Last bets regarding image quality vs 2S and Mavic 3

[boldblue737]

Hmm, I have my doubts about those side by side picks, it's pretty hard to fly 2 different drones into the exact same spot like that. Variation of just a foot, or small breeze could skew the results. Really the only way to test them is on a fixed surface or structure. To me the second pic with the Air 2s looks better than the right. Especially in the shadows all along the right side of the photo.

I give credit to the review. They show how they did it… they built a giant custom octocopter that mounts up to 3 folded drones side by on a platform slung underneath touching side by side allowing for this near identical side by side airborne image taking. They have a photo of it in the review with the mini 3 and air 2S literally mounted underneath a giant drone!

 

[test2000Anafi]

I give credit to the review. They show how they did it… they built a giant custom octocopter that mounts up to 3 folded drones side by on a platform slung underneath touching side by side allowing for this near identical side by side airborne image taking. They have a photo of it in the review with the mini 3 and air 2S literally mounted underneath a giant drone!

i was impressed with that as well lol.

 

[Meta4]

I wasn't referring to stills but video capture.

It still won't make any difference to dynamic range.

 

[globetrotterdrone]

[...] this is one of the first comparisons:

Noticed this too and compared to the Mini 3 Pro his older Air 2S seems quite soft.
Let's hope the lens/sensor is not decentred and properly controlled upon shipping. Don't want another hassle as with the M2P.

 

[Skyryder]

The Air 2S seems to have better dynamic range and less noise if you ask me. The Mini 3 Pro is sharper. Almost like it's been over sharpened through software. You know where edges start to vibrate because too much contrast.

 

[Bussty]

Looks like I was right and most of you, of not all of you, were wrong, this is one of the first comparisons:

View attachment 148095View attachment 148096View attachment 148097

Have you got links for the original DNG's for these? Where did these come from? Cheers

 

[test2000Anafi]

The Air 2S seems to have better dynamic range and less noise if you ask me. The Mini 3 Pro is sharper. Almost like it's been over sharpened through software. You know where edges start to vibrate because too much contrast.

the person who published it had a different opinion. The higher dynamic range in the 3 pro was noted. Resolution charts don’t show any over sharpening as well which would produce ringing artefacts. They show extra megapixels of actual details

do you have any article or video of a person showing examples in which the air2s has a better dynamic range? That would be very interesting to see. We all have opinions but facts are often better to judge quality, especially presented by the people making the comparisons.

 

[test2000Anafi]

Noticed this too and compared to the Mini 3 Pro his older Air 2S seems quite soft.
Let's hope the lens/sensor is not decentred and properly controlled upon shipping. Don't want another hassle as with the M2P.

According to @boldblue737, there is an issue with the air2s where the image quality deteriorates, especially after a year. You need a brand new one to get sharp images apparently, that is why all current comparisons with air2s show air2s to have worse detail, the sensors went bad already or something

 

[boldblue737]

According to @boldblue737, there is an issue with the air2s where the image quality deteriorates, especially after a year. You need a brand new one to get sharp images apparently, that is why all current comparisons with air2s show air2s to have worse detail, the sensors went bad already or something

that wasn't my post, I *never* said anything about Air 2S or sensors degrading after a year, that was a different person that posted that! @boldblue737 is innocent lol!

 

[karlblessing]

The Air 2S seems to have better dynamic range and less noise if you ask me. The Mini 3 Pro is sharper. Almost like it's been over sharpened through software. You know where edges start to vibrate because too much contrast.

Could also be a bump in contrast since more contrast can be perceived as sharpness. That f/1.7 aperture is probably helping on diffraction on a 1/1.3" sensor, since when the sensor gets tiny the image quality tends to fall apart sharply past f/2.8 due to diffraction, software can only do so much.

With the Air 2S I'm still going to get more working range in post being in 10-bit footage with the choice of dlog or HLG on a 1" sensor versus 8-bit at best with Cinelike-D on a 1/1.3" (which still better than a 1/2.3" going from 0.4 to 0.7, then 1.0").

TDLR Version : Smaller Sensors = larger perceived depth of field, add in software to bump contrast appearing sharper. Larger Sensor = Better light gathering capability, less noise, tends to have a little better details/texture and color range. Least that's usually the case before you start getting fancy with image processing to cope.

 

[karlblessing]

that wasn't my post, I *never* said anything about Air 2S degrading after a year, that was a different poster. @boldblue737 is innocent lol!

Aside from who said it, I have to wonder if it's not the sensor that is degrading but rather gimbal motors. Uncompensated shakes on a very minor degree can show up as being soft. Primary way of being able to test it would be to somehow disable the gimble and capture images with the camera held firmly in place to rule out the sensor being the issue.

 

[test2000Anafi]

Aside from who said it, I have to wonder if it's not the sensor that is degrading but rather gimbal motors. Uncompensated shakes on a very minor degree can show up as being soft. Primary way of being able to test it would be to somehow disable the gimble and capture images with the camera held firmly in place to rule out the sensor being the issue.

This creates a scenario where such claims can exist. Nobody ever noticed their drone footage deteriorating up until this point in time where direct comparisons with a cheaper drone show the cheaper drone having better detail. all of a sudden we have ageing sensors, failing gimbal motors, variances between drones, not enough drones to test with and whatever.

last week these issues did not exist. I don’t think they exist now either but think about that

 

[test2000Anafi]

that wasn't my post, I *never* said anything about Air 2S or sensors degrading after a year, that was a different person that posted that! @boldblue737 is innocent lol!

Yeah apologies probably somebody else I have on ignore then, I couldn’t see the posts anymore anyway

 

[karlblessing]

This creates a scenario where such claims can exist. Nobody ever noticed their drone footage deteriorating up until this point in time where direct comparisons with a cheaper drone show the cheaper drone having better detail. all of a sudden we have ageing sensors, failing gimbal motors, variances between drones, not enough drones to test with and whatever.

last week these issues did not exist. I don’t think they exist now either but think about that

Quite possibly, basically you're not usually going to find an issue until you go looking for it. Also with people still buying the Air 2S new, it's not really logical to think that every copy aged the same between someone who got one when they first came out to someone who got theirs last week.

 

[test2000Anafi]

Quite possibly, basically you're not usually going to find an issue until you go looking for it. Also with people still buying the Air 2S new, it's not really logical to think that every copy aged the same between someone who got one when they first came out to someone who got theirs last week.

On your box it says the production date but I don’t think you would want to look now..

 

[karlblessing]

On your box it says the production date but I don’t think you would want to look now..

I still got my box out in the car, but the aging wouldn't impact until you turned it on I would think. Can't exactly wear it down if there's no charge running thru them.

 

[Rilot]

The sensors etc aren't aging. Something else is going on. Maybe the Mini 3 Pro is indeed sharper. It's a smaller sensor which means smaller glass which in turn means that the glass can be lower quality to get a sharp image. The larger the sensor the better the glass needs to be.
I've never been a pixel peeper and have been a photographer for 30 years. I go on how I feel about the image as a whole. I will reserve judgement until I have the Mini 3 Pro in my hands.

 

[Skyryder]

Looks like the 8-bit color can still cause banding. The Air 2S has 10-bit color which is much smoother.

At 6:26

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[boldblue737]

This creates a scenario where such claims can exist. Nobody ever noticed their drone footage deteriorating up until this point in time where direct comparisons with a cheaper drone show the cheaper drone having better detail. all of a sudden we have ageing sensors, failing gimbal motors, variances between drones, not enough drones to test with and whatever.

last week these issues did not exist. I don’t think they exist now either but think about that

I agree with this. What does exist is sample variation due to quality control. Back in the Mavic Pro (the OG!) days every single Mavic camera looked different and had weird locations of softness. DJI by and large has solved this and I have never heard of an issue with the Air 2S that is widespread. Sure Pilot Institute could have a “bad” copy but that’s highly unlikely and we sure as heck aren’t a big enough hobby to justify reviewers buying multiple samples to test. I appreciate the work Pilot Institute did and I think it clearly shows what an amazing camera the Mini 3 Pro has considering it’s size and price, I just don’t reach their same conclusion on dynamic range / 10 bit vs noise at high ISO and 8 bit. I know which I think is better for the color grader or low light specialist and which is better for someone like me that 95% of the time just wants a great shot right out of camera.

 

[pilotinstitute]

I agree with this. What does exist is sample variation due to quality control. Back in the Mavic Pro (the OG!) days every single Mavic camera looked different and had weird locations of softness. DJI by and large has solved this and I have never heard of an issue with the Air 2S that is widespread. Sure Pilot Institute could have a “bad” copy but that’s highly unlikely and we sure as heck aren’t a big enough hobby to justify reviewers buying multiple samples to test. I appreciate the work Pilot Institute did and I think it clearly shows what an amazing camera the Mini 3 Pro has considering it’s size and price, I just don’t reach their same conclusion on dynamic range / 10 bit vs noise at high ISO and 8 bit. I know which I think is better for the color grader or low light specialist and which is better for someone like me that 95% of the time just wants a great shot right out of camera.

Thank you for the comment. Keep in mind that for the photo portion of our comparison all the footage is recorded at 16 bit (on both cameras). The 8bit and 10bit sampling only apply to videos. I just checked our RAW data and all the footage you see in our videos was recorded at 8 bit with the Air2S. I will double check but I'm pretty sure the 10-bit sampling is only available in LOG footage, which we did not use for this comparison.