Why a fisheye?

[vin100]

I'm new to this forum and have been reading some interesting posts on correcting fisheye distortion from footage. Seems like a lot of people are spending time in applying post-corrections using all kind of tools in order to get their footage right.

I'm doing it as well as I'm not very satisfied with distorted footage myself.
However, I keep asking myself the question, Why putting a fisheye - wide lens into a flying camera? What's the point? I mean, if you want a wider view or you want to get the whole object into your viewer, then just fly further away. You're up in the air, you're not facing the obstacles that you might experience on the ground and you can't get around to.....

I would immediately swap my wide lens for a normal one if I could, but perhaps i'm overlooking some major reason or benefit of using a wide lens in the PV2.
What's your opinion / experience?

 

[Seahorse]

I like Fisheye and it makes sense to have fixed focus on an unstable platform. Let's face it it's not hard to remove if you want to... :ugeek:

 

[iDrone]

Why putting a fisheye - wide lens into a flying camera? What's the point? I mean, if you want a wider view or you want to get the whole object into your viewer, then just fly further away... I would immediately swap my wide lens for a normal one if I could, but perhaps i'm overlooking some major reason or benefit of using a wide lens in the PV2.
What's your opinion / experience?

Im not sure Vision's lens would be classified as a fisheye (180°), it's more of an ultra-wide w/distortion but yes, you're overlooking the fact that a normal focal length lens would never produce a sharp picture without lots of light, a good 2-axis gimbal suspended from excellent shock mounts and a stable aircraft with minimal vibration. Optical image stabilization would be a plus, but adds weight & cost. Low light photography would be impossible and taking pictures under windy conditions would be equally unsatisfactory.

iDrone :ugeek:

 

[vin100]

I see. So the wide lens compensates technology like auto focussing and stabilisation that is otherwise needed for normal lenses.
Thanks for sharing this info.

 

[scooter339]

The 8mm lens with the fixed aperture is a good choice for stabilization but for a windless day and a good pilot, wouldn't switching out to a 35mm or even a normal 50mm lens make for better shoots in some cases?

I would buy a 35mm lens.

Is that possible?

 

[iDrone]

The 8mm lens with the fixed aperture is a good choice for stabilization but for a windless day and a good pilot, wouldn't switching out to a 35mm or even a normal 50mm lens make for better shoots in some cases?

I would buy a 35mm lens.

Is that possible?

Given ideal conditions, lots of light, balanced props, ATTI mode, & multiple exposure mode, you might get some excellent shots with longer focal length lenses. I always set the camera to shoot in sets of three and usually end up with one that's less blurry than the others.

Capturing photos is less forgiving than recording video where a blurry image will soon be replaced with a sharper frame and the brain remembers the detail of the better frames. In a photo, blur is permanent until you snap at exactly the right moment when the camera is steady. I don't know that Vision doesn't have a gyro sensor, but it would be helpful if it detected when the camera is steady before taking the picture.

The longer the focal length, the more magnified the instability of the camera/aircraft. Shutter may be helpful depending upon degree of motion & how quickly the image is read out of the imager, and with MOS imagers that can be a problem particularly with video where you may experience Jello in captured frames.

It would be interesting to replace Vision's lens with one of longer focal length then shoot multiple exposures. With a little luck the results might be pleasantly outstanding, 'tho the Fates will be agin ye.

iDrone

 

[AnselA]

I would buy a 35mm lens.

35 mm with 1/2.3" sensor? Are you sure? Crop factor is about 5.6.