Food for thought, if there is a wide angle choice on the mini 3 pro, why not various telephoto lens lengths?

Good question, I don't know how to make that happen though.

I'd think you might have gimbal weight and balance issues as a telephoto converter is likely to need to stick out further than the wide angle converter would. Given how small and light it is, it's not going to take much to put strain on that gimbal.

Lobster Posted at 6-10 08:50
I'd think you might have gimbal weight and balance issues as a telephoto converter is likely to need to stick out further than the wide angle converter would. Given how small and light it is, it's not going to take much to put strain on that gimbal.

You are absolutely right!  What about this though? The way the gimbal is set up, you actually could create a counterweighted design that would put less strain on the gimbal, and only torque mainly on the bottom w/ the added weight?  Heck what do I know.... lol  Of course now you're also bumping against the 249 weight issue as well...  

I really don't think a telephoto lens will happen for the Mini 3 Pro owing to all the above reasons. Weight of it will take the drones weight to over 250grms for starters. Extra torque on the gimble, not  good. The only way you could get a longer focal length is by using a 2x adaptor which would be lighter, but normally they fit in behind the prime lens. The way the camera lens assembly is built that's not possible to make provision for without major modification. A bit  needless really, just fly the drone closer to the subject and if necessary switch of the braking. Using a 2x adaptor also robs you of one stop of your aperture as well. A telephoto lens also distorts your distance perspective.

Weight and balance.  Telephoto is going to require more glass (heavier) and it'd need to be physically longer (move the CoG and balance of the camera forward).  Seriously doubt the gimbal would cope.

Sign me up. It would be the ultimate search and rescue machine for the money for small SAR Teams. I started building drones 10 years ago just for SAR. Its how I got started. Id pay an extra 300 bucks for that.

The telephoto lens on my Galaxy s22 ultra takes good pics of the moon. The technology is there id pay for it!

djiuser_96eKXnd6Lzmh Posted at 11-27 19:37
The telephoto lens on my Galaxy s22 ultra takes good pics of the moon. The technology is there id pay for it!

Define "good pics"?

I have the Note 20 Ultra 5g and i would never class mine as "good pics of the moon". Granted, it can zoom in but any detail is lost. At present, Phone telephoto is a gimmick just to upsell, nothing more. Unless of course, the 22 models has come a long way....

Nevada Flyer Posted at 6-10 09:26
You are absolutely right!  What about this though? The way the gimbal is set up, you actually could create a counterweighted design that would put less strain on the gimbal, and only torque mainly on the bottom w/ the added weight?  Heck what do I know.... lol  Of course now you're also bumping against the 249 weight issue as well...

And then, since they have to overcome the inertia of the assembly, probably strain the gimbal motors when when they are trying to keep the camera level, to compensate for movement of the drone. If I remember correctly the "moment of inertia" varies not only with the masses involved but also with how far from the pivot the masses are placed and I think it's a squared relationship, if so twice the distance four times the inertia.
Besides aren't telephoto lenses normally manually adjusted? If so you'd have to land every time you wanted to adjust the focal length.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 11-28 02:15
And then, since they have to overcome the inertia of the assembly, probably strain the gimbal motors when when they are trying to keep the camera level, to compensate for movement of the drone. If I remember correctly the "moment of inertia" varies not only with the masses involved but also with how far from the pivot the masses are placed and I think it's a squared relationship, if so twice the distance four times the inertia.
Besides aren't telephoto lenses normally manually adjusted? If so you'd have to land every time you wanted to adjust the focal length.

Besides aren't telephoto lenses normally manually adjusted?
Not for the last 15 or more years.

But none of the suggestions in this post would ever work.
It's a pointless discussion.

Labroides Posted at 11-28 03:18
Besides aren't telephoto lenses normally manually adjusted?
Not for the last 15 or more years.

EDIT: been brought to my attention that TF and Zoom lenses are often mistaken for as i have done here so i have removed my reply for that reason.Now, whether or not the OP meant Telephoto or a zoom lens is another matter but having read his post properly it looks likes they are talking about interchangeable lenses and therefore not a zoom lens so apologies for the mix up, it will be highly unlikely this will happen for the mini range, too small a drone for such like. There was talk about one for the P4P V2.0 before it came out and one was created but by all accounts that was a custom build. Again, apologies for the mix up.

Perhaps a Mini 4 Pro could have a gimble with 2 lenses.. when one points forward.. the 2nd lens is pointed opposite.  You choose the other lens.. say a 5X.. and the rotates to the other lens.

This would be great. But let us define it. Literally the equivalent of say a 50mm lens on 35mm format. It would be fixed, ie not a zoom. Zoom lenses would be terrible quality, and heavier so this is the big caveat to making it work. (Currently the mini 3 pro is about 24mm equivalent from memory) So short tele. This would make framing objects like castles, bridges, easier as could be much further from them. A short tele could be made light enough too, in order for the total package to come under 250g.
I just got the wide angle lens from DJI, will test it, but won't be nearly as useful to me as a tele would be.

A tele lens is going to be more glass and more weight, even a modest prime.

In addition the narrower focal length is going to need a more stable gimbal and stronger construction to adequately dampen and movement (so again more weight).

I often find all my drones FoV too wide but in reality there's nothing else that can be done.  We're not going to see a tele lens for the mini.

gnirtS Posted at 12-16 03:46
A tele lens is going to be more glass and more weight, even a modest prime.

In addition the narrower focal length is going to need a more stable gimbal and stronger construction to adequately dampen and movement (so again more weight).

BTW there is no glass, they are plastic elements on the lenses for the M3P. Plastic aspherics are common in lenses especially cheaper ones to save weight and costs. Not a short tele; with optical engineering, an UWA is often heavier than a short tele by a long way. Considering the UWA attachment I just received doesn't put it over the limit I severely doubt a very short tele like a 50 equivalent would. Your comments would apply a bit more if it was a 150mm lens. Remember too, that some just photograph with their drones. So if it really did make the gimbal slightly more unstable *which I doubt it would if designed well (with a 2 element design which would keep it lightweight, and if a short tele like a 50, it will keep it short so the force moments on the gimbal will be kept similar to the UWA lens) it could just be used for photography, not video.

I was actually Googling to see if this very thing existed yet!  I thought I did a ton of research into the Mini 3 Pro before buying it, but apparently not enough because the biggest reason I got it was to shoot sunsets and clouds.  I live in a heavily forested area and I can't get clear shots of skies from where I am, so I thought the drone was the perfect solution.  But with the wide angle lens that ships with it, the sunset is WAY in the distance and you can't really see any of the great colors and details.  I really need something that's at least 50mm equivalent on a full frame sensor or greater!  (I saw one person say to "fly the drone closer"...that doesn't work here, for obvious reasons! LOL)

Still love to fly my drone...but it doesn't do what I originally bought it to do.  Not sure if upgrading to a full-blown setup that I need a license to fly is the answer, or what.  Hopefully DJI can come up with something.

While we're flushing out potential technical limitations for implementing this:  if they rely on the camera as one of the collision sensors (which I think they do), having the view restricted like that could mess with the obstacle avoidance capabilities.

Absolutely I would and do want this. More valuable than the UWA attachment. Just a fixed 50mm equivalent lens. (35mm equiv).