Optimal sharpness aperture?

[wco81]

One of the main differentiators between the Mavic Pro and lower-priced models is the adjustable aperture.

But on my Mavic 2 Pro, I believe the lens is sharpest at F4, so I've rarely stopped it down.

Instead I have a circular polarizer on it all the time and I've never encountered blown out highlights in photos or videos, mostly in daylight flying.

Is there an optimal aperture for the Mavic 3 models, where you leave it at the same aperture, changing either the shutter speed or ISO or both?

Or has DJI used lenses which are uniformly sharp across most of the apertures?

 

[waynorth]

Most camera lenses are sharpest 2-3 stops down from maximum aperture. If you stop further down sharpness will decrease slightly beacuse of diffraction.

Or has DJI used lenses which are uniformly sharp across most of the apertures?

Cheap, mediocre lenses like those in consumer drones have to follow the law of physics like other lenses, so they are less sharp full open and will also show diffraction at smaller apertures.

Instead I have a circular polarizer on it all the time and I've never encountered blown out highlights in photos or videos, mostly in daylight flying.

There is nothing in the design of PL-filters that will prevent blown highlights. In certain situations it will reduce reflections in some surfaces, and it will make the blue sky look unnatural dark.
But polarizers are not suited for wide angle lenses, it can cause uneven polarisation:

Quick Tip About Circular Polarizing Filters, Wide Angle Lenses and the Sun - Digital Photo Mentor

Before you go out and use your wide angle lens with a circular polarizer filter, read this and save yourself from making my mistake.

www.digitalphotomentor.com

 

[Meta4]

Instead I have a circular polarizer on it all the time and I've never encountered blown out highlights in photos or videos, mostly in daylight flying.

Your polariser isn't preventing blown out highlights.
But it will be a negative effect on much of your imagery.
In general polarisers are much more trouble than they are worth on drones.
They only work properly when aligned properly relative to the direction of the sun.
If you line it up properly for a particular shot, it won't be properly aligned if you turn the drone to face in any other direction and you get skies darker on one side of the image.
It's also reducing the available light significantly.

Is there an optimal aperture for the Mavic 3 models, where you leave it at the same aperture, changing either the shutter speed or ISO or both?

Do a little test shooting to see what works for you.
I've found that I get perfectly acceptable results at any aperture and just use the aperture to control exposure or help with a suitable shutter speed in low light.

 

[js47]

I shot a brick wall about a year ago with my Mavic 3, and the results were:

Center sharpness sweet spot is f/2.8 to f/5.6. Corner sharpness sweet spot is f/4 to f/5.6. The image is fine up to f/8 but diffraction starts to be noticeable. Diffraction is heavy by f/11. I pretty much just leave it at f/5.6 all the time unless I really need more light.

Leave it at ISO 100 if you want the best image quality, just change the shutter speed as necessary. The camera is very stable and can handle quite slow shutter speeds very reliably. You probably won't notice much difference at all between the different apertures when shooting video (particularly if the drone is moving), only when shooting stills. Something similar could probably be said for ISO up to about 800 but I haven't tested that since I don't shoot video.

I made my full resolution test files downloadable in case you want to make up your own mind: Mavic 3 Sharpness Test

 

[JoelP]

In the optics industry a circular polarizer is a linear polarizer plus a quarter-wave retarder. In the photography industry a circular polarizer is a linear polarizer in a round shape. This is a bit confusing. A linear polarizer plus a quarter wave retarder has a different purpose and is insensitive to rotation. The polarizer that you have (linear and round) is very dependent both on rotation and the angle of incidence of polarized light so most drone photographers rarely use these. It could be useful for shooting still photos over water to cut reflections but should generally be avoided for video clips where orientation relative to the sun may change.

I am glad that js47 answered the question about sweet spot at 5.6 since I never got around to testing with a resolution target.