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There are several large commercial drone producers, but only DJI offers an integrated gimbal camera with a number of compatible lenses. In this post, we’ll show you what lenses are available for the DJI Zenmuse X5 camera and how they work.
To start, let’s talk about the relationship between focal length and angle of view.
Take a look at the pictures above.
A shorter focal length indicates a broader angle of view. However, remember that with a greater angle of view comes greater image distortion. This is sometimes desireable, and wide lenses are often suitable for aerial photography. But if you want to focus on a particular object (use the red tower in this image), a longer lens may be desireable. During a shoot, having access to a number of lenses allows you to capture more or less of your environment from one spot. As such, when choosing a camera, the number of lenses supported by the camera should be taken into consideration along with image quality.
Many Inspire 1 users choose the drone for this very reason. Gimbal cameras supported by the Inspire 1 include the X3, X5 and X5R. X3 has a fixed lens (the equivalent of a 35mm lens), while X5 and X5R cameras support a number of micro four-thirds lenses. Here are the lenses officially approved by DJI:
DJI MFT 15mm f/1.7 ASPH * Panasonic Lumix 15mm f/1.7 * Olympus M. ED 12mm f/2.0 Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 * Olympus M.Zuiko ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ * Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8 Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f1.8 (*Require a balancing ring)
When using the seven lenses mentioned above, a user can focus by tapping on screen in the DJI Go app and adjust aperture. Used along with DJI Focus, users can pull focus and change aperture in real time without using the app. The X5R comes with a built-in solid state hard drive and can shoot in RAW, which gives extra options for post-production.
To ensure stability, some lenses require a camera balancing ring to be installed before shooting, because the performance of the gimbal is affected by the weight of the lens.
The figure below contains balancing ring specifications for all approved X5 lenses:
A balancing ring’s name indicates its thread size and weight. For example, the BR-Φ46-10 balancing ring has a thread size of 46mm and a weight of 10g.
Now let’s take a closer look at 6 of these lenses.
These 6: DJI MFT 15mm f/1.7 ASPH * Olympus M. ED 12mm f/2.0 Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8 Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f1.8 Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 * Olympus M.Zuiko ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ * (*Require a balancing ring)
The Zenmuse X5 has a 4/3-inch CMOS sensor. It’s a cropped sensor, so the effective focal length for a given lens used with the X5 is lens’ actual focal length multiplied by 2.
For example, the effective focal length of a 15 mm lens is 30 mm. What would be a fisheye lens on a full-frame camera looks much less distorted on a micro 4/3s camera.
Thanks to the Inspire 1’s excellent performance in high-wind conditions, Inspire 1 pilots can capture beautiful, sea-side shots like these. The image quality you can get with micro 4/3 lenses is truly exceptional.
Let’s take a closer look at some supported lenses, starting with the DJI MFT 15mm f/1.7 ASPH.
This lens needs to be used with its official DJI balancing ring.
This is the Inspire Pro’s kit lens. It’s a small, wide-angle lens with a 15mm focal length (times 2 = 30mm effective focal length). It’s designed specifically for the Inspire, so it’s guaranteed to be well-balanced. It captures wide-angle, natural-looking images without much distortion.
The image below was taken with this lens.
ISO: 100 Shutter Speed Speed: 1/240 second Aperture: f/6.3
Not bad, eh?
Now let’s look at the Olympus M. ED 12mm f/2.0.
This lens also needs to be used with a DJI balancing ring.
This lens is wider than the previous lens with a 12 mm focal length and 24 mm effective focal length, which is suitable for shooting landscapes and insituations where you want to get a wider angle of view. If your battery level is low, the 12 mm lens allows the aircraft to capture good-looking landscape shots without flying very far away. You can pop up in the air and frame a broad shot quickly. The quality of this lens has gained wide-spread recognition in the industry. You certainly get what you pay for!
A reference image is shown below.
ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/240 second f/8
Next let’s check out the Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8.
This lens has a 25 mm focal length and 50 mm effective focal length. This lens is longer than the last two we profiled. This lens compresses images and offers a shallower depth of field and angle of view. While wider lenses are better for shooting landscapes, this 25mm lens most suitable for medium and close shots.
Check out the image below.
ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/200 second f/8
You can really see the detail in the waves!
Forth, let's look at the Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f1.8.
This lens has a 45 mm focal length and 90 mm effective focal length. Pilots, especially new ones, just fly at high altitudes and try to get as much stuff as they can in the frame. But shooting with this lens gives you a whole different perspective on aerial photography. With such a long lens, the aircraft can take detailed photographs of a target area without getting too close, which allows you to stay safe and focus on a particular region or object. That being said, the images are much more compressed, so you’ll need to make sure your focus is set correctly.
A reference image is shown below.
ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/240 second f/6.3
Our fifth lens is the Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8.
This lens also requires a DJI balancing ring.
This one has 17 mm focal length and 34 mm effective focal length. This makes it a little longer than the kit lens. It’s an ideal choice when you want a narrower angle of view and a little less distortion.
There’s a reference image below.
ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/240 second f/6.3
Finally, let’s look at the Olympus M.Zuiko ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ *.
This lens needs to be used with a DJI balancing ring.
This lens is a wide to medium length zoom lens. Often times, it’s more convenient to use a zoom lens than a prime lens. You can save time by not having to constantly change lenses. However, the image quality of a zoom lens is poorer than that of a prime length. Also, with a small aperture, it’s hard to get a shallow depth of field. So, do you want a prime lens with excellent image quality, or a zoom lens that will allow you more flexibility? It’s up to you.
The following six images were taken with the six lens we just discussed at the same altitude and from the same angle.
Olympus M. ED 12mm f/2.0 ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/125 second f/8
DJI MFT 15mm f/1.7 ASPH * ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/125 second f/8
Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 * ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/125 second f/8
Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8 ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/125 second f/8
Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f1.8 ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/125 second f/8
Olympus M.Zuiko ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ * ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/125 second f/8 Focal Length: 16 mm
They’re all pretty impressive, and when used together, they certainly make the make the X5 a versatile camera. Mounted to the Inspire 1 and equipped with Focus, you can take beautiful aerial photos with incredible accuracy, even when seaside winds are strong.
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