DJI Air 3S Lidar vs The Gauntlet: ActiveTrack Sports Follow-Me Testing

We’re finally seeing some technical progress from DJI in the ActiveTrack realm. Their just-released DJI Air 3S is their first consumer drone to include forward-facing LIDAR, which uses lasers to determine what’s in front of it. This allows it to avoid obstacles in pitch-black conditions, as well as more mundane low-light forest conditions. Not only that, the company says they’ve improved the four cameras that previously existed for 360° obstacle avoidance.

Obviously, I set out to put that to the test, as always.

In this video I put my newly purchased Air 3S through The Gauntlet and its five stages, to see how well it handles. It’s notable to see how this compared to the tiny little $199 DJI Neo from just a month ago, on this same course. Both in terms of obstacle avoidance (and crashes), as well as image quality.

To see how well this drone holds up, hit the play button up above. Even if you don’t care about drones, I suspect you’ll find it entertaining.

Thanks for watching!

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5 Comments

  1. Jörgen

    Somehow this is the first time I see similarities between developments in sports technology and the situation on the battlefield.

  2. Blach'ER

    maybe a stupid question – but can this drone record videos in vertical format (like phone)?

    • Yes, but not by changing the orientation of the gimbal (like the Mini 4 Pro can). So basically it’s just cropping in.

      Honestly, I think in a previous life (3-4 years ago), DJI would have waited and made this with a rotating gimbal and called it an Air 4. But as the company has tried to shift towards an annual release cycle, we get more minor upgrades.

      For some people, it’s a really big deal to not have vertical – especially since DJI cut down on the resolution when they announced the Air 3 (compared to Air 2S). If they had the 5K still, then you can kinda make it work when cropped, though, it’s still not quite the same as properly framed from get go.

  3. Duncan74

    Fascinating review and ironically really helped with a purchasing decision. Just not in the way you may think. I’ve got a voucher from an electronic store about to expire so was looking for something to buy. Saw the neo and so started looking at reviews and thinking (again) about my first drone.
    But watching this video – in full, as requested ;-) – made me buy some new toothbrush heads and trimmer blades instead.
    I just realised that instead of having a drone that could act as an aide memoir for fun times when running/riding, in a way I take a quick snap on a phone to stick on strava/insta, I’d end up ruining said ride/run getting pi$$ed off with the drone not doing what I wanted, having to go back and find it.
    So more about user/use case and not specifically about the product. My runs and rides are my mental health break from hassle, not my income generator.

  4. Stephen Allport

    Even if you don’t care about drones, I suspect you’ll find it entertaining.< aka the wife