New to Air 3 - Zoom control question: Video mode

[jasonbrooks]

Hi folks,

Long time Mavic Pro user, recently upgraded to Air 3. I shoot video professionally, so image quality is everything to me. Although I recognise I've compromised with the Air 3 vs. the Mavic Cine pro, this was my budget, so I'm just trying to maximise my quality with this drone. Anyways, on to my question...

I'm confused by the 'zoom' interface on the RC 2. Zoom is always displayed as 1x 3x 9x etc. I really only want to record footage with optical zoom (i.e. the native focal length of either the 24 or 70mm lens, with zero digital zoom applied in-camera). Is there a way I can configure the interface to achieve that? If not, how do I tell what zoom ratios (1x, 3x, 9x etc) are actually native optical focal lengths, without digital zoom applied?

Ironically, I've read people wishing that they could use the digital zoom in photo mode, whilst it's limited to video mode only. I'd really like the opposite, to disable all digital zoom modes in video, and simply switch between 24 and 70mm lenses for different shots.

Any advice? Thanks everyone!

jason

P.S. I'm also curious re: recording codecs. It seems the Air 3 limited to .mp4 H.265 format recordings. Is that right?

 

[rddl]

Hello Jason,

Page 90, DJI Air3 User Manual - the screenshot explains how to switch from 24 to 70 mm lenses.
The buttons are called 1x and 3x and do not use digital zoom.

To use digital zoom (you do not want it), you have to use a finger on the screen and wipe - a ruler appears with the digital zoom value.

Available vidéo formats :
MP4 (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, HEVC/H.265)

You can have a look to Topaz AI video, Topaz Ai, photo : you can improve the quality of your footages / pictures

 

[jasonbrooks]

Thanks so much for the quick response - that now makes perfect sense. I also hadn't realised that you cannot swap between lenses/cameras whilst recording, which was limiting me to the digital zoom adjustments!

AOK now! Cheers, jason

 

[Droning on and on...]

To use digital zoom (you do not want it), you have to use a finger on the screen and wipe - a ruler appears with the digital zoom value.

While I don't have an Air 3 yet, if they've carried forward the basic control interface from previous drones I suspect you can zoom in/out with the right control dial on the RC too... Can an Air 3 owner verify this?

 

[Desert Drone Works]

While I don't have an Air 3 yet, if they've carried forward the basic control interface from previous drones I suspect you can zoom in/out with the right control dial on the RC too... Can an Air 3 owner verify this?

Yes, you can zoom with the right dial. 1-3x on the 24mm and 3-9x on the 70mm. Digital zoom is pretttttttty bad though as mentioned above.

Since they're essentially two separate cameras, there isn't a way to seamlessly swap I'm afraid.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Since they're essentially two separate cameras, there isn't a way to seamlessly swap I'm afraid.

The seamless swap you want is called Explore mode, and is currently only available on the Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Pro. DJI could easily implement it on the Air 3 with a FW update, since it has been available for almost 2 years on the Mavic 3 with two cameras from 1x to 28x, jumping between 4x digital and 7x optical. Inserting a 3x optical in between that jump smooths out the progression on the Mavic 3 Pro. Changing seamlessly from 1x to 9x with a 3x optical in the middle, and using up to 3x digital on each camera would be very smooth.

 

[MavicAir2Marc]

P.S. I'm also curious re: recording codecs. It seems the Air 3 limited to .mp4 H.265 format recordings. Is that right?

Higher frame rates and resolution require H.265 on most DJI aircraft. Check your manual to find out which settings require H.265. Generally, standard frame rates (24,30) and lower resolution can be shot in H.264