Chrislaf
Well-Known Member
Thanks for your reply. I probably will look at some of the sample pictures but I tend to take the sample shots from the manufacturer with a grain of salt as they are usually under idea conditions and set up to highlight the best features of the camera. High ISO photos don't bother me and I am familiar with taking high ISO photos as I am into astrophotography with my DSLRs but it can be a tricky balance between shooting at a high ISO and balancing an acceptable level of noise in the shot that can be cleaned up in post to get a good image. The same holds true with drone images except there is usually not as much information to deal with as we are not using full frame sensors.You should go look at sample pictures at different ISO settings and decide for yourself and maybe even download some sample images to play with. I am in the camp where it's better to have a picture than no picture at all. As a result, I'll take a shot at high ISO on any of these drones over nothing at all. You can always try to clean it up in your photo editor of choice, and you may be surprised at what you are able to achieve. I don't find the high ISO photos objectionable enough to not bother taking them. That's coming from a full-frame DSLR user. My first DSLR experience was with a Nikon D100 which had pretty bad noise, much worse than the M2P or Air2s and that camera had a much larger sensor. Digital cameras have come a really long way.
I don't own an M2P and just got an Air2s yesterday, but I've seen side-by-side comparisons of both. Neither camera is better, just different. The M2P boosts the shadows and as a result, you get more detail at the expense of noise. The Air2s favors noise reduction over shadow detail so you get cleaner-looking images at the expense of detail. I haven't done this, but IMO the results would likely be similar if you processed the images to have the same levels, contrast, and noise reduction. Get the drone that fits your needs best in terms of size and features, enjoy it, and don't look back. It's easy to get caught up in analysis paralysis, but honestly, it's hard for me to see anyone being disappointed with either if you take the time in post to achieve the best results.
I do agree with you about getting the drone that fits your needs in terms of size and features and I would also add cost. I am going to wait a bit and see how the A2S performs and what the images from it look like from users such as yourself.
Chris