DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

No Photo Zoom Functions on Mavic Air 2 - WHY?

CageyWhite

Member
Joined
May 28, 2021
Messages
10
Reactions
3
Age
62
Location
Sacramento, California
I have a Mavic Air 2 and I have repeatedly read who DJI recently added a Zoom function to the drone, operated by pressing a number to the left of the shutter button in the DJI Fly app as well as the Smart Controller. I have BOTH - the app and controller - and neither display the number next to the shutter button. I've updated both apps and I still don't seem to have the functions.

What gives?
 
Zoom is not available in photo modus. And to be honest? It doesn’t make sense because of too much quality loss if over used. And yess if needed? Do it on post production on your computer. Then you can crop as much as possible without loosing to much quality.
 
Last edited:
I have a Mavic Air 2 and I have repeatedly read who DJI recently added a Zoom function to the drone, operated by pressing a number to the left of the shutter button in the DJI Fly app as well as the Smart Controller. I have BOTH - the app and controller - and neither display the number next to the shutter button. I've updated both apps and I still don't seem to have the functions.

What gives?
The Air 2S is the same. No zoom in photo mode. It defaults to it's highest resolution in photo mode. You have to zoom crop the image in post. I know. It makes no sense why they couldn't program the zoom feature into photo mode for the MavAir2 or the Air2S. Autel has digital zoom in both photo and video mode. It's just nice to be able to zoom into a subject while your observing it and take a photo. Instead, we have to zoom in while in video mode and convert the video to image files, then take the image we want from the video file. It get's time consuming. Also, the problem without being able to zoom into a subject, you can't be sure what your taking a photo of. Your subject may look like a little spec on the monitor. Annoying.
 
And to be honest? It doesn’t make sense because of to much quality loss if over used.
Good answer.

Digital zoom is not really zoom at all, just 'in-camera cropping'... so using less of the sensor, which = lower resolution, which = lower quality.
 
You can always zoom into the live video stream during flight to decide if the subject is worthy of a still photo. If you are recording video, a screen grab of the digital video zoom in post may also be sufficient, depending upon your needs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1TenaciousG
I have a Mavic Air 2 and I have repeatedly read who DJI recently added a Zoom function to the drone, operated by pressing a number to the left of the shutter button in the DJI Fly app as well as the Smart Controller. I have BOTH - the app and controller - and neither display the number next to the shutter button. I've updated both apps and I still don't seem to have the functions.

What gives?
To be fair to DJI, when the Air 2 originally came to market it never had a zoom capability. DJI’s techies added that a few weeks after launch via a downloadable update. When I found that they had “gifted” me a zoom on certain video modes, at no added cost, I felt a great appreciation, certainly not a grumble about cropped resolutions or no zoom on still frames. And so I use it quite frequently and it is very useful, especially when doing camera inspections near obstacle hazards, so that I can stay well clear of areas that might put
my Air 2 at risk. If I really wanted a still frame I could do a screen capture on my iphone 11 Pro, but the recorded video is fine (and this does permit post editing). With regards to checking if an image is worth recording, I have never had an issue with assessing views straight off the iphone screen. Good eyesight + good judgement! And the zoom function is very easy to set up using the scroll wheel and F button on the RC (refer to the manual). ????
 
I have a Mavic Air 2 and I have repeatedly read who DJI recently added a Zoom function to the drone, operated by pressing a number to the left of the shutter button in the DJI Fly app as well as the Smart Controller. I have BOTH - the app and controller - and neither display the number next to the shutter button. I've updated both apps and I still don't seem to have the functions.

What gives?
Are you using the standard controller? If you are, press the fn button and use the gimbal dial. Not sure how to do this on the sc.
 
Good answer.

Digital zoom is not really zoom at all, just 'in-camera cropping'... so using less of the sensor, which = lower resolution, which = lower quality.
I use "zoom" in video mode fairly often. Quality of zoom video depends on light conditions and amount of zoom. 4x sucks most of time, but can be not so bad in moderate light. Dusk and darker conditions - worthless as way too much grain.

I do use between 1x - 2.5x quite often and during daylight conditions - video is quite good. Not as good as if a real zoom lens, but better than nothing. Even at 1080p / 25 fps.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1TenaciousG
Yep - that Zoom issue is a bit tricky and I found out the hard way as with so much chatter there is simply a lot of misinformation - the Mavic 2 DOES NOT HAVE ZOOM IN PHOTO MODE, per DJI. But, it does feature Zoom when in Video mode.
 
Yep - that Zoom issue is a bit tricky and I found out the hard way as with so much chatter there is simply a lot of misinformation - the Mavic 2 DOES NOT HAVE ZOOM IN PHOTO MODE, per DJI. But, it does feature Zoom when in Video mode.
Correction: The Mavic Air 2 does not have zoom in photo mode. The Mavic 2 Zoom does have optical zoom in both photo and video!
 
Keep in mind the Air 2 has a 48MP sensor, so it can maintain true 4k as it zooms; but you lose the benefit of ~2x2 binning - and you do get more noise.
 
Good answer.

Digital zoom is not really zoom at all, just 'in-camera cropping'... so using less of the sensor, which = lower resolution, which = lower quality.

Agreed. My EVO 2 have "lens" zoom up to 4X. Over that it changes to digital zoom and up to 16X is a waste of memory space.
 
Just posted this in another topic and it really is pretty easy to use.

Only works in 1080 or 2.7k video mode. Hold the function button and turn the gimbal wheel when in either of those modes. You can also use the touch screen but I find that to be a hassle and it doesn't allow for the fine tuning the gimbal function offers.
 
Air 2 is a 1" 20mp camera, not 48mp camera
 
Mavic Air 2 has a Quad Bayer 1/2” sensor featuring a 12MP camera that can shoot a higher resolution 48MP image with less dynamic range than its 12MP version. You are conflating the Mavic Air 2 with the far superior Air 2S.
Yes, you are correct. I inadvertently left off the S. Crazy, I'm expecting my MA2S next week.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GadgetGuy
The EVO 2 has no optical zoom whatsoever. It is all digital cropping.

(Does Autel EVO 2 drone have optical zoom? 8x and lossless zoom 4x?)

Does Autel EVO 2 drone have optical zoom?​

Yes, All three EVO II drone has camera zoom up to 8x and lossless zoom up to 4x.

Autel EVO II 8K drone features a 48 megapixel 1/2" CMOS sensor with a maximum resolution of 8000x6000 pixels and a 4x lossless in-camera zoom max up to 8x.

Autel EVO II Pro 6K drone features a 1” CMOS sensor with a maximum resolution of 5472x3648 pixels, adjustable aperture f/2.8 - f/11, and a 4x lossless in-camera zoom max zoom up to 8x.

Note: With the last update, now goes to 16x digital zoom...
 
Last edited:
(Does Autel EVO 2 drone have optical zoom? 8x and lossless zoom 4x?)

Does Autel EVO 2 drone have optical zoom?​

Yes, All three EVO II drone has camera zoom up to 8x and lossless zoom up to 4x.

Autel EVO II 8K drone features a 48 megapixel 1/2" CMOS sensor with a maximum resolution of 8000x6000 pixels and a 4x lossless in-camera zoom max up to 8x.

Autel EVO II Pro 6K drone features a 1” CMOS sensor with a maximum resolution of 5472x3648 pixels, adjustable aperture f/2.8 - f/11, and a 4x lossless in-camera zoom max zoom up to 8x.

Note: With the last update, now goes to 16x digital zoom...
Correct. However, lossless zoom is not the same as optical zoom. Lossless zoom is a function of digital cropping by using the full 6K sensor and outputting a lower video resolution, like 1080p in the output. The true test of optical zoom is on stills, not video. An optical zoom does not change the resolution of the image and retains the full resolution of the sensor by having an optical zoom lens, which also usually varies the aperture as it zooms, like on the M2Z, where the 2x is at f/3.8 instead of f/2.8 . Anything other than an optical zoom on a still image is a digital crop, which can be done in post, while saving the rest of the original for different cropping options.
 
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,599
Messages
1,554,251
Members
159,603
Latest member
refrigasketscanada