Do you use 12 or "48" megapixle setting for stills on the Air3?

[VenomXts]

Have been using 12 in the past based on other discussions but just curious what people are currently doing or any perspectives have changed In here specifically?

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Always use 48 because when you nail that cleanly its a brilliant picture

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain.

 

[Canalsman]

I use the 48 megapixel setting. If you use Photoshop or similar to process the raw image you will get a JPG that is significantly crisper than the JPG created in camera. Even this image has much better resolution than the 12 megapixel image.

 

[GFields]

I always use 48

 

[M8Randez]

only 12Mp, because in post, is much better clean noise, in 48Mp actually you cant much and overall image is worst quality

 

[VenomXts]

only 12Mp, because in post, is much better clean noise, in 48Mp actually you cant much and overall image is worst quality

this is why i asked the question so many different answers

I was shooting 12 Megapixel for awhile and switched to 48 when i posted this... the extra size of the bigger ones is annoying because im not 100% sure if it makes a diffrence in all cases or some... i wish there was a quicker toggle for it since i cant go in and switch quickly as i would like for the type of photography i always do

 

[GFields]

only 12Mp, because in post, is much better clean noise, in 48Mp actually you cant much and overall image is worst quality

If you’re getting worse quality with the 48 no then there’s other reasons

 

[davidarmenb]

Personal preference. There is no right answer. I use both.

 

[waynorth]

Philip Bloom did some extensive testing on whether 12 or 48 MP gave best quality.
His conclusion was that it depends. In some situations with good lighting conditions 48MP could give slightly more detail, but not always. In some cases 48MP gave strange colour errors, more moiré and sometimes more noise. In low light 12MP is far better.
So there is no definite answer what is best, but 12MP is safest. I would never use 48MP setting.

 

[Chrislaf]

Here is an article on the Mini 3 Pro that outlines how to get the most out of the 48MP mode. I would imagine they apply to the Air 3 as well or any current camera that has the option to use the 48MP mode.

Chris

 

[waynorth]

Here is an article on the Mini 3 Pro that outlines how to get the most out of the 48MP mode. I would imagine they apply to the Air 3 as well or any current camera that has the option to use the 48MP mode.

Chris

Good and well written article.
I found this particularly interesting:
"Keep in mind that the 48mp ‘RAW’ files are not really RAW. They have the dynamic range of a JPG and don’t leave too much room for editing."
That alone is a very good reason for not using 48MP mode, but instead take a 12MP proper RAW-file and enlarge it if needed.

 

[Divine_Madcat]

Here is an article on the Mini 3 Pro that outlines how to get the most out of the 48MP mode. I would imagine they apply to the Air 3 as well or any current camera that has the option to use the 48MP mode.

Chris

Thats a great article for the Mini 3, but as they do NOT have the same sensors (MP count is the same, but technology is not), it really does not apply to our drone.

 

[davidarmenb]

Good and well written article.
I found this particularly interesting:
"Keep in mind that the 48mp ‘RAW’ files are not really RAW. They have the dynamic range of a JPG and don’t leave too much room for editing."
That alone is a very good reason for not using 48MP mode, but instead take a 12MP proper RAW-file and enlarge it if needed.

First time I’m ever hearing that 48MP raw isn’t actually raw. I’d take that with a grain of salt.

 

[waynorth]

First time I’m ever hearing that 48MP raw isn’t actually raw. I’d take that with a grain of salt.

If you know how the 12MP sensor can suddenly become a "48MP" sensor, then you will understand why the article writer can say it is not a proper RAW-file.

 

[davidarmenb]

If you know how the 12MP sensor can suddenly become a "48MP" sensor, then you will understand why the article writer can say it is not a proper RAW-file.

AIR 3 PICTURE QUALITY PROBLEM

Hello guys! I have a quote with my new drone AIR 3. I have upgraded from AIR 2S and I was expecting to be a better decison. But unfortunatelly I have been shooting Panorama's with it and I have been really dissapointed. It looks like that the pixels in the images are almost the same but the...

mavicpilots.com

Posts #18 and #27.

I know quite a bit about the Air 3’s sensor technology and I am not disputing the article author’s authenticity in his statement, only questioning it, but you shouldn’t make baseless assumptions about others’ knowledge.

 

[Felix le Chat]

Originally I had reservations about the quad Bayer '48mp mode' and considered it a gimmick, but in certain use cases, I'll select it without a second thought. This is when I'm planning a shot that requires 3 or more overlapping images (not big enough to be classed as true pano's: but not small enough to be sequential/AEB/burst shots for Averaging Stacking).

I find that while the result may not be a 'true' RAW file: the 'developed' image responds to enhancement in a similar way to a high bit .TIF file and gives far greater flexibility for detail, microcontrast adjustment and noise reduction improvement than a bog-standard lossy 8bit .JPG ever will.

So for me: the '48mp' option is a very good also-ran in the digital imaging steeplechase, clearly second place to RAW, but close enough for an each-way bet.

 

[PanoVolo]

The sensor is natively 48 mpix. Not sure what they mean by "raw not being raw" - it's raw, the signal from each of 48 mpix photosites is being saved into the file. The color array is quad bayer so there is 12 mpix worth of color information that can be recorded from the sensor. The final result will greatly depend on the quality of processing algos your raw converter has. In 12 mpix mode the information is binned which greatly improves SNR.

 

[Occams Razor]

The sensor is natively 48 mpix. Not sure what they mean by "raw not being raw" - it's raw, the signal from each of 48 mpix photosites is being saved into the file. The color array is quad bayer so there is 12 mpix worth of color information that can be recorded from the sensor. The final result will greatly depend on the quality of processing algos your raw converter has. In 12 mpix mode the information is binned which greatly improves SNR.

I agree with what you are stating. I believe what the author is trying to communicate is that the RAW file from the QBF sensor in 48MP mode will not produce the same resolution and photographic latitude as a RAW file from a traditional 48MP Bayer Filter sensor.

 

[Occams Razor]

Thats a great article for the Mini 3, but as they do NOT have the same sensors (MP count is the same, but technology is not), it really does not apply to our drone.

The Mini 3 Pro, Mini 4 Pro and Air 3 all have the same 48MP, 1.2 micron pixel, 1/1.3" sensor. The Min 4 Pro and Air 3 have an upgraded image processor over the Mini 3 Pro which allow those 2 drones to produce higher quality video options.

 

[Divine_Madcat]

The Mini 3 Pro, Mini 4 Pro and Air 3 all have the same 48MP, 1.2 micron pixel, 1/1.3" sensor. The Min 4 Pro and Air 3 have an upgraded image processor over the Mini 3 Pro which allow those 2 drones to produce higher quality video options.

Except that DJI themselves say they are different:

Air 3 Mini 4 and Mini 3 Camera CMOS...

At the moment there are several versions of this going around... Perhaps DJI should tell their consumer what the difference in the CMOS are in this 3 different drones... These are all from the DJI website: Air 3: air 3.jpg (55.72 KB, Down times: 35) Download attach 2023-9-27...

forum.dji.com

The Air 3 sensor has different native ISO values from the Minis, which means the sensors, in some way, are physically different (native ISO is a characteristic of hardware, not software).