Still photographers: Advice please?

[Numone]

Digital offset press at 300dpi. Like a magazine.

Ok, so nothing would be larger than A4. You won't have any issues.

 

[Kirby Johnson]

Hello all! I just joined the forum, and spent some time searching for information about the quality of still images from the P3/P4 drones. There seems to be a number of recurring issues with image quality, particularly "softness" (focus issues) in the center of still images.

I do not currently own a drone, but am planning to buy a P3 Advanced for use with aerial stills for a specific project. But I will require fairly high quality images. Softness in the center of the frame would be... a problem. Most of the images will be printed - A4 size (standard page size) but some might be as large as A3 (two page spread.)

NOTE: I do not envision using the drone for video. Or at least, not much, anyway. I specifically needs aerial stills for a specific project.

I am an accomplished still photographer, so I kinda know what I'm doing with settings and so forth, but I also know the Phantoms still use a very small sensor and a budget lens (compared to current still camera technology), so I am not getting my hopes overly high. I think I have reasonable expectations. I was hoping the possible final image quality would be similar to that of a small, modern point-and-shoot camera. But if I take my time and do my work correctly, I can get VERY good results with a small point-and-shoot. I can even get good results with a GoPro Hero 5 at 12mp (although the super wide-angle lens produces all sorts of needless hassles...)

Are there any accomplished still photographers here who could maybe chime in and let me know what your experiences have been using the P3 for stills? Is it simply the wrong platform if I need good, printable A3 and A4 files without extensive digital sharpening and such? If so, is there a better flying camera for stills that won't break the bank?

Sorry to ramble so much in my first post, but any insight would be helpful.

Hello, I am an experienced photographer, and might be able to help you. First off, you might be surprised at the Image Quality of the little P3P Advanced camera. The images are 4000 by 3000 so the resolution is not limited by that. In bright lighting I have been quite impressed. At night it struggles, and you need a windless night to get anything decent.

I wonder what you might need postcard / Hasselblad resolution for. In some photography, absolute pixel sharp resolution is not required. I do a lot of nature, IE: Bald Eagles in flight, and use both a Canon EOS and a Nikon, and have noticed over the years that the Canon is across the board softer than the Nik but is still considered one of the best cameras.

Before I posted this I went and looked at some of my shots and could not notice any real show stoppers with images full screen on a Hanns 28 monitor. You DO have the option to go in and set things manually like with a real camera. The ISO and shutter and aperture are all available in manual mode.

If you are printing only A3 or A4 you will likely be pleasantly surprised. If you need some sample images to play with let me know and I can mail you a variety of shots to evaluate before you spend all that money.
Good luck

 

[Great_Lakes]

I wonder if taking a snapshot from the 4k video would be any sharper?

 

[Kirby Johnson]

I wonder if taking a snapshot from the 4k video would be any sharper?

No

 

[Meta4]

I wonder if taking a snapshot from the 4k video would be any sharper?

No for two reasons.
A still from the P3 is 4000 x 3000 pixels = 12MP
A still extracted from 4K video is 4096x2160 = 8.8 MP
So you would be giving away resolution and your video is going to be using a much slower shutter speed giving you a slight blurring of the image.

 

[Sinisalo]

Did you end up posting this in the right thread?

Haha, I think so lol. He said now as long as I don't crash or something like that. He also said he was a photographer that wanted to get into aerial photography so I thought I would share some tips that are basic
. Maybe I over-shared, meh



Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[SteveAikens]

Resolution is a tricky business. One 12mp isn't the same as another 12mp. The size of the sensor and the optical refinement of the lens make a huge difference. So, for example, a GoPro hero 5 Black (at 12mp) wouldn't shoot anywhere near as good stills as a Fujifilm X100, also 12mp. A $5000 Nikon D4 is only 16mp, even though it's one of their standard-bearer professional DSLR's, and Nikon's entry-level DSLR is 24.5mp... So it's a tough question to answer.

Does the P4P have a 20mp sensor?! I thought it was also 12mp...

You do know that you can shoot HDR with the P3P, right?