I've been flying the Solo and posting over on the Solo board for a while now. I hope this is an OK question (not too stupid).
I'm a professional photographer. I got into drones because I have a pilot certificate and with a Section 333 I had a market advantage. The thing that's always ticked me off about the Solo package is the image quality. I'm not going to be happy until I can lift a DSLR to get the kind of images I want.
At the same time I need to watch my budget, I can't justify lifting $10k worth of drone and gear.
My perfect scenario is:
- Lift a Nikon D800 (31.1 oz / 880 g)
- Add a 24mm f/2.8 lens (12.6 oz / 355 g)
- Mounted on a 3D gimbal which I can change the angle on.
- Get a visual feedback on an iPhone or Android tablet
- Be able to program Smart Shots (this is a stretch scenario, as I also like Tower to program flight paths).
I'd be willing to use a lesser camera, like the Nikon D7200. It weight less, but lacks the full frame.
Both cameras have HDMI and USB ports.
I'm not worried about being able to start and stop shots in flight, I'm OK with turning video on before takeoff or using my interval timer.
Is this even a feasible scenario?
Any pointers on what to use to accomplish this?
Thanks,
YouTube has a lift video - Must watch - Stock SOLO will lift up to 3 1/2 lbs easily.I think the payload you're asking it to carry would be too much without changing the power profile via props/motors.
I've been flying the Solo and posting over on the Solo board for a while now. I hope this is an OK question (not too stupid).
I'm a professional photographer. I got into drones because I have a pilot certificate and with a Section 333 I had a market advantage. The thing that's always ticked me off about the Solo package is the image quality. I'm not going to be happy until I can lift a DSLR to get the kind of images I want.
At the same time I need to watch my budget, I can't justify lifting $10k worth of drone and gear.
My perfect scenario is:
- Lift a Nikon D800 (31.1 oz / 880 g)
- Add a 24mm f/2.8 lens (12.6 oz / 355 g)
- Mounted on a 3D gimbal which I can change the angle on.
- Get a visual feedback on an iPhone or Android tablet
- Be able to program Smart Shots (this is a stretch scenario, as I also like Tower to program flight paths).
I'd be willing to use a lesser camera, like the Nikon D7200. It weight less, but lacks the full frame.
Both cameras have HDMI and USB ports.
I'm not worried about being able to start and stop shots in flight, I'm OK with turning video on before takeoff or using my interval timer.
Is this even a feasible scenario?
Any pointers on what to use to accomplish this?
Thanks,
That's a good idea, downsize the camera rather than upsizing the drone. May be the only workable solution for under $10K. As a fine art photographer like you, I am finding it painfully hard to give up the glorious sensor in my D800E. I'm attaching a sensor comparison between the GRii and the D800. As you can see - big big difference.View attachment 9924
Re your thoughts on ISO earlier in this thread, take a look at the Sports ratings. DxOMark defines this number as: "the highest ISO setting for a camera that allows it to achieve a SNR of 30dB while keeping a good dynamic range of 9 EVs and a color depth of 18bits". They rate the D800 at 2853 ISO which is quite a bit higher than your desired maximum ISO setting of 1,000 or less. Using this as a benchmark, I calculate that the Grii ISO equivalent to your 1000 benchmark would be 377.
That certainly takes it out of the range of fine art photography, even in bright light. I don't know if you are aware of this, but if you are shooting stationary subjects you can take a burst of maybe 10 frames. Then you use the magic of image processing in Photoshop to smush all that information together to produce either (a) one image with much higher resolution, or (b) a much larger image with the same resolution. This works because the image noise is random while the real image is not. So if you add 1/10th of each of 10 images together, you'll reduce the noise by a factor of 10 (about 3.5 f/stops). Also, after aligning the images, the processing looks at the same pixel for all 10 images and performs a median filter to decide which pixel value best represents it. If you combine that with some HDR to get the bit depth back up to 14 bits, I think you can approach D800 image quality pretty closely. So that is a good way to get away with a cheaper, light weight camera. But I don't think I would go as low as the Ricoh. Probably better with a Sony or Lumix.
Is your name Ed too? With respect, my reply was taking Ed's original inquiry into account (see Mar 1 2017) in which he meticulously discusses his requirements as a fine art photographer. Nevertheless, with respect to your comment, the objective sensor data I posted says it all. There is no fixed subjective standard for what constitutes a "fine art photograph" other than the fact that the artist has done everything s/he can do technically to produce the best image possible for the purpose for which it is intended. E.g. using a tripod. That in turn depends on a number of factors such as whether you are doing commercial photography or fine art photography. It also depends on whether you are going to print the images and if so, how large. If the Ricoh were the equivalent of the D800 or newer full frame sensor cameras, the big camera manufacturers would not keep making better and better 35mm format cameras such as Nikon's D850 and Z7. There must be a demand for these or the manufacturers wouldn't keep pushing the limit to make them better. My subject matter is stationary and by using the multiple shot technique I described above, I can produce an image of 100 Mpixels or more, which I can then print on 4 x 6 foot paper for exhibition purposes. Otherwise, to maintain the standards of my colleagues, I would have to buy a medium format camera. Most fine art photographers do not run around snapping handheld pictures with smaller format cameras unless they are either printing them small, or distributing via the internet. May I ask: what is the end purpose of the pics you are taking with a Ricoh G or equivalent? If you know somebody with a high res 35mm sensor camera such as the D800, I suggest you do a side by side trial of identical subject matter. You will clearly see a difference.
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