Designed for travel photography, DJI has just launched the new Air 3S dual-camera drone with an integrated suite of advanced new technologies that take the series to soaring heights. Most notably, it features a 1-inch-CMOS primary camera and a 70mm medium tele camera that combine to capture breathtaking aerial landscapes in stunning detail and more.
The primary camera integrates a large 1-inch 50MP CMOS sensor that supports 4K/60fps HDR and 4K/120fps video recording, as well as 10-bit D-Log M colour mode. It’s enhanced by advanced image-processing technology and intelligent algorithms to preserve fine details even in challenging light conditions.
The primary camera’s 24mm lens is ideal for capturing expansive landscapes with a wide field of view. The medium tele camera, on the other hand, features a 1/1.3-inch 48MP CMOS sensor and a 70mm lens that you can use to zoom in on faces and vehicles with a compressed depth of field and capture a more cinematic look.
The two cameras support the same video specs and colour modes to ensure visually consistent footage in post-processing. And they both offer the new Free Panorama mode that allows you create seamless panoramic shots by stitching multiple images together with a manually selected subject or area.
At 724g, the Air 3S is marginally heavier than its predecessor, the Air 3, but still considerably lighter than the Mavic 3 Pro, which weighs in at a hefty 958g. (At 50MP effective pixels, the Air 3S primary camera’s sensor is also a modest step up from the Air 3’s 48MP, but who’s counting?)
The Air 3S also boasts a newly enhanced obstacle-sensing capability that beats the other two hands down: with forward-facing LiDAR (plus downward infrared time-of-flight sensors and six vision sensors), it can detect obstacles such as highrise buildings and navigate upwards around them, even in low-light conditions, to keep the drone out of harm’s way and ensure safe returns when flying at night.
The Air 3S introduces another first: a new subject-focusing feature to keep a subject looking nice and sharp, even when it moves off centre, so you can focus your attention on other loftier aspects of your creative endeavor, like composition and where to aim the camera.
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