So like the rest of us, when I saw the firmware update this morning and read about the zoom feature, I was interested. I was curious to know if DJI had simply implemented a digital zoom, merely cropping in on the existing 4k recording, or if they were making use of the extra resolution available via the quad-bayer sensor of the MA2.
I definitely wanted to test it out. I didn't get to do much, as some major thunderstorms were rolling into my neighborhood after I got out of work, but I was able to do one test before the sky opened up.
I parked the drone in place about 40 feet up, centered on a lightpost. I recorded a short clip in 4K Wide, and a short clip in 4K Zoom, at both 1x and 2x without moving the drone. From each of those clips I took a still frame, cropped in heavily on the lightpost at the center, and scaled the wide and 1x images up to match the 2x field of view. Same lightpost, from the same distance, just different zoom modes. Interestingly enough, the zoom mode makes a surprising difference in the quality. At the same FOV the 1x and 2x are noticeably better than the 4K wide. At least from this brief test it would appear that there is some benefit to this mode vs simply scaling in post.
To be honest, I don't think it would have made much sense for DJI to have included this feature if it weren't receiving the benefit of the 48mp sensor. At least to my eye, the difference between 4K wide and 4k zoom 2x looks pretty similar to the difference between the 12MP and 48MP stills created by the MA2. Not amazingly better, but still better.
Would I use this to create awesome zoomed in cinematic video? Heck no. But it is more than serviceable for more utilitarian purposes such as inspections and so forth, and at least from this one brief initial test better quality than zooming in in post.
Here is an image of the comparison:
You can also download the full size frame grabs here: Your work | Adobe Creative Cloud
And the original raw video clips here: Your work | Adobe Creative Cloud
I definitely wanted to test it out. I didn't get to do much, as some major thunderstorms were rolling into my neighborhood after I got out of work, but I was able to do one test before the sky opened up.
I parked the drone in place about 40 feet up, centered on a lightpost. I recorded a short clip in 4K Wide, and a short clip in 4K Zoom, at both 1x and 2x without moving the drone. From each of those clips I took a still frame, cropped in heavily on the lightpost at the center, and scaled the wide and 1x images up to match the 2x field of view. Same lightpost, from the same distance, just different zoom modes. Interestingly enough, the zoom mode makes a surprising difference in the quality. At the same FOV the 1x and 2x are noticeably better than the 4K wide. At least from this brief test it would appear that there is some benefit to this mode vs simply scaling in post.
To be honest, I don't think it would have made much sense for DJI to have included this feature if it weren't receiving the benefit of the 48mp sensor. At least to my eye, the difference between 4K wide and 4k zoom 2x looks pretty similar to the difference between the 12MP and 48MP stills created by the MA2. Not amazingly better, but still better.
Would I use this to create awesome zoomed in cinematic video? Heck no. But it is more than serviceable for more utilitarian purposes such as inspections and so forth, and at least from this one brief initial test better quality than zooming in in post.
Here is an image of the comparison:
You can also download the full size frame grabs here: Your work | Adobe Creative Cloud
And the original raw video clips here: Your work | Adobe Creative Cloud
