Zoom

[dayviduk]

Is it possible to buy or change the camera on a P3 P4 to something with a zoom on it ,

Or are they just fixed to stop perverts spying on people from a distance.

What excellent wildlife Video and stills you could get if you had Zoom

 

[GMack]

No. Phantom gimbal will not support a zoom.

Inspire 1 or 2 with a X5 series camera can support zooms and telephotos up to maybe 180 grams (lens weight.).

 

[Meta4]

Is it possible to buy or change the camera on a P3 P4 to something with a zoom on it ,

You can't get any other camera at all that is compatible with the P3 or P4.

Or are they just fixed to stop perverts spying on people from a distance.

No .. this is not to stop perverts spying on people.
There are big technical issues that make it difficult to use a zoom lens on a small drone.
Even on a bigger drone that can carry more weight like the Inspire with the X5 camera, its zoom has a very short range.

What excellent wildlife Video and stills you could get if you had Zoom

A lot of people confuse zoom (variable focal length) with long telephoto.
If you paid the big money for an I2 with X5 and zoom lens, iIt's the Olympus14-42 which is the 35 mm equivalent of 28-84mm so it will give moderate wideangle to short portrait.
It's still not going to be of any interest for perverts or wildlife photographers.
The issues of the weight and size for big tele zooms and the problem of vibration being magnified by the telephoto lens are preventing using telephoto lenses on drones and having good image quality.

 

[LarBear360]

One benefit of the 4K resolution is the ability to zoom in (crop) in post production.

 

[John Locke]

When flying the P4 and recording in 1080, you can zoom 2X by pinch and spread on the iPad screen. I think the Android app supports this too. It's basically a crop of the 4K sensor, so the image in the screen is quite good, allowing you to see up close while flying. I spy on my neighbors with this all the time..... NOT! Kidding of course . Seeing animals up close while flying without getting closer is a nice feature of P4 and Mavic, however it's not supported on P4P using the 1" sensor. It's also helpful if you're looking for something lost on the ground.

 

[John Locke]

Even on a bigger drone that can carry more weight like the Inspire with the X5 camera, its zoom has a very short range.

The Z3 on Inspire 1V2 is a nice setup for only $900, getting 7X zoom when recording 1080, or 3.5 optical zoom at 4K. Then there's rumor of a Z30 for $10,000 that has 30X optical zoom for Inspire 2 and M100, but I can't find it in the DJI site yet.

 

[Meta4]

The Z3 on Inspire 1V2 is a nice setup for only $900, getting 7X zoom when recording 1080, or 3.5 optical zoom at 4K. Then there's rumor of a Z30 for $10,000 that has 30X optical zoom for Inspire 2 and M100, but I can't find it in the DJI site yet.

The Z3 is another short zoom with no long telephoto capability.
It's a 12 MP camera so it's not great for image quality
It's specs are:

Sensor CMOS, 1/2.3"
Max Pixels: 12.76 M, Effective Pixels: 12.4M
Lens 3.5x Optical Zoom, 22–77mm Equivalent
FOV 92° (Wide) - 35° (Tele)​

The Z30 is a special purpose lens and is not going to satisfy wildlife photographers or anyone wanting good image quality.
It's suitable for inspection but not great pictures as it shoots 2MP images only.
Its specs are:

Sensor CMOS, 1/2.8"
Effective Pixels: 2.13 M
Lens 30x Optical Zoom
FOV 63.7°(Wide) - 2.3°(Tele)
​

Zenmuse Z30 - Closing the Distance

​

 

[Razorback1]

The phantom has 3x zoom, there are video's on youtube that show you how to zoom, check it out[emoji1360]

 

[John Locke]

The phantom has 3x zoom, there are video's on youtube that show you how to zoom, check it out[emoji1360]

I think you're talking about the 2X zoom in P4 and Mavic, not P3x or P4P/A, only P4 and Mavic.

 

[Kcgunesq]

You can't get any other camera at all that is compatible with the P3 or P4.

No .. this is not to stop perverts spying on people.
There are big technical issues that make it difficult to use a zoom lens on a small drone.
Even on a bigger drone that can carry more weight like the Inspire with the X5 camera, its zoom has a very short range.

A lot of people confuse zoom (variable focal length) with long telephoto.
If you paid the big money for an I2 with X5 and zoom lens, iIt's the Olympus14-42 which is the 35 mm equivalent of 28-84mm so it will give moderate wideangle to short portrait.
It's still not going to be of any interest for perverts or wildlife photographers.
The issues of the weight and size for big tele zooms and the problem of vibration being magnified by the telephoto lens are preventing using telephoto lenses on drones and having good image quality.

To put some numbers on this, as just one example, my 70-200 f2. 8 weighs about 4 pounds.

If you can accept a smaller apperature (say f5. 6 at the far end) and cheaper mechanics, you can probably get to 2 pounds or so.

 

[John Locke]

I predict P5 will have swap-able camera support, like Autel it talking about doing. And Autel even had a 360 rotation (like Inspire) with retracts on a 350mm size drone, displayed at the NAB show. Maybe a Z3 type camera could become available for P5, since Inspire's Z3 is only for Inspire 1, fading away. The next step for DJI is a Z3 type package with a 1" sensor. That would be pretty awesome if they could pull that off, light enough and small enough for the P5 to carry.

 

[John Locke]

The Z30 is a special purpose lens and is not going to satisfy wildlife photographers or anyone wanting good image quality.
It's suitable for inspection but not great pictures as it shoots 2MP images only.
Its specs are:
Sensor CMOS, 1/2.8"
Effective Pixels: 2.13 M
Lens 30x Optical Zoom
FOV 63.7°(Wide) - 2.3°(Tele)
Zenmuse Z30 - Closing the Distance

Thanks Meta for that link, I looked everywhere in the DJI site for it, and then with your link I noticed they have no price. After going to AerialMediaPros I found it costs $9000, but wow, the examples of 30X zoom is incredible for inspection jobs. As you mention, it's only good for inspection purposes, given the 2mp resolution, but man, that's an incredible zoom capability. Makes me want to buy a Matrice100 to get into a niche business. Naw, maybe later, having too much fun right now to consider that.

 

[FlyingUser]

I would be interested on an add-on lens for a more natural 50mm equivalent FOV sometimes, but a decent 2.2x conversion lens weighs around 100g, afraid mission impossible for the gimbal...

 

[chatikib]

I have also wondered why no lenses have been put on the market. There are sufficient add-on filters for a Phantom, why not implement the same idea but then with a lens. Meanwhile, reading glasses are available on every street corner; technically it can't be a real achievement. Or am I wrong?

Filters for DJI Phantom

 

[FlyingUser]

I have also wondered why no lenses have been put on the market. There are sufficient add-on filters for a Phantom, why not implement the same idea but then with a lens. Meanwhile, reading glasses are available on every street corner; technically it can't be a real achievement. Or am I wrong?

Filters for DJI Phantom

Reading glasses just bring the nearest focal distace closer, not much use for a drone. you need multiple elements afaik. Especially if you aim to be better than the digital zoom and correct for all kinds of optical distortions one could think of.

 

[chatikib]

I understand that optical is problematic is but isn't strange that there is no app with a solution for digital zoom? If a zoom is available on your mobile then it should also be possible to use it in a app.

 

[FlyingUser]

I understand that optical is problematic is but isn't strange that there is no app with a solution for digital zoom? If a zoom is available on your mobile then it should also be possible to use it in a app.

digital zoom is not much useful, you can always crop in post. The point is to use most of the sensor area for imaging.