Mavic 2 Enterprise x6 Zoom pretty good

Cookedinlh · Dec 19, 2018

Here's a sample of tracking a subject at 1/4 mile with the M2E . . pretty "god's eye" visibility. It's actually pretty easy to track a single car through traffic at over 4000ft crossing a bridge that never gets closer than about 2500ft. I'll post another video tomorrow on www.inskyphoto.com Drone Issues page to show that. I think M2E meets all expectations for zoom . . a very capable platform.

Snowstorm · Dec 19, 2018

That is 2x optical with 3x digitally
There is no reason why it cannot be activated on the regular Mavic 2 zoom, which has 2x digital zoom instead.

jwt873 · Dec 20, 2018

Snowstorm said:
That is 2x optical with 3x digitally
There is no reason why it cannot be activated on the regular Mavic 2 zoom, which has 2x digital zoom instead.

Impressive.. The 6x zoom is the equivalent of having a 144mm lens in the air. I love the 96mm focal length that my M2 Zoom provides using digital+optical... Id be thrilled if they did activate the extra zoom some time in the future..

Cookedinlh · Dec 20, 2018

Even better than have the 6x zoom is a steady platform for observe from.
I think its best feature of the Mavic is how stable it is with smooth flight control as well as gimble and pan functions when combined with x6 zoom capability . . Its a VERY Stable platform. 2x Optical + 3x Digital. (that is one more than the 2x digital of the regular zoom) but the Mavic camera remains sooth and stable at 6 times zoom even while maneuvering. This was my first try and the old "stick and rudder" skills are pretty average I think.

All in all, the ability to smoothy track a moving subject at over a mile (given a clear view and average lighting) is pretty impressive. Take a look here as I slowly track using both pan and tilt as well as yaw to follow a single car for over a mile. . . all this while staying in a hover directly overhead at 400ft. You should put your controller antennae out horizontal for this.

NOTE: to do this smoothly you will need to "tune" your gimble buffer setting. I found a pretty good spot at 21%.
Here's a short video of what I mean

MachDiamond · Dec 22, 2018

Did not wanna start a new thread re: 6x zoom...the OP's observations are spot-on, oh wait that's a different thread...

Zoom speed test today (slowest achievable in pursuit of litchi based dolly zoom functionality because we hate you DJI no not really):
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-5mzphWL/0/7fef93f6/1920/i-5mzphWL-1920.mp4

Question please.

What is the (effective) FOV @ 144mm (6x) given M2Z specs e.g. sensor width is 8.6mm, is that correct?

Can't get math to work and it's not a degree to radian conversion thing it's just brain fade and not proud for asking - thanks OP for the coat-tail ride.

Cookedinlh · Dec 22, 2018

I'm not a techie on optical parameter calculations. Just know its quite a bit less than x1. . . but at that range it's more than wide enough to easily maintain contact on moving objects. I have a 1.9mm BOSON camera that is 24deg FOV (I just look it up on the Spec) and it's sometime tough to follow nearby objects but still adequate if it's beyond 400-500 ft.

MachDiamond · Dec 22, 2018

No worries - the errors are due to specifications given in terms of 35mm equivalent(s) and not knowing true dimensions...

Given 83-degrees FOV @ 24mm and 48-degrees FOV @ 48mm what is FOV at 144mm?

When 35mm is substituted for 8.6mm (true sensor size) the FOV seemingly works out to 13.8-degrees which seems right.

Cookedinlh · Dec 22, 2018

That's what I love about this forum . . .there is always someone who knows stuff that I don't and they are happy to share. . Asking is so much easier than looking stuff up . . .Thanks MachDiamond

AntDX316 · Jan 24, 2020

Cookedinlh said:
Here's a sample of tracking a subject at 1/4 mile with the M2E . . pretty "god's eye" visibility. It's actually pretty easy to track a single car through traffic at over 4000ft crossing a bridge that never gets closer than about 2500ft. I'll post another video tomorrow on www.inskyphoto.com Drone Issues page to show that. I think M2E meets all expectations for zoom . . a very capable platform.

View attachment 56335

Can you show some shots of 2x, 4x, and 6x zoom in photo mode of something the same from high up also can you do 4K30 in 6x?

Cookedinlh · Jan 24, 2020

AntDX316 said:
Can you show some shots of 2x, 4x, and 6x zoom in photo mode of something the same from high up also can you do 4K30 in 6x?

I'm sure I could but that's a lot of work and flying so why don't you try it yourself (if you have a Zoom) . . unfortunately, right now it's -3Deg and raining . . and I've got a ton of other stuff going on right so you'd have to get someone else to do that. The video I posted was in 4K30 at 6x and all zoom levels between but it's just not labeled on the screen. Sorry can;t help further

AntDX316 · Jan 24, 2020

Cookedinlh said:
I'm sure I could but that's a lot of work and flying so why don't you try it yourself (if you have a Zoom) . . unfortunately, right now it's -3Deg and raining . . and I've got a ton of other stuff going on right so you'd have to get someone else to do that. The video I posted was in 4K30 at 6x and all zoom levels between but it's just not labeled on the screen. Sorry can;t help further

I have a zoom. You have the M2E which I don't have. I know 48mm made inspection work one time a lifesaver. When you have time, can you just take a picture of something in the house or outside at 24mm, 48mm, 96mm, and the max mm then upload the photos? I know for a fact the 48mm punch-in was better than even the P4PV2.0 and 24mm in the air. We couldn't get closer due to high-winds on the building that is 3 stories tall. Zooming in made it feel like we were 5x closer than where it actually was. OA was going off like crazy but I had it off.

Cookedinlh · Jan 24, 2020

AntDX316 said:
I have a zoom. You have the M2E which I don't have. I know 48mm made inspection work one time a lifesaver. When you have time, can you just take a picture of something in the house or outside at 24mm, 48mm, 96mm, and the max mm then upload the photos? I know for a fact the 48mm punch-in was better than even the P4PV2.0 and 24mm in the air. We couldn't get closer due to high-winds on the building that is 3 stories tall. Zooming in made it feel like we were 5x closer than where it actually was. OA was going off like crazy but I had it off.

Will do If I get time but cannot promise . . .got a LOT going on

AntDX316 · Jan 24, 2020

Cookedinlh said:
Will do If I get time but cannot promise . . .got a LOT going on

thx, just have a battery charge then just take 24mm, 48mm, 96mm, and the next mm and upload it to google drive and drop the link here

Sleepy · Feb 10, 2020

Cookedinlh said:
I'm sure I could but that's a lot of work and flying so why don't you try it yourself (if you have a Zoom) . . unfortunately, right now it's -3Deg and raining . . and I've got a ton of other stuff going on right so you'd have to get someone else to do that. The video I posted was in 4K30 at 6x and all zoom levels between but it's just not labeled on the screen. Sorry can;t help further

From the videos I've seen and a little playing around with the zoom, as soon as you touch the 6x button the camera auto switches to 1080p. And the M2Z is the same way, on mine anyway.

GadgetGuy · Feb 10, 2020

Sleepy said:
From the videos I've seen and a little playing around with the zoom, as soon as you touch the 6x button the camera auto switches to 1080p. And the M2Z is the same way, on mine anyway.

M2Z must first be manually set to 1080p 30fps before the 24-48mm zoom dial changes to 24mm to 96mm. There is no 4x button that does it automatically.

Sleepy · Feb 10, 2020

GadgetGuy said:
M2Z must first be manually set to 1080p 30fps before the 24-48mm zoom dial changes to 24mm to 96mm. There is no 4x button that does it automatically.

Sorry, I am a hunt and pek typer so was being cryptic but meaning that, but it is pretty handy to just push the 6x button to get the extra zoom compared to going into camera settings to do it. Looking forward to putting this thing up, just got on sat.

GadgetGuy · Feb 10, 2020

Sleepy said:
Sorry, I am a hunt and pek typer so was being cryptic but meaning that, but it is pretty handy to just push the 6x button to get the extra zoom compared to going into camera settings to do it. Looking forward to putting this thing up, just got on sat.

Cool! Looking forward to hearing how it works for you. I was tempted to get the M2E for the 6x, but having to change to the brand new, limited Pilot app to control it, instead of the tried and true and familiar GO 4 app, was the clincher. Other issues for me were the speaker isn't a live broadcast, but only a prerecorded message, and isn't really loud enough, and the external search lights are fixed, and can only be pointed forward. Quite a bit pricier than the M2Z, too.

Sleepy · Feb 10, 2020

GadgetGuy said:
Cool! Looking forward to hearing how it works for you. I was tempted to get the M2E for the 6x, but having to change to the brand new, limited Pilot app to control it, instead of the tried and true and familiar GO 4 app, was the clincher. Other issues for me were the speaker isn't a live broadcast, but only a prerecorded message, and isn't really loud enough, and the external search lights are fixed, and can only be pointed forward. Quite a bit pricier than the M2Z, too.

All of them are good points but when one came up on craigslist for a really good price and the research I did before I committed to it, Billy Kyles for the most part and seen the comparison of the 6x to the 4x I had to do it. The speaker may not be live but looks like it only takes a few steps to get a message out. Plus there is rumor that maybe in the future I may be able to use Go4 with it, but it is a rumor. But now I have all 3 M2's (but not the M2ED). For the most part I fly manual but once in a while a get a kid that wants to lead one around but other than that I have not tried any of the flight modes so I think we will get along okay.

GadgetGuy · Feb 10, 2020

Sleepy said:
All of them are good points but when one came up on craigslist for a really good price and the research I did before I committed to it, Billy Kyles for the most part and seen the comparison of the 6x to the 4x I had to do it. The speaker may not be live but looks like it only takes a few steps to get a message out. Plus there is rumor that maybe in the future I may be able to use Go4 with it, but it is a rumor. But now I have all 3 M2's (but not the M2ED). For the most part I fly manual but once in a while a get a kid that wants to lead one around but other than that I have not tried any of the flight modes so I think we will get along okay.

How good was the M2E price?