New Parrot Drone

project jayden · Jun 13, 2018

Thwyllo said:
Except it's nothing like optical zoom is it, as I'm sure you know. Optical zoom is where the glass in the lens shuffles about physically to make the subject larger. Digital zoom is just cropping the picture (or the sensor) to make the subject seem larger, except of course that, just like a post production crop it has far fewer pixies than a proper optical zoom which keeps exactly the same pixie count and therefore resolution.

(Note to Spelling Bees: yes I know it's pixels but it's not as much fun is it).

It also states that it's lossless xoom but I guess only time will tell to see if that's true. (And yes I know it's spelled zoom )

Thwyllo · Jun 13, 2018

project jayden said:
It also states that it's lossless xoom but I guess only time will tell to see if that's true. (And yes I know it's spelled zoom )

Interesting. Not as interesting as the fact that when I did a Google search it spellchecked "Anafi" into "SNAFU". Oo-err! Ominous.

Anyway I suspect it's a marketing gimmick to make a fudge sound like a bonus. What it actually says on their site is: "ANAFI’s innovative zoom technology enables up to 2.8X lossless digital zoom in full HD (1,4X in 4K), equivalent to an optical zoom.

Lossless zoom allows you to get a closer without any resolution loss. Change the focal length to get close to the action while remaining at a safe distance.".

What that says to me, especially as the zoom is different in HD than 4k, is they're probably just sensor cropping, or rather uncropping, so that a 1.4 "zoom" in 4k just uses the whole sensor for a change...I mean it's reasonably clever and convincing to a Luddite but you can't create pixies where they don't exist, and if they exist, then just use that resolution in the first place when filming. If you're using 4k it's just as easy to zoom in post.

RayOZ · Jun 13, 2018

Thwyllo said:
Except it's nothing like optical zoom is it, as I'm sure you know. Optical zoom is where the glass in the lens shuffles about physically to make the subject larger. Digital zoom is just cropping the picture (or the sensor) to make the subject seem larger, except of course that, just like a post production crop it has far fewer pixies than a proper optical zoom which keeps exactly the same pixie count and therefore resolution.

(Note to Spelling Bees: yes I know it's pixels but it's not as much fun is it).

I know a marketing gimmick when I see one. Not interested. I’ve got a Mavic Pro, getting this would feel like a downgrade. If buying a 2018 drone feels like a downgrade from a 2016 drone, this is not a shut-up-and-take-my-money drone.
If Samsung were to copy 2-year-old iPhones instead of trying to beat the latest version, they’d go bankrupt by now.
I know competition is good, but I don’t think DJI is breaking a sweat with this one.

macoman · Jun 13, 2018

RayOZ said:
I know a marketing gimmick when I see one. Not interested. I’ve got a Mavic Pro, getting this would feel like a downgrade. If buying a 2018 drone feels like a downgrade from a 2016 drone, this is not a shut-up-and-take-my-money drone.
If Samsung were to copy 2-year-old iPhones instead of trying to beat the latest version, they’d go bankrupt by now.
I know competition is good, but I don’t think DJI is breaking a sweat with this one.

The camera itself is superior to the mavic and not even the Mavic Air can match the way that camera move up and down. That's for sure is a great upgrade if we are talking about camera wise. Now if are talking about range only, the mavic pro is still superior... Matter of fact, not small drone yet can match the superior range provided by the mavic pro.

Thwyllo · Jun 13, 2018

macoman said:
The camera itself is superior to the mavic and not even the Mavic Air can match the way that camera move up and down. That's for sure is a great upgrade if we are talking about camera wise. Now if are talking about range only, the mavic pro is still superior... Matter of fact, not small drone yet can match the superior range provided by the mavic pro.

The camera is only currently superior on paper. 21 megapixies maybe, but pixies aren't the whole story by a long chalk and I'll wait until I see a decent tech review with side by side image quality evaluation. But let's not forget that Parrot are up against a company with a majority stake in Hasselblad - that's a game changer as the 100mp M600 has already proven.

The Techradar review is fairly telling, especially as regards lack of OA and that 1lb brick of a controller.....

Parrot Anafi hands on review | TechRadar

hubilux · Jun 13, 2018

Thwyllo said:
The camera is only currently superior on paper. 21 megapixies maybe, but pixies aren't the whole story by a long chalk and I'll wait until I see a decent tech review with side by side image quality evaluation.

It's not only better on paper.
The Anafi has the Sony IMX230 chip that is superior to the Mavic's. It does 5360 Pixel horizontally.
4K horizontal number of Pixel is 3840 ( 2x 1920).

5360/3840 = 1.396

So you have digital 1.4x "zoom" in 4K without loss of quality.

Here's a quick sample video I did, no color correction, 4K, pLog, 30fps

Mako79 · Jun 14, 2018

Wow. Very smart of Anafi utilizing the same tech as the Spark - 2 axis gimbal and software for the third axis.
The spark films in 4k (4000x3000 = 12mpx camera) and uses Electronic stabilisation (as seen in the first Bebop). It then stabilises the footage by cropping down to 1080p. This removes the need for the 3rd axis (yaw compensation) on a gimble.
The Anafi however has taken a step up and used a much larger sensor, possibly a 5.7K (21mpx) camera cropped video back down to a stabilised 4K using EIS. Cropping and stablising 4K on the fly requires some heavy processing.

And upskirting buildings looks awesome. I could do this on the Mavic by flying in reverse and playing it backwards in post. I couldnt get any vertically up videos though..

And speculative zoom x 3 would be all digital sensor cropping. Full sensor > cropped 4000x3000 > and a 1080p frame grab i reckon.

In all, game changer Anafi. Clap clap.

RayOZ · Jun 14, 2018

You need to evaluate and compare the whole drone. Not just the parts that are better and ignore useful features that are not included. You don't just buy a new car cos its got brighter headlights, but the safety rating is worse than the car you currently have. Unless you've got plenty of money to spend on a collection of different drones just for the fun of it.

clackey · Jun 30, 2018

Hey all! We just released ParrotPilots.com in anticipation of the Anafi release next week. Check it out at Parrot Pilots Drone Forum.

kyle mavic · Jun 30, 2018

macoman said:
The camera itself is superior to the mavic and not even the Mavic Air can match the way that camera move up and down. That's for sure is a great upgrade if we are talking about camera wise. Now if are talking about range only, the mavic pro is still superior... Matter of fact, not small drone yet can match the superior range provided by the mavic pro.

I think the Autel Evo might manage the same range,Toying with the idea of selling my MPP to get the EVO.

wytnyt · Jun 30, 2018

kyle mavic said:
I think the Autel Evo might manage the same range,Toying with the idea of selling my MPP to get the EVO.

im gonna make a vid from the evo tonight when it cools a bit,im anxious to see the out come

macoman · Jun 30, 2018

kyle mavic said:
I think the Autel Evo might manage the same range,Toying with the idea of selling my MPP to get the EVO.

I saw a YouTube video that someone was able to reach 4.0 miles and the Evo lost signal and returned to home.

Mako79 · Jul 1, 2018

In Parrot charges for in App purchases to add flight functions..
Anafi
That's pretty disgusting... I expect that from 3rd party developers.

microlinux · Jul 2, 2018

Mako79 said:
In Parrot charges for in App purchases to add flight functions

Nickel and dime! That's pretty bad.

IShouldBeWorking · Jul 2, 2018

Big news sources are starting to post Anafi reviews. Here's the one from The Verge:

Parrot Anafi drone review: flying high, but falling short

Looks like some bugs and lingering issues at launch. I was hoping it'd be a better competitor to keep DJI on their toes. Maybe after some software updates the Anafi with be more of a contender.