Zoom capability - WOW!

[Heavydpj]

So I was flying around near the Mt. Hagan area, in the Papua New Guinea highlands last weekend and heard someone speaking via loud speaker, group singing, ect. All indicating that there was some sort of group event going on, perhaps a km or two away. I decided to send up the M3 to take a look around, and while I didn't see any large outdoor gatherings, I did notice one large building that was a likely candidate. I hovered a couple hundred meters up, and zoomed in. WOW!

Here's a couple pictures - one without the zoom,


View attachment Church out.jpg

and one with the max hybrid zoom.

 

[Meta4]

Here's a couple pictures - one without the zoom, and one with the max optical zoom.

There is only digital zoom on the M3 ... there's no optical zoom.

 

[Heavydpj]

There is only digital zoom on the M3 ... there's no optical zoom.

Ummmm ... Not entirely.

It'a actually a hybrid zoom, using the main 24mm (EFL) lens on the main camera to digitally zoom to about 4x, then switching to the 162mm (EFL) lens on the second camera for the rest

I actually tried doing an all-digital zoom by just cropping in on the main photo of the church, and the best I could get was a pixellated mess.

Even so, the capability is pretty incredible for long-distance viewing purposes. I probably won't print out any of the images for my wall, but it's still amazing (and I've made my post clearer).

 

[Meta4]

Ummmm ... Not entirely.

Yes, entirely.
There are two fixed focal length lenses and everything else is digital zoom

 

[GadgetGuy]

Ummmm ... Not entirely.

It'a actually a hybrid zoom, using the main 24mm (EFL) lens on the main camera to digitally zoom to about 4x, then switching to the 162mm (EFL) lens on the second camera for the rest

I actually tried doing an all-digital zoom by just cropping in on the main photo of the church, and the best I could get was a pixellated mess.

Even so, the capability is pretty incredible for long-distance viewing purposes. I probably won't print out any of the images for my wall, but it's still amazing (and I've made my post clearer).

To @Meta4 's point above, the secondary 162mm (EFL) lens is a fixed 7x telephoto, when compared to the main 24mm (EFL) 1x lens. There is no optical zoom between them. The main lens has a 4x digital zoom on its 1x, and the secondary telephoto lens has its own 4x digital zoom on its 7x telephoto, to create a digital zoom of 28x. Note that there is no output image available between the digital 4x on the main lens and the 7x of the fixed telephoto lens. It jumps, as it switches from a digital 4x on the main lens to an optical fixed 7x telephoto on the secondary lens. Only the 7x telephoto is optical, but it, too, is a fixed lens. There is no optical zoom at any time. There are two separate fixed focal length lenses, each with their own separate 1x-4x digital zoom. Hope this clears up the confusion.

 

[Heavydpj]

Fine ...

"Look, the flying thingy has magic super eyes that make things far away seem close."

 

[MS Coast]

It's a degraded nomenclature thing.

Not so many years ago, "telephoto" was used to describe a lens that optically magnified the image beyond normal. "Zoom" was used to describe a lens with adjustable optical magnification. Everything was done with glass, no electronic image tinkering.

Today, many people use "zoom" to describe any lens and camera that magnifies the image, with either fixed or variable magnification.

Reverting to no-nonsense nomenclature, an aging photographer would say there's a normal lens with 4x digital zoom and a 7X telephoto lens with 4X digital zoom. (Edited per @umanbean's post)

Now, can we talk about the word "soar?"

 

[umanbean]

and a 4X telephoto lens with 7X digital zoom.

But, according to post #5 above, aren't those numbers backwards?

7x optical with 4X digital?

 

[Heavydpj]

Now, can we talk about the word "soar?"

This thread is making me soar.

 

[MS Coast]

But, according to post #5 above, aren't those numbers backwards?

7x optical with 4X digital?

Yes, thanks. I've updated my post.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Fine ...

"Look, the flying thingy has magic super eyes that make things far away seem close."

I'm impressed as hell, too, in good light, what this little optical 7x telephoto lens can see, and how it sees it! The lens compression of the 7x telephoto lens can really pull in the background, unlike any 700% enlargement out of of the main camera image, for a much more impactful landscape image!

 

[umanbean]

The lens compression of the telephoto lens can really pull in the background, unlike any 7x crop

That's one thing a lot of people these days do not understand - a digital 'zoom' only enlarges a part of the image and does not change perspective, an optical telephoto does. Perspective can be a powerful element in a great photo!

 

[GadgetGuy]

That's one thing a lot of people these days do not understand - a digital 'zoom' only enlarges a part of the image and does not change perspective, an optical telephoto does. Perspective can be a powerful element in a great photo!

Perspective for the win!

 

[Skwirl]

So, after trying to digest all the multiplication and stuff, is my head soar or sore?

 

[MS Coast]

So, after trying to digest all the multiplication and stuff, is my head soar or sore?

I was lamenting the misuse of soar, as in "The rocket soared into the night sky." Soaring originally meant flying without energy input such as a motor or flapping. Condors soared. Gliders or sailplanes soared. These days, "soar" just means "fly" and there's no word for what hawks and eagles do when they're riding ridge lift or circling in a thermal.

 

[GadgetGuy]

So, after trying to digest all the multiplication and stuff, is my head soar or sore?

All math aside, the 7x telephoto lens on the Mavic 3 is capable of great optical magnification on a 1/2” sensor, which is same size sensor as that used in the Mavic Air 2. When a 4x digital zoom is applied to the 7x telephoto image, magnifications of up to 28x are available on a drone weighing less than 900 grams. That is insane, and scary for the paranoid, worried about the invasion of their privacy by drones! No longer can we say that the drone would have to be next to the window to see anything. Close your blinds!

 

[Skwirl]

Yeah, people think joe smoe is spying on them with his drone, yet they use google, facefraud, and that Alexa monitoring device in their homes.
But, it's the drones, lol.

 

[LA 2020]

So I was flying around near the Mt. Hagan area, in the Papua New Guinea highlands last weekend and heard someone speaking via loud speaker, group singing, ect. All indicating that there was some sort of group event going on, perhaps a km or two away. I decided to send up the M3 to take a look around, and while I didn't see any large outdoor gatherings, I did notice one large building that was a likely candidate. I hovered a couple hundred meters up, and zoomed in. WOW!

Here's a couple pictures - one without the zoom,


View attachment 144593

and one with the max hybrid zoom.

View attachment 144594

I hate that they even include digital zoom on anything and use it as a marketing tool. You can digitally zoom anything in post so optical zoom is really the only thing that counts. The optical 4X is nice though

 

[Meta4]

The optical 4X is nice though

The "optical" 4x isn't optical.

 

[Gibonxxl]

First of all, the only x7 zoom is a real optical zoom, the rest are digital crops.
For me, there should be an option in which I choose whether I want to use only the optical zoom, skipping the rest of the digital crop.

The second thing is that a focal length of 162 mm of a lens for a camera with the 1/2" sensor (crop factor of 5.4) is equivalent to 876.1 mm field of view for a camera with the 35mm full-frame sensor.
We have 876 mm on a device that is constantly maneuvering in the air and we are able to get a sharp image in which there is no lack of detail.
In my opinion, what DJI has done with the zoom lens is amazing.