Zoom in photo mode?

[TinajaEco]

Hey all. New Mini 4 Pro pilot here. Does anyone know if there is a way to use the zoom function while in photo mode.
This is my first drone and I was planning on using it for work (after I get my 107) in the spring, on a USFWS project. On this project photo zoom will be pretty important….
I watched a ton of video reviews and thought I was up to speed on the specs, but it never occurred to me that zoom might night be possible in photo mode….

We will be using the drone to look into bird nests we can’t access from the ground and getting egg counts. This is a Federally permitted project with a shitload of paperwork involved, so it’s on the up and up.

If this is not possible, does anyone know if zoom function works on the Mavic 3 Classic or Pro while in photo mode?

Thanks for your time and please pardon my ignorance….

 

[Meta4]

This is my first drone and I was planning on using it for work (after I get my 107) in the spring, on a USFWS project. On this project photo zoom will be pretty important….

We will be using the drone to look into bird nests we can’t access from the ground and getting egg counts.

I don't know enough about the Mini 4 pro to answer your question properly, but any zoom it has will be digital zoom and not particularly good.
If you want a camera with reach, you really need something with a longer lens rather than the wideangle that the Mini is equipped with.
The Mavic 3 pro is the obvious tool for the job, with three different cameras, a wideangle, a short telephoto and a longer tele.
Here are a couple of examples of shots using the three cameras from the same position.

 

[Mynah]

Digital zoom in photo mode is only possible when shooting in 12 megapixel on the Mini 4 Pro, not available in 48 megapixel setting. Like Meta4 said, it is the same as shooting an 'un-zoomed' photo and cropping it afterwards on a computer. If counting eggs is your main aim and not photo quality then you'll get a long way with detail on a 12 megapixel photo. (I could spot a lost tennis ball on a house roof from 60m away.)

 

[TinajaEco]

Thank y’all, I appreciate it.
I’ll play with cropping at 12mp and see how it goes. I love the little Mini 4, it’s a great 1st drone and I’m really enjoying learning to fly and push the boundary’s of its proximity sensors, which is inherently part of the egg job. Getting in very tight places for counts.
That said, I kind of figured that a Mavic would be in the jobs future.


-Best

 

[Droning on and on...]

In earlier generations zoom was only available in video mode, and the amount of zoom avaliable depends on the video resolution selected. People have been using video mode for exploration and framing, then switch to photo to take the shot, cropping in post afterward.

For something where the asthetic quality of the image isn't important, consider just shooting video in 1080p the entire time, zooming as needed, ignore capturing pics. Just extract them from the video later. That way you can fully focus on the task, and not get distracted with switching modes.

 

[TinajaEco]

Spent Sunday working at 12mp, zooming and the cropping in as needed. This will work fine for what I need it for.
Thanks for the tip.

Regarding taking stills from a video while not in the field… That won’t work for my purposes. This data needs to be logged/observed in the field and analysis away from the site isn’t suitable for this project. Future projects, perhaps.

I’d go to not more detail explaining why, but a few layers of NDA agreements from the prime contractor won’t allow that. I’m a subcontractor.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Regarding taking stills from a video while not in the field… That won’t work for my purposes. This data needs to be logged/observed in the field and analysis away from the site isn’t suitable for this project. Future projects, perhaps.

On the Mini3P you can capture stills in video mode at video resolution by pressing the shutter button on the RC, which is no different than switching to photo mode and doing the same.

Maybe that will work for you, and you'd have full zoom ability in 1080p mode. It would be the same resolution as what your watching live on the RC or smartphone/tablet.

 

[TinajaEco]

On the Mini3P you can capture stills in video mode at video resolution by pressing the shutter button on the RC, which is no different than switching to photo mode and doing the same.

Maybe that will work for you, and you'd have full zoom ability in 1080p mode. It would be the same resolution as what your watching live on the RC or smartphone/tablet.

Interesting. I’ll try that today after work if I have time.
Thank you.