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Comparing the AUTEL EVO NANO+ camera to the DJI MINI 3 PRO camera

Felix le Chat

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Having owned both the Autel EVO Nano+ as well as the DJI Mini 3 Pro, I feel I can comment on the interpolated quad-Bayer shots respectively labelled '50mp' (Autel) and '48mp' (DJI).

Today I undertook a test shoot to establish the best methods for processing both stacked exposures as well as the 48mp DNG output that can be captured with the Mini 3 Pro camera. Well, the weather was terrible, so I decided that I may as well make the best of a bad job and get the hang of shooting in the various modes in gloomy interior 'available light' conditions.

The sequences shot were AEB (3-exposure): Burst (5-exposure) and single exposures in the 48mp mode.

Stacking for the AEB and Burst sequences was done using an editing suite by the name of CHASYS DRAW. This was achieved by ignoring the DNG files and importing the JPG captures only - CHASYS DRAW is a freeware alternative to Photoshop and which, once you get the hang of it, returns excellent results for averaging stacking, super-resolution, focus stacking, HDR stacking etc. and doesn't cost you a red cent - well worth a look.

Secondary processing for the stacked TIFF results output from CHASYS DRAW as well as the untouched 48mp DNG originals taken from microSD card was done using PHOTONINJA for distortion correction, detail enhancement and first-pass noise reduction: then DARKTABLE was used on the 32bit floating point TIFF's created by Photoninja for local contrast enhancement, shadow & highlight enhancement, second stage noise reduction through astrophoto-denoise and velvia colour boost (Darktable is another feature-rich freeware RAW editor alternative to both Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom and is DEFINITELY worth the time and effort to master).

Compared to the '50mp' Autel EVO Nano+ shooting option: the DJI Mini 3 Pro 48mp mode is hands-down 100% superior. Not only does it capture in the RAW format, which the Autel EVO Nano+ doesn't: the image, once "developed" to TIFF from the DJI DNG file is at least 4 times the megapixel density of the Autel equivalent. On top of that: the quality of the shot is also 100% superior, lacking the horrible Autel over-sharpening that leaves fine details looking as though they have been drawn instead of photographed.

Both Autel and DJI use the binning process in creating their quad-Bayer '50mp' and '48mp' shots, but the DJI version is far... FAR superior giving the serious photographer a choice - either JPG: or DNG to work on. The Autel EVO Nano+ only produces a low quality, lossy JPG in its '50mp' mode. The DJI 48mp DNG (RAW) product is worth the effort to enhance and edit for final JPG publication. The Autel 50mp quad-Bayer interpolated shot by direct comparison of like with like... is a serious let-down.

Score: credit where credit is due - definitive win for the DJI Mini 3 Pro.
 
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Chasys Draw has certainly won a lot of awards but WOW does it look ancient. None the less its a alternative , and one I had never herd of before. Good to know that DJI is still on the Cutting edge of quality.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain.
 
Did you ever test low light and dynamic range between the two?
Yes.

The RYYB Nano+ returns astonishing low light results, genuinely superior to the M3P, but what you gain on the swings with the Autel, you lose on the roundabouts. The Nano+ exposure metering is terrible and it still gives back really funky colour aberrations with the RAW format.

Both cameras need to be tamed with ND filters to dial down daylight over exposure due to the extra wide aperture. While the blown whites are in evidence, crushed blacks don't appear so often, so the dynamic range is pretty good. DJI grabs a win in this department.

If you avoid urban and semi-urban night-time areas and shoot in areas without tons of artificial light - the Nano+ will really give you a better shot with more usable detail... If you stick to JPG output. But the RAW's are a real pain in the Harris to correct.

Of the two: the M3P camera is the most versatile and produces the better image 9 times out of 10... But the 1 in 10 night shot/clip captured with the N+ will blow your socks off.

Like I mentioned earlier.... Autel produced the bare bones of an extraordinary little camera, and then let its potential slide by not patching bugs in the firmware and improving its function and features reliably or promptly. They also bolted it to a mechanically unreliable drone. DJI platform? Rock solid and reliable as sunrise.
 
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Yes.

The RYYB Nano+ returns astonishing low light results, genuinely superior to the M3P, but what you gain on the swings with the Autel, you lose on the roundabouts. The Nano+ exposure metering is terrible and it still gives back really funky colour aberrations with the RAW format.

Both cameras need to be tamed with ND filters to dial down daylight over exposure due to the extra wide aperture. While the blown whites are in evidence, crushed blacks don't appear so often, so the dynamic range is pretty good. DJI grabs a win in this department.

If you avoid urban and semi-urban night-time areas and shoot in areas without tons of artificial light - the Nano+ will really give you a better shot with more usable detail... If you stick to JPG output. But the RAW's are a real pain in the Harris to correct.

Of the two: the M3P camera is the most versatile and produces the better image 9 times out of 10... But the 1 in 10 night shot/clip captured with the N+ will blow your socks off.

Like I mentioned earlier.... Autel produced the bare bones of an extraordinary little camera, and then let its potential slide by not patching bugs in the firmware and improving its function and features reliably or promptly. They also bolted it to a mechanically unreliable drone. DJI platform? Rock solid and reliable as sunrise.
I dont know the two cameras should be real close in everything. , I have the lite+ but that is in a whole different league.
 

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