Camera Equivalent

[trailer]

I've had my M2 Pro for a short while and so far I am extremely impressed with the image quality and the colours produced, both in jpeg and RAW, from the camera. I know this has the 1" Sony sensor with the Hasselblad tweaks but what would be a similar DSLR or mirrorless camera. I'm currently using a micro four thirds set up but I'm guessing the bigger sensor might explain some of the better low light performance I've been seeing from the M2Pro?

Thanks in advance!

 

[paulatkin73]

Any mid- and pro-grade DSLR is head and shoulders above of what this sensor is. DSLRs use either an APS-c or a full frame 35mm format sensors. see for yourself below.
about possible equivalents - see, say, this:
Cameras with 1-Inch Imaging Sensors

the biggest achievement of DJI was to actually build a 1" camera with an adjustable aperture and make it flyable for 30min in such a compact format. like a lot of people say, current last phantom has a better cpu and image quality, but, it is also bigger.
so, with all that - to make a proper DSLR fly you would need, more or less a $5000 1000mm motor span drone and it would not do it for 30min, 15min top, usually. of course, in 3-5 years time all this will be a joke, but, for now, it is a very nice solution.

 

[trailer]

Thanks for the reply Paul. I guess I should have done some better research on the sensor sizes before I posted. Like you said it is remarkable how an adjustable shutter and aperture is present in the camera as well. It really is a great device. Maybe It’s the Hasselblad tweaking that provides the great results too?

 

[paulatkin73]

Thanks for the reply Paul. I guess I should have done some better research on the sensor sizes before I posted. Like you said it is remarkable how an adjustable shutter and aperture is present in the camera as well. It really is a great device. Maybe It’s the Hasselblad tweaking that provides the great results too?

hasselblad here unlikely did much, may be only color profiling and some high level features adjustment.
but, all in all, it is a decent camera. a lens could have been better, honestly, the barrel distortion is a bit too much, and resolution drops fast after 5.6 aperture. still, it is there and it all works. i took some shots today with aperture 4 and aperture 11 - it is acceptable for me and my purposes.

we all can wish for better, of course, but, it is quite a reality today that if this camera is not enough, then, well, next step is this:
Zenmuse X5S - Micro 4/3 Aerial Camera - DJI

and that means quite different amount of effort and money.

 

[trailer]

That’ll never fit in my rucksack...... I’ve got a set of ND filters so have been trying to work at or below the f5.6. The barrel distortion is a nuisance but at least it can be sorted out in post. Roll on the 3 Pro [emoji102][emoji102][emoji23][emoji23]

Thanks again Paul

 

[Johnmcl7]

'Hasselblad' is nothing more than branding, as a company they only produce medium format cameras (bigger even than 35mm you see in the big DSLRs) which are nothing like the sensors used in the Mavics. It's quite common these days for the classic photography names to be used for branding, Leica still produces proper Leica cameras but also have a partnership with Panasonic which allows Panasonic to use the Leica branding and Leica to take Panasonic cameras and slap a Leica name on them as well.

I suspect the reason you may be seeing such great low light performance from the Mavic 2 is the gimbal keeps it very steady allowing for much lower shutter speeds than you'd used on a normal camera plus it's a very wide angle which also allows for lower shutter speed. I do agree with the low light shots the Mavic 2 can produce are superb.

Assuming both sensors are equal, a four thirds sensor can outperform a 1in sensor in high iso and dynamic range as it's larger. Although the dynamic range on the Mavic 2 Pro is good, I find its stills performance is not as good as the 1in based Sony cameras I use which is likely down to compromises in lens design and not as optimal processing but it's still a big step up from the 1/2.3in sensor used in other Mavics.

 

[ems12]

I think you get the trade off of having a very portable drone with a 1" sensor. You need a much bigger drone to fly around a Nikon or Canon FX camera.

For the most part it's a very capable camera as long as you don't push it to far. Expose your photo right and it won't let you down.

 

[trailer]

Thanks all for the replies. Still getting used to all the options etc but so far mightily impressed.

 

[SteveCA]

The camera on the MP 2 Pro is not as good as any recent micro 4/3 camera but as others have said, the Gimbal and flight stability is nothing short of amazing. I have managed to get sharp 4 and 8 second shots from it which is impossible without a tripod on my better Cameras (Nikon Dslrs)

While I would love to get these shots with my 36mp Nikon, they are impossible, even from a helicopter.

Here are my 4 and 8 second shots from the movie 2 pro

 

[ems12]

The camera on the MP 2 Pro is not as good as any recent micro 4/3 camera but as others have said, the Gimbal and flight stability is nothing short of amazing. I have managed to get sharp 4 and 8 second shots from it which is impossible without a tripod on my better Cameras (Nikon Dslrs)

While I would love to get these shots with my 36mp Nikon, they are impossible, even from a helicopter.

Here are my 4 and 8 second shots from the movie 2 pro

View attachment 60969
View attachment 60970

These are very nice and very true. For a 1400 dollar drone you can beat pic's like this. Yes the X5S takes better pics but it's also 8K to get started.

I think the bang for the buck the ultra portability (even compared to a P4P) just can't be beat.

 

[SteveCA]

I’ve flown an Inspire 2 with the latest x7 camera. The camera is significantly better but, it was unable to take sharp long exposure shots. Out of 80 shots ( ranging from 1/2 to 1 second) I only got one sharp photo. I shot that same evening with my MP 2 Pro and got a ton of sharp shots. Here is that one shot from the x7 zen muse

 

[ems12]

Yeah the long exposure stuff is fun I think this was 8 seconds it was pretty windy out and still managed to get pretty sharp. Not to bad with a 1" sensor and 1400 bucks IMO any way.

 

[Cymruflyer]

You have to remember that the Mavic 2 Pro camera is capable of a much better image but it is only being used about half of its resolution. It states one inch sensor but in fact it is not using the whole area of the sensor. It is only scanning every other line of that one inch sensor.

The reason is because of over heating problems with that camera in such a tiny space. It they allowed it to scan the whole one inch area, it would constantly overheat and shut down. As a compromise they chose to scan every other line to reduce the heat build up, but this then effectively reduces the overall quality of the camera. Therefore, great as it is, and I have one, it could be twice as good, if they could tackle the over heating problem.

 

[jwt873]

I know this has the 1" Sony sensor with the Hasselblad tweaks but what would be a similar DSLR or mirrorless camera!

B&H photo has a list of new and old cameras that come/came with a 1 inch sensor. (Not necessarily the same Sony/Hasselblad that comes in the Pro).

See--> Cameras with 1-Inch Imaging Sensors

 

[Paul2660]

When you are shooting the 4 to 8 second shots, what ISO and aperture are you using? I have not been impressed with the MP2 much past 200, but have not tried anything long.

The P4 Pro VR 2.0 sadly can't do this type of shooting since DJI can't make it stable during hover (yawing). But the MP2 I have is rock solid.

As for the Hasselblad in the MP2, besides a nice looking name plate, I would be very surprised is Hasselblad did very much else to the lens, or processor. Might have tweaked the color processing as the files (raw) do seem to process out differently than the P4 Pros.

Nice work to those who posted, love the cityscapes, and will get out to try some once we get some clear skies.

Paul C

 

[CanadaDrone]

When you are shooting the 4 to 8 second shots, what ISO and aperture are you using? I have not been impressed with the MP2 much past 200, but have not tried anything long.

The length of exposure won't have any effect on noise provided it's exposed properly. Higher ISO's will be noisier, base ISO will always be cleanest, independent of exposure length (again assuming proper exposure). The same amount of light hits the sensor.

After F4 the Mavic 2 Pro starts to lose sharpness due to diffraction (this is a physical property of the sensor and it's pixel density, not a fault of the Mavic). Depending on how picky you are, F5.6 might be OK. After that it is very apparent.

You do lose critical sharpness with the long exposures, but everyone's standards for acceptable sharpness are different.

 

[SteveCA]

When you are shooting the 4 to 8 second shots, what ISO and aperture are you using? I have not been impressed with the MP2 much past 200, but have not tried anything long.

The P4 Pro VR 2.0 sadly can't do this type of shooting since DJI can't make it stable during hover (yawing). But the MP2 I have is rock solid.

As for the Hasselblad in the MP2, besides a nice looking name plate, I would be very surprised is Hasselblad did very much else to the lens, or processor. Might have tweaked the color processing as the files (raw) do seem to process out differently than the P4 Pros.

Nice work to those who posted, love the cityscapes, and will get out to try some once we get some clear skies.

Paul C

I think those were my 4 and 8 second shots I assume you were referring to. If so, all were shot at ISO 100 for the best image quality as well as long exposure affect (longer light trails, etc). The big surprise is that the drone could hold steady for that long, despite high wind warnings constantly popping up on the screen while shooting. The 4 second shot of the bridge sunset was taken in 15-25MPH winds