One of the main reasons to buy the DJI Air 3s is the dual-camera system. Having a second medium-tele camera next to the classic wide-angle one opens up a new world of opportunities for both video and photography
If only we could have something similar in a lightweight drone. Well, actually, the 48mm Med Tele Mode of the Mini 5 Pro is the closest thing to having a second optical lens
In this article, I will show you how it works and how to make the most of this outstanding functionality
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Settings
To the left of the shutter, there are two icons for the zoom level. By default, the lower icon 1x is selected, indicating that the camera is at full width
By tapping the icon 2 above, we access the 48mm Med Tele Mode. In this mode, we get a 2x zoom with image quality close to a true 48mm optical lens
It works by cropping the central part of the image, taking advantage of the higher resolution of the 1” sensor. I find this feature extremely useful for filming subjects we cannot reach, to improve the parallax effect in scenes with elements on different layers, and to obtain better separation between a target and the background
The Med Tele mode can be applied while filming. I started recording this clip without any zoom and hit the 2x icon after a few seconds
It can also be used in vertical format for users active on social media platforms. All three Color Profiles are available:
- Normal
- HLG
- D Log-M
The Med Tele mode also works with another major new functionality of the Mini 5 Pro, the Rotating Gimbal, by using a combination of a button and the dial of the remote controller
We can access other zoom levels from 1x to 3x by sliding the same icon, but in this case, it will be a simple digital zoom with a noticeable loss of resolution
Video Examples
Let’s look at some examples of footage captured in Med Tele mode
Behind this village, there is a small hill by the sea with some tiny volcanic islands behind it. It is an area with strong interference, so I cannot get close enough. By activating Med Tele, I can reveal the islets behind the edge of the hill, creating some interesting parallax effect
In this other case, I have a top-down view of the central square of this small village, which contains plenty of geometric shapes, useful for comparing resolution. I would like to get closer, but I cannot fly at a lower altitude for safety reasons. I can simply press the 2x button to enter the Tle Mode, and now I have a much closer view
Med Tele vs Optical Zoom
When I first saw footage taken in Med Tele mode, I found it very close to the quality of a true optical lens
There are many discussions on social media about this mode, with some users stating that it is simply the equivalent of a digital zoom. In my opinion, it is a crop of the central area of the image, as the larger sensor of the Mini 5 Pro can still maintain a 4k resolution after the crop
Comparing side by side the Med Tele clip against a 2x digital zoom of the footage taken in normal mode, there is, in my opinion, a big difference. The Med Tele one has much more detail and resolution, and it is not much different from what we would get with a true optical mid telephoto lens
Let’s do the same comparison with the footage of the village we saw earlier, as it contains several geometric lines and fine detail in the vegetation. Please let me know if you notice major differences
On certain occasions, footage taken in Med Tele mode may look too sharp to some users. In this case, we can simply lower the sharpness value in the camera tab of the settings
Photos
The Med Tele mode also works with still images
Let’s start by comparing it to photos taken in 12 MP mode, zoomed in digitally to 2x to get the same field of view. We can then get closer by applying a further 2x zoom to reach a 400% magnification of the original view
For photos, the difference is not as evident as for footage, as we are starting with a higher resolution. I still find the Med Tele image to have just a touch of extra detail, especially in the deeper crop. If you need to get much closer to your target, the Med Tele mode is the way to go
We can then compare the Med Tele mode to the 50MP photo mode. Here, the difference in detail is hardly noticeable, although I again slightly prefer the results obtained with the Med Tele mode
The 50 MP photos are very demanding in terms of computer resources, while the Med Tele mode can be used even without any editing, making it the ideal choice for images to be used right out of the camera