New movie showing the capabilities of the 3x optical zoom of M3P

Roberto Smera · Jun 28, 2023

MS Coast said:
The depth of field with those cameras is so great, that it's difficult not to have things more than a few yards away out of focus if you're toward the infinity end of the scale. So, fixed manual focus should be fine for ship photography. Using fixed focus eliminates any focus hunting problems with video.

There was a good discussion of this sometime within the past year. If you're interested, do a search for hyperfocal distance. Some very knowledgeable folks provided some excellent information.

As per my own experience I never needed to change from AF to MF in all of my drones during all those years using the wide angles lenses from 22mm (Air 2S), 24 mm (Phantom 4 and Mavic 3) and 28mm (Mavic 2 Pro). I was very surprised with the 70mm lens on the new M3P, as it also acquires, locks and maintain focus even when the drone changes distance from the ships I film here. I can confirm that in these scenarios there is no need to change the focus mode on the new Mavic 3 Pro 3x zoom. Made this film yesterday in afternoon bright light with the 3x zoom and the focus was flawless. Please don't bother with some timing errors that occurred after edition on FCXP.

Roberto Smera · Jun 28, 2023

Meta4 said:
AF-C ??
I can't find AF-C on the Mavic 3 ... Just AF or Manual focus

Sorry about that. What I mean is AF, but it is continuous during flight.

Roberto Smera · Jun 28, 2023

Filmarik said:
There is no AF-C per se. But when shooting video the AF is in fact in AF-C mode. It keeps focusing while shooting, and hunting/breathing while trying to establish focus "on the fly" so to speak. It is basically unusable on M3 with 162mm. So I wonder if it has been improved on M3Pro on 70mm and 166mm cameras so it can be used without ruining the videos.

That's exactly my experience with the new M3P using the 70mm tele lens. Once locked, the focus stays on the subject and never miss or refocus. I only shoot ships and vessels around here so perhaps this kind of subject don't pose real challenges to the AF.

photowolff · Jul 2, 2023

Roberto Smera said:
Film captured yesterday at Santos Seaport (-23° 58' 33.60" S -46° 17' 20.02" W) showing the capabilities of the new 3x optical zoom.
Used the ND16 filter from the kit at 4k 30fps. Thank you.

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Fantastic production and piloting

Meta4 · Jul 2, 2023

Filmarik said:
There is no AF-C per se. But when shooting video the AF is in fact in AF-C mode. It keeps focusing while shooting, and hunting/breathing while trying to establish focus "on the fly" so to speak. It is basically unusable on M3 with 162mm. So I wonder if it has been improved on M3Pro on 70mm and 166mm cameras so it can be used without ruining the videos.

Testing video with both tele cameras, panning from close to distant subjects, back and forwards, autofocus works just as it should.
No focus worries noticed.

Filmarik · Jul 2, 2023

Meta4 said:
Testing video with both tele cameras, panning from close to distant subjects, back and forwards, autofocus works just as it should.
No focus worries noticed.

That is indeed a good news. I will re-test the focusing while transitioning from close to distant subjects with the 162mm camera on M3 and report back if the focus breathing is still present on the latest FW.

GadgetGuy · Jul 3, 2023

Filmarik said:
That is indeed a good news. I will re-test the focusing while transitioning from close to distant subjects with the 162mm camera on M3 and report back if the focus breathing is still present on the latest FW.

Depends upon the lighting, and the contrast and detail in your subject. It will still focus breathe if it is hazy, low contrast, or if there are insufficient detailed edges upon which to focus, especially on the 7x telephoto lens. In those cases, best to first acquire sharp focus at 28x, switch to manual focus to lock it, and then back out to 7x.

Roberto Smera · Jul 3, 2023

photowolff said:
Fantastic production and piloting

Thank you, Photowolff.

Cymruflyer · Jul 12, 2023

Not really interested in filming of ships underway, however, what you did here was really very pleasant to watch and a great testament to that new 3Pro and its ability to hold focus at tele distances. I enjoyed the music you added, as well. Nice work Roberto.

With that said, I'm also very annoyed with you, because now I feel I may have to get rid of my Mavic 2 Pro and buy the new 3 Pro. If I start saving now, I may be able to afford the Mavic 27 Pro, one day. I have 2 young children that need the Mavic 3 Pro money, spent on them, instead of a new drone.

Ahhh, I can dream.

Roberto Smera · Jul 13, 2023

Cymruflyer said:
Not really interested in filming of ships underway, however, what you did here was really very pleasant to watch and a great testament to that new 3Pro and its ability to hold focus at tele distances. I enjoyed the music you added, as well. Nice work Roberto.

With that said, I'm also very annoyed with you, because now I feel I may have to get rid of my Mavic 2 Pro and buy the new 3 Pro. If I start saving now, I may be able to afford the Mavic 27 Pro, one day. I have 2 young children that need the Mavic 3 Pro money, spent on them, instead of a new drone.

Ahhh, I can dream.

Many thanks, really appreciate your feedback. Hope you can get a M3P one day, although I think the M2P is still a great bird with excellent IQ. Take care.

fximaging · Sep 16, 2023

Amazing how smooth and non-jittery your pans are. Most videos I see with pans like that are not very smooth.

jephoto · May 30, 2024

Roberto Smera said:
Film captured yesterday at Santos Seaport (-23° 58' 33.60" S -46° 17' 20.02" W) showing the capabilities of the new 3x optical zoom.
Used the ND16 filter from the kit at 4k 30fps. Thank you.

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Roberto- I know this is almost a year old, but as I just got the M3Pro, I’m digging up a lot of posts & vids on it.
This is just **** gorgeous filming.

Had my first chance to use the 3x camera today shooting for a school website in Chicago.
LOVE this lens!