DJI Mini 4 Pro vs. Air 3 vs. Mavic 3 Pro vs….NEO???

[@DAXimusTT]

Nice to see you Philip. 2024 has not been kind to many of us. Hang in there. This world is a better place with you.

[@cinematools]

I'm not looking for a drone but I enjoyed watching your video.

[@ChristofferLund]

Thats how i feel with almost all of his videos. I come for the filmmaking, not the product review.

[@fourtoes412]

Hello Philip. I know one thing, your Dad did a fantastic job. Stay strong it will all be OK.

[@stephensears7483]

What a pleasure to find your latest video. Thank you! My condolences for your losses this year. Please keep moving forward - for all of our sakes. Your camera insights are so far beyond me, but I love listening to your beautiful prose and watching your captivating images.

[@FieldingSmith]

New drone video, means we should be expecting the Air 3s and Mavic 4 in the next few months! Kidding, but I do appreciate your reviews, as they helped me decide on getting the Mini 4 earlier this year. Still learning the ins and outs, but the footage is very nice.

[@philipbloom]

Air 3s come next month I believe. I’ve not been sent one to test sadly. Dual 1” sensors I expect.

[@ShapeGSX]

@@philipbloom dare we hope for variable aperture?

[@erik.nederstigt]

Better wait for the Mini 5 as I do. I fly the Mini 3 at the moment and I'm skipping 4 ;-)

[@scatterbraincrafts]

I love your videos Philip and this is the exact video I needed this week. Sorry for your losses this year. Stay strong. We love you and your work

[@HoonTV]

With you on the 2024 factor! Hope you’re ok Phillip

[@Asyouwere]

Wish you all the best, Philip. I love your videos, and your cats, so sad to see it passed away. I’ve myself been depressed for over a year when my twenty year old cat passed away, and I am still not completely over it to be honest. And of course your dad, passed away too :( Writing this message to you, I slowly feel my heart breaking again. I hope you surround yourself with loved ones, and talk to people as much as you can. ❤

[@philipbloom]

Thank you. Malfoy wasn’t my cat. He was a stray from the beach where two of mine came from. He was a wonderful boy. 💔

Best Neo Video. Seeing your footage vs that of others made me realizing again what a professional filmmaker you are☺️ Hope this year is getting better for you I can imagine what you been up through my mom died earlier this year and I really miss her.

[@philipbloom]

I am so sorry for your loss. 😔

@@philipbloom Thanks appreciate it☺️

[@NeilEvery]

Great to see you back Philip. Sorry to hear you're having such a tough year. Hang in there mate.

[@PhillipSkraba]

Thoroughly enjoyable as always Philip!

[@Corpetit1984]

You are a reference of the audiovisual world in the youtube era. Sorry to hear that you are not going through a good time but know that your fans love you and wish the best for you. A very strong hug 😉

[@LawrieBrailey]

So sorry to hear what you've been through Philip. We all greatly appreciate the work you do for the videography community. Stay strong.

[@seraphimsanctuary]

Excellent video as usual I have learn so much from you over many years that have helped me greatly in my professional career

[@philipbloom]

thank you

[@kevinjamesgrace]

Phillip so sorry to hear about your cat, that is very sad. Our pets become our family and we become so attached to them. Wish you the best and hope that everything gets better from here on out

[@miboxed]

This is an amazing video! Philip did an incredible job breaking down the pros and cons of each drone. I was particularly impressed with his in-depth analysis of image quality and his recommendation to set noise reduction and sharpness to -2. The footage he captured is stunning, and it really helps to visualize the differences between the drones. I'm definitely leaning towards the Air 3 based on this review. Thanks, Philip!

[@lukepadfield80]

Philip you are one of my favourite reviewers and I appreciate your opinion more than anyone else on KZbin so please keep up the good work… And thank you!

[@MrCloud254]

Your videos are more of an adventure than just a presentation. Always appreciate your insights, and pray for peace in the coming years

[@jiveaces]

Thanks for this Philip, always insightful and honest!

[@jamessonfield]

Yes! He we go! 19 minutes of loveliness! Kettle is on and just cracked open some dark chocolate digestives, life doesn’t get any better!

[@rafograph854]

Thanks Philip, always great reviews. I hope you the best. Stay strong on your journey

[@foreverbeer]

Great video Philip. It was worth waiting for. You're looking great for 53, keep on making films, you inspire so many filmmakers.

[@glund01]

Any chance of you doing a review of the Air 3s? I'd really love to see somebody like you do a deep dive into the image quality, lower bitrate (130 mbps), new DJI image processing and their claims that "The DJI Air 3S utilizes the latest encoding algorithm, which optimizes the bitrate by over 30% while maintaining superior video quality". Most of what I'm seeing are just the usual crop of cookie cutter reviews gushing over the thing without really digging in. You reviews are always the gold standard and if you aren't doing one for the Air 3s, maybe just give me your take in the comments. Love your work and hope you're doing well. Thanks!

[@stefw0200]

Wonderful video - great footage, so relaxing but tons of information and letting little Neo shine by trying to get the best results using sharpness, EV, NR setting and post processing. Maybe the best comparison of DJI drones I‘ve seen on YT so far. I guess Neo is a great additional(!) drone, which can be used for quick shots and in situations where it‘s the only one to survive because of its well protected propellers (e.g. your forest shots). I hope DJI improves camera firmware with the next update. A Neo2 should have a better 4K true 10bit HDR cam, DLog M and bigger propellers to reduce noise and increase wind resistence

[@philipbloom]

@@stefw0200 thank you very much.

[@davidalanmedia]

I always look forward to watching your videos. Thanks much for the comparison. I’ve been kicking around buying around a smaller drone as my current drone is a Mavic 3 which I love.

[@HumblyNeil]

Still happy with my Mavic 2 pro.... not upgrading but loved seeing the Greece footage. Nice to know what features he newer models have, don't need them. I hope your 2024 improves!

[@philipbloom]

@@HumblyNeil thank you. It’s a good drone but it’s a shame you are so limited where you can fly it now due to classifications.

[@8lacKhawKtheRIPPER]

Superb roundup, Mr. Bloom~ I was hoping you'd convey your impressions of the Neo in one form or another and this was a pretty great showing. I'm looking into getting one as a B-Drone to my Mini 4 to take along on hikes when I wanna pack a bit lighter. Seems like it should do that job fairly well. I also hope life will have some more positive surprises in store for you again. ✨

[@philipbloom]

Thank you. Just so you are aware if you get one without the controller and rely on your phone you can’t go far from it and you have zero ability to control your exposure. It’s all auto. So if you get the controller and enough batteries to last you won’t be far off the Mini 4 but with a much worse image.

[@nobby-green]

What an excellent review Phillip. Most enjoyable thanks 🙏

[@Rescue7363]

I don't do any video work, your videos are just so enjoyable to watch

[@chris_albert_DP]

In today's 'influencer' (insert eye-roll here) KZbin environment, yours, as always, is a unique filmmaking practitioner's review-something that I can trust. Your reviews are always thoughtfully edited and scored, which makes them so enjoyable from a viewing perspective. Sorry this year has been a total ball-buster, mate. Take some comfort in the fact over a quarter of a million people follow you for a reason. You are needed.

[@philipbloom]

@@chris_albert_DP thanks Chris. Much appreciated.

[@Berdyugin]

Thank you, Philip!

[@camilo8cheryl]

Were all waiting for your Air3s video👍

[@RonaldBrown59]

Nice testing and review. Thanks for sharing.

[@mikalinde6837]

Thanks for the video! Nice to see scharpness and NR control in the Neo. In Potatoe Jets video the option didn't exist yet and it looked terrible 😅 All the best and thanks again for the great and informative video!

[@YeagerFilm]

The best drone reviews! Thanks you sir!

[@robsterlikesRonPaul]

This is going to be something special... Will watch with no interruptions later tonight with a large glad of red 🎉

[@kylelowe]

Another great PB video! Hope the rest of 2024 is smoother for you! Cheers

[@MattDe1971]

You know how to get some good shots out of the Neo. Saw some other videos and the video looked terrible from the Neo. But you always make everything look great.

[@Deadpixel75]

After all this years, @philipBloom, you'r still the best ! Thanks ps : The little Neo is a... lovely drone !

[@ciceronebezerra]

Great video, hope things get better !

[@Ronbc000]

Nice work, Philip. Thank you 🙏

[@kavnaspace]

Hooray for cats who have good humans to watch out for them! :)

[@deegsyschannel2762]

Great video , as always.

[@simon_jakobsson]

Always been a fan of your videos Philip. Crossing my fingers that 2024 picks up for you!

[@ElEscolta]

You are the first i seen with actually good looking NEO footage, its not perfect sure but it look actually usable with some care. As I'm wanting to get into FPV i did consider it over the Avata (which for me right now are a bit too expensive) but now imma consider it more, it was a great review as always

[@philipbloom]

@@ElEscolta thanks for much. The Neo is strange. Sometimes the results look good and sometimes they don’t. The image is still very over processed even when at -2 -2. I hope they will give it a firmware update to give it D-Cinelike. It would help it so much as the highlight clipping is so bad. It’s a lovely drone to fly though! 🙂

[@ElEscolta]

@@philipbloom d-cinelike would be amazing to work with on this little guy! Even if it lower the battery life more it be worth it for people wanting to get more juice out of them, hopefully they give a long lifespam.

[@chudgoo]

Big ups Malfoy. 🙏

[@philipbloom]

He was such a lovely boy. I’ve know him since 2018. He’s been in quite a few videos, the previous one was the Pocket 3 video. 💔

[@hellohogo]

When Phillip drops a video highlighting the Dji Air 3, you very well know the Air 3S is imminent 😎🖤

[@seraphimsanctuary]

I hope 2025 is a great year for you. Many of us in this industry 2024 has been incredibly challenging. Wish you the best!

[@zzalg]

As always- as honest as it gets.

[@IaninLondon]

Hey Philip! You compare where others fear to tread! Mavic 3 Pro vs the Neo.....? Now that you've finally uploaded this video we can look forward an Air 4 and a Mini 5 Pro being released in the next week or two I'm guessing ;) Cheers, Ian

[@Bobdrumbro]

Always looking forward to a new Bloom video. also the neo can look good. When the internet says is bad wait for a Bloom video the make sure. And you proved my suspicion sir thank you! (and topaz off course🤓)

[@philipbloom]

Thank you. It has potential. They could make the image better within firmware, I hope they do. Those clipped highlights are hideous. D-cine like would be most welcome! :)

[@Bobdrumbro]

@@philipbloom Agreed! And if they add 24p as stated that would make things a lot more tempting. D-cine like and 24p would be appreciated, highly. Would buy it if they upgrade the software. Looks fun flying true those tight spaces.

[@BlairAir]

Well, the Air 3 S isn't as big an upgrade as Air 2 > Air 2S was (no transmission upgrade, but we had THAT with Mini 4 Pro/Air 3 Releases. Other notable things such Lidar, Wake/sleep batteries for Quick Transfer, 1 degree more of tilt to get higher top speed Potential, anyway... I don't know if a new, full replacement video is warranted. Maybe an addendum video?

[@lilipok3521]

Philip, can you please do a review of the new air 3s? Thank you

[@VernalFilm]

How does the Neo footage look waaaay better on this video than everyone elses? Very good video though, always enjoyable to watch your videos.

[@philipbloom]

Most likely they didn’t shoot at -2 -2

[@markshirley01]

If they could add the sharpening slider and speed restricted to the phone app I'd buy a Neo. The new Hoverair looks better for me.

[@philipbloom]

@@markshirley01 it’s very odd that you can’t change your exposure at all with just using your phone. I forgot to mention it.

[@gregb1599]

Give it time. It's only been on the market a very short time! The original Hoverair was not great at launch, just like most drones at launch.

[@markshirley01]

@@philipbloom the big advantage to this type of drone to me is size, the fact you can just pull your phone out was a big thing to me. I'm sure DJI will add to the app.

[@gslphotographer]

My heart ❤ goes out to you Philip for the loss of your beloved Malfoy 😢

[@philipbloom]

Thanks. He was a beautiful boy loved by so many on the beach in Skiathos where he lived. I have his 8 year old daughter Harriet living with me and his old boss of the beach, 16 year old Sevvy too. I couldn’t adopt Malfoy due to the risk of bringing his diseases into my house.

[@TheAegisClaw]

I would love one of the bigger drones, but the rules are so restrictive i wouldnt get much use out of it, so sticking with my Mini 4 Pro for now.

[@gregb1599]

Just a tiny add-on, the Neo also has cruise control.

[@DennisSchmitz]

I really wish DJI could add 4:3 modes on their next models (like on their action cameras) so we don't need that vertical mode and can just edit both 16:9 and 9:16 from the same clip.

[@philipbloom]

I am expecting this with the Air 3s with the same sensor as the pocket 3.

[@armandoferreira8790]

I use my Neo to fly with the Goggles3/MC3 of my Avata2. Is very fun and I can try Manual mode FPV3 without risking to destroy my Avata2. For the purpose of upload of quick shots to social media the Neo is great.

[@dccoletrain]

I think with all the restrictions and the noise from drones people like myself could get by just fine with a insta360 camera (Still cool tools even if some think that company is unethical) and a long stick for some of those shots Neo is mostly made for. I’m sorry you’re have a rough year.

[@philipbloom]

Very good point. For filming yourself it makes way more sense.

[@robinsmith9734]

Sublime as all ways Phillip, be well mate, time has tipped for me today, 81. wish my eyesight would level out. 1m/sec, but oh! The best to you, and your menag...........

[@ShapeGSX]

What did you use to record the audio of the ocean? Or was it stock? Because it sounds brilliant in headphones! Real surround effect!

[@philipbloom]

It's the Zoom H3 VR mic/ recorder. I convert it to binaural stereo in their app. I put the link in the description.

[@ShapeGSX]

@@philipbloomthank you so much! How on earth did you make a techy drone review with such feeling to it? Marrying that music to a drone video with amazing lighting…absolutely brilliant.

[@philipbloom]

@@ShapeGSX Thank you; it's what I do with my reviews :)

[@BlairAir]

There they are all standing in a row. Of course I had to have all of them. Probably not a bad idea with politicians banning all future products out of mistrust of boffins from far away lands. Sad really - especially after they returned Tripod Mode! The Air 3 is Goldilocks perfect or would be with adjustable aperture. Hope Air 3S doesn't come out tomorrow!

[@photoangelov]

The Air 3S comes out October 15th. Mavic 4 is rumoured to come out in December.

[@BlairAir]

@@photoangelov Air 3S date seems likely. Mavic 4, my incredibly inprecise gut says... nothing. It refuses to comment. Don't blame it after the Mavic 3 release. After long delays, an obviously rushed release with more missing than delivered features, the GPS acquisition time fail, it was 6 months of "I held off on Mavic 2 Pro, to wait for this?" A humbling experience for DJI, certainly. I doubt rushing product releases for holiday says is even spoken aloud since.

[@adventures_media]

It’s also been the most difficult year of my life. It feels like reality is tearing many people apart

[@philipbloom]

@@adventures_media I am very sorry. The personal stuff for me has been awful. Then work, my business has gone under and my house is under threat. 😔

[@JCGWeddingVisuals]

Hope you are doing ok man.

[@kingsamvisuals]

We need a cheaper Mini 4 with obstacle avoidance sensors.

[@jcoi9304]

the faster it goes and the heavier load it can carry for longer distances, the better

[@philipbloom]

@@jcoi9304 time in the air is what matters to me. I am not going to go far…VLOS ideally!

[@BoReynolds]

Phillipe, WHY has 2024 been so bad for you? Now I'm worried. Health? Perhaps I'll go back and watch some previous videos. Maybe I missed something. I hope for nothing but great health and a great life for you......and the cats. Chin up friend.

[@BoReynolds]

Got it. Your lovely dad. Just watched his story. What an open, honest, funny chap. My condolences. Truly sorry for your loss.

[@gekoldronevideos]

Hello Phillip, great video👏👍👌👊for the price the Neo is the most versatile and best drone there is! If you enhance the footage a little the video quality comes close to the DJI Mini Series drones. It’s always a pleasure to watch your informative YT video’s. Maybe you are interested in the video enhancing I did with Topaz Video AI, it really makes a difference as you can see in the latest Neo video on my own channel. Greetings from a subscriber from 🇳🇱

[@philipbloom]

@@gekoldronevideos thank you very much. I think you missed the section where I talked about Topaz. I’ve been showing it off in videos for years. :) The video quality of the Neo doesn’t come close to the Mini 3 or 4 pro even with topaz. It’s still way too over sharpened, looks like 720p and has TERRIBLE dynamic range. The highlight clipping is soooo bad!

[@gekoldronevideos]

​​​@@philipbloom, no I did not miss that part. I wanted you to show my own result of using the Topaz Video AI software. In my personal opinion my Neo video on my YT channel using Topaz AI comes very close to the original quality of the original DJI Mini 2 / 3 drone that I also owned a few years ago. I disagree with you that the quality of the original Neo footage looks like 720p. The original Neo footage is a little to sharp and noisy, especially in low light but certainly 4K. Using Topaz Video AI makes the footage very acceptable in my personal opinion. Greetings from 🇳🇱

[@KindOldRaven]

Sucks to hear your 2024 has been terrible as well man. Keep it up. Worst year so far as well, all 34 of em .

[@6floor]

1.50 ето 25р

[@philipbloom]

?

[@erik.nederstigt]

Nice video but please stop comparing a €200,- follow me cam with ... well even a Mini 4! That is no competition.

[@philipbloom]

Why can’t I compare a drone that I own to my others? This isn’t click bait. It’s actually a very valid thing. I use cheap cameras alongside my professional ones all the time. I wanted to see if this little could be used. The last 17’yeats of my career has been about getting the best from cameras which aren’t considered professional. Take the Pocket 3 for example, it cuts beautifully with my cinema cameras and Sony alphas. It’s 1/10th cost of most of them. The Neo is only 1/3rd to a 1/4 the cost of a Mini 4 Pro. My video shows what DJI need to do improve the image…and they absolutely can do It. If you do or are going to get one wouldn’t you like a better image? They listened to me may times. The over sharpening/ noise reduction and adjustable speed being added to their drones was because of my heavy pushing of them and direct conversations with their engineers. Thank you.

[@erik.nederstigt]

@@philipbloom you can, buet like I said, you know it can never cope with the others. You can make a review on it's own to convince newcomers. Because that is what it is, a step in.

[@philipbloom]

@@erik.nederstigtso seem to have missed my point. It’s about just how close it is and could it be used. It’s not about as being as good as. I used the inspire 1 and phantom 2 with GoPro back in the day on broadcast series. They stood out from the cinema cameras we were using unless they did some work on them in post to remove the over sharpening. In fact the GoPro looked better as they’ve has a low sharpening setting for a long time. The Phantom 4 Pro was the best drone they made image wise until the Mavic 2 Pro came out. Now we have a cheap and tiny Mini 4 Pro that has beautiful footage. Look at how ugly the Mini 2 footage was compared to it. By testing the Neo to see how further it needs to go is essential. I am sure the inevitable Neo 2 will have way better video quality. My iPhone 15 pro now shoots video that I can cut into my expensive cameras and blend in beautifully. The 14 pro always jarred.

[@simonsoderqvist]

First?