Poor photo Quality when using Zoom

[AusTrekie]

I have an Air 3 and Mini 4 pro Drone using the RC 2 controller, all updated to latest firmware/software. The problem I have is when I take a zoom photo from either Drone, the photo is blurry or not clear when displaying on my computer monitor, which is a good quality Monitor/Computer. All photos other than Zoom are all ok. Any suggestions to fix this issue would be appreciated. Does not appear a camera issue as both drones display similar issue.

 

[Meta4]

I have an Air 3 and Mini 4 pro Drone using the RC 2 controller, all updated to latest firmware/software. The problem I have is when I take a zoom photo from either Drone, the photo is blurry or not clear when displaying on my computer monitor, which is a good quality Monitor/Computer. All photos other than Zoom are all ok. Any suggestions to fix this issue would be appreciated. Does not appear a camera issue as both drones display similar issue.

Without seeing the images, we can only guess.
Posting examples might help.
But neither drone has optical zoom and any zoom is digital zoom.
That's just blowing up (stretching) the centre of the image and is never going to have the same image quality as a non (digital) zoomed image.

 

[akdrone]

What Meta4 said. Our drones do not have ANY zoom lens. You can just as easily import a picture taken without zooming in and then, in Photoshop or other program, "zoom" in...crop the image and blow up what is left. It will always be crummier. You could get Topaz AI Photo and honestly it will do a really good job at "fixing" the lower resolution image but other than that kind of magic, zooming in will never give you a sharp image. I virtually never do it unless I'm trying to "look" at something up close.

 

[AusTrekie]

Without seeing the images, we can only guess.
Posting examples might help.
But neither drone has optical zoom, and any zoom is digital zoom.
That's just blowing up (stretching) the center of the image and is never going to have the same image quality as a non (digital) zoomed image.

Thanks for your reply. Refer to attached Zoom Photos taken from the Air 3. So basically, due to Digital Zoom. Photos are of a Poor quality. I would have thought they would have been clearer than they are. So basically, not worth taking Zoom Photos. They appeared on the RC2 display to be ok, but on the Monitor not the case. I know the resolution is somewhat different on the Monitor but had expected it better than what was produced. I gather there is no adjustment in the fly app to help with this issue.

 

[AusTrekie]

What Meta4 said. Our drones do not have ANY zoom lens. You can just as easily import a picture taken without zooming in and then, in Photoshop or other program, "zoom" in...crop the image and blow up what is left. It will always be crummier. You could get Topaz AI Photo and honestly it will do a really good job at "fixing" the lower resolution image but other than that kind of magic, zooming in will never give you a sharp image. I virtually never do it unless I'm trying to "look" at something up close.

Thanks for your reply. I now gather I will not get good quality photos from a digital zoom. But had presumed the quality may had been better than the result I got! Sort of defeats the purpose of the digital zoom for taking photos.

 

[Evmoius]

Thanks for your reply. I now gather I will not get good quality photos from a digital zoom. But had presumed the quality may had been better than the result I got! Sort of defeats the purpose of the digital zoom for taking photos.

It's useful for scouting out things, but as others have said, you may as well just take the photo and then blow it up in Photoshop.

 

[Meta4]

Those examples confirm that digital zoom is the issue and not one of the other possible explanations.

Sort of defeats the purpose of the digital zoom for taking photos.

The main purpose of digital zoom (fake zoom) is in marketing to people who don't know what digital zoom is.

 

[mswlogo]

Doesn’t his Air 3 have a separate 3x Zoom camera?

 

[Meta4]

Doesn’t his Air 3 have a separate 3x Zoom camera?

No ... the Air 3 has two fixed focal length cameras.
The Mavic 3 pro has three, but neither has any zoom lens.

 

[mswlogo]

No ... the Air 3 has two fixed focal length cameras.
The Mavic 3 pro has three, but neither has any zoom lens.

Also referred to as the 3x Optical Zoom and 7x Optical Zoom cameras. Also referred to as a Tele Lens.

OP never stated how he zoomed, how much he zoomed and which cameras he zoomed. Did he Digitally zoom or By switching camera to a Tele camera/lens. Because some folks have complained about the Tele cameras not as sharp as they hoped and in some cases a dud drone.

The 3x “Zoom” on the Air 3 should be fairly sharp.

And the OP should understand how the zooming does work on the Air 3. I assume it does the same as Mavic 3 pro that 1x to 2.9x is digital zoom. But you have to switch cameras to get to 3x. 3x will be much sharper than 2.9x.

 

[Meta4]

Also referred to as the 3x Optical Zoom and 7x Optical Zoom cameras. Also referred to as a Tele Lens.

Only by people with no understanding of what zoom actually is.
For 50 years photographers have understood that a zoom lens is a lens with a variable focal length.

It's only recently that some folks with no photographic knowledge are confusing telephoto lenses and zoom lenses.

OP never stated how he zoomed, how much he zoomed and which cameras he zoomed
Did he Digitally zoom or By switching camera to a Tele camera/lens.

His image metadata makes it clear that both photos were taken with the wide camera of the Air 3.

The 3x “Zoom” on the Air 3 should be fairly sharp.

There is no zoom lens and insisting on referring to it that way, reflects poorly on your photographic understanding.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Thanks for your reply. Refer to attached Zoom Photos taken from the Air 3. So basically, due to Digital Zoom. Photos are of a Poor quality. I would have thought they would have been clearer than they are. So basically, not worth taking Zoom Photos. They appeared on the RC2 display to be ok, but on the Monitor not the case. I know the resolution is somewhat different on the Monitor but had expected it better than what was produced. I gather there is no adjustment in the fly app to help with this issue.

These pictures are terrible even if there was heavy zoom, something else is wrong. Did you pull these from the Sd Card ?

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the water.

 

[Yaros]

Thanks for your reply. Refer to attached Zoom Photos taken from the Air 3. So basically, due to Digital Zoom. Photos are of a Poor quality.

Yeah, those pictures look awful. It shouldn't be like this.
Make sure you're copying the files directly from the SD card.
Also, in the DJI Fly app, on the right where you set the zoom levels, on the Air 3 you will see two circles, one saying 1x by default, and the other one saying 3x.
Now here's the thing, if you use the bottom one, drag it and zoom it to 3x, so both circles now say 3x, you'll still be on the regular 1x camera, just digitally zooming.
In order to switch to the zoom camera, click on the top circle that says 3x by default, you can verify that you have switched the camera because you'll be able to zoom to 9x maximum instead of 3x maximum.

I'll attach a photo below from my 3x on the Air 3 so you can see how it should look.
(Click on the image to expand)

 

[BobaFut]

There is no zoom lens and insisting on referring to it that way, reflects poorly on your photographic understanding.

Which is why they used quotation marks, indicating that the "zoom" reference is colloquial and not technical. I'm a professional photographer, I know what the technical difference is, and I just call the 70mm and 166mm lenses the "3x and 7x zoom lenses" because for all its faults the English language is gloriously flexible and it's fine.

 

[mswlogo]

Only by people with no understanding of what zoom actually is.
For 50 years photographers have understood that a zoom lens is a lens with a variable focal length.

It's only recently that some folks with no photographic knowledge are confusing telephoto lenses and zoom lenses.


His image metadata makes it clear that both photos were taken with the wide camera of the Air 3.

There is no zoom lens and insisting on referring to it that way, reflects poorly on your photographic understanding.

Maybe you should have a talk with DJI because that is how they are referred to on their home page for Mavic 3 Pro and what many users will reference it by as well.

DJI constantly interchanges 3x Zoom and 3x Tele. It’s not the users that started the confusion.

OP (or other readers) may or may not be aware how it works. Which why I brought it up. I typically don’t call them “Zoom” myself.

Some users I think expect the Drone to switch cameras automatically as they “zoom” to get the best result.

I’m well aware of what they are. No need to for you grade my knowledge. You have no idea of my background.

 

[Wingman8209]

I have an Air 3 and Mini 4 pro Drone using the RC 2 controller, all updated to latest firmware/software. The problem I have is when I take a zoom photo from either Drone, the photo is blurry or not clear when displaying on my computer monitor, which is a good quality Monitor/Computer. All photos other than Zoom are all ok. Any suggestions to fix this issue would be appreciated. Does not appear a camera issue as both drones display similar issue.

Is your computer/monitor capable of or set to display 4k images ?

 

[Droning on and on...]

While what @Meta4 and others say about zooming still photos and digital zoom is spot on, when shooting video in lower resolution like 1080p the sensor data is decimated, so some zooming can occur with cropping of the sensor preserving full resolution and detail at the target resolution.

For example, 4K video is about 8MP. In 12MP mode, the sensor in the A3/M4P can zoom about 65% without blowing up pixels, but rather by decimating less, bring in greater detail as the videographer expects.

In 1080p, there is 2x more "headroom" to zoom without performing what is commonly referred to as "digital zoom".

 

[davidarmenb]

In 1080p, there is 2x more "headroom" to zoom without performing what is commonly referred to as "digital zoom".

That is technically possible, but it is assuming DJI implemented that in their drones. Which I have seen no evidence of.

 

[Droning on and on...]

That is technically possible, but it is assuming DJI implemented that in their drones. Which I have seen no evidence of.

Here you go. Just did this test yesterday afternoon.

Frame grab of 1080p clip:



2x live zoom during same 1080p clip:



Pixel-peep the two images. The live zoom is obviously higher resolution, and is not just the center quarter of the first image blown up.

DJI is not that stupid.

IMO the reason we rarely see examples of this on the forum is virtually no one shoots in FHD these days. Common wisdom is shoot in 4k and transpose to lower resolution in post if you need it, which is good advice. It's what I do.

Effect is the same... If target media is FHD, you will still have high resolution 2x zoom after decimated to 1080p on the entire clip.

 

[davidarmenb]

Here you go. Just did this test yesterday afternoon.

Frame grab of 1080p clip:

View attachment 175199

2x live zoom during same 1080p clip:

View attachment 175200

Pixel-peep the two images. The live zoom is obviously higher resolution, and is not just the center quarter of the first image blown up.

DJI is not that stupid.

IMO the reason we rarely see examples of this on the forum is virtually no one shoots in FHD these days. Common wisdom is shoot in 4k and transpose to lower resolution in post if you need it, which is good advice. It's what I do.

Effect is the same... If target media is FHD, you will still have high resolution 2x zoom after decimated to 1080p on the entire clip.

I don’t need to pixel-peep, I believe you. And that is actually great news.

It is not about stupidity. It is a choice the manufacturer makes whether to implement changing the method of sensor readout between 1x mode and 2x mode.

What happens between 1.1x and 1.9x?