3 Mavic 3 Tele Respect

[akdrone]

I call this "what I see and what my tele sees". (Columbia River) Top image not color corrected, obviously . Let's put an end to any talk about the tele lens being third rate, eh?

 

[Meta4]

I call this "what I see and what my tele sees". (Columbia River) Top image not color corrected, obviously . Let's put an end to any talk about the tele lens being third rate, eh?

The tele camera definitely isn't in the same class as the main camera, but it can still produce some good images.
I shot a number of pairs of images this week using both cameras from the same spot.
Here's an example of images straight from the cameras :

As is evident in these two pairs, there's a big difference between wideangle and moderate tele lenses.
I'd like DJI to give us something less extreme ... say a 35mm equiv lens and a 85mm.
Or maybe a 4/3 camera with a rotating turret like old movie cameras had to give 3 or 4 focal lengths.

Here's another example of how you can use the perspective compression of the tele lens in this 6 image panorama.
Click the image to see it larger.
Unfortunately I shot it at ISO 200 to help with wind + low light.
Even with increasing ISO by one stop, the image quality is noticeably reduced.
With the main camera, shooting at ISO 400 the images are still quite good.

 

[SmilingOgre]

I call this "what I see and what my tele sees". (Columbia River) Top image not color corrected, obviously . Let's put an end to any talk about the tele lens being third rate, eh?
View attachment 161780

Nice images! Do you think they would make the cut for Nat Geo?

 

[Chrislaf]

I call this "what I see and what my tele sees". (Columbia River) Top image not color corrected, obviously . Let's put an end to any talk about the tele lens being third rate, eh?

I agree! Before all the updates maybe people would have had a point but now that it has been updated, it is a very useful lens. In fact if I was buying a M3 now I'd still choose the M3 over the M3 Classic because of the extra tele lens.

Chris

 

[Chrislaf]

I'd like DJI to give us something less extreme ... say a 35mm equiv lens and a 85mm.
Or maybe a 4/3 camera with a rotating turret like old movie cameras had to give 3 or 4 focal lengths.

That would be great as I find I am often backing up to get the perspective I want from the 7X Tele.

Chris

 

[beroe]

I call this "what I see and what my tele sees". (Columbia River) Top image not color corrected, obviously . Let's put an end to any talk about the tele lens being third rate, eh?
View attachment 161780

This looks great, thanks. Can you please conform which M3 variant do you have? There were posts claiming the early versions, around 2021-2022 (with a "round" front tele lens) had major issues and that DJI came with a "fix", where the front view of the lens was oval. It was not clear if those "issues" fundamentally were hardware related (camera design) or software, if the latter potentially new formaware updates may have fixed it. I believe all the newer M3 models (Pro etc) have an improved camera. I have a late 2021 with round lens but I cant really make comparisons. Supposedly the Air3 has a MUCH better telephoto, aimed at photography not just video. Thanks !

 

[Meta4]

This looks great, thanks. Can you please conform which M3 variant do you have? There were posts claiming the early versions, around 2021-2022 (with a "round" front tele lens) had major issues

Despite some early posts suggesting otherwise, whether the camera came with round or oval front made no difference to the image quality.

I believe all the newer M3 models (Pro etc) have an improved camera.

The long tele camera of the Mavic 3 pro has a different lens - 30.7 mm vs 29.9 mm focal length of the original Mavic 3.

I have a late 2021 with round lens but I cant really make comparisons. Supposedly the Air3 has a MUCH better telephoto, aimed at photography not just video.

Better than what?
The Air 3's tele camera and sensor is completely different from the long tele camera that was on the Mavic 3.

The Air 3 has a short tele camera with a 19.4 mm lens.
It's the same as the short tele camera of the Mavic 3 pro.

 

[akdrone]

This looks great, thanks. Can you please conform which M3 variant do you have? There were posts claiming the early versions, around 2021-2022 (with a "round" front tele lens) had major issues and that DJI came with a "fix", where the front view of the lens was oval. It was not clear if those "issues" fundamentally were hardware related (camera design) or software, if the latter potentially new formaware updates may have fixed it. I believe all the newer M3 models (Pro etc) have an improved camera. I have a late 2021 with round lens but I cant really make comparisons. Supposedly the Air3 has a MUCH better telephoto, aimed at photography not just video. Thanks !

I can't really say because I returned my first M3 due to a gimble problem and that was round and I -think- those shots were done with that drone. Pretty sure but not entirely. My current M3 has the oval lens. I don't use it very often since I also have an M3 Pro and that is equally sharp, maybe sharper. I didn't do any post sharpening on those images but I have found that FCP's Sharpening effect really makes the images snap at the default settings without creating any halo or other visible artifacts.
I will add this tidbit. After returning a M4P with horrible lens flare and getting one back with decent lens flare (normal) and having read a LOT of feedback I have come to the conclusion that DJI's quality control is not all that tight. In any run of lenses some will be more perfect than others and a very tight QC can ensure everyone gets the very best at a very high cost. It is always a tradeoff and it's my opinion that some folks get nice, sharp tele lenses and others don't from what I have seen posted. I had a good M3Pro and crummy M4Pro that I returned. Both my Mav3 and Mav3 Pro's have tele lenses that are good enough for me. I'm just an amateur with a small audience. Works for me. .

 

[beroe]

Despite some early posts suggesting otherwise, whether the camera came with round or oval front made no difference to the image quality.

The long tele camera of the Mavic 3 pro has a different lens - 30.7 mm vs 29.9 mm focal length of the original Mavic 3.

Better than what?
The Air 3's tele camera and sensor is completely different from the long tele camera that was on the Mavic 3.

The Air 3 has a short tele camera with a 19.4 mm lens.
It's the same as the short tele camera of the Mavic 3 pro.

Thank you. Bottom line, is the photo quality from the Air 3 tele better than that of the original M3 tele? I think its safe to assume (?) that the Hasselblad lens on M3 is superior than the standard lens on Air 3. Essentially, I was suggested its worth to invest in an Air3 simply because its tele is so much better for photography than the tele of original M3.

 

[beroe]

I can't really say because I returned my first M3 due to a gimble problem and that was round and I -think- those shots were done with that drone. Pretty sure but not entirely. My current M3 has the oval lens. I don't use it very often since I also have an M3 Pro and that is equally sharp, maybe sharper. I didn't do any post sharpening on those images but I have found that FCP's Sharpening effect really makes the images snap at the default settings without creating any halo or other visible artifacts.
I will add this tidbit. After returning a M4P with horrible lens flare and getting one back with decent lens flare (normal) and having read a LOT of feedback I have come to the conclusion that DJI's quality control is not all that tight. In any run of lenses some will be more perfect than others and a very tight QC can ensure everyone gets the very best at a very high cost. It is always a tradeoff and it's my opinion that some folks get nice, sharp tele lenses and others don't from what I have seen posted. I had a good M3Pro and crummy M4Pro that I returned. Both my Mav3 and Mav3 Pro's have tele lenses that are good enough for me. I'm just an amateur with a small audience. Works for me. .

Thank you !

 

[Meta4]

Thank you. Bottom line, is the photo quality from the Air 3 tele better than that of the original M3 tele? I think its safe to assume (?) that the Hasselblad lens on M3 is superior than the standard lens on Air 3. Essentially, I was suggested its worth to invest in an Air3 simply because its tele is so much better for photography than the tele of original M3.

Perhaps you aren't aware that the Mavic 3 pro has three cameras, rather than just two like the original Mavic 3?

Besides the wide with the larger sensor, there's a long tele, with a small sensor and a short tele with an in-between sized sensor.
You can't compare the Air 3's short tele camera with the long tele camera from the original Mavic 3.

Here are some comparison shots from all three of the Mavic 3 pro's cameras.

 

[AlanL]

Perhaps you aren't aware that the Mavic 3 pro has three cameras, rather than just two like the original Mavic 3.

Besides the wide with the larger sensor, there's a long tele, with a small sensor and a short tele with an in-between sized sensor.
You can't compare the Air 3's short tele camera with the long tele camera from the original Mavic 3.

You should clean your lens more often