How important is the aperture control?

[Ben_McPhee]

So yeah, I get the exposure triangle. But... other than controlling light, does the adjustable Aperture on a Mavic Pro 2 etc make any noticeable difference to depth of field?

Reason I ask is that (based of early reviews) I'm seriously impressed by the Mavic Air 2, but that's a slight sticking point. I think it would be super useful to adjust exposure mid flight, but with most content being shot with a wide lens and from far away, is it necessary? I't's not like I'll be able to through much out of focus right? The 1/2 inch sensor vs the 1 inch is also going to be a factor there I'm sure.

Basically, whilst I think it beats the Mavic 2 pro in a lot of areas, Image quality is king, and I'd rather wait for a Mavic Pro 3 (or even pick up a Mavic Pro 2 if it's still superior).

Also, does the locked focus make any difference? Surely the ability to pick out a subject that's 10m in front of the drone is going to throw the BG out of focus? Or not really?

I've only seem youtube reviews (So it could be compression), and when everyone talks about 48mp stills, what I'm noticing is that it's actually not that sharp (at least not distant subjects, but that could be haze), and there seems to be a lot of noise. Perhaps in perfect midday sun that wouldn't be an issue, but the 12mp photos actually (on paper) are probably still a much nicer file if you don't need the resolution. And the lens might also be "consumer grade" rather than the Blad lens used in the MP2.

The price is nice, so none of that's a dealbreaker, but a lot of people here were saying no new drones until new laws were passed, which basically turned out to be wrong, so I'd rather put in the $800 into an inevitable (I think) MP3 in 6 months if anyone thinks the above is a dealbreaker. (I plan to make art prints, stock footage, and hopefully use it professionally in some capacity).

Has anyone got hands on experience yet and can comment on the above?

Cheers!

 

[Meta4]

So yeah, I get the exposure triangle. But... other than controlling light, does the adjustable Aperture on a Mavic Pro 2 etc make any noticeable difference to depth of field?

Reason I ask is that (based of early reviews) I'm seriously impressed by the Mavic Air 2, but that's a slight sticking point. I think it would be super useful to adjust exposure mid flight, but with most content being shot with a wide lens and from far away, is it necessary? I't's not like I'll be able to through much out of focus right? The 1/2 inch sensor vs the 1 inch is also going to be a factor there I'm sure.

While depth of field isn't a consideration with the wideangle lens (unless your subject is only a couple of feet away), being able to control exposure with more than shutter speed and not being to forced to shoot everything at full open aperture is important for real photographers.
The difference in sensor size is also a big factor for real photography.

 

[deltamike]

I always shoot in aperture priority. That saves a lot of messing around with the camera settings.

Meta who is a photographer of many years experience recommends - for stills - setting the camera to ISO 100. Aperture priority. Aperture to f 5.6 with an image ratio of 3.2

I have tried this on video and the results are promising but more trialing in progress.

This is one of my stills with the above settings.



This is acceptable to the average user and not having to mess around with camera settings is a great relief and I can always adjust it in post if need be.

 

[Rockycat]

Rule of thumb: Large aperture opining = narrow depth of field.
Small aperture opining = long depth of field.

 

[Meta4]

Rule of thumb: Large aperture opining = narrow depth of field.
Small aperture opining = long depth of field.

Rule of thumb for drone photography.
Depth of field is not a consideration.
You will have more DOF than you need at any aperture.

 

[mintakax]

If one enjoys doing hyper lapses, then you'll want to keep your shutter speed at a fixed value to suit your choice of motion blur. For normal video, one should have a shutter of 2x the fps. In either case, using a controller dial to change aperture for exposure is way more convenient than changing ISO on the screen.

 

[theDRONEranger]

I always shoot in aperture priority. That saves a lot of messing around with the camera settings.

Meta who is a photographer of many years experience recommends - for stills - setting the camera to ISO 100. Aperture priority. Aperture to f 5.6 with an image ratio of 3.2

I have tried this on video and the results are promising but more trialing in progress.

This is one of my stills with the above settings.

View attachment 99968

This is acceptable to the average user and not having to mess around with camera settings is a great relief and I can always adjust it in post if need be.

Love these settings. They will provide excellent DOF, yet permit a great view of the back drop without extreme detailing. 3:2 perfect for photos and the low ISO, all combine for a great memory.
This really is great advice! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Jiggleman]

It really depends on a couple things....for photography, the larger sensor will help in low light situations. For video, the variable aperture will help with motion blur. I have more flexibility in getting the shutter speed I want by adjusting the aperture.

But to answer your first question, DOF isn't much an issue since you are so far from your subject like folks have mentioned here...unless you plan on shooting at less than 1m away.
This thread talks about it: Surprisingly narrow "Depth-Of-Field"

Also, 20 vs 48 mp shouldn't be the only requirement when looking at picture quality. That 1in sensor will def help gather more detail esp in lower light conditions. I have also not seen how well the MA2 does in higher ISO... but general rule of thumb with sensors is that the larger the sensor, the better the ISO performance (this does not take into account software tricks that newer cell phones use to get cleaner images). Its better to have a cleaner picture at 20mp than a noisier one at 48mp. And this is assuming the MA2 has a "normal" 48mp sensor, which it does not. Its a quad bayer 12mp sensor made by Sony and used by a lot of cell phone makers. Its a nice marketing gimmick that wows people who think the more megapixels the better (which all else being equal, yes it is, but that's never the case).

That said, if you can wait, then wait for the inevitable Mavic 2 Pro replacement. Or get yourself a used M2P now which you can in turn sell later with less loss than buying new.

 

[deltamike]

Love these settings. They will provide excellent DOF, yet permit a great view of the back drop without extreme detailing. 3:2 perfect for photos and the low ISO, all combine for a great memory.
This really is great advice! Thanks for sharing.

I made a video for beginners on this subject which is below.