OK... hear me out... I take video of my son's soccer games from a safe distance with the main camera... And I usually settle in at 2x zoom.... This covers the action pretty well but when I do some post editing of the video I feel I lose quality rather quickly when I zoom in more. The answer to get better video is to move closer so I don't have to use zoom at all but getting closer is not really a good idea since I have to stay away from people and don't want to be a distraction. So my question is this: Are there any additional lens covers available that can provide an additional fixed optical zoom for the main camera so I can continue to film from the distance I'm at without having to use digital zoom?
Mavic 3 Lens - Addon Zoom options
- Thread starter TigerT82
- Start date
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I doubt it would be possible to make an aftermarket telephoto lens that can be attached to the current camera(s) on the mav3. I assume you're talking about aftermarket lenses, like they put on Cell Phones. If a lens like that was made for a mavic 3 camera, it would probably be to heavy. Thus, the drone would give you gimbal motor errors. The gimbal simply can't handle the weight of even the smallest telephoto lens. The gimbal is barely strong enough to hold the additional weight of ND and or polarizing filters/lenses.
Your best option is to go to 7x. That is the exact zoom value where the 2nd camera comes into play. It's 4K at 30fps, If I'm not mistaken. It's better than trying to zoom in a 2x shot in post-production in my opinion.
to the first reply…I did buy the Mavic 3… your off the cuff response clearly marks you as a snob though….. and maybe you missed the part where the sweet spot was at 2X … But thank you for your input,,,oh wait…you had none.
to the second reply… yes… ideally something similar to a filter attachment but acting as a sort of magnifier. i don’t need any kind of mechanical telephoto… but maybe a static 2X lens cover. I can tell weight is definitely an issue even when I use the wide angle lens. Sure I can go to 7x but that puts me quite far away and doesn’t make for smooth video as any movement also gets magnified at that range. Thank you for the reply though.
to the second reply… yes… ideally something similar to a filter attachment but acting as a sort of magnifier. i don’t need any kind of mechanical telephoto… but maybe a static 2X lens cover. I can tell weight is definitely an issue even when I use the wide angle lens. Sure I can go to 7x but that puts me quite far away and doesn’t make for smooth video as any movement also gets magnified at that range. Thank you for the reply though.
You said "your off the cuff response clearly marks you as a snob though….. and maybe you missed the part where the sweet spot was at 2X … But thank you for your input,,,oh wait…you had none."
Text messaging is often misinterpreted. It's hard to know a stranger's intent.
Sorry I couldn't help; I was just throwing some ideas around. I hope someone can help.
Good luck to your son during his future soccer games.
Text messaging is often misinterpreted. It's hard to know a stranger's intent.
Sorry I couldn't help; I was just throwing some ideas around. I hope someone can help.
Good luck to your son during his future soccer games.
My bad. I missed the subtle "main camera" reference in the first line.
Then why aren't you using the 7x telephoto on your Mavic 3?
It's such an obvious solution that I couldn’t believe anyone owning Mavic 3 with the 7x telephoto would ever create such a post, without first explaining why that won't work, when it obviously would!
There are only two purely optical magnifications on the Mavic 3.
There is the 1x of the 4/3 sensor and the 7x of the telephoto lens.
Anything else is a digital zoom and a crop that always loses quality.
2x is already a digital zoom. The original max digital zoom on the 4/3 camera was limited to 2x for a good reason. The up to 4x digital in Normal mode was a compromise DJI created for the Mavic 3 Classic, but still implemented as 3x digital on the Mavic 3.
Any digital zoom on the main camera will not be as sharp as the 7x optical without any digital zoom.
Test it and you will see.
Use the 7x optical telephoto when you need greater magnification!
You already have the optical lens you need, built right into the existing camera.
Use the 4/3 sensor until you need more than 2x and then back off and use the 7x telephoto.
With super bright stadium lighting, even If these are night games, the fixed f/4.4 aperture of the 7x telephoto is still more than adequate for sharp 4K video. You now even have Spotlight and POI on static subjects on the 7x telephoto.
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OMG reading comprehension is not your strong suit is it? Reread my posts.. I don’t need you to rifle off the specs of the camera on it! I know what I spent all that money on! I know 2X is the digital zoom! But that is the ”sweet spot” from a distance standpoint that makes for the best footage from the field. I can’t get closer from a safety aspect to make use of the non-zoomed main camera and the 7x camera just puts the drone too far. Like I said, ideally, I’d like a lens cover that acts as a 2X magnifier for the main camera. It’s a very niche use scenario. Using a drone to film amateur sporting events is not ideal but for soccer having the larger higher field view helps tremendously when examining positional awareness post game. Again thank you for your lack of meaningful input.
Welcome to the forum ... but ease off on the unnecessary aggravation.
Read the forum rules, particularly #2 here:
Community Rules
mavicpilots.com
Flying Drones Over People: 2021 New FAA Rule Changes — ProAerial Media
New FAA sUAS rules allow flying drones over people, as long you’re broadcasting your Remote ID and adhere to 1 of the 4 categories of operations.
www.flyproaerial.com
This article explains what the FAA's requirements are for flying over people in a repetitive manner. You need prop guards for one. That's if your drone is Category 2. And if you just flew over the field, you would need consent from at least one parent or the legal guardian of every child on the field, plus other personnel that may be on the field. The logistics would be time consuming and just plain difficult to get each player's guardian to consent. It just matter's how strong you feel about getting that perfect footage.
Yeah yeah, I know, no help again. Correct?
How can the drone ever be too far away, if you were, instead, successfully using the 7x telephoto, if you are currently flying 3x closer, with the main camera over the stadium, instead of from safely outside of it? You are too close already!
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I agree. I would simply practice using 7x zoom and maybe up the drone's response curves in the settings so I could follow the players more easily. I notice, the more the M3 zooms, the slower it responds. Sorry Tiger, but I don't think you will ever find a lens attachment that will do what you are looking for.
I didn't do a lot of reading, but it sounds like an anamorphic lens can capture more image data, allowing you to zoom in more in post processing. Check the attached article and others if you like.
Moment made an anamorphic lens for the Mavic 2 Pro. It was a nightmare to use because it had to be reinstalled every time the battery was changed, onto the already powered up gimbal, as the gimbal couldn't balance with it already installed. Required a huge counterweight on the back. Gimbal would then spontaneously go limp during flight from the excess weight, requiring landing and reinstalling again!
However, its purpose was to capture a wider field of view rather than a narrower one. Once captured, the wider field of view had to be separately uncompressed in proprietary software before it could be used for editing.
DJI has already created a wide angle lens for the Mavic 3. I own it. It isn't anamorphic, but it does give a wider field of view, which unfortunately is the exact opposite of what Tiger wants.
Tiger wants to add an optical zoom to the 4/3 camera lens, and have the existing gimbal still balance it. Never going to happen. See above for the Moment nightmare lens attachment.
The reason that DJI has only made one zoom lens on all their consumer drones and only on a 1/2.3" sensor (Mavic 2 Zoom) is because of weight. Optical zooms are very heavy. The M2Z was also a variable aperture 2x zoom, which lost a full stop at 2x. Fixed aperture zooms are even heavier, and more expensive.
This is exactly why DJI added the 7x telephoto camera to the Mavic 3.
A 7x optical magnification has none of the problems of additional weight from a zoom lens, and the two cameras work together, allowing 1x-28x, which is up to a 4x digital zoom on each camera, with a gap between 4x and 7x.
The 7x telephoto is the solution, and, based upon the above article, the only legal way to video his son's soccer games.
The image sensor area is what determines the number of pixels, and the ultimate image quality. All digital zooms are crops of the image sensor and are throwing away pixels and degrades image quality as others have said.
A true zoom changes the effective focal length of lens, and hence the size of the image that falls on the full area of the sensor. The difference in image quality will always be apparent under the right viewing conditions. It is up to the user to decide in his application if this is acceptable.
Note that shooting 4K and displaying in hd gives the user a 4K zoom for free, as the reduction from UHD to HD is tossing away 75% of the available pixels. The professional world often shoots in 5K or greater to gain cropping flexibility in post processing. In that production mode it is called reframing capability, but it may as well be called digital zoom, as the physics is the same.
A true zoom changes the effective focal length of lens, and hence the size of the image that falls on the full area of the sensor. The difference in image quality will always be apparent under the right viewing conditions. It is up to the user to decide in his application if this is acceptable.
Note that shooting 4K and displaying in hd gives the user a 4K zoom for free, as the reduction from UHD to HD is tossing away 75% of the available pixels. The professional world often shoots in 5K or greater to gain cropping flexibility in post processing. In that production mode it is called reframing capability, but it may as well be called digital zoom, as the physics is the same.
Thank you,, I knew It was a long shot in the dark but I threw it out there In case someone knew of something odd that might be available. Be assured, I’m not a new pilot and I understand what I bought. I understand the rules of flying. These aren’t stadiums and I am not over any of the fields where I fly, I am not over people or in areas where I shouldn’t be. I am a very conscientious flyer and as courteous as I can be. I appreciate the cautionary recommendations. It just takes one person to ruin things for everyone else. I am not out there to be a distraction or fly in a dangerous manner. I’m not trying to get close up, cinematic views of the action. I’m just trying to get the highest quality video that I can get.
I’m very happy with the Mavic 3 and i didn‘t buy the Mavic to film soccer games, it’s just something I‘ve been to trying to do. I’ve been trying different angles/distances and experimenting with all of the Mavic’s abilities to get image quality as good as it could be.
I agree that the 7x camera is a good choice given the options I have but it is not ideal given the locations/distance from the subject. 7x is great for penalty kicks, I can move the drone way past the other end of the field and get a good shot of the PK at the other end. A 2X optical zoom would be ideal for the rest of the game (Flying closer would work too but that’s just not an option obvious reasons). The Mavic 3 may not be the “perfect” solution for what I’m trying to do in this case. And that’s ok. I’m not faulting the Mavic. It’s a great product.
I’m very happy with the Mavic 3 and i didn‘t buy the Mavic to film soccer games, it’s just something I‘ve been to trying to do. I’ve been trying different angles/distances and experimenting with all of the Mavic’s abilities to get image quality as good as it could be.
I agree that the 7x camera is a good choice given the options I have but it is not ideal given the locations/distance from the subject. 7x is great for penalty kicks, I can move the drone way past the other end of the field and get a good shot of the PK at the other end. A 2X optical zoom would be ideal for the rest of the game (Flying closer would work too but that’s just not an option obvious reasons). The Mavic 3 may not be the “perfect” solution for what I’m trying to do in this case. And that’s ok. I’m not faulting the Mavic. It’s a great product.
The only way to turn a "normal" lens into a 2X is to place another device BEHIND the normal lens. I've used extension tubes on old chemical film SLRS to turn normal 50mm lenses into compact telephoto lenses. This can be done only on interchangeable lens cameras. A "lens cover" as you describe won't do the job.
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