Sorry, noob question.
Still just learning to fly and use the Mini 3 Pro.

If I want to do a video POI of a person or object, is there any way to keep the POI in focus, but throw the background right out of focus, as you would with a stills camera?

This would require not only a large aperture, but also a large sensor. Small sensor cameras have always huge depth of field, so in this case it can only be done in post production.

That's exactly the reason, why I still like shooting with a Full Frame DSLR though my iPhone has a superb camera ;-) ... you can better control depth of field depending on the used lens and you can use zoom lenses and not only digital zoom for fine zoom adjustments.

Here we see, why the Mini 3 Pro is not that pro, but more an entry level drone with only some pro features.

Here's a tutorial how to do "fake shallow depth of field" in DaVinci Resolve (free version):




PS: And a second one:

is there any way to keep the POI in focus, but throw the background right out of focus, as you would with a stills camera?
The mini 3 camera has huge depth of field and no controllable aperture to adjust DOF.
You would need to be very, very close to the subject (closer than it would be safe to fly) to have any discernable DOF difference.

Hi, _alvin_. Thank you for reaching out. You may try going to MF mode first to focus on the person only, and then drag the target(person) and enter POI mode but we cannot guarantee that it can achieve that kind of effect because normally you need to adjust the aperture to achieve that kind of effect and Mini 3 Pro camera's aperture cannot be adjusted manually (Mini 3 Pro has fixed aperture). Thank you for your kind understanding,

Drone Jockey Posted at 12-18 00:42
Here's a tutorial how to do "fake shallow depth of field" in DaVinci Resolve (free version):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYIfrBEvohU

Blurry background had me interested too, but holy crap that's complicated

To anyone wanting blurry backgrounds forget it. Also...faked dof is awful...save yourself the time. It is not really a drone thing anyway. Buy yourself a cheap dslr and a 50mm 1.8 lens and play. It won't be airborne but you will learn a lot about photography.

DJI Gamora Posted at 12-18 03:25
Hi, _alvin_. Thank you for reaching out. You may try going to MF mode first to focus on the person only, and then drag the target(person) and enter POI mode but we cannot guarantee that it can achieve that kind of effect because normally you need to adjust the aperture to achieve that kind of effect and Mini 3 Pro camera's aperture cannot be adjusted manually (Mini 3 Pro has fixed aperture). Thank you for your kind understanding,

Sorry, without wanting to be offensive, but this advice is plain wrong. The M3P already has a huge aperture, which is needed for small DOF, but the sensor size is too small, especially when being combined with a wide angle lens.
You need both, a large aperture and a large sensor, minimum APS-C, better full frame, to get really small DOF. Or at least a long focal length (with a medium aperture) instead of wide angle, but also preferably with a larger sensor.

With the M3P there's only one option ... post processing ... with the described downsides. In other words, fake DOF doesn't have the quality of optical small DOF. You can see that especially in the second video above.

primeshooter Posted at 12-18 12:35
To anyone wanting blurry backgrounds forget it. Also...faked dof is awful...save yourself the time. It is not really a drone thing anyway. Buy yourself a cheap dslr and a 50mm 1.8 lens and play. It won't be airborne but you will learn a lot about photography.

Quote: It is not really a drone thing anyway

Correct, with compact cameras and smartphone cameras it's the same ... too small sensor for shallow DOF. But with many compact cameras you at least have the option of a long focal length.

I think it would be easiest to take two photos. One normal, then switch to manual focus to blur the second shot. Post production with layers for the final image.

Hi all,
I'm in Oz so only just seeing this today.
Thanks for all your answers, much appreciated.
I asked this as more of a video question, not knowing my way around the M3P yet, and the explanations above are in line with my understanding of DSLRs (I have a couple of pro ones), but I just needed to make sure I wasn't missing something that others knew how to do and I didn't.
Ok, thanks again and I'll just have to work around this one. (;->

_alvin_ Posted at 12-18 15:11
Hi all,
I'm in Oz so only just seeing this today.
Thanks for all your answers, much appreciated.

Ah yep, my mistake, I didn't read your post properly.

Lieutenant Posted at 12-18 13:34
I think it would be easiest to take two photos. One normal, then switch to manual focus to blur the second shot. Post production with layers for the final image.

Brilliant idea.

Hi, the depth of field on the DJI mini3 pro is pretty good, but because you are usually flying, it’s too far away from the POI to have any effect. It works well if you hold it in your hand, and the gimbal makes it pretty smooth. Downside is the drone needs to be flying to cool itself, so it gets hot fast.