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Ideas for using 3X camera?

wco81

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Currently visiting Greece, finding a lot of scenic locations to fly in the Ionian Islands, which are off the western coast of Greece.

I've chosen to visit and fly in locations with dramatic cliffs dropping down to the sea. So I would take off near the edge of the cliff and fly out and record videos and take a lot of panos, mostly free form panos which end up being 4 x 2.

At most I fly out 1 to 1.5 km. Often I'm getting weak signal warnings. Some of it because I'm piloting from uneven terrain so often the drone is on the other side from where I am and there are higher ground from where I am, as well as trees, though not sure if trees affect signal strength between the drone and the controller.

In any even, I've tried switching to 3X cameras both for videos and the panos. I know there's a tradeoff between a lesser quality camera and a greater magnification of distant terrain.

But I can't really fly out further from land than 1-1.5 kilometers and at that distance, the 3X camera requires more shots but not clear to me that it produces better results.

The Air3S, compared to the Mavic 2 Pro I used to have, does a much better job in making panos which don't get warped. I haven't stitched a lot of these photos yet but the ones stitched on the drone look fine when making panos of the cliffs. With my M2P, those panos would come out with warped perspectives at that distance when using the 180 panos.

It helps to have the free form panos so that you don't go too wide for the pano you're capturing. But even with the 180 pano on the Air 3S it came out well, without too much signs of the perspective being warped because it's too close to the pano subject.

So are people really seeing advantages for the 3X panos shot at relatively close distances, under 1 kilometer?

Because I'm having some difficulties thinking of situations in which I'd want to use the 3X, which means capturing more shots, but not clear what advantages you'd get. Maybe some distant textures come out more detailed at 3X despite the inferior camera?
 
I'm piloting from uneven terrain so often the drone is on the other side from where I am and there are higher ground from where I am, as well as trees, though not sure if trees affect signal strength between the drone and the controller.
Your radio signal won't go through high ground if that is between you and the drone.
A few tree branches won't make much difference to the signal, but if there are enough tree branches between the controller and drone, it will affect signal strength.
Trees are full of water and radio waves can't pass through water..
 
The Air3S, compared to the Mavic 2 Pro I used to have, does a much better job in making panos which don't get warped. I haven't stitched a lot of these photos yet but the ones stitched on the drone look fine when making panos of the cliffs. With my M2P, those panos would come out with warped perspectives at that distance when using the 180 panos.

It helps to have the free form panos so that you don't go too wide for the pano you're capturing. But even with the 180 pano on the Air 3S it came out well, without too much signs of the perspective being warped because it's too close to the pano subject.
You've answered your own question.
 
There have been many posts related to this scenario where someone lost their equipment.

Wow, that's good to know. I flew today from this coastal area which had rocky cliffs jutting out towards the sea, well beyond the beaches below. There's a monastery up at the top.

I flew about a kilometer away from Home and it started to complain about weak signal. I guess the radio waves don't aren't wide? The only terrain higher than Home which was between Home and the drone at the time was a kind of stack shape, so not very wide, just some rock shaped like an inverted cone. Controller must be seeking the most direct, closest path to the aircraft as far as maintaining radio connect.

It did automatically RTH and as it returned about 200 meters, it re-established connection so I canceled RTH and was able to take more photos and videos. I also moved it out so it was more to the west of Home whereas it was having problems when it was south of Home.

Didn't have any connection complaints as I maneuvered it to the west and NW of Home. Then towards the end I tried moving south again, not as far as previously. It might have flashed a weak signal warning but it was okay and for the most part when I did RTH for real, because battery was around 20%, it headed north towards home.

I guess the range listed in the spec is only in ideal conditions, when the terrain is pretty much flat? But if you're in such a flat area, the terrain isn't very scenic to begin with. Maybe if you're in a valley and you just ascend from the valley floor and never go above the surrounding hills.

Oh and it was hot and the battery seemed to be drawing down fast so I didn't try the 3X mode this time. Again, I didn't venture more than a kilometer from Home so when doing panoramas of the scenic coastal topography, the concern was that I wasn't far enough away to get good pano results.
 
I guess the radio waves don't aren't wide?
Don't aren't wide ??

Controller must be seeking the most direct, closest path to the aircraft as far as maintaining radio connect.
You need a clear, unobstructed line of sight between your controller and the drone.
Radio waves don't travel through earth and rock.
Block signal and you will lose signal.
I guess the range listed in the spec is only in ideal conditions
No need to guess, DJI spell it out for you in the specs
Max Transmission Distance (unobstructed, with interference)
Strong Interference: Urban landscape, approx. 1.5-4 km
Medium Interference: Suburban landscape, approx. 4-10 km
Low Interference: Suburb/Seaside, approx. 10-20 km
Measured under FCC standard in unobstructed environments with typical interference. Used for reference purposes only and provides no guarantee for actual transmission distance.

when the terrain is pretty much flat?
Flatness has nothing to do with it.
Just keep a clear, unobstructed line of sight between your controller and the drone.
 
My question was whether radio waves propagate widely. The obstacle between the drone and the controller was maybe 20-30 feet diameter at the base and 5-10 feet towards the top.

If it would operate with a range of 1.5-4 kilometer in an urban environment, meaning high rise buildings all around, the environment I was operating in was much less challenging.

Seaside with a range of 10-20 km? So at a beach, close to the water and the drone is over 10 kilometers away out over the ocean, with nothing tall between the operator with the controller and the drone?

Maybe the way I mount my iPhone is interfering with the antenna or something.
 
If it would operate with a range of 1.5-4 kilometer in an urban environment, meaning high rise buildings all around, the environment I was operating in was much less challenging.
Put a high rise building between your controller and the drone and you'll lose signal.
Seaside with a range of 10-20 km? So at a beach, close to the water and the drone is over 10 kilometers away out over the ocean, with nothing tall between the operator with the controller and the drone?
Yes ... that's the way to get the greatest range.
Maybe the way I mount my iPhone is interfering with the antenna or something.
That's unlikely.
 
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The sacrifices of the scenic shots may save your expensive flying camera.
Risk verses reward?

true.

But what good is an expensive flying camera without interesting subjects to capture?

I've never been but I've heard people talk about the oppressively flat dullness of places like Kansas and other Plains States.
 
Some of those interesting subjects will be the ones that will deplete your wallet.
It’s you, the pilot that will be the deciding factor.
Be safe!
 
Controller must be seeking the most direct, closest path to the aircraft as far as maintaining radio connect.
Radio waves have no steering capabilities. They propagate in straight lines.

You might want to read the section in the manual about controller antenna orientation. The way you orient the controller is very significant.

Flying down to 20% capacity a kilometer away from your home point in rough terrain is stretching things a bit too far, in my opinion. Be very mindful of wind direction in situations where remaining battery capacity might be an issue.
 
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Radio waves have no steering capabilities. They propagate in straight lines.

You might want to read the section in the manual about controller antenna orientation. The way you orient the controller is very significant.

Flying down to 20% capacity a kilometer away from your home point in rough terrain is stretching things a bit too far, in my opinion. Be very mindful of wind direction in situations where remaining battery capacity might be an issue.


OK this seems to be the manual about orientation of the antenna on the RC-N3 controller.


So basically point the top of the phone holder as directly at the aircraft as possible, meaning tilt it at different angles?

So if it's 100 meters above the home point and maybe 1 kilometer to the north, point the top of the controller where the antennas are upwards and into the general direction where the drone would be?

BTW, are there external antennas you can install on the RC-N3?
 
OK, quick search brings up something like this, suppose to improve radio performance.


Anyone try 3rd-party extended antennas like this??
 
So basically point the top of the phone holder as directly at the aircraft as possible, meaning tilt it at different angles?

So if it's 100 meters above the home point and maybe 1 kilometer to the north, point the top of the controller where the antennas are upwards and into the general direction where the drone would be?

Screenshot 2025-09-04 080402.jpg

Point the face of the antenna directly toward the aircraft.

"So if it's 100 meters above the home point and maybe 1 kilometer to the north, point the top of the controller where the antennas are upwards and into the general direction where at the drone would be?"
 
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