A UK resident without the necessary certification had to exercise caution when flying the DJI Air 3S. Living by the coast allowed for flying the drone over the sea, maintaining the required distance from people, buildings, parks, and beaches. However, residing in a large town or city would make the restrictions challenging, prompting a preference for an ultra-lightweight, versatile drone such as the DJI Mini 4 Pro. It is presumed that many casual drone users share this sentiment.
Those who choose to undergo the necessary courses and manage the associated paperwork will find their efforts rewarding. The camera performance of the Air 3 was impressive, but the Air 3S takes it up a notch. The new 1-inch sensor offers 14 stops of dynamic range and performs exceptionally well in challenging lighting, delivering detailed and low-noise images at dusk and nighttime. Sample photos were taken in DNG RAW format (with the wide-angle camera capturing 50-megapixel stills and the telephoto capturing 48-megapixel) and edited in Adobe Lightroom, while video samples were captured in 10-bit D-Log M and color graded in DaVinci Resolve Studio. The 10-bit original files provided extensive editing possibilities. The cameras also support standard color profiles in both 8- and 10-bit quality and 10-bit HLG, although shooting in D-Log M is optional.
The Air 3S offers a variety of excellent video and photo options. Although it cannot shoot 5.7K footage, a feature available in the DJI Mavic 3 Pro, it can shoot standard 4K videos at up to 60 fps, 4K slow-motion clips at 120 fps, and Full HD slow-motion clips at 240 fps. It can also capture 9:16 portrait-format videos, suitable for social media, at a satisfactory 2.7K resolution and 60 fps.
However, the cameras are not without limitations. The lack of adjustable apertures makes a set of neutral density (ND) filters almost essential for daytime video shooting, and changing the filters can be a cumbersome task. It is hoped that this will be addressed in the future release of the Air 4.
