Is there any way to tell the diff between 70mm fixed versus the 70mm in explore mode?

[New England Droning]

I just got the Mavic 3 Pro and this is my first "real" try to check what this bad boy will do...

I have two images in Lightroom and I have changed the 70mm to 48mb and this gives me an 8,056 x 4,528 px image the next image appears to be zoomed in closer and is also showing a focal length of 19.35mm and a focal length of 35mm as 70mm and the lens is 70.0 mm f2.8 and the image size is 4,032 x 2,268. In fact, the only difference is the exposure bias. The larger image is a 0 bias and the smaller image is -3/10 EV. (small is the more colorful image below)
There are 43 seconds difference between the shots and no other images between them so I might have been switching between the 3x to explore at the same fixed amount if I remember if you switch from the fixed 1x, 3x, 7x, and go to explore you might lose the customization that you have dialed into the fixed settings... I was switching back and forth trying them out for comparison and I'm wondering if there is any way to tell the exact setting without taking a shot and stopping to write down your settings...
I'll post the two images

 

[akdrone]

lightroom will tell you the exif data and that should show you what settings were used for any image.

 

[New England Droning]

lightroom will tell you the exif data and that should show you what settings were used for any image.

The only difference between the exif data of the two images is the size of the files and the exposure bias. The position also changed a bit as well. But the lens says 70mm f2.8 for both...
but, oh crap...
The small image is a jpg and the large image is DNG...(different file numbers and not part of a set, I only shoot raw) let me guess the explore mode only does jpegs (I'm guessing) and that is another reason to not use the explore mode for important shots

 

[GadgetGuy]

The only difference between the exif data of the two images is the size of the files and the exposure bias. The position also changed a bit as well. But the lens says 70mm f2.8 for both...
but, oh crap...
The small image is a jpg and the large image is DNG...(different file numbers and not part of a set, I only shoot raw) let me guess the explore mode only does jpegs (I'm guessing) and that is another reason to not use the explore mode for important shots

Are you sure that the much lower quality jpg isn't just the embedded jpg inside the larger DNG file that was recorded in Explore Mode?

 

[New England Droning]

Are you sure that the much lower quality jpg isn't just the embedded jpg inside the larger DNG file that was recorded in Explore Mode?

When setting up the drone I choose RAW only and not the Raw+jpeg option. My mini 2 didn't give me the option so when I set this up and RAW only presented itself, I took it. So out of the 30+ images a few are jpegs. Ones where the 7x/166mm wasn't quite enough and I must have gone to explore for a little higher digital zoom/crop...

 

[GadgetGuy]

When setting up the drone I choose RAW only and not the Raw+jpeg option. My mini 2 didn't give me the option so when I set this up and RAW only presented itself, I took it. So out of the 30+ images a few are jpegs. Ones where the 7x/166mm wasn't quite enough and I must have gone to explore for a little hight digital zoom/crop...

That makes sense. The digital zoom/crop would explain the significant difference in quality. I've only used Explore for video, and wasn't aware one could take still photos in that mode. However, as you postulate, it is likely limited to JPG only, especially if any digital zoom is used for the composition. Staying in Normal mode and switching between the three optical lenses, without any digital zoom, should respect your DNG only still setting. Try seeing if you can use any digital zoom on the 7x in Normal mode while taking a still photo, and if it is possible, and whether the result is DNG or JPG.

 

[waynorth]

let me guess the explore mode only does jpegs

Yes, that is likely the reason. A RAW file is an unprocessed, untouched file of what the whole sensor has recorded. When using crop mode, only a part of the sensor is used, and it can not produce a real RAW file.

 

[New England Droning]

That makes sense. The digital zoom/crop would explain the significant difference in quality. I've only used Explore for video, and wasn't aware one could take still photos in that mode. However, as you postulate, it is likely limited to JPG only, especially if any digital zoom is used for the composition. Staying in Normal mode and switching between the three optical lenses, without any digital zoom, should respect your DNG only still setting. Try seeing if you can use any digital zoom on the 7x in Normal mode while taking a still photo, and if it is possible, and whether the result is DNG or JPG.

I'm going to try a go to Nubble lighthouse in the morning for a dawn launch (ouch that is early) and I will try to keep track of how I'm shooting. I just loaded a couple of shots (explore mode) of the Hospital Point Lighthouse in Beverly to my Fine Art site and while they are... "painterly" in that they are soft they make good "Art" shots (I think) Plus the aspect that I caught them from makes them more interesting.
Also, the size of these Jpegs 4000x2000 is about the size of the Raw images that my Mini2 shot its raw at. So in the right light, they are good if not great if you don't expect too much.
I also took a few shots the first morning from above my house in Salem Looking at Boston which is 11 miles as the crow flies and a 28x I found the images very usable. You would not want to enlarge and look for detail (there's none) but they are very usable shots. I ran them through Topaz to clean them up and it sharpened a little. I even stitched them into a Pano of the skyline.