Aspect ratios.

[MavicKhan]

I primarily have been using my drones for photography.

Not only is 3:2 my preferred ratio, but if I’m using the drone together with my camera, which also has that aspect ratio, I like to maintain consistency throughout the photo session.

I really dislike 4:3 and always try to frame my shots with cropping into 3:2 in mind.

"Try" is the operative word, as I often forget to leave enough "air" at the top and bottom of the 4:3 frame to allow for later cropping.

Is there a way to make the DJI Fly app display a 3:2 frame while still capturing photos in 4:3? I mean, showing the actual image in that format, not just overlay guidelines.

If not, is there a place where I can request this feature for a future version of the app?

(I know I can shoot in 16:9, and I sometimes do because I love that format and find it well-suited for landscape shots. However, the resolution loss is a drawback, so I use it sparingly.)

Thank you for any replies.

MK

 

[Meta4]

Is there a way to make the DJI Fly app display a 3:2 frame while still capturing photos in 4:3? I mean, showing the actual image in that format, not just overlay guidelines.

DJI haven't provided that option in the DJI Fly app.

If not, is there a place where I can request this feature for a future version of the app

You could ask in the DJI forum, but it would probably be ignored as it has for the last hundred people who have asked.

 

[BingBong]

Buy an Air 2S ;-) Another reason I'm sticking with that for now. One of the few DJI drones with a 3:2 native sensor (rarely gets mentioned in reviews), which I agree is preferable for most drone landscapes. My mirrorless Olympus cameras are 4:3 which I'm used to, but 3:2 is perfect on the drone, aided by the wider 22mm lens. It would be an easy firmware change, so the more noise the better. It's odd that sensors are nearly all 4:3 now, and increasingly used for video, where a wider native aspect ratio would help.

 

[MS Coast]

Does the Fly app offer cropping guides when used with the Air 3S? Might be useful.

 

[MavicKhan]

The cropping guides only appear in videography mode, not in photography mode and 3:2 guides are not featured, anyway.

 

[SethB]

You can make your own 3:2 guides on clear plastic and tape them to your display.

 

[davidarmenb]

I primarily have been using my drones for photography.

Not only is 3:2 my preferred ratio, but if I’m using the drone together with my camera, which also has that aspect ratio, I like to maintain consistency throughout the photo session.

I really dislike 4:3 and always try to frame my shots with cropping into 3:2 in mind.

"Try" is the operative word, as I often forget to leave enough "air" at the top and bottom of the 4:3 frame to allow for later cropping.

Is there a way to make the DJI Fly app display a 3:2 frame while still capturing photos in 4:3? I mean, showing the actual image in that format, not just overlay guidelines.

If not, is there a place where I can request this feature for a future version of the app?

(I know I can shoot in 16:9, and I sometimes do because I love that format and find it well-suited for landscape shots. However, the resolution loss is a drawback, so I use it sparingly.)

Thank you for any replies.

MK

I can both understand and sympathize with this as an amateur photographer.
Almost all “bigger” digital sensors take the film ratio of 3:2. As far as I know, in the “professional digital camera” segment, only micro four-thirds sensors use 4:3. Unfortunately, almost all other smaller sensors, including sensors in high end phones, sensors in pocket cameras, drones, etc, are almost all 4:3, which is just unfortunate.

 

[davidarmenb]

Buy an Air 2S ;-) Another reason I'm sticking with that for now. One of the few DJI drones with a 3:2 native sensor (rarely gets mentioned in reviews), which I agree is preferable for most drone landscapes. My mirrorless Olympus cameras are 4:3 which I'm used to, but 3:2 is perfect on the drone, aided by the wider 22mm lens. It would be an easy firmware change, so the more noise the better. It's odd that sensors are nearly all 4:3 now, and increasingly used for video, where a wider native aspect ratio would help.

I did not know DJI released a drone with 3:2 aspect ratio in the past! All current drones by DJI are 4:3.

 

[BingBong]

I did not know DJI released a drone with 3:2 aspect ratio in the past! All current drones by DJI are 4:3.

The Mavic 2 had the same 1" 3:2 sensor first I believe. Not sure about earlier ones. And of course it's real 20MP, none of this Quad Bayer nonsense!

 

[Droning on and on...]

Is 3:2 the standard aspect for traditional film? Like slides and stuff?

As we all know 4:3 is legacy NTSC/PAL. Which is largely gone. So maybe we'll see sensors move to 3:2?

 

[BingBong]

Is 3:2 the standard aspect for traditional film? Like slides and stuff?

As we all know 4:3 is legacy NTSC/PAL. Which is largely gone. So maybe we'll see sensors move to 3:2?

35mm film cameras made 3:2 fairly universal, but 35mm film was originally designed for cinema with the frames sideways along the strip in a variety of aspect ratios. 16:9 is the basic standard video format with many variations. I think most small format sensors are 4:3 as they are cheaper to produce, being squarer, and the cheap lenses easier to cover a squarer format. Obviously not ideal for video though, 16:9 cropping the top and bottom. I presume that's why the Air 2S 3:2 sensor could do video at 5.4K, as there's less cropping to 16:9. I don't think there's much chance of a general return to 3:2 for phone sensors. Of course some large format film and digital were 4:3 too.