Ok, Hot Topic... If you want to just shoot low light sunsets.....

[VenomXts]

What drone do you go for now or in next 6 months?

Assumptions:

1. Battery life is 20-40 mins ( obviously more better but point here is the pic).
2. You are shooting within a hour of sunset until it sets and 10 mins after and need to exclude the battery life as that can be managed with multiple batteries).
3. You are going to fiddle with HDR etc in post process.

Thoughts from the peeps here?

 

[Deleted member 77603]

Well I just stumbled back into Inspire 2/X5s land again for that purpose…along with my Autel Evo 2 Pro

But M3, M2 should work as well…

At some point, I will head towards XDynamics

 

[sarimento1]

i have air2s, Mavic 3 and Mini3P.
impressed with Mini3P ability, sample here.

 

[Yaros]

If you're talking only about photos, then the Air 2S and Mavic 2 Pro is a great choice! If you're trying to find something that will not cost more than $1000 then look into the Mini 3 Pro!
I own a Mavic Air 2, and with manual settings, RAW, HDR post-processing, and Exposure Bracketing I'm getting great results out of this drone.
It's a great camera, but I find the half-inch sensor just a bit small for this purpose.
I will post some example shots I took with it below.

 

[VenomXts]

i have air2s, Mavic 3 and Mini3P.
impressed with Mini3P ability, sample here.

I have a air 2, flew a mavic 3 for 5 months then was able to return it.... I love my air 2 but it just doesn't cut it in low light... I can get another mavic 3 with all issues worked out just trying to figure out what's the best decision going forward.

 

[Yaros]

I have a air 2, flew a mavic 3 for 5 months then was able to return it.... I love my air 2 but it just doesn't cut it in low light... I can get another mavic 3 with all issues worked out just trying to figure out what's the best decision going forward.

Yeah, Mavic 3 has its issues for sure. Hopefully they will be resolved soon.

I don't know exactly what low light photos you want, however with Long Exposure, I get decent shots with Air 2. I agree that it isn't the best for low light, but it works for me,as I mainly use it for Instagram posts. Mavic 3 is by far the best choice for this kind of purpose, but the reason I haven't mentioned it in my post above, is because of the issues it has.

Here are some more night photos I took, these are long exposure (2-3 second shutter speed, 200 ISO)

 

[Meta4]

Yeah, Mavic 3 has its issues for sure. Hopefully they will be resolved soon.

Your information is out-of-date.
The Mavic 3 issues were resolved weeks ago.

 

[Dale D]

What drone do you go for now or in next 6 months?

Assumptions:

1. Battery life is 20-40 mins ( obviously more better but point here is the pic).
2. You are shooting within a hour of sunset until it sets and 10 mins after and need to exclude the battery life as that can be managed with multiple batteries).
3. You are going to fiddle with HDR etc in post process.

Thoughts from the peeps here?

Since getting the M3 I have found a greater sense of relief doing these long sunrises and sunsets. With about close to 40 minutes, I never worry. My usual routine is to do all of the preliminary measurements and positioning with the 1st battery. This includes adjusting the height (about 150-190 feet), pointing the lens at the right place (you never know exactly where the sun will pop out), and set the ISO, aperture, etc. and then I bring the drone back down, change to a fresh battery and go back up and start the hyperlapse about 5-7 minutes before the sunrise or sunset. I usually set the hyperlapse to a 3 second interval, 550 frames, 28 minutes. At 3 second intervals, it equals to 60 ./. 3=20 shots per minute. Now 60/min x 27.50 minutes =550 shots. Then I bring the drone back. The rest is done at the computer using LRTimelapse with Adobe LrC (Lightroom Classic) where I can develop the dark foreground first using masking tool, then the sky is developed with a second new masking tool.

So the real answer to your question is ONLY the Mavic 3 with this much batter will give you the footage you want. (By the way- 550 shots at 24 frame per second yields =a 22.91 second video.

Dale
Miami

 

[sarimento1]

again this monday morning sunrise with the mini3, stitched in DJI Fly and toned in Adobe LRC.

 

[Dale D]

Since getting the M3 I have found a greater sense of relief doing these long sunrises and sunsets. With about close to 40 minutes, I never worry. My usual routine is to do all of the preliminary measurements and positioning with the 1st battery. This includes adjusting the height (about 150-190 feet), pointing the lens at the right place (you never know exactly where the sun will pop out), and set the ISO, aperture, etc. and then I bring the drone back down, change to a fresh battery and go back up and start the hyperlapse about 5-7 minutes before the sunrise or sunset. I usually set the hyperlapse to a 3 second interval, 550 frames, 28 minutes. At 3 second intervals, it equals to 60 ./. 3=20 shots per minute. Now 60/min x 27.50 minutes =550 shots. Then I bring the drone back. The rest is done at the computer using LRTimelapse with Adobe LrC (Lightroom Classic) where I can develop the dark foreground first using masking tool, then the sky is developed with a second new masking tool.

So the real answer to your question is ONLY the Mavic 3 with this much batter will give you the footage you want. (By the way- 550 shots at 24 frame per second yields =a 22.91 second video.

Dale
Miami

again this monday morning sunrise with the mini3, stitched in DJI Fly and toned in Adobe LRC.

Sarimento-that's a real beauty!!! Very nicely done. Looks like you live in one of really nice gated communities.

Dale
Miami

 

[sarimento1]

Sarimento-that's a real beauty!!! Very nicely done. Looks like you live in one of really nice gated communities.

Dale
Miami

thx!
we have several nice golf communities all around; but no ocean or bay!

from this tuesday morning, also mini3p...

 

[Robert Prior]

I've had pretty good results with both a Phantom 4:

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and a Mavic 2 Pro:

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If you are using multiple-exposure HDR then the sensor matters far less, as you can get the dynamic range from different exposures. I shoot four exposures, two stops apart, and get what I think are good results.

 

[Dale D]

thx!
we have several nice golf communities all around; but no ocean or bay!

from this tuesday morning, also mini3p...

Sarmiento- this is also great image, but it could be even better! As is, it looks a bit flat to me. The corners are blocked up in shadows. You cannot see the water, or the area behind the trees on the right. The sky is a bit bright. I used the Adobe Masking tool first on the sky, then, on the foreground, and finally, a mask on the lower corners, and I also burned in the poinciana a bit. Here they are side by side. Tell me what you think.

Dale\Miami

 

[veryzebra]

Sarimento-that's a real beauty!!! Very nicely done. Looks like you live in one of really nice gated communities.

Dale
Miami

Wow, I just checked the link in your sig. Those photos from Bhutan are amazing. Sorry for being nosey but just wow.

 

[Dale D]

Wow, I just checked the link in your sig. Those photos from Bhutan are amazing. Sorry for being nosey but just wow.

No No No- By all Means - please feel free to look at all the images. It would be my great pleasure. On the site, go to "BROWSE" at the top. Feel free to scroll to places all over the world.
www.daledavisphotography.smugmug.com

 

[Bobby Buttonwood]

i have air2s, Mavic 3 and Mini3P.
impressed with Mini3P ability, sample here.

What were the settings for this photo?

 

[sarimento1]

What were the settings for this photo?

IIRC, this was a pano, wide photo, set on auto, no ev comp, jpg+raw.
stitched in dji fly, yielding a jpg.
toned the dji-produced jpg in adobe lightroom.

like/dislike??

 

[Bobby Buttonwood]

IIRC, this was a pano, wide photo, set on auto, no ev comp, jpg+raw.
stitched in dji fly, yielding a jpg.
toned the dji-produced jpg in adobe lightroom.

like/dislike??

Like. Thought it was a bit oversaturated but then saw then saw the original.

 

[sarimento1]

Like. Thought it was a bit oversaturated but then saw then saw the original.

thx.