid !

[@djeffway]

If this video gets views, it's because of the sweatshirt. :D

[@LukeFlegg]

Thanks for this, I just really wish you matched the zoom of the M2 with the most zoomed in M3. Obv the M3 zooms in more on camera, so you'd be digitally zooming into the M2 to match it, but that's the whole point of comparing isn't it? Can't compare the quality difference if they don't match zoom length!

[@suade-jk4ub]

Now you got to follow up with an update after the huge Mavic 3 firmware update. The zoom feature is now even clearer.

[@djeffway]

I will do this soon! Thanks for the update

[@montesinosdroneworld]

I’m on the same boat, have these two drones and I think Mavic 2 Zoom have better quality at least at those optical 48 mm, I hope DJI can Fix this focus problem on M3, and give us manual controls, DNG, DLOG and the basic frame rates, 24, 25, 30, and 60 fps. my other complain would be with the standard control you can’t have control of gimbal and zoom at the same time, that is something that I love about my 2 zoom you can have those super dinamic shoots, being able to do an orbit or tilt and at the same time you can apply a zoom. Of course you need a lot of skill to achieve something like this. But the results are amazing in my opinion. Good review, regards!!

[@tuunaes]

Some of those limitations in tele camera controls/settings might come from DJI Fly. And if hardware can handle 20MP of main camera, it should certainly be able to handle 12MP of tele camera. Though sensor itself might lack the read out speed for higher than 30 fps at 4K.

[@djeffway]

There’s certainly some getting used to the M3, but don’t get me wrong, I’m only comparing the zoom feature here, and I would take the M3 over the M2Z when it comes to the whole package. The imaging, dynamic range, everything is really really solid on the M3, not to mention the sturdiness and agility of the drone. But for a nice parallax shot with some depth of field, the M2Z is going to be my go-to!

[@joemarooni4580]

I am not sure what you are looking at, the zoom has a very blurry washed out footage. I don’t have either drone so no dog in this fight.

[@fortyfour6626]

I still fly the original mini. I’m not a professional photographer obviously….just for fun. I just crossed 400 hours in February which is a lot of hours…a lot of photos and videos. Every time I look to upgrade, nothing the upgrades do are compelling enough. I’ll never get into programming or all the awesome and complex details of photography. I’ve owned many different drones and helicopters and this mini just keeps flying fun enough to continue. Price isn’t an issue either as all of the Mavics are within reach without having to mortgage the house. To make it worse, this mini has been durable as heck and just won’t fail. I even got caught in a downpour here in FL drenching the thing through and it still dried out and went back into the air. Maybe this better and easier zoom function will finally compel me to ditch the old mini and upgrade. I guess I’m old school and still love flying to fly and everything else is secondary.

[@sarends]

David, thank you so much for the very detailed and informative comparison! I need the ability to zoom in with clarity for commercial building inspections - at this point do you still think the Mavic 2 Zoom offers the best close up clarity? Thanks!

[@djeffway]

Hi Steve. I think you could certainly do the job with the Zoom if you are able to fly within 30-60 feet of the area needing inspection. However, I'm not sure how detailed you need. That should give you good clarity in 4k up to 48mm with some good detail. The Mavic 3 certainly offers more focal range, so if you needed to keep more distance from your subject, the 7x Zoom would be a better option than the M2Z, but only if you really need to be far away from the subject for some reason.

[@lifeflytours3604]

Si trabajo con grabación inmobiliaria y en realidad me gusta volar más el mavic 2 zoom que el mavic 3

[@hoverimages1221]

I like the m3 but the controller is the problem. The m2zoom controller had two buttons on it, enabling you to zoom in/out using one hand and upwards/downwards on the other. The m3 controller only has the one button to zoom in and it gets tricker having to adjust it on screen.

[@tuunaes]

Claiming Mavic 3's digitally 2x zoomed image being blurrier, despite it having clearly more detail in that roof of building in center of the frame or in roof of that white building at bottom: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lamoaXZ_pZWXqtk Also tree branches have more details in many places (for example in front of bluish building in lower center) and electric cable just right of building in center is clearer in M3's image. Small pixels of M2Z's really small sensor just don't have quality with lower contrast details turning to smeared mess! And image of M3's tele camera is far more detailed. Also when sun is that low even five minutes can make notable difference to harshness of illumination. (lower sun=softer light)

[@montesinosdroneworld]

You’re right, the only downside on the tele lens on M3 is the focus issues and of course the lack of manual exposure controls, if that gets fixed I thing would be a different story.

[@djeffway]

I do certainly agree about the lighting, that could definitely be a factor! But I think the M2Z has a much clearer image compared to the M3 crop, and plus, it’s not digital on the M3 so you miss out on that real depth of field effect you get on the M2Z. But I’ll make another video side by side and see if we can really compare the two a little better. I appreciate the feedback!!

[@STANGKILLASS]

agreed! the tree branches and vent louvers, window edge etc were all much better on the M3 i thought in this video!

[@anonymouswhite352]

@@djeffway I'd argue the whole test is pointless because you use auto settings on both which look more neutral on the Mavic 3 whereas the Mavic 2 zoom looks a bit over saturated

[@mr02gixxer1000]

I don’t know what you are looking at? There is no comparison with the two. The Mavic 3 zoom blows the Mavic 2 zoom out of the water!! And just so you know I had the Mavic 2 zoom since launch, and I have sold my Mavic 2 zoom a month ago. Bottom line the Mavic 3 camera is way better in every way! Also remember the Mavic 3 is using that 4/3 sensor even when cropped in, which is still going to look better than the Mavic 2 zoom with it’s tiny sensor! There is just know comparison sorry! Thanks for the video anyway.

[@djeffway]

I agree that the Mavic 3 is superior in many ways when it comes to image quality, dynamic range, etc.! But I think the M2Z definitely benefits from that optical zoom!

[@Navyking12]

I agree mavic 2 zoom is significantly better when it comes to zoom

[@brandontemple20]

How can you even do video with no variable aperture

[@pantafine]

Zoom's sensor size is 1/2,3, Mavic's 3 is 4/3! It's a big difference in quality

[@tyeb54]

Bonjour moi j'ai toujours mon 2 zoom il est toujours ici plus efficace Dji quel dommage qu'il ne continue des mises à jour de plus en plus en France la la législation et menu de plus en plus je pratique en tant que amateur pourquoi Dieu des dji ne continue pas se battre contre législation trop sévère contre

[@DavidDickeyJr]

It would be pretty cool if you didn't over-expose the subject of the test.

[@jonchicoine]

To my eyes you're crazy. The Mavic 3 video looks better to me at every magnification.

[@FinancialtalkwithCarlo]

The mavic 3 has optical zoom upto 7x … It only goes to digital zoom after 7x .I dont know what you looking at and dont know how you making your conclusion that the mavic 2 zoom is better than the mavic 3.

[@XxN8iVeSc0uTxX]

The lighting is not even for comparison

[@Naesman1167]

So basically the Mavic 2 Zoom is inferior to the Mavic 3 zoom capabilities.. The Zoom has a 1/2 inch sensor sooo……..

[@djeffway]

But remember, the telephoto on the M3 is only ever so slightly larger than the M2Z! The M2Z has much more range when it comes to a purely optical zoom.

[@djeffway]

The sensor that is.

[@tuunaes]

@@djeffway You've got your facts whacked up: M2Z's 2x 24-48mm zoom has little real range to zoom into any small objects/far away things. Mavic 3's tele camera is far more capable. Just for scale cropping to same FOV from M2Z's 48mm image would leave around 1MP of data instead of 12MP!

[@huwpenson2678]

does every North American youtuber reviewing things have to say "right off the bat" ?

[@djeffway]

No, it is a New England law! Not North American

[@Navyking12]

I will keep my mavic 2 zoom the 3 is not worth the money

[@djeffway]

The Mavic 3 is really a big step up in many ways from the zoom, but I agree, if you don’t need all that, there’s no reason to upgrade. The zoom is a great drone!

[@Commenttrolle]

The Mavic 2 Zoom And pro should not of been discontinued , there in my mind still among the best dji drone