New Mavic Pro 2 owner. Lets discuss Focal Length (28mm on the Pro)

[Gemini8026]

Hey all. Jeff here. I recently sold my Phantom 4 pro in anticipation of the new Mavic 2. I am primarily a landscape photographer with my D850 Nikon, but I love the drone option as well.

HOWEVER, I found myself not wanting to take my drone out due to the fact that it was a pain in the butt to carry around my regular backpack as well as a full Phantom 4 pro case. It was the reason why I sold it primarily. My friend has a Mavic and he just tosses his in his camera case and always has that easily accessible option.

So I sold my drone, and waited for the Mavic 2 pro. I put in my order today when they opened up. Im not worried about the video stuff, I only shoot stills for now, so 4k 60fps is not a worry, however I am curious to know peoples thoughts about the 28mm focal length.

I like taking photos of landscapes and such, and I enjoy the sense of size from a high up drone with a large field of view. 28mm is still wide, but not super wide. The 24mm on the P4Pro was idea, and I would love 20mm!

Anyhow, curious to know if it is a deal breaker for some. I still ordered and will put it through it's paces but no doubt I was a little disheartened when I saw that focal length and not the 24 I was expecting.

However, there is a chance it could offer benefits, Im just not sure how much. what are your thoughts?!

 

[Bunny Too]

Hey all. Jeff here. I recently sold my Phantom 4 pro in anticipation of the new Mavic 2. I am primarily a landscape photographer with my D850 Nikon, but I love the drone option as well.

HOWEVER, I found myself not wanting to take my drone out due to the fact that it was a pain in the butt to carry around my regular backpack as well as a full Phantom 4 pro case. It was the reason why I sold it primarily. My friend has a Mavic and he just tosses his in his camera case and always has that easily accessible option.

So I sold my drone, and waited for the Mavic 2 pro. I put in my order today when they opened up. Im not worried about the video stuff, I only shoot stills for now, so 4k 60fps is not a worry, however I am curious to know peoples thoughts about the 28mm focal length.

I like taking photos of landscapes and such, and I enjoy the sense of size from a high up drone with a large field of view. 28mm is still wide, but not super wide. The 24mm on the P4Pro was idea, and I would love 20mm!

Anyhow, curious to know if it is a deal breaker for some. I still ordered and will put it through it's paces but no doubt I was a little disheartened when I saw that focal length and not the 24 I was expecting.

However, there is a chance it could offer benefits, Im just not sure how much. what are your thoughts?!

Howdy from Wyoming @Gemini8026 , welcome to the community, plenty of fine folk and excellent information here.

 

[crbalch]

Just fly the drone backwards to increase FOV? That's the beauty of a drone...it's a prime lens that can go anywhere in a seconds

 

[tccrouch]

When I shoot landscapes where I want a wide view on my Mavic (and can't get far enough back to get everything), I usually turn the camera vertical and shoot 2-4 photos and stitch them together in photoshop or lightroom. Makes for a good high res landscape/pano and the Mavic is generally stable enough to not have issues with misalignment. I think the 24 or 28mm lengths avoid some distortion that tends to be more common with wider angle lenses.

 

[SoCalDude]

Don't these new Mavic 2's have a panoramic mode (similar to how iPhone does it)?

 

[laurens23]

When I shoot landscapes where I want a wide view on my Mavic (and can't get far enough back to get everything), I usually turn the camera vertical and shoot 2-4 photos and stitch them together in photoshop or lightroom. Makes for a good high res landscape/pano and the Mavic is generally stable enough to not have issues with misalignment. I think the 24 or 28mm lengths avoid some distortion that tends to be more common with wider angle lenses.

Mavic 2 cam does not have a pano mode. the reason is that the cam cannot rotate 90deg because they wanted to make the gimbal more robust.

there should still be some automatic pano mode or you can manually shoot a grid of pictures.

 

[laurens23]

Just fly the drone backwards to increase FOV? That's the beauty of a drone...it's a prime lens that can go anywhere in a seconds

OP wants to shoot wide angle views, for example a mountain range. Getting the same view of the mountains with a 28mm as you do with a 26mm you need to fly back more than just a few seconds.

Example:
You want to get a skyline with a base of 5km in view (from left to right on the horizon)
with 28mm you have to be 325m (1066ft) further away than with the 26mm of the MP. That is more than a few seconds flying.
If the base of a mountain is 10km you have to fly backwards a whopping 655m (2150ft) from the 26mm location to get the same view with the 28mm.

personally though I would be happy with 28mm it makes things look a little bigger from up high, and I for a wide panoramic shot I usually take a few pictures and stitch them anyway. but I'm keeping my MPP for now.

 

[crbalch]

OP wants to shoot wide angle views, for example a mountain range. Getting the same view of the mountains with a 28mm as you do with a 26mm you need to fly back more than just a few seconds.

Example:
You want to get a skyline with a base of 5km in view (from left to right on the horizon)
with 28mm you have to be 325m (1066ft) further away than with the 26mm of the MP. That is more than a few seconds flying.
If the base of a mountain is 10km you have to fly backwards a whopping 655m (2150ft) from the 26mm location to get the same view with the 28mm.

personally though I would be happy with 28mm it makes things look a little bigger from up high, and I for a wide panoramic shot I usually take a few pictures and stitch them anyway. but I'm keeping my MPP for now.

Your examples would take ~15 and 30 seconds of flying at 45mph...that's a few seconds in the context of this conversation

 

[geevee]

Mavic 2 cam does not have a pano mode. the reason is that the cam cannot rotate 90deg because they wanted to make the gimbal more robust.

there should still be some automatic pano mode or you can manually shoot a grid of pictures.

oh that's a shame to lose that option. all panos are made with verticals. oh well, panos aren't big sellers, so it's not a deal breaker. That is now a selling feature of the MP1

 

[aljackie]

oh that's a shame to lose that option. all panos are made with verticals. oh well, panos aren't big sellers, so it's not a deal breaker. That is now a selling feature of the MP1

Just to clarify... the M2 DOES support Pano!!! Not sure where laurens23 heard it didn't, but Gemini this mode would suit your needs VERY well.

 

[gnirtS]

Just to clarify... the M2 DOES support Pano!!! Not sure where laurens23 heard it didn't, but Gemini this mode would suit your needs VERY well.

Not correct. It supports Pano via the auto pano modes. Which are fairly worthless. They prevent you selecting the field of view you want, number of images, the overlap, the horizon location.
Thats why it was pointless on the M1 and the same on the M2.
What most people getting decent panos did is select portrait mode and manually take the images. The Pro 2 does not have a portrait mode. This will likely mean for manual panos you'll need a top and bottom for each segment doubling the number of images. So instead of a 1 x 3 portrait you'll need a 2 x 3 landscape for the same effect. This obviously takes longer.

 

[aljackie]

Not correct. It supports Pano via the auto pano modes. Which are fairly worthless. They prevent you selecting the field of view you want, number of images, the overlap, the horizon location.
Thats why it was pointless on the M1 and the same on the M2.
What most people getting decent panos did is select portrait mode and manually take the images. The Pro 2 does not have a portrait mode. This will likely mean for manual panos you'll need a top and bottom for each segment doubling the number of images. So instead of a 1 x 3 portrait you'll need a 2 x 3 landscape for the same effect. This obviously takes longer.

Well I guess the only real thing is to get it in my hands and see for myself... I'll try their Pano mode and really inspect the shot with the new camera... I'm sure it will be better than the MP.

 

[gnirtS]

Define "better"? Its the same software (Go4) used to create it and the same restrictions. So it wont let you select overlap, field of view or horizon location.
You'll get a better quality image but thats not all that useful if the scene you want isnt captured in the first place.

You can work around by doubling up on shots for sure, its just more time and effort to actually do it.

 

[geevee]

Not correct. It supports Pano via the auto pano modes. Which are fairly worthless. They prevent you selecting the field of view you want, number of images, the overlap, the horizon location.
Thats why it was pointless on the M1 and the same on the M2.
What most people getting decent panos did is select portrait mode and manually take the images. The Pro 2 does not have a portrait mode. This will likely mean for manual panos you'll need a top and bottom for each segment doubling the number of images. So instead of a 1 x 3 portrait you'll need a 2 x 3 landscape for the same effect. This obviously takes longer.

yes, there's no way i'd want DJI to be editing my panos, at least in Photoshop you can set up the auto stitch but you still have full editing control to make adjustments. I'm not aware that you could do an automated pano stitch from a 2x3 type shoot (in PS), so now we are back to old school tedious editing? meh. As I said, this could be a reason to keep the MP1....

 

[gnirtS]

Thats not what i mean. I mean you'll now have to do a manual shooting of a 2 x 3 grid (or whatever) then stitch in PS or LR whereas on the MP you only needed a 1x3 for the same. Due to losing the portrait mode you're going to need roughly twice the number of images for the same width scene.

I'd never touch the automated modes. They dont offer any customisation at all so effectively worthless.

 

[aljackie]

Define "better"? Its the same software (Go4) used to create it and the same restrictions. So it wont let you select overlap, field of view or horizon location.
You'll get a better quality image but thats not all that useful if the scene you want isnt captured in the first place.

You can work around by doubling up on shots for sure, its just more time and effort to actually do it.

I'm talking about quality... better camera = better shot.

 

[aljackie]

yes, there's no way i'd want DJI to be editing my panos, at least in Photoshop you can set up the auto stitch but you still have full editing control to make adjustments. I'm not aware that you could do an automated pano stitch from a 2x3 type shoot (in PS), so now we are back to old school tedious editing? meh. As I said, this could be a reason to keep the MP1....

Well you never know till someone actually has it in hand and tries the shot... till then I guess we all guess... standing by to stand by...

 

[gnirtS]

I'm talking about quality... better camera = better shot.

Not if that "better shot" doesn't actually cover the exact area you want !

 

[aljackie]

Not if that "better shot" doesn't actually cover the exact area you want !

Hahaha fair enough!

 

[mreloc]

I'm talking about quality... better camera = better shot.

I think you can rest assured you're going to like what you get out of the M2P.