This shot is one I've been waiting for months to take.  I'm not claiming it's particularly good, but I'm still rather proud and excited that I finally got it.  It frames the shot with side by side rock formations, with a lake, a boat, and mountains as the subject.  I used the "zoom" camera to compress the composition.
It took a long time because either the weather was never right or I didn't have a comfortable place from which to pilot the drone.  I tried multiple times for multiple months, and things finally came together.  There is no way I can think of for this shot to have been taken without a drone.  This is why I love drones.

great shot and planning and executing is always satisfactory. For me the subject should be the Boat, it’s certainly the thing that I am most attracted to I would have thought the mountains were the background. So well done ….

Nice shot there Charles. Seeing the boat between the 2 rock formations makes it look epic

It was worth the wait

hallmark007 Posted at 3-26 12:55
great shot and planning and executing is always satisfactory. For me the subject should be the Boat, it’s certainly the thing that I am most attracted to I would have thought the mountains were the background. So well done ….

The boat was a happy accident, but perfect for the picture.  And you are exactly right, I planned and tried to execute for a long time.
I think that this is good use of negative space too, if I understand the concepts correctly.

Wow how beautiful! I love the snowy mountains in the background.

Great shot.

Great shot Charles! This is actually a great shot to highlight one of the "things" we have to consider when using the 7x... where you focus. Technically that lens at f4.4 is incapable of focusing on the rocks in the foreground, the boat and the hills. Where did you focus? The rocks in the foreground look incredibly crisp so I'm assuming there? It's really showing what the 7x can do.

One of the "future" improvements that I would love to see, that hasn't really been an issue up until now, but with advent of these fairly strong tele lenses is to be able to automatically focus bracket. I use focus bracketing all the time with Helicon Focus Software and my DSLR and gives you incredibly crisp images from very close to very far away. For those that don't know what focus bracketing is it's when you take several exposures focusing on different parts of the scene from near to far then you use software like Helicon Focus (or Affinity Photo or others) and combine all the sharp bits so your whole image is sharp from near to far.

Brilliant shot, glad it came together for you.
Its shots like this that makes me forget for a time, the issues I and some others have with the M3.
Thanks for sharing.

Bussty Posted at 3-26 14:45
Great shot Charles! This is actually a great to shot highlight one of the "things" we have to consider when using the 7x... where you focus. Technically that lens at f4.4 is incapable of focusing on the rocks in the foreground, the boat and the hills. Where did you focus? The rocks in the foreground look incredibly crisp so I'm assuming there? It's really showing what the 7x can do.

One of the "future" improvements that I would love to see, that hasn't really been an issue up until now, but with advent of these fairly strong tele lenses is to be able to automatically focus bracket. I use focus bracketing all the time with Helicon Focus Software and my DSLR and gives you incredibly crisp images from very close to very far away. For those that don't know what focus bracketing is it's when you take several exposures focusing on different parts of the scene from near to far then you use software like Helicon Focus (or Affinity Photo or others) and combine all the sharp bits so your whole image is sharp (if you want that)

Yes, 7x, latest firmware.

Charles Adams Posted at 3-26 15:06
Yes, 7x, latest firmware.

Nice

Great Shot and execution.

That is something worth getting framed.  Very nice!

Charles Adams Posted at 3-26 13:15
The boat was a happy accident, but perfect for the picture.  And you are exactly right, I planned and tried to execute for a long time.
I think that this is good use of negative space too, if I understand the concepts correctly.

Great composition and execution.  Your photo makes me want to purchase the M3!!  I'm getting there, but I'm just not ready yet.

Thanks for sharing!!

WOWSA. Great!

Hello there Charles Adams. Good day and thank you for posting this amazing photo that you have shot. Great work and have a nice day. .

Beautifully framed.    I can see why you had to wait to get that one.

The only thing I would change is - you should be on the boat, fishing!! Great picture. Nicely framed.

Mobilehomer Posted at 3-27 05:49
The only thing I would change is - you should be on the boat, fishing!! Great picture. Nicely framed.

Funny you mention that...  I did re-engage in fishing last year.  Bought equipment, license, and over the course of last season caught a dozen or so fish.  But I'm finding that fishing gets in the way of my drone hobby!  

Bussty Posted at 3-26 14:45
Great shot Charles! This is actually a great shot to highlight one of the "things" we have to consider when using the 7x... where you focus. Technically that lens at f4.4 is incapable of focusing on the rocks in the foreground, the boat and the hills. Where did you focus? The rocks in the foreground look incredibly crisp so I'm assuming there? It's really showing what the 7x can do.

One of the "future" improvements that I would love to see, that hasn't really been an issue up until now, but with advent of these fairly strong tele lenses is to be able to automatically focus bracket. I use focus bracketing all the time with Helicon Focus Software and my DSLR and gives you incredibly crisp images from very close to very far away. For those that don't know what focus bracketing is it's when you take several exposures focusing on different parts of the scene from near to far then you use software like Helicon Focus (or Affinity Photo or others) and combine all the sharp bits so your whole

Im sure that a 3 or 5 shot focus bracket could be processed in jpeg in camera and Raw photos stored . But you can always manually focus stack…

hallmark007 Posted at 3-27 06:03
Im sure that a 3 or 5 shot focus bracket could be processed in jpeg in camera and Raw photos stored . But you can always manually focus stack…

Another thing that I love about these forums is how much I learn.  I just googled focus stacking and focus bracketing because I hadn't really heard about them before and definitely didn't understand them.  I just got smarter I think!

I'm going to have to practice the technique and experiment.  The challenge I have is that I've not really seen a lot of significant difference on my phone display while playing with manual focus.  I'm sure that there is a visual difference in what has focus, but it's challenging to see that difference on screen.  The thing I think I can try is to manually set focus at different "levels" and trust that there is a difference even if I cannot perceive the difference.

Charles Adams Posted at 3-27 06:14
Another thing that I love about these forums is how much I learn.  I just googled focus stacking and focus bracketing because I hadn't really heard about them before and definitely didn't understand them.  I just got smarter I think!

I'm going to have to practice the technique and experiment.  The challenge I have is that I've not really seen a lot of significant difference on my phone display while playing with manual focus.  I'm sure that there is a visual difference in what has focus, but it's challenging to see that difference on screen.  The thing I think I can try is to manually set focus at different "levels" and trust that there is a difference even if I cannot perceive the difference.

The challenge I have is that I've not really seen a lot of significant difference on my phone display while playing with manual focus.  I'm sure that there is a visual difference in what has focus, but it's challenging to see that difference on screen.
If you are talking about the main camera, it has a bucketload of depth of field so that changing the focus point makes no difference for most aerial use.

Labroides Posted at 3-27 06:19
The challenge I have is that I've not really seen a lot of significant difference on my phone display while playing with manual focus.  I'm sure that there is a visual difference in what has focus, but it's challenging to see that difference on screen.  
If you are talking about the main camera, it has a bucketload of depth of field so that changing the focus point makes no difference for most aerial use.

In this case the camera I used was the "zoom lens".  I don't really know how much control we currently have.  I know it's always "auto", though you can adjust the exposure value.  I don't recall if you can adjust focus.  That will be an observation for the next time I fly.

Charles Adams Posted at 3-27 06:00
Funny you mention that...  I did re-engage in fishing last year.  Bought equipment, license, and over the course of last season caught a dozen or so fish.  But I'm finding that fishing gets in the way of my drone hobby!

With the main Camera for Dept of field the sweet spot should be from F5 to F6.4 these should keep everything in your image sharp if its correctly exposed, and from my experience in good light F11 is still reasonably sharp and will freeze almost anything you need and can shoot nice starburst. But I don’t think focus staking is necessary with the main camera. And the workload in post probably wouldn’t make much real difference. I would like to see if Auto Focus bracket in camera processing jpeg made any difference. But with fixed Aperture on the zoom at f4 manual focus bracketing may have helped with that particular scene.
I some photographers focus stack and bracket a lot but usually the shot determines if it needs bracketing. Just like shooting into the sun trying to get a correct exposure is impossible so AEB bracketing should take care of this or you can also shoot it manually.

Many hours of happy hunting ahead of you.

I have another "composition" in mind, but I only get 2 (or maybe 3) opportunities a year.  Near where I live is a large rock formation with a lit star on it.  This star is lit but two months out of the year.  I have already taken a satisfying long exposure shot of this, with the highway in the background and the cars producing "streaks" of light.  The picture I want to take includes the full moon in the background.  I wasn't able to take it this year because of weather and other family events.  I must wait for winter and new years next year and hope for good weather.

Bussty Posted at 3-26 14:45
Great shot Charles! This is actually a great shot to highlight one of the "things" we have to consider when using the 7x... where you focus. Technically that lens at f4.4 is incapable of focusing on the rocks in the foreground, the boat and the hills. Where did you focus? The rocks in the foreground look incredibly crisp so I'm assuming there? It's really showing what the 7x can do.

One of the "future" improvements that I would love to see, that hasn't really been an issue up until now, but with advent of these fairly strong tele lenses is to be able to automatically focus bracket. I use focus bracketing all the time with Helicon Focus Software and my DSLR and gives you incredibly crisp images from very close to very far away. For those that don't know what focus bracketing is it's when you take several exposures focusing on different parts of the scene from near to far then you use software like Helicon Focus (or Affinity Photo or others) and combine all the sharp bits so your whole

Please correct me if I'm wrong (anyone) but my understanding of crop factor for a 1/2" sensor (5.44?) tells me the M3 telephoto lens fixed f/4.4 aperture is equivalent to f/24 FF.

If I understand correctly the f/2.8 aperture of M3 main camera is equivalent to f/5.6 FF.

Spazoo Posted at 3-27 11:39
Please correct me if I'm wrong (anyone) but my understanding of crop factor for a 1/2" sensor (5.44?) tells me the M3 telephoto lens fixed f/4.4 aperture is equivalent to f/24 FF.

If I understand correctly the f/2.8 aperture of M3 main camera is equivalent to f/5.6 FF.

The Aperture on a MFT camera is the same as it is on a FF or APSC camera. Then lens focal length is different on smaller sensors IE a 35mm FF lens equivalent on a MFT is 70mm. So multiply by X2 for APSC just add roughly 1/2 so 55mm APSC approx 70mm FF
And similar with 1/2 sensor lens, but im no 100% sure of the breakdown for 1/2"

hallmark007 Posted at 3-27 12:09
The Aperture on a MFT camera is the same as it is on a FF or APSC camera. Then lens focal length is different on smaller sensors IE a 35mm FF lens equivalent on a MFT is 70mm. So multiply by X2 for APSC just add roughly 1/2 so 55mm APSC approx 70mm FF
And similar with 1/2 sensor lens, but im no 100% sure of the breakdown for 1/2"

Thanks for the reply but I'm not entirely convinced.  Looking at the results of these tests, it seems at least the DOF is impacted by a smaller sensor.

BTW I am not saying this is an issue.  I just wanted to share since we have been discussing focus/DOF.  I thought maybe others here that also shoot with FF cameras might find this interesting.

Spazoo Posted at 3-27 12:43
Thanks for the reply but I'm not entirely convinced.  Looking at the results of these tests, it seems at least the DOF is impacted by a smaller sensor.

The Aperture is the same FF always has greater DOF and thats why they operate in lower light with equivalent Aperture . And the same with Medium Format it also has greater DOF than FF but its 50mm lens is the equivalent to 40mm on a FF. the video is only explaining equivalents they came up with in testing. But there is no scale for this the test, they were just trying to prove amounts of light getting in at certain Aperture on FF to MFT this also works back the way with medium format but it remains the same F2 Medium Format is the same as F2 FF. and as I said there is no separate Aperture scale. But there is a definite focal length scale.

hallmark007 Posted at 3-27 13:01
The Aperture is the same FF always has greater DOF and thats why they operate in lower light with equivalent Aperture . And the same with Medium Format it also has greater DOF than FF but its 50mm lens is the equivalent to 40mm on a FF. the video is only explaining equivalents they came up with in testing. But there is no scale for this the test, they were just trying to prove amounts of light getting in at certain Aperture on FF to MFT this also works back the way with medium format but it remains the same F2 Medium Format is the same as F2 FF. and as I said there is no separate Aperture scale. But there is a definite focal length scale.

I also found this video on the same YT channel, specifically mentioning FF aperture equivalents of various DJI drones.  My understanding is that it affects DOF but not exposure.

Some additional info that may be of interest to photography nerds...

https://photographylife.com/equi ... es-aperture-and-iso

hallmark007 Posted at 3-27 13:01
The Aperture is the same FF always has greater DOF and thats why they operate in lower light with equivalent Aperture . And the same with Medium Format it also has greater DOF than FF but its 50mm lens is the equivalent to 40mm on a FF. the video is only explaining equivalents they came up with in testing. But there is no scale for this the test, they were just trying to prove amounts of light getting in at certain Aperture on FF to MFT this also works back the way with medium format but it remains the same F2 Medium Format is the same as F2 FF. and as I said there is no separate Aperture scale. But there is a definite focal length scale.

If you're saying that sensor size affects DOF but not exposure, then I think we are in agreement.  Imagine that!!!!

Spazoo Posted at 3-27 13:40
I also found this video on the same YT channel, specifically mentioning FF aperture equivalents of various DJI drones.  My understanding is that it affects DOF but not exposure.

[view_image]

This is a fixed lens formula done by someone privately and for these specific cameras that have fixed lenses it’s probably close to what the equivalent DOF is , but this formula will not work with cameras that you can change lenses and because its to difficult to this there is no chart to follow and thats why there is no exact formula as there is with focal length . Example F1 on APSC has an almost Identical DOF as an F1 On FF. there are also different anomalies with all lenses even fixed lenses and same lens in F number can show different levels of DOF.  But the chart is helpful for photographers who don’t know. But I find with my drone not to refer it back to or forward to FF , its much easier to know if you shoot at 5.6 and SS 120/sec that everything to infinity will be sharp moving subject should be without blur , at least it is in my opinion. I use a Medium Format camera and trying to get my head around this would be confusing.

Spazoo Posted at 3-27 14:01
If you're saying that sensor size affects DOF but not exposure, then I think we are in agreement.  Imagine that!!!!

Whatever works for you when shooting photography. I have been at photography for quite a long time now, I dont get to mathematically bogged down, if I haven’t to I just use something like photopils app, this doesn’t give any guide to different DOF for different lenses so I think even with no guide when you do it long enough you can figure it out. Its going to be subjective anyways.

Contrary to what you might think my first thought is to try to help.

hallmark007 Posted at 3-27 14:22
Whatever works for you when shooting photography. I have been at photography for quite a long time now, I dont get to mathematically bogged down, if I haven’t to I just use something like photopils app, this doesn’t give any guide to different DOF for different lenses so I think even with no guide when you do it long enough you can figure it out. Its going to be subjective anyways.

Contrary to what you might think my first thought is to try to help.

IMHO, there's photography, and there's drone photography.  

From a birds-eye view, DOF rarely comes into play.  At low altitudes, DOF can make or break a photo.

YMMV.

Spazoo Posted at 3-27 15:36
IMHO, there's photography, and there's drone photography.  

From a birds-eye view, DOF rarely comes into play.  At low altitudes, DOF can make or break a photo.

Yes that’s the way I shoot photography with my drone , I mostly shoot landscape so everything being as sharp as it can usually works out , video is slightly different sometimes it would be nice to have some in focus and some slightly out of focus but this can be difficult unless you are flying close or using zoom lens .
But I have seen some superb footage on this drone so its possible but learning techniques is something I would like to study.

I love it when a plan comes together!
Nice shot!

Sorry bad post