Does any one use a Z3 zoom camera?
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if you have a Z3 camera please can tell me if on your rig, with the Z3 fitted , and in manual settings mode, does the right wheel only alter the ISO and pressing the right wheel in does not change the right wheel to changing shutter speed as it does with the x3 camera.?
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Does someone here use their Z3 on Inspire 1 for mapping purposes?
Another question would be how to set focus of Inspire1/Z3 manually and set it to Infinity since Im flying between 100-300 m altitude for mapping.
TIA
Another question would be how to set focus of Inspire1/Z3 manually and set it to Infinity since Im flying between 100-300 m altitude for mapping.
TIA
you can set the focus by taping on the area you want focus on no matter what hight. can you answer my question? do you actually have a z3?
if you have a Z3 camera please can tell me if on your rig, with the Z3 fitted , and in manual settings mode, does the right wheel only alter the ISO and pressing the right wheel in does not change the right wheel to changing shutter speed as it does with the x3 camera.?
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I found the Z3 to be completely useless. At even just 2x zoom, the video footage was too shaky to be used for film. And the crappy 12MP photos nixes it for mapping or utility inspection. My neighbor offered to sell me one at half price. After testing it for a week I turned him down.
And before any of you ask, he moved about a month ago.
And before any of you ask, he moved about a month ago.
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My Z3 was perfectly stable zoomed all the way in. I sold it, though, when I moved onto the I2. But I thought it was great.
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Interesting. That's not my experience at all. I haven't published the test footage, but it's definitely shaky.
I also notice a lot of jitter in your slow pan. Panning that slowly at night (which usually results in slow shutter speeds) should net zero jitter (also called "jutter" in some circles). I also noticed that the focus gets a little soft when you zoomed in. But overall, the image wasn't bed. Definitely better than what I experienced.
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Some of that jutter is due I am sure to the fact that it was quite windy. In fact, I was surprised when I downloaded the saved footage that it was useable at all. Wind was steady 15-20mph the whole time.
I have a Z3 on my Inspire 1 and yes you can only change the ISO setting ( manual mode) with the right thumb wheel, pressing it does nothing else. I've had good luck with mine and is stable even at zoom.
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My neighbor had one for sale for almost half price. The video quality was so poor - even zoomed all the way out - that I passed on it. It MIGHT be useful for elevated utility inspections, but the small 12MP photos were kind of a deal-breaker for that, too. My personal opinion is that the thing is junk.
D
Odd, mine was great. It was absolutely stable even zoomed all the way in. The image was slightly nicer than the X3.
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My experience was profoundly different. The gimbal would not stabilize at all. Even zoomed out, it reminded my of my old Phantom 1, DYS gimbal days when you were just glad the camera wasn't hard mounted to the bird. I should say 2 things:
1) I use a legacy version of the Inspire 1 firmware (which works perfectly with the X3 and X5, but may have been the reason for < perfect Z3 footage).
2) And I'm extremely fussy about my footage. I don't think the Z3 could ever be used on a film set. Footage would require post-production stabilization.
I checked out some other Z3 test videos on YouTube, and zoomed all the way out, the footage looks pretty good. But the problem seems to happen when I zoom in a little and do a dolly shot or a push or a crane or any movement at all. Then the camera loses its "buttery smoothness" and had the slightest bounce to it. Even at half price, I honestly couldn't justify the cost. I imagined the thing would sit on a shelf in my drone room and never be used - so I didn't purchase it. YMMV.
D
Don't use the z3 for mapping use the x3. Pix4d does not have the z3 in their software.
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