To shoot a panorama on the DJI Air 3, tap the Shooting Modes icon in DJI Fly, choose Pano, pick Sphere, 180°, Wide Angle or Vertical, and press the shutter. The drone hovers, takes a series of photos, and stitches them into one panorama. All four modes work on the 24 mm wide camera; the 70 mm medium tele supports Sphere only.
The four Air 3 Pano modes
| Mode | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Sphere | A full 360-degree view, viewable as a "tiny planet" or interactive sphere | Virtual tours, real estate, viewing in DJI Fly |
| 180° | A wide horizontal sweep across the horizon | Coastlines, skylines, mountain ranges |
| Wide Angle | A wider-than-normal frame with more sky and ground | Getting a whole subject in when you can't back up |
| Vertical | A tall frame from ground to sky | Towers, waterfalls, tall buildings |
DJI added Sphere panorama for the medium tele camera in a December 2023 firmware update. A 70 mm sphere takes many more photos and more time than the wide camera, so most pilots use the wide camera for panoramas.
Best settings for Air 3 panoramas
- Photo type: In Settings, Camera, Pano, choose to save the original photos. You can then restitch them yourself in Lightroom, PTGui or similar software for more control and higher quality than the in-app result.
- RAW: Save the originals as RAW (DNG) if the option is available on your firmware. RAW recovers bright skies and dark foregrounds better than JPEG.
- Exposure: Use Pro mode with fixed ISO and shutter so every frame matches. Expose for the brightest part of the scene so you don't blow out the sky in some frames.
- ISO: 100 in daylight.
- White balance: Set it manually so color doesn't shift between frames.
Tips for better panoramas
- Fly high enough to clear nearby objects. Close trees or rooftops cause stitching errors because they shift position between frames.
- Wait for calm air. Wind moves the drone between shots and creates seams.
- Avoid fast-moving subjects. Cars and people may appear twice or cut in half.
- Shoot at golden hour for even light across the scene, or with the sun behind you to avoid strong flare.
- Keep the drone still until the app finishes. Don't touch the sticks until it says the pano is complete.
Where panoramas are saved
The stitched panorama saves to the microSD card or internal storage like any photo. Spheres can be viewed interactively in the DJI Fly album and shared from there. If you saved the originals, they're kept in a separate folder on the card for stitching later.
Real estate and mapping use
Sphere panoramas are popular for real estate listings because buyers can look around the property. For full photo and video workflows see best drone for real estate photography. For measured maps, use mapping software and an enterprise drone rather than Pano mode; see best drone for mapping.
Want more from your Air 3? See our best Air 3 settings guide, or shop the DJI Air 3.
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