X5S camera lens options
- Thread starter Cliff Hitchcock
- Start date
I have the DJI 15mm (30mm full frame) and the Olympus 45mm (90mm full frame). The 15mm gives a wide field of view from a given position whilst the 45mm narrower and brings subjects closer from that same given position. I've found DJI branded 15mm pretty sharp, probably a little more so than the 45mm. Anybody have any view on this?
The 15mm has a certain amount of distortion and curvature to horizons. This is less on an issue with aerial (drone) photos and can be fixed in photoshop anyway.
The big plus point for me of the 45mm is that the drone can be further away from say a building or feature and therefore safer and often more legal.
I also have the Panasonic Lumix 14-42mm/3.5-5.6 HD zoom lens. This sounds like a good idea but I have found the quality a bit lacking and also the DJI App does not zoom it smoothly whilst in flight.
The 15mm has a certain amount of distortion and curvature to horizons. This is less on an issue with aerial (drone) photos and can be fixed in photoshop anyway.
The big plus point for me of the 45mm is that the drone can be further away from say a building or feature and therefore safer and often more legal.
I also have the Panasonic Lumix 14-42mm/3.5-5.6 HD zoom lens. This sounds like a good idea but I have found the quality a bit lacking and also the DJI App does not zoom it smoothly whilst in flight.
I have the DJI 15mm, the Olympus 25mm and 45mm. I can't quantify it, but my favorite is the Olympus 25. No distortion, excellent color reproduction and sharp as a tack. I guess I just quantified it...
I bought the 45 specifically for lens compression. I have a client who wanted a view of his property that included both a scenic bridge, and the city skyline (6 miles away). He wanted the skyline to look closer to the property.
It does this well, but it's challenging and stressful. The challenge is that the focal length magnifies drone/gimbal movement that is often not even noticeable in wider angles, so making moves with it is way more challenging. It really magnifies the "pendulum" characteristics of the gimbal.
The stress... no biggy if you can stay relatively close to your launch site However if you're limited in where you can launch from, and you have to compose your shot with the drone in a certain point in space to get that lens compression, it's remarkable how far you have to send the drone to get there sometimes. With the 45, it should be a 2 man operation as the 45 is so tight an angle that it's deceiving as a view for piloting. Yes, the FPV cam is for piloting, but for video, one must maintain the composition of a moving shot as well, and it is best that the pilot is not tempted to get tunnelvision on the composition lens view, hence 2 man operation.
I have the Olympus zoom lens (14mm to something, I forget the focal length range off the top of my head), but we bought that one for one specific shot that required an exact composition that the 15 was too wide for and the 25 was too tight for. I do not like using it at all because of the weight. Talk about pendulum action... and stress on the airframe...
I bought the 45 specifically for lens compression. I have a client who wanted a view of his property that included both a scenic bridge, and the city skyline (6 miles away). He wanted the skyline to look closer to the property.
It does this well, but it's challenging and stressful. The challenge is that the focal length magnifies drone/gimbal movement that is often not even noticeable in wider angles, so making moves with it is way more challenging. It really magnifies the "pendulum" characteristics of the gimbal.
The stress... no biggy if you can stay relatively close to your launch site However if you're limited in where you can launch from, and you have to compose your shot with the drone in a certain point in space to get that lens compression, it's remarkable how far you have to send the drone to get there sometimes. With the 45, it should be a 2 man operation as the 45 is so tight an angle that it's deceiving as a view for piloting. Yes, the FPV cam is for piloting, but for video, one must maintain the composition of a moving shot as well, and it is best that the pilot is not tempted to get tunnelvision on the composition lens view, hence 2 man operation.
I have the Olympus zoom lens (14mm to something, I forget the focal length range off the top of my head), but we bought that one for one specific shot that required an exact composition that the 15 was too wide for and the 25 was too tight for. I do not like using it at all because of the weight. Talk about pendulum action... and stress on the airframe...
Thanks for your feedback on the Olympus 25mm. I had been thinking it might be just the right lens between the 15mm and 45mm. It also gets very good reviews as a ground photography lens. You have just swung me into spending more!
Ian
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