Hello Drone fans,

Some might help me.

Drone: Mavic Air or Pro
Context: taking pictures of a painting (6x3m) in a waiting room
Goal: print the picture of the painting on a 6x3m board

Question: is the picture quality of one of these two babies is high enough in order to do this? What would your advice be if possible?

Thank you in advance.

Kind regards boyzzzzzzz

Remember these are essentially flying cellphone cameras, you'd be better off using a camera with a larger sensor. Any reason why you're considering a drone for this task?

Ex Machina Posted at 2018-3-28 08:08
Remember these are essentially flying cellphone cameras, you'd be better off using a camera with a larger sensor. Any reason why you're considering a drone for this task?

Thank you for the reply. No specific reasons, it's a client who asked because according to him, it's difficult to use a normal camera. I've seen the place and my opinion is that a camera will do the job.

Chrissy Posted at 2018-3-28 08:23
Thank you for the reply. No specific reasons, it's a client who asked because according to him, it's difficult to use a normal camera. I've seen the place and my opinion is that a camera will do the job.

It's technically doable -- I see huge "Shot by iPhone" ads all over town -- but if you can get the shot with a larger sensor camera the end result is going to be of much higher quality and will require less work to get it there. Good luck!

Ex Machina Posted at 2018-3-28 11:27
It's technically doable -- I see huge "Shot by iPhone" ads all over town -- but if you can get the shot with a larger sensor camera the end result is going to be of much higher quality and will require less work to get it there. Good luck!

Thank you. I called him, and the reason why he wants a drone, is that he wants to take the picture at the middle size of the painting which is about 3m from the ground. He doesn't want to use a ladder. No idea why!

Well, if your client insists on a drone then as the owner of both yourself you'll know each have a 1/2.3" sensor with 12MP which, for stills, is going to produce very similar quality. The pro has more profile options but the air will be easier to fly indoors due to its design and upgraded OA system - be sure to use the prop guards too. The image quality will be similar to that of a top end iPhone.

A CW Posted at 2018-3-28 11:55
Well, if your client insists on a drone then as the owner of both yourself you'll know each have a 1/2.3" sensor with 12MP which, for stills, is going to produce very similar quality. The pro has more profile options but the air will be easier to fly indoors due to its design and upgraded OA system - be sure to use the prop guards too. The image quality will be similar to that of a top end iPhone.

Thanks. I too thought it s about the same, except for the Air that has a better indoor flight capability.

Chrissy Posted at 2018-3-28 11:50
Thank you. I called him, and the reason why he wants a drone, is that he wants to take the picture at the middle size of the painting which is about 3m from the ground. He doesn't want to use a ladder. No idea why!

If it were me I'd put my wifi-controlled camera on a boom and remotely frame and shoot, obviating the need for a ladder, though your camera might not have that capability and anyway a ladder would be a whole lot easier.

I guess you could always do a comparison test to show the client what level of quality they can expect.

I'm told this Windows-only tool is good for upscaling photos for very large format printing but don't have any exerience with it myself: http://reshade.com

If you don't mind noise in the image the Mavic will work fine.

From the footage I've seen, the difference between the two is like splitting hairs. If you want a wide angle lens then the Mavic Air will do you best. If you want higher resolution then the Mavic Pro will serve you well. If you want high bit rate inputted photos like I said the difference is like splitting hairs.

Thank you the community! Glad I can count on somewone when needed. I m learning a lot! I appreciate.