Mavic2 Pro vs. Zoom camera resolution

[Meta4]

But there isn't the same difference between the two Mavic 2's.

If you think a sensor 4 times the size of the one in the zoom doesn't make a difference .....

 

[paulatkin73]

If you think a sensor 4 times the size of the one in the zoom doesn't make a difference .....

To have the difference and to see the difference are 2 different things.

Zoom has a good enough sensor, so, it is perfectly normal that most folks are happy with it. Nothing is wrong with that.

 

[Mike4884]

If the 4k video from the Pro doesn't look as good as from the zoom then that's because it is not being post-processed properly.

Well thats the crazy part ....this is directly off camera's zoom just looks better.....and i hear ya let me guess if one thinks the zoom's 4k looks better they are not post processing properly....got ya.

Look i already stated pics are great and does great in low light. To me the zoom has a better 4k even at 1/2.3!

 

[Mike4884]

I don't believe the zoom camera is exactly the same as MP, maybe same size sensor but has to be different cos of the Optical zoom.

Oh i know its not the same sensor cant be....size yes.... But people were comparing it to a mavic pro and saying it was same sensor and it just is not comparable.... the mavic pro was just a washed a canvas .... And most times had to work really hard and post processing to get it to look decent. Not the case with zoom

 

[sar104]

Well thats the crazy part ....this is directly off camera's zoom just looks better.....and i hear ya let me guess if one thinks the zoom's 4k looks better they are not post processing properly....got ya.

Look i already stated pics are great and does great in low light. To me the zoom has a better 4k even at 1/2.3!

I realize that attributing it to poor post-processing sounds like an impossible argument to counter, but the fact is that the raw information out of the larger sensor is simply better - more dynamic range, better color and less noise - just relatively unprocessed and, in particular, much less sharpened. And I'm not arguing that the output from the zoom isn't good, but there is no way around the fundamental constraints of sensor technology.

 

[sar104]

Oh i know its not the same sensor cant be....size yes.... But people were comparing it to a mavic pro and saying it was same sensor and it just is not comparable.... the mavic pro was just a washed a canvas .... And most times had to work really hard and post processing to get it to look decent. Not the case with zoom

And the main difference is the onboard image processing - it's doing it for you and doing it rather well.

 

[Mike4884]

I realize that attributing it to poor post-processing sounds like an impossible argument to counter, but the fact is that the raw information out of the larger sensor is simply better - more dynamic range, better color and less noise - just relatively unprocessed and, in particular, much less sharpened. And I'm not arguing that the output from the zoom isn't good, but there is no way around the fundamental constraints of sensor technology.

Can't argue with that! Both great drones in the end it is what suits that particular person

 

[GadgetGuy]

Does it have to be a one or the other purchase?
Some pilots are buying one or the other, then buying the camera only of the model they did not buy.
There are many YT videos on the relative ease to swap the cameras even in the field

I initially bought the M2P, and then bought the Zoom gimbal and camera assembly from AliExpress for $279. I then did the 5 minute camera swap and realized it was not a practical solution to repeat. Found a U.S. website that sells otherwise unavailable new M2 spare parts, that also sells the brand new bare M2 drone they were stripped from, without a battery or camera, for only $650 and bought one. I then installed my previously removed M2P onto the bare new M2 body.

Now I have one of each camera already mounted on an M2, with a single controller and tablet, and only need to spend 15 seconds binding the controller to the other drone to swap cameras! With two of the Fly More Kits, I now have 5 batteries. I use the M2Z for skittish wildlife and surveillance where flying closer is not an option, and the M2P for everything else, especially spherical panoramas, and video flights after dusk, in either HQ or FOV, depending upon the desired field of view. Best of all worlds, without buying completely full kits of each, which are unneeded, but definitely avoiding the repeated camera swap in the field, which was never intended by DJI for anything other than a one time swap.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Lol, I’d say there is bias on both sides of the ownership equation...

That's why it's best to have one of each. Buy the M2P full kit, and then add the $279 Zoom camera to a bare $650 Mavic 2 body. $929 more for the Zoom saves $370 over buying it separately. $2429 for a Pro and a Zoom! One controller and one tablet.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Zoom and pro complement each other. Zoom is a 1080p30 video machine, with great zooming power. Pro is a good 4k video platform and photo platform. Good to have both.

Exactly!

 

[mavicn00b]

One point worth mentioning having good image sensor is one thing, but image processor is equally if not more important.

 

[AlienDrone]

Like has been said, ignore the fact its a drone and instead compare it to a dslr/mirrorless system.

Medium frame - massive sensor, huge dynamic range best 'picture' most expensive (and things like auto focus are slower due to pixel density etc) Red's / cinema cams tend to be this sort of sensor, and they are almost all manual focus. 50-100+mp is the typical, and 20k+usd price for body only.

Full frame (I know most think should be bigger than medium, but hey) - kind of the 'sweet' spot for price/feature/quality. The eos1d / 5d and high end Sony/etc are these, these are the cameras that a 22' lense IS actually 22 on. Considered 'pro'. Have great dynamic range, and advanced tracking auto focus systems.

APS-H - Kinda less used now, but used to be the pro level, nearly full frame but not quite. 1.3 crop to full frame

APS-C - Most Canon/Sony non-pro cameras, less dynamic range and sensor not as big, but great price/performance level. 1.6 crop

Micro 4/3 - another popular format like APS-C, smaller than that, and less dynamic range, but still good. Lots of bridge cameras use it.

CX/1inch - this is mainly used by Nikon and Sony, and hense the use on the drone and other 'portable' cameras. Less dynamic range, but still considered a real 'photographic' sensor as such.

After that CCD's are considered as 'lenseless' as they are mainly used for phones etc where interchangeable lenses are not a thing.

This is why the 1inch sensor of the M2P/P4pro is so impressive, they are considered large sensors with real capture capability. Now I think its going to be a good while till we get APS-C let alone full frame sensors on 'all in one' craft like the DJI consumer/prosumer drones, but the 1inch sensor is a huge leap up in capturing light over the tiny sensors of old.

Remember most photographers would actually rather shoot a low (15-20)mp full frame sensor over a huge(40+) 1inch or less sensor, purely as each pixel is much larger, larger pixel = more light = more range and better shooting in challenging conditions.

So (very) long post short, unless you NEED the zooming for something (and it has its place) your best of for photos (and mostly video as well) to have the 'better' sensor. The M2P does have a 'zoom' as such as well, the HD / Full sensor shooting modes do zoom (well it crops to native pixels) and you get that, it's not a real focal zoom, but there anyway.

Hope that helps...

Some how I missed this post.....sorry. Very good points! I just received my M2Z this week. I'm posting a new thread about my decision.

 

[pfeijao]

Zoom and pro complement each other. Zoom is a 1080p30 video machine, with great zooming power. Pro is a good 4k video platform and photo platform. Good to have both.

LOL ? zoom is a 4k video machime not 1080.. The Zoom video is sharper tham the PRO..

 

[sar104]

LOL ? zoom is a 4k video machime not 1080.. The Zoom video is sharper tham the PRO..

It is 4k - correct. But the M2Z video only appears sharper (relative to the unprocessed Dlog-M 10-bit on the M2P) because it is sharpened more on the aircraft.

 

[paulatkin73]

LOL ? zoom is a 4k video machime not 1080.. The Zoom video is sharper tham the PRO..

if you would learn a bit, you would see what the point there was. in the 1080p30 mode mavic 2 zoom allows digital magnification feature that makes a whole lot of the factual difference in search missions, or just recreational shooting. honestly, i do not care much anymore, to each his own. i do not disagree that pro could have had a better lens and a better image processing module, to get max quality from its sensor.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I have to admit that I prefer the video on the Zoom straight out of Auto mode.

 

[AlienDrone]

I initially bought the M2P, and then bought the Zoom gimbal and camera assembly from AliExpress for $279. I then did the 5 minute camera swap and realized it was not a practical solution to repeat. Found a U.S. website that sells otherwise unavailable new M2 spare parts, that also sells the brand new bare M2 drone they were stripped from, without a battery or camera, for only $650 and bought one. I then installed my previously removed M2P onto the bare new M2 body.

Now I have one of each camera already mounted on an M2, with a single controller and tablet, and only need to spend 15 seconds binding the controller to the other drone to swap cameras! With two of the Fly More Kits, I now have 5 batteries. I use the M2Z for skittish wildlife and surveillance where flying closer is not an option, and the M2P for everything else, especially spherical panoramas, and video flights after dusk, in either HQ or FOV, depending upon the desired field of view. Best of all worlds, without buying completely full kits of each, which are unneeded, but definitely avoiding the repeated camera swap in the field, which was never intended by DJI for anything other than a one time swap.

Thanks fro the reply! Wow...this is good to know! I purchased the M2Z. I'm going to start a new thread explaining my choice. Perhaps in the future i can do what you did here. Is the M2 Pro camera available for this conversion?

 

[DanMan32]

I have to admit that I prefer the video on the Zoom straight out of Auto mode.


View attachment 84710

Discussion here is between M2P vs M2Z, not M1P vs M2Z.

 

[DanMan32]

I ended up getting M2Z last year. I figured I'd enjoy the Zoom features more than the better sensor and photography controls of the M2P, not to mention the price difference.
I was surprised and disappointed on how many settings were missing from the Zoom though. My P3A had more settings and it was only 2.7K.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I ended up getting M2Z last year. I figured I'd enjoy the Zoom features more than the better sensor and photography controls of the M2P, not to mention the price difference.
I was surprised and disappointed on how many settings were missing from the Zoom though. My P3A had more settings and it was only 2.7K.

Biggest adjustment for me was getting used to not having access to exposure compensation on the right scroll wheel, requiring using the 5 button joystick for autoexposure compensation, meaning you have to take a hand off one of the sticks every time to make the adjustment, which ruins any cinematic turn, as you lose either the speed or the direction or both, whole adjusting autoexposure compensation.