Air 2s Mapping and hyper focal distance at f2.8
Hi, I'd like to know if there are any air 2s users on here that know wether to use auto focus or manual focus when mapping? Or does it really matter? I thought that using auto focus will some how slow down the camera taking the picture and manual would be faster. Also does the hyper focal distance come into play or becuase of the height of most surveys taken by drone everything will be infocus anyways? And so you should use manual focus set to infinity? I'm an hobbyist drone user flying both fpv and GPS. Im interested in vfx and started to scan the sites im filming for photogrammetry. At the moment accuracy in terms of scale, isn't as much of an issue to me, although I am striving for the best cleanest sharpest image I can get with the air 2s. I can measure the site and rescale in 3D software. Thanks, JJ
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I don't fly A2S, however I map regularly with mini2 withe everything set to auto, and have no problems
Cheers Martin
Do you know if there is a way to set how many pictures the drone will take on an orbit mission? From what I can see that when you lower the speed there are more pictures and when you make the drone move faster there are less. Is there a way to have the drone fly a medium or lower speed and manually set the amount of pictures. I understand each drone has a minimum lowest interval at which the camera can take a picture. For the air 2s it's 3 seconds
Hey Jack. Actually most of the DJI drones can take as fast as 2 second intervals and then up which include the A2S. It’s not 3 seconds. There can be several differnt ways to set up any plan but yes, basically they are timed captures so the speed plus interval time will affect the total amount. You cannot set up a specifc amount. If you select the the little clock icon at top of the mission card it will give an estimated total. Also running the mission preview will show how many and where they will be taken if you toggle capture markers to on. (See link) Since you’re new I’d suggest spending a good of time going through much of the DL support section. You see there are specific sections for waypoints, mapping, and other mission components which includes Orbits. Then there are the Web app and Mobile app sections to assist you on how to set up and utilize the DL apps. As always, if you can’t find the answer in their support section or after searching this forum then someone will always help. As far as mapping, since it’s at the same altitude during the entire flight there is really no reason to use auto focus. I’ve seen it reported before that the auto focus will sometimes adjust and some capturers didn’t come out clear. Pilots choice. Enjoy.
https://support.dronelink.com/hc/en-us/categories/360001874574-General
https://support.dronelink.com/hc/en-us/articles/8618399008531-Show-Toggle-Capture-Markers-in-Mission-Preview
Thanks for the info. I ment to write 2 sorry for confusion!
So setting to manual focus to infinity first in the dj fly app and then switch to a dronelink mission. Ill giv it a try and compare a few of the same missions. Cheers
Some of your questions will be answered in the following videos
1. Advanced mapping - goes into detail about how Dronelink adjust speed, etc. to ensure that you always get the overlaps that you need. You can see that here: https://youtu.be/wDdR3Tp9g-s
2. Sharp photos every time shows how to set things up to make sure you get a super sharp shot. https://youtu.be/dtZKGRSAuNs
Hope that helps!
You don’t need to set in the DJI app first but your choice. Check the help section. DL has an amazing amount of support for their app.
https://support.dronelink.com/hc/en-us/articles/10181155807891-Flight-Dashboard-Camera-Settings-Controls-and-Indicators
https://support.dronelink.com/hc/en-us/articles/10094146578707-Flight-Dashboard-Camera-Settings-Menu-Storage-Focus-Spot-Meter-AE-Lock-Histogram
Hi Mike and Barry, thanks for the guidance. Im on the Elite plan at the moment and cant slow down the Air 2S any further unfortunatly. Ive been making my way through your dronelink videos for a while barry. Thanks for putting up the content. Cheers
James
turn on drone;
fly at the altitude you have decided to fly;
look down with camera;
select camera PRO mode;
sets shutter speed from 1/500 to 1/2000 based on light and cruising speed;
touch a point on the screen you want to focus on and then press the lock to lock;
press play to start the mission.
with AIR2s you can fly at 100m with a speed of 36kmh and a shutter speed of 1/1000 or even more.
you will not have blur in your photos.
@luko thanks for the advice!
Luko im going to fly some missions tomorrow with this work flow. previously my shutter speed was a bit low.
if i focus like you mentioned, what do i choose for the dronlink plan? auto,continuous, manual or non selected?
i guess it depends on lighting but what kind of iso should i be expecting if i need a shutter speed of 1/500 an above? tomorrows weather will be cloudy/bright so not ideal.
should i use an nd filter?
For mapping there is NO sense in using an ND filter.
ND filters are used to reduce the light coming in, which will have the effect of slowing down your shutter speed, which is the opposite of what you want.
TBH - most people buy ND filters with no idea what they are used for. Unless you are trying to create blur there is almost never a situation where an ND filter is needed for photography.
ND filters are primarily used to slow down the shutter speed in video to give a more natural feel - if you want to get more into that google the "180 degree rule".
Thanks for pointing that out Barry 👍
@James
ISO always 100. Shutter speed must be manual and must not change during flight. 1/500 can be fine but it depends on height and speed. I have 50m flying at 18kmh (5m/s) at 100m flying at 36kmh (10m/s). Better slightly dark photos than blurry photos. With dark photos you can make a map or survey, with blurry photos you can't do anything. I hardly go below 1/1000, air2s has a good very large lens takes a lot of light. Useless filters for mapping. Yes dronelink you can leave. Default focus then set from app before flight.
I flew 3 missions
1.mapping mission from above with -70 gimbal. 2. orbit mission near. 3 0rbit mission lower down. all on a speed of 12kph, 1/500 shutter but varying iso's.
The light wasnt great as i came round the one side the sun was just pouring intio the camera. In terms of how sharp the images are does this reflect how other air2s images look? I undertand that overcast lighting is better and that higher iso will introuduce noise. Im just getting used to planning my shots and gaining experience flying the drone.
James
you have to fly with the sun high, at lunchtime.
with overcast sky is better, otherwise without clouds to have all the photos the same.
to have no noise the ISO must be as low as possible.
ISO 100 and use shutter speed to improve the brightness.
the fewer variables there are the better the work.
settings always in manual.
Thanks everyone for the advice
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