Air 3 8 second exposure test

[hedbonker]

I thought I would test out the 8 second exposure ability of the AIR 3. So I just flew up to about 220 ft out of my driveway at 4:30 AM when it was pitch black outside and took a snap. I am impressed with how sharp this is. There was no wind at ground level but even though, with the drone flying and the shutter open for 8 seconds I assumed it would be much softer. Note the freeway in the upper right is just a continuous streak of light heh.

 

[GFields]

Awesome photo!

 

[YourGoodPalJeff]

Eye-opening photo. I'm going to have to try that. Like you, I figured an 8-second shot would be blurry, but even if it's not razor sharp, I'm not sure that matters since the whole point of the shot is the view.

 

[JeffreyS]

Sharpened jpegs look good but it is viewing the original file at 100% that determines image quality. How'd that turn out?

 

[hedbonker]

Sharpened jpegs look good but it is viewing the original file at 100% that determines image quality. How'd that turn out?

I only shoot JPG so that, in essence, is the original file. Since you have to shoot 12MP to use 8 seconds, that is the 4K file in all it's full size glory

 

[MotoSavy]

Never fails to impress me what the Air 3 can do. Unbelievable that the drone can take a photo so clear with an 8 second exposure.

Amazing photo.

 

[JeffreyS]

Since you have to shoot 12MP to use 8 seconds, that is the 4K file in all it's full size glory

Not sure what that means. Is your sensor output 12MP? 4K is a term related to video, and we're talking still images here.

 

[YourGoodPalJeff]

Not sure what that means. Is your sensor output 12MP? 4K is a term related to video, and we're talking still images here.

I was curious about the 12MP part as well, but it seems the Air 3 requires you to use 12MP (as opposed to 48MP) if you're going to take a longer exposure. As for 4K, it's apparently become a generic advertising term for anything with a horizontal pixel count of 4,000, which is where I believe OP to be coming from.

Regardless, it's a very nice photo that shows off the 8 second exposure capability quite well.

 

[rawman001]

Wow, that's really impressive and surprising! I'll have to try that myself sometime.

 

[Felix le Chat]

I thought I would test out the 8 second exposure ability of the AIR 3. So I just flew up to about 220 ft out of my driveway at 4:30 AM when it was pitch black outside and took a snap. I am impressed with how sharp this is. There was no wind at ground level but even though, with the drone flying and the shutter open for 8 seconds I assumed it would be much softer. Note the freeway in the upper right is just a continuous streak of light heh.
View attachment 172013

Grabbed 2 or 3 second exposures at night with my old Mavic 2, hit and miss for focus (it was the first time I'd tried it) and one or two shots went in the bin due to wind gusts. The good results were GOOD, but nowhere near the quality of your shot.

 

[hedbonker]

I was curious about the 12MP part as well, but it seems the Air 3 requires you to use 12MP (as opposed to 48MP) if you're going to take a longer exposure. As for 4K, it's apparently become a generic advertising term for anything with a horizontal pixel count of 4,000, which is where I believe OP to be coming from.

Regardless, it's a very nice photo that shows off the 8 second exposure capability quite well.

I don't do art like JeffreyS there ( amazing work btw). My stuff is all advertising - A sample:

So when I said 4K it's just habbit. These 12MP pix are about 4K like a video frame when shot in 16x9.

 

[Meta4]

Since you have to shoot 12MP to use 8 seconds ....

The shutter speed only goes to 2 seconds.
The drone isn't actually making a single 8 second exposure.
The specs give a clue about what's actually happening with an 8 second exposure.

Electronic Shutter Speed ​

Wide-Angle Camera​

12MP Photo: 1/16000-2 s (2.5-8 s for simulated long exposure)​

48MP Photo: 1/8000-2​

 

[hedbonker]

The shutter speed only goes to 2 seconds.
The drone isn't actually making a single 8 second exposure.
The specs give a clue about what's actually happening with an 8 second exposure.

Electronic Shutter Speed ​

Wide-Angle Camera​

12MP Photo: 1/16000-2 s (2.5-8 s for simulated long exposure)​

48MP Photo: 1/8000-2​

Yeah I know it says simulated - But I'll take it.

 

[Meta4]

Yeah I know it says simulated - But I'll take it.

Simulated explains why the shot isn't blurred as it would be from having the shutter open for 8 seconds while the drone was drifting a little this way and a little more in another direction.
Normally with 2 second exposures and still air, you'd have to take several shots to hope to get one that was acceptable.

How to Simulate Long Exposure using Stacked Image Averaging

Want to simulate long exposure effects because you don't have an ND filter? Then try this handy technique of stacked image averaging in Photoshop!

digital-photography-school.com

 

[AlanL]

Simulated explains why the shot isn't blurred as it would be from having the shutter open for 8 seconds while the drone was drifting a little this way and a little more in another direction.
Normally with 2 second exposures and still air, you'd have to take several shots to hope to get one that was acceptable.

How to Simulate Long Exposure using Stacked Image Averaging

Want to simulate long exposure effects because you don't have an ND filter? Then try this handy technique of stacked image averaging in Photoshop!

digital-photography-school.com

I use this stacking technique with burst mode all the time to shoot waterfalls with my Mavic 3 Pro - works great and I can shoot in RAW.

 

[hedbonker]

I use this stacking technique with burst mode all the time to shoot waterfalls with my Mavic 3 Pro - works great and I can shoot in RAW.

Air 3 lets you shoot in raw as well. I just choose to shoot JPG as a general rule.

 

[AlanL]

Air 3 lets you shoot in raw as well. I just choose to shoot JPG as a general rule.

My point was that you are not limited to 12MP jpeg format with stacking but could certainly opt for 48MP jpeg. As always - pilot's choice for RAW vs. jpeg