A question about mounting own camera on drone

[EdwardAlpha]

I want to capture high-quality aerial photo, but I find that the output quality of Mavic 3 is not good enough and the price of Inspire 3 is too expensive. I currently own a full-frame Sony Alpha7C camera and an APS-C ZV-E10 camera. I heard that Sony has opened up their control protocols，I would like to mount them on a drone for aerial photography. Does anyone have any good suggestions? Are there any drones on the market that can carry your own cameras?

 

[Boomanbb]

I want to capture high-quality aerial photo, but I find that the output quality of Mavic 3 is not good enough and the price of Inspire 3 is too expensive. I currently own a full-frame Sony Alpha7C camera and an APS-C ZV-E10 camera. I heard that Sony has opened up their control protocols，I would like to mount them on a drone for aerial photography. Does anyone have any good suggestions? Are there any drones on the market that can carry your own cameras?

There are drones that can carry your camera but by time you have added up all the expenses, a DJI Inspire 2 or 3 may seem economical. Check out the Sony Airpeak S1.

If I were in the market for a high end drone, I would be looking or a new or used Inspire 2.

--
Ben Boozer
Disagree without being disagreeable

 

[mmarian]

There is a lot to consider here. I have expansive knowledge and experience in this field. Without going into too many aspects and details I only say this. If Mavic 3 does not meet your IQ expectations you need to consider buying Inspire 2 or 3. Inspire 2 has FF X7 camera option and dedicated DL lenses. But if your primary aim is photography and not videography even the Inspire 2 with FF camera might be a let down for you due to strong AA filter in its FF camera, blurring the finest details to the point that the FF camera won't give you much more detail than the cheaper M43 X5S camera. And M43 sensor is in Mavic 3 Hassy camera too. So there you go. I have no experience with Inspire 3 but I suspect that its X9 8K camera would be geared towards video rather than photography and their choice of AA filter in it would reflect that.

Mounting your own camera on a third party drone entiles enormous complications and it is a huge challenge for various reasons. DJI drones' main benefit over any DIY contraption is the seemless integration of camera and drone and excellent camera stabilization which they provide in a simple user friendly package. Those things are very difficult to achieve when you start thinking about making your own rig. I would personally strongly advise against even considering going that way.

I am a FF Canon 5D4 shooter and do have Mavic 3 Pro as well. Even though the IQ of M3P is not on the par with the FF Canon images it comes pretty darn close when its DNG files are skilfully processed. Just saying...

 

[Lensmate]

I want to capture high-quality aerial photo, but I find that the output quality of Mavic 3 is not good enough and the price of Inspire 3 is too expensive. I currently own a full-frame Sony Alpha7C camera and an APS-C ZV-E10 camera. I heard that Sony has opened up their control protocols，I would like to mount them on a drone for aerial photography. Does anyone have any good suggestions? Are there any drones on the market that can carry your own cameras?

Depends on what you want quality wise, and how much you are willing to spend?

What is your budget?

-M

 

[mmarian]

I want to capture high-quality aerial photo, but I find that the output quality of Mavic 3 is not good enough and the price of Inspire 3 is too expensive. I currently own a full-frame Sony Alpha7C camera and an APS-C ZV-E10 camera. I heard that Sony has opened up their control protocols，I would like to mount them on a drone for aerial photography. Does anyone have any good suggestions? Are there any drones on the market that can carry your own cameras?

Depends on what you want quality wise, and how much you are willing to spend?

What is your budget?

-M

He stated that Inspire 3 is too expensive. That pretty much sets his budget somewhere between Mavic 3 and Inspire 3. There is not much choice in between those two. Inspire 2 being one. Pros and cons of Inspire 2 I explained in my previous post.

 

[EdwardAlpha]

There is a lot to consider here. I have expansive knowledge and experience in this field. Without going into too many aspects and details I only say this. If Mavic 3 does not meet your IQ expectations you need to consider buying Inspire 2 or 3. Inspire 2 has FF X7 camera option and dedicated DL lenses. But if your primary aim is photography and not videography even the Inspire 2 with FF camera might be a let down for you due to strong AA filter in its FF camera, blurring the finest details to the point that the FF camera won't give you much more detail than the cheaper M43 X5S camera. And M43 sensor is in Mavic 3 Hassy camera too. So there you go. I have no experience with Inspire 3 but I suspect that its X9 8K camera would be geared towards video rather than photography and their choice of AA filter in it would reflect that.

Mounting your own camera on a third party drone entiles enormous complications and it is a huge challenge for various reasons. DJI drones' main benefit over any DIY contraption is the seemless integration of camera and drone and excellent camera stabilization which they provide in a simple user friendly package. Those things are very difficult to achieve when you start thinking about making your own rig. I would personally strongly advise against even considering going that way.

I am a FF Canon 5D4 shooter and do have Mavic 3 Pro as well. Even though the IQ of M3P is not on the par with the FF Canon images it comes pretty darn close when its DNG files are skilfully processed. Just saying...

If there was a drone manufacturer who could design a drone that can mount various full-frame cameras, it would be great.

 

[EdwardAlpha]

I want to capture high-quality aerial photo, but I find that the output quality of Mavic 3 is not good enough and the price of Inspire 3 is too expensive. I currently own a full-frame Sony Alpha7C camera and an APS-C ZV-E10 camera. I heard that Sony has opened up their control protocols，I would like to mount them on a drone for aerial photography. Does anyone have any good suggestions? Are there any drones on the market that can carry your own cameras?

Depends on what you want quality wise, and how much you are willing to spend?

What is your budget?

-M

Specifically, I am looking for a flying platform that can mount my FF camera. My budget falls between the Mavic 3 Pro and Inspire 3. I am more concerned about the quality of the photos.

 

[mmarian]

There is a lot to consider here. I have expansive knowledge and experience in this field. Without going into too many aspects and details I only say this. If Mavic 3 does not meet your IQ expectations you need to consider buying Inspire 2 or 3. Inspire 2 has FF X7 camera option and dedicated DL lenses. But if your primary aim is photography and not videography even the Inspire 2 with FF camera might be a let down for you due to strong AA filter in its FF camera, blurring the finest details to the point that the FF camera won't give you much more detail than the cheaper M43 X5S camera. And M43 sensor is in Mavic 3 Hassy camera too. So there you go. I have no experience with Inspire 3 but I suspect that its X9 8K camera would be geared towards video rather than photography and their choice of AA filter in it would reflect that.

Mounting your own camera on a third party drone entiles enormous complications and it is a huge challenge for various reasons. DJI drones' main benefit over any DIY contraption is the seemless integration of camera and drone and excellent camera stabilization which they provide in a simple user friendly package. Those things are very difficult to achieve when you start thinking about making your own rig. I would personally strongly advise against even considering going that way.

I am a FF Canon 5D4 shooter and do have Mavic 3 Pro as well. Even though the IQ of M3P is not on the par with the FF Canon images it comes pretty darn close when its DNG files are skilfully processed. Just saying...

If there was a drone manufacturer who could design a drone that can mount various full-frame cameras, it would be great.

It is not that simple. If it was, someone would have already done it.

Integration of camera controlls, focus, gimbal and drone itself is very complicated if it is not done as purpose built all encompassing rig. All components need to communicate with each other and provide feedback to IMU.

Sony tried with Airpeak S1 but not very succesfully. Third party gimbal needs to be used to hold the camera and integration with drone itself has a lot be desired.

US company Freefly makes UAV camera systems but we are talking big $$$ here.

Your best bet is DJI Mavic 3 or Mavic 3 Pro or Inspire 2 or 3. Each having pros and cons as already outlined.

 

[Boomanbb]

I want to capture high-quality aerial photo, but I find that the output quality of Mavic 3 is not good enough and the price of Inspire 3 is too expensive. I currently own a full-frame Sony Alpha7C camera and an APS-C ZV-E10 camera. I heard that Sony has opened up their control protocols，I would like to mount them on a drone for aerial photography. Does anyone have any good suggestions? Are there any drones on the market that can carry your own cameras?

Depends on what you want quality wise, and how much you are willing to spend?

What is your budget?

-M

Specifically, I am looking for a flying platform that can mount my FF camera. My budget falls between the Mavic 3 Pro and Inspire 3. I am more concerned about the quality of the photos.

I believe the gist of the conversation is that an Inspire 3 is going to be cheaper and way more reliable (translation: not drop your camera) than putting together a drone for your camera. A lot of movie studios use the Inspire series for a reason.

What I have seen is balloon and kite photo platforms that can host larger cameras. You may want to check those out.

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[mmarian]

I want to capture high-quality aerial photo, but I find that the output quality of Mavic 3 is not good enough and the price of Inspire 3 is too expensive. I currently own a full-frame Sony Alpha7C camera and an APS-C ZV-E10 camera. I heard that Sony has opened up their control protocols，I would like to mount them on a drone for aerial photography. Does anyone have any good suggestions? Are there any drones on the market that can carry your own cameras?

Depends on what you want quality wise, and how much you are willing to spend?

What is your budget?

-M

Specifically, I am looking for a flying platform that can mount my FF camera. My budget falls between the Mavic 3 Pro and Inspire 3. I am more concerned about the quality of the photos.

I believe the gist of the conversation is that an Inspire 3 is going to be cheaper and way more reliable (translation: not drop your camera) than putting together a drone for your camera. A lot of movie studios use the Inspire series for a reason.

What I have seen is balloon and kite photo platforms that can host larger cameras. You may want to check those out.

https://www.hackster.io/news/airpup...s-perfect-for-aerial-photography-2b5c1b7e405f

https://newatlas.com/allsopp-action-cam-skyshot-helikite/35846/

Payload of that baloon is 1lb, good enough for a GoPro but not FF camera with a decent lens. That is just for starters. Baloons can not be controlled, wind blows them where you might not neccessarily want them to be. It is an ancient technology with many disadvantages. I would not even think about that. Drones are amazing these days and even relatively budget friendly Mavic 3 Pro in hands of a skilfull photographer with good knowledge of processing can achieve amazing results particularly when shooting DNG. With range of a several miles and live view on your controller the possibilities are endless. That would be my final 2 cent worth on this topic

 

[Boomanbb]

I want to capture high-quality aerial photo, but I find that the output quality of Mavic 3 is not good enough and the price of Inspire 3 is too expensive. I currently own a full-frame Sony Alpha7C camera and an APS-C ZV-E10 camera. I heard that Sony has opened up their control protocols，I would like to mount them on a drone for aerial photography. Does anyone have any good suggestions? Are there any drones on the market that can carry your own cameras?

Depends on what you want quality wise, and how much you are willing to spend?

What is your budget?

-M

Specifically, I am looking for a flying platform that can mount my FF camera. My budget falls between the Mavic 3 Pro and Inspire 3. I am more concerned about the quality of the photos.

I believe the gist of the conversation is that an Inspire 3 is going to be cheaper and way more reliable (translation: not drop your camera) than putting together a drone for your camera. A lot of movie studios use the Inspire series for a reason.

What I have seen is balloon and kite photo platforms that can host larger cameras. You may want to check those out.

https://www.hackster.io/news/airpup...s-perfect-for-aerial-photography-2b5c1b7e405f

https://newatlas.com/allsopp-action-cam-skyshot-helikite/35846/

Payload of that baloon is 1lb, good enough for a GoPro but not FF camera with a decent lens. That is just for starters. Baloons can not be controlled, wind blows them where you might not neccessarily want them to be. It is an ancient technology with many disadvantages. I would not even think about that. Drones are amazing these days and even relatively budget friendly Mavic 3 Pro in hands of a skilfull photographer with good knowledge of processing can achieve amazing results particularly when shooting DNG. With range of a several miles and live view on your controller the possibilities are endless. That would be my final 2 cent worth on this topic

You and I are on the same page, I still dream of owning an Inspire 2.

 

[mmarian]

I want to capture high-quality aerial photo, but I find that the output quality of Mavic 3 is not good enough and the price of Inspire 3 is too expensive. I currently own a full-frame Sony Alpha7C camera and an APS-C ZV-E10 camera. I heard that Sony has opened up their control protocols，I would like to mount them on a drone for aerial photography. Does anyone have any good suggestions? Are there any drones on the market that can carry your own cameras?

Depends on what you want quality wise, and how much you are willing to spend?

What is your budget?

-M

Specifically, I am looking for a flying platform that can mount my FF camera. My budget falls between the Mavic 3 Pro and Inspire 3. I am more concerned about the quality of the photos.

I believe the gist of the conversation is that an Inspire 3 is going to be cheaper and way more reliable (translation: not drop your camera) than putting together a drone for your camera. A lot of movie studios use the Inspire series for a reason.

What I have seen is balloon and kite photo platforms that can host larger cameras. You may want to check those out.

https://www.hackster.io/news/airpup...s-perfect-for-aerial-photography-2b5c1b7e405f

https://newatlas.com/allsopp-action-cam-skyshot-helikite/35846/

Payload of that baloon is 1lb, good enough for a GoPro but not FF camera with a decent lens. That is just for starters. Baloons can not be controlled, wind blows them where you might not neccessarily want them to be. It is an ancient technology with many disadvantages. I would not even think about that. Drones are amazing these days and even relatively budget friendly Mavic 3 Pro in hands of a skilfull photographer with good knowledge of processing can achieve amazing results particularly when shooting DNG. With range of a several miles and live view on your controller the possibilities are endless. That would be my final 2 cent worth on this topic

You and I are on the same page, I still dream of owning an Inspire 2.

 

[EdwardAlpha]

Thanks for your info！