I don’t like the standard zoom for all purposes, like when walking around town on vacation so I wonder if zooming in to let’s say 2.0 would result in video quality loss?

Most drone when zoom is only digital zoom so yeah video quality goes down fast. With dji drones you can zoom 2x in 4k, 3x in 2.7k and 4x in 1080p. All digital zoom so quality goes down. Want to zoom without lost in quality? Get the mavic 3 pro. It have 1x, 3x, 7x Tele lens so quality doesn't go down.

Why not try it out?

djiuser_zKR5HFX3a2EC Posted at 5-31 10:49
Most drone when zoom is only digital zoom so yeah video quality goes down fast. With dji drones you can zoom 2x in 4k, 3x in 2.7k and 4x in 1080p. All digital zoom so quality goes down. Want to zoom without lost in quality? Get the mavic 3 pro. It have 1x, 3x, 7x Tele lens so quality doesn't go down.

I am not using a drone tho, it’s the Osmo Action 3 I am zooming with.

Yes all digital zoom will decrease quality, so it is better to zoom in post if needed and use AI for upscale.

papovic Posted at 5-31 11:19
I am not using a drone tho, it’s the Osmo Action 3 I am zooming with.

Doesnt matter if you use osmo action 3, a drone, or gopro. They all use digital zoom. So yeah you will lose video quality when using the zoom on the camera. The more you zoom in, the less quality it is. They are not actually zooming in. They are just cropping it.

Its best to shoot 4K, then go to your editor of choice and  crop in 30% tops , and r ender to 1080P and you will not have Loss of quality, but when cropping in on the 4K with the camera itself is on the  sensor, then zooming in with EIS also chosen is a loss of quality if asked

Fishycomics Posted at 5-31 11:52
Its best to shoot 4K, then go to your editor of choice and  crop in 30% tops , and r ender to 1080P and you will not have Loss of quality, but when cropping in on the 4K with the camera itself is on the  sensor, then zooming in with EIS also chosen is a loss of quality if asked

Ok so if I shoot with default zoom I can crop and not lose quality? What about the angle? It all looks wide, especially when I am shooting let’s say a street with people, I don’t need the default width, it just looks crazy

Frame grab of a 4K video, then cropped in with a HD1080P, then over kill,   know the limits when cropping why I said 30% max

Hi, papovic. Thank you for reaching out. Osmo Action 3 uses digital zoom, which is different from optical zoom. For electronic technology, digital zoom is equivalent to magnifying the photo area using image processing software, which also magnifies the pixels. This will have an impact on the clarity of the picture quality. We apologize for the inconvenience.

DJI Gamora Posted at 5-31 17:38
Hi, papovic. Thank you for reaching out. Osmo Action 3 uses digital zoom, which is different from optical zoom. For electronic technology, digital zoom is equivalent to magnifying the photo area using image processing software, which also magnifies the pixels. This will have an impact on the clarity of the picture quality. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Ok but what about when I use the horizontal stabilizer? The focal length is not as wide, is this also a loss of image quality?

papovic Posted at 6-1 04:48
Ok but what about when I use the horizontal stabilizer? The focal length is not as wide, is this also a loss of image quality?

Hi, papovic. Are you pertaining to the Horizon Steady? If so, when adjusting the Steady mode, the upper and lower edges of the camera view will naturally change to a darker color to make the Steady mode names clearer for your choice. This does not affect the captured or recorded photos or videos. HorizonSteady uses DJI's latest stabilization algorithm to lock onto a leveled horizon in every frame, regardless of how the camera is mounted or worn. It allows you to capture smooth and stable footage whether you are cycling on bumpy roads or go-karting around a track