Does anyone wish for.............

[Michael]

A zoom camera/video for the X Star but me? I keep seeing the same echoed.....too expensive! Maybe I am a simpleton but great little pocket digital zoom cameras that shoot both video and stills exist and have for years for less than $100.

So why cannot this application be put in place for our X Stars???? Like I said.........I am a simpleton on certain things and may have missed the boat or understanding on this matter!

 

[TomKnAL]

Many people have said they'd like a zoom, and many of them have wished for an optical zoom. If it were easy they would be available. I think a lot of people overlook engineering problems. An camera with optical zoom weighs more than one without, but not by that much. However the larger heavier camera would need larger stepper motors on the gimbal. Larger motors and the zoom mechanism would require more power, and so on. As far as I know, none of the <$1000 drones have an optical zoom and it would be a big selling point if it were available.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

There are a few RTF drones with a zoom. The Inspire has camera options to include a zoom but it's costly. The Mavic has a zoom also (less than $1000).
Keep in mind most cheap cameras use digital zoom (software), which suck, optical zoom is the only kind that works well. Optical zoom requires more moving parts and thus cost more.

 

[TomKnAL]

There are a few RTF drones with a zoom. The Inspire has camera options to include a zoom but it's costly. The Mavic has a zoom also (less than $1000).
Keep in mind most cheap cameras use digital zoom (software), which suck, optical zoom is the only kind that works well. Optical zoom requires more moving parts and thus cost more.

Digital zoom is better than no zoom. It's not as good as optical but it's better than not having it. According to this, the Mavic has a lossless digital zoom. Mavic Zoom Lens

I'm sure this is the same "lossless" digital zoom technique that's supported in the Phantom 4 (with IOS devices only). It simply crops the 4K sensor when recording in 1080P. Since it's an internal sensor crop, the quality of the video is rather good. The advantage to flying while using the digital zoom (in 1080 mode) is you CAN SEE the target better WHILE FLYING. If you can see things better while flying, this can certainly influence where you fly and loiter, since you can see better during flight. This is especially helpful for SAR and Inspection operations. The zoom is not smooth like an optical zoom. It's somewhat jerky as you zoom in and out the zoom level. So these zoom in an out time periods need to be edited out in post, because they just look bad, too jerky. With practice you'll learn how to zoom in and out very fast with your "pinch and spread" technique, so it instantly goes from 1X to 2X and you see no graduations in between.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

I swear one of the reviews mentioned a small amount of optical and also digital. Maybe I was mistaken.

I hope to find out for myself very soon.

 

[Dale H]

Keep in mind on moving parts(lens) in the camera then need to be balanced by the gimbal everytime it moves. This adds to the complications of balancing while hovering as well.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Keep in mind on moving parts(lens) in the camera then need to be balanced by the gimbal everytime it moves. This adds to the complications of balancing while hovering as well.

The Mavic lens IS part of the 3 axis gimbal and it rotates 90 degrees for portrait images so it is pretty involved already.

 

[Dale H]

The Mavic lens IS part of the 3 axis gimbal and it rotates 90 degrees for portrait images so it is pretty involved already.

What I was referring to is multiple lens that move to create a zoom. Digital zoom is coming in an app update.