Why Mini 3 Pro beats Air2S 4K image quality

[Meta4]

how would you explain this then:

I would suggest that you are talking way beyond your expertise.

Looks like f1.9 is objectively sharper compared to f2.8

If it's sharper, it's not because the aperture is f1.7.
F stop numbers aren't what determine sharpness.

 

[Wreckhunter]

It is interesting to me how camera specs are at the top of everyone’s list, I understand why it’s important to pros who make money with their drones, but for the average flyer once You have gotten to the point of video and pictures being excellent then improvements are just nice to have. Kinda feel that way about phones too. Anyway the sensors and flight characteristics are The important stuff. But honestly I don’t even get why people care about the drone being able to follow you around through the woods… who does that , it’s technically cool but I fail to see the purpose. I do think the preprogrammed flight options are cool to give you nice shots of a target but seems they should be lumped together so that you have footage of every angle/flyby of a target to choose from in post editing. …ie instead of having to do each one separately

There are a lot of drone photographers out there that value the camera performance as the number one
important feature,myself included.Yes flight characteristics are important,but you need a good camera to
see where you are going also.I fly an air 2 still, and never have the sensors on as where I go is always a wide open area.
I personally have no use for my drone following me through the woods,but that's just me.However if nothing else flight
characteristics are really close to camera performance.
Have yourself a great day.

 

[test2000Anafi]

I would suggest that you are talking way beyond your expertise.

If it's sharper, it's not because the aperture is f1.7.
F stop numbers aren't what determine sharpness.

But just a minute ago apertures needed to be stepped down quite a few stops in order to achieve sharpness?

So now they don’t matter anymore, got it!

 

[Flashheart]

I would suggest that you are talking way beyond your expertise.

If it's sharper, it's not because the aperture is f1.7.
F stop numbers aren't what determine sharpness.

That's not strictly true. The apeture does have an effect on sharpness due to diffraction. For instance, it is well known that a Sigma 30mm DN Art lens is sharpest at F5.6. At either end of the range ie F2.8 and F22 it is softer.

 

[test2000Anafi]

That's not strictly true. The apeture does have an effect on sharpness due to diffraction. For instance, it is well known that a Sigma 30mm DN Art lens is sharpest at F5.6. At either end of the range ie F2.8 and F22 it is softer.

Fixed aperture lenses are pretty uncommon though?
Maybe if it’s fixed it is incorporated into the design. It would not really make sense should wide aperture make camera/phone/drone lenses produce unsharp pictures

 

[Artemis]

There are a lot of drone photographers out there that value the camera performance as the number one
important feature,myself included.Yes flight characteristics are important,but you need a good camera to
see where you are going also.I fly an air 2 still, and never have the sensors on as where I go is always a wide open area.
I personally have no use for my drone following me through the woods,but that's just me.However if nothing else flight
characteristics are really close to camera performance.
Have yourself a great day.

Mostly just mean we are in an era of cameras that are extremely good, sure they improve but it’s not like current version owners are taking bad video or pictures, on the other hand as good as drones have gotten, they still have some major improvements coming over the next few years. I think A.I. is really going to change things soon… I was not trying to disparage people who want to film themselves hiking in the woods, It was more of a commentary on a feature that I don’t understand the value of, perhaps a sporting event where you wanted to follow a player but doubt that would be allowed anyway

 

[Flashheart]

Fixed aperture lenses are pretty uncommon though?
Maybe if it’s fixed it is incorporated into the design. It would not really make sense should wide aperture make camera/phone/drone lenses produce unsha

Fixed aperture lenses are pretty uncommon though?
Maybe if it’s fixed it is incorporated into the design. It would not really make sense should wide aperture make camera/phone/drone lenses produce unsharp pictures

First of all, I know little about drones, I'm speaking as a seasoned landscape photographer. Fixed aperture lenses are very uncommon, they're normally very heavy and expensive.

 

[test2000Anafi]

Mostly just mean we are in an era of cameras that are extremely good, sure they improve but it’s not like current version owners are taking bad video or pictures, on the other hand as good as drones have gotten, they still have some major improvements coming over the next few years. I think A.I. is really going to change things soon… I was not trying to disparage people who want to film themselves hiking in the woods, It was more of a commentary on a feature that I don’t understand the value of, perhaps a sporting event where you wanted to follow a player but doubt that would be allowed anyway

Agree with the hiking.
Personally, I really believe obstacle avoidance is for losers. If you don’t have full control plus line of sight, what is the point? But for other people it saves them a few drones a year

 

[Flashheart]

I think A.I. is really going to change things soon…

Bingo!

 

[Artemis]

Agree with the hiking.
Personally, I really believe obstacle avoidance is for losers. If you don’t have full control plus line of sight, what is the point? But for other people it saves them a few drones a year

I guess I still go in to panic mode if I can’t see mine, I rarely look at the screen to fly, only look when I hover to get my bearings on orientation or if I want to take a photo…. Turns out photos are my thing, other than the initial few videos I took when I first got it, I get more enjoyment filming the drone flying, that might change but so far have only flown around the house so not particularly interesting to film

 

[Flashheart]

Looks like f1.9 is objectively sharper compared to f2.8

It doesn't work like that. Every lens has sweetspot and it is RARELY at its highest aperture. F1.9 will have good low light performance.
It really is not hard, this is a physics based argument. ISO, shutter and aperture. Pick 2 but you cannot have 3. I suspect DJI picked ISO and aperture and sacrificed shutter. Ask any sports/street photographer how important shutter speed is regarding image quality and they will tell you.

 

[Meta4]

That's not strictly true. The apeture does have an effect on sharpness due to diffraction. For instance, it is well known that a Sigma 30mm DN Art lens is sharpest at F5.6. At either end of the range ie F2.8 and F22 it is softer.

I was addressing someone that seems to think that an f1.7 lens must be better and sharper than an f2.8 lens and the maximum aperture is all you need to know for lens quality.

 

[Meta4]

But just a minute ago apertures needed to be stepped down quite a few stops in order to achieve sharpness?

I never said that.

So now they don’t matter anymore, got it!

You've got nothing.
Your ideas about aperture suggest that your basic photography understanding is lacking.

 

[Flashheart]

I was addressing someone that seems to think that an f1.7 lens must be better and sharper than an f2.8 lens and the maximum aperture is all you need to know for lens quality.

It's a physics based argument that has no right or wrong answer, but low light performance aside, aperture has an inherent fault - diffraction - which is fixed due to the physics of light passing through a lens.

 

[Meta4]

It's a physics based argument that has no right or wrong answer, but low light performance aside, aperture has an inherent fault - diffraction - which is fixed due to the physics of light passing through a lens.

I'm well aware of that but there's no point even mentioning that to someone that thinks the aperture number is how you tell which lens is better.
It would only confuse him more.

 

[Flashheart]

I'm well aware of that but there's no point even mentioning that to someone that thinks the aperture number is how you tell which lens is better.
It would only confuse him more.

I'm sorry but you're all fighting an argument that has been argued since photography was invented.
You can argue that a F1.7 is better than an F2.8. For instance, a Sony 70 - 200mm F2.8 smashes a Sony 70 - 200mm F4.0 in image quality. Especially in sports/street photography.

 

[Rilot]

It is interesting to me how camera specs are at the top of everyone’s list, I understand why it’s important to pros who make money with their drones, but for the average flyer once You have gotten to the point of video and pictures being excellent then improvements are just nice to have. Kinda feel that way about phones too. Anyway the sensors and flight characteristics are The important stuff. But honestly I don’t even get why people care about the drone being able to follow you around through the woods… who does that , it’s technically cool but I fail to see the purpose. I do think the preprogrammed flight options are cool to give you nice shots of a target but seems they should be lumped together so that you have footage of every angle/flyby of a target to choose from in post editing. …ie instead of having to do each one separately

Kind of with you on this, apart from the camera specs bit. For me, I don't care too much about resolution beyond 12mp much but I do care about dynamic range. I don't care much about low-light either.
I couldn't care less about obstacle avoidance, tracking, follow me, Mastershots etc. and can count on one hand the amount of times I've used them.

 

[boldblue737]

30% bigger is slight, at least compared to the difference in aperture which if you know how to read it is several stops better

this really is a significant misunderstanding of how camera sensors work. there is a LOT at play here including pixel density, aperture, the quality and size of the lenses themselves and more. I suspect the Mini 3 Pro will produce very good images in daylight that approach (but not exceed) Air 2S quality but the Air 2S will retain superior low light ability by a significant margin despite the f2.8 aperture.

 

[test2000Anafi]

The nano+ completely …… all over the Air2S so hard it’s almost embarrassing that they both came out in the same year.

If the 3Pro is even half as good as the Nano+ with regards to image quality (this includes noise level and low light performance btw) then I expect a lot of Air2S drones on Craigslist

 

[test2000Anafi]

this really is a significant misunderstanding of how camera sensors work. there is a LOT at play here including pixel density, aperture, the quality and size of the lenses themselves and more. I suspect the Mini 3 Pro will produce very good images in daylight that approach (but not exceed) Air 2S quality but the Air 2S will retain superior low light ability by a significant margin despite the f2.8 aperture.

That is either bogus, or wishful thinking on your part; Watch the video posted above. The Autel Nano + completely destroys Air2S with regards to low light, not to mention every other aspect of image quality. That is with f/1.9 aperture and a 1/1.3 inch sensor mind you.
It has to do with the pixel layout as well, I’ll post a link soon