I think the take away for me was that if you need to bump the ISO much beyond 200 keep the 12 MP. If you have bright daylight conditions and can roll with ISO 100 and wider aperture you can use the 48 MP.
@@PilotInstitute Interesting. From watching the video, I would have thought you'd put the dividing line at 800 or even 1600 iso. Which one of the tests caused you to drop it to 200/400?
The dji mini 3 Pro takes 12mp shots with 12 bit raw and 48mp with 10 bit raw. Is the extra resolution at 48mp worth it over say 12mp shots at 12 bit raw, upscaleed in Lightroom to 24mp, given that 24mp will allow for prints at pretty much any size?
I hope they add AEB in 48MP mode in a patch. Also i hope they add a pano sequence that produces raws without doing stitching. What we want is the pano automation, we don't care about trying to make the drone do the pano stitching. I mean. that's an important capability to retain as well...
It looks like to me, and not really unexpected, is the 48 MP is the actual true RAW and the 12MP "RAW" is being processed and more like an iPhone's "RAW" pictures mode where you keep the 10bit data. The 48MP mode reminds me a lot of what is expected in noise when I still used my Lumia 1020 (which I think is sitting in my desk with my Zune)
Great comparison. Question regarding the image sensor. I've read a lot of discussion on this image sensor. Most concur with your statement of 12MP being upscaled to 48, but some believe the opposite is true, that it is the same 48MP sensor used in iPhone 14. Please see the included link to manufacturer's description of it as 48MP capable of producing faster fps using 4-cell binning to reduce file size to 12MP. I'm convinced, through extensive experimentation with both modes, that it is a true 48MP sensor, which DJI has crippled it's use by under-powering this drone and uses the quad-binning to get AEB and continuous shooting only with the smaller 12MP files. I get fantastic results manually shooting 48MP exposure brackets, it's a pity the Mini 3 Pro doesn't have the processing power to handle the files with AEB. Please check this link and tell us what you think -- is this its 48MP sensor? www.ovt.com/products/ov48c/
The result of comparison makes me think twice before I choose 48 over 12. 12mpx looks sharper without enlarging the photo while 48mpx caught lots noise in shadow area. It can be soft after denoise which is wasted 48mpx. 48 might be good choice make day time shots with large prints needed. Night or Dawn is on par with 12mpx... thanks for the comparison!
The 48 megapixel captures more, especially at lower ISOs. I'm considering switching from an Air 2S to Mini 3 for photogrammetry to get more detailed models and textures
You may consider to shot 5-7 frames @48mpx and then make stacking using photoshop. It helps to eliminate noise without any detail loss. if your scene is not too dynamic, of course.
I read somewhere that the mini 3 Pro uses a omnivision ov48c sensor.. Is it possible that the 12mp is binned, thus effectively making the pixels larger in the 12mp, improving the signal to noise ratio?
Good job! I compared the air 2 at 48 mp to my Nikon D850. With lots of light there was very little difference in the amount of detail. There was a small amount of difference in noise. In lower light, the difference was dramatic in favor of the Nikon as you would expect. So if you feed the small sensor on the mini 3 lots of light you can get amazing images. Unless you're printing large prints or cropping dramatically, 12 mp is really all you need. Thanks for your report.
Even 20 years ago my Canon D10 at 6.3mp would make great poster sized enlargements with simple bicubic resizing in photoshop. This megapixel envy that everyone gets hung up on won't ever effect most peoples prints unless like you say they are cropping in hard.
Great testing, you made it very clear what the difference is between 12 and 48 MP. To me the conclusion was if you go higher than 800 ISO stick with the 12MP as there will be aa lot less noise.
Very interesting comparison. I wonder what happens if on use the stack method with the 2 different MP setting. The one where you get several images in a burst then bring them in PS as layers and make them in Smart Objects and stack them as a mean. Supposed to enhance the images.
I think you're talk about Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) and creating HDR photos. You would end up with much more dynamic range with that method. Sharpness would not necessarily be increased.
Hi thank you for your break down of the parameters of this drone. Being a novice, how would you decide between 12 & 48 mega pixels what setting to go with when doing videos or photos?
It would be useful to emphasis what 'Dual Native ISO' means. There are basically two hardware 'gain/amplifiers'; the first set at a base of 100 ISO (zero gain)and the second 4 stops above ISO 100 being set at base 1600 ISO(zero gain). You do mention it; but it is a fleeting mention (something happens...)
Can a 48MP quad bayer sensor have 48MP resolution? The answer is NO! In a Quad Bayer sensor, the different color pixels are farther apart than in a normal 48MP sensor. Therefore, despite what the marketing claims, it is impossible to achieve effective resolutions of 48MP. (Effective, is when detail and resolution match.) Rather than an image equivalent to that made with a standard 48MP sensor, with a quad bayer we will get photos with better detail than with the 12MP sensor, but the 48MP images will basically be a digital artwork, i.e., larger files with many more pixels (but relatively moderate increase in detail). So it will be better defined than a classic 12MP sensor, but much less than with a classic/real 48MP sensor.
Totally agree! And even at 48MP I still see color artefacts at some contrasty edges. E.g. mud at 10:38 has unexpected colors in several random places, especially in the top left corner of the crop. I think DJI is going wrong way with their latest products (Mavic 3 with ridiculous telelens module, now - Mini 3 with quad-sensor and huge noise reduction), claiming 'numbers' but not 'quality'...
@@KingofDreamzzz oh come on how can you expect a flying camera at this wieght and price point to be way better. It is an amazing camera for the price and the way it flies. Get your dlsr camera to fly and handle and have the same features as the mini 3 and see what that would cost
The worst part for me is that it seems in 48mpx we can't use AEB....right? this for me the most inconvenient of the mini three as a photograper. And I would ask if We can do an automatic panoramic of 3 pictures with gimbal in vertical mode. If we shoot in vertical mode , 12mpx mode, 5 AEB shots per shot with 3 pictures in vertical could be fantastic.
Top of my wishlist for firmware update would be AEB in 48MP. I'm having great success doing it manually, for high dynamic range sunrise/sunset images, but it's slow and cumbersome to first wait several seconds for each image to process before taking another several seconds to manually change exposure. I've requested this from DJI but I suspect the reason it's only available in 12MP is limited on-board processing power.
As far as noise and higher ISO. same as my Sony A7S and low light. 12.1 MP with a full frame sensor can't be beat. Big MP on the image sensor is why vs many small ones. this was the video I was looking for. Mainly going to use it in low light. So mini 3 it is. Thanks
@@noncompliance4100 Every other Mini, even the original and the SE have had a 4 second shutter. All the Airs, even the original have a 8 second shutter. The last drone with a 2 second max shutter goes back more than 5 years to the Spark.
@@michael5G Ah okay, I've seen someone scrolling through the settings and it looked like 2 sec was the longest. Maybe longer shutter will get implemented in an upcoming FW?
@@noncompliance4100 I asked DJI support and they said it's very likely going to see a change with FW update. I doubt it's a limitation of the camera, instead I think DJI doesn't want people taking >2 second exposures on a drone because most turn out very blurry with movement. That would suck because once in a while you can still get great shots with longer exposure times
12MP is the sweet spot and we can see that smartphone maker stick to it for a long time until the Chinese phone maker make a hula about the higher pixel and IPhone,Samsung goes along with it, more than that is usable if you gonna make a banner or doing CSI
"At the end of the day, the rule to change your ISO in photography is straightforward (at least for landscape photographers): leave your ISO setting at its lowest and only change it when you are targeting a specific shutter speed for your photo when you can’t change your aperture." [Visual Wilderness] So the way I am looking at it is just leave the ISO at 100. especially seeing as the mini 3 pro is fixed at f1.7. I really can't see a reason to change the ISO. If it's a night shot ya have a 1.7 aperture so ya got good low light shots to start with soooo??? If ya want long exposures for light blure/traces ND filter. ISO really as far as I can see for the mini 3 pro is irellevent - I'm no pro so please correct me if I am wrong, which I probably am. That said, wasn't ISO a sensitivity rating for film? for me in this day and age it's pointless... it's not like you get one chance to take the shot and ya gotta get choose the film with the right iso and get the shutter speed right. under expose a touch and deal with it in post. it's not like ya gonna take the shot and develope it and go oh shit... got it wrong. like i said, under expose a touch and bang it in lightroom and up the exposure there. obviously if you over expose it ya fkd but still. and whether or not the quality of the image is neglagible to start with, it won't be if you need to blow the image up past say A3. ooooo that's an idea! get closer than ya need to be for the shot and shoot multiple shots and create a massive stitched image in lightroom... *runs off to do that and pint a massive poster*
In your other tests against Nano and AIr 2s you always used 48 mp stills? Would be interesting to go back now and show the better of those against the other 's as difference between those high ISO's is massive! Talk about going out and making more work for yourselves :-) I'm really interested in your M3 comparison when ready, could be quite telling! Thanks for ALL this great work!
Check this out. This is the files for the 12MP Mini 3: www.dropbox.com/sh/2oej7gyj16fqwde/AADQSZaZ28sN898hDnId9LoCa?dl=0 And here are the files for the Nano+ www.dropbox.com/sh/dqhn5vs3mxbmj70/AACQg6G6zmbnRiMTK1QcgFC-a?dl=0 The mini 3 Pro is far less noisy at high ISO than the Nano+. The JPGs in this folder came from the RAW files for both cameras.
@@PilotInstitute Wow! That is incredible! Like I say M3 comparison will be fascinating. I guess the issue with the artifacts between lines is not something you will come across very often (subject with repeating lines like that) but something to be aware of. This begs the question though. If they could make a sensor with this design but same size as the M3 sensor what crazy level of detail would they achieve? Thanks again really interesting.
I really appreciate you creating this novel content! I have been trying to do the same thing to dial everything in but what with the filming, the downloading, the rendering, the export, the viewing/comparison, limited battery etc... it's overwhelming! The m3p is amazerful, but limited.
Hey bro, Does the Mavic 3 pro 70mm lens has the same performance as Mini 3 pro? Since they are operated on the same CMOS and Mavic 3 pro 70mm lens also has an option of 12mp and 48mp.
It’s not a 12 mp sensor. It could be thought of as one considering its default behaviour is to bin the 4 pixels into one but it is in fact a 48mp sensor.
It's still a 12mp sensor regardless of which mode you use. The quad bayer effective 48mp seems to have more contrast. I can definitely say my 30mp mirror less camera has much better image quality than my 108mp phone camera. So megapixels means nothing really.
You should specify whether you’re speaking about video or still images. It’s confusing. I’ve always understood the 12 was for video and the 48 for stills. No?
Iso is just signal amplification. Unlike film where the was an actual media sensitivity involved, with sensors is only signal strength. When you increase the ISO you are only amplifying the signal, and that will ALWAYS generate noise. The higher the MP, higher the amplification noise, because of the individual photo-sites involved.
I am hard pressed to believe, because nothing changes, that at 12 mp your ISO, no matter what you are setting it to, is not changing. That it is, in fact, fixed at one ISO. IMHO.
Also can you image stack in post? I don’t see why you can’t just take 10 of the same shots and stack them to get more details in photoshop? Obviously the camera would have to be able to take a burst
Next time consider using a shot that is outside close to a group of tall buildings at 45 degree angles. Lots of vertical and horizontal mullions close together on those buildings can challenge many camera lenses, Moiré effect. Think of it as a real world torture test a drone pilot is likely to want to shoot.
@@PilotInstitute You can try a iron fence at a distance. Another good test is night shots of street lights especially yellow ones. The pixels can go wacky and is a major thing Lightroom's enhanced DNG attempts to fix.
