Let us zoom. Let us focus. Let Us Drone. Gosh, I really want to get a closer look at my friend's dog that is sitting on a stump without having to fly any closer to it. I wonder if my Phantom 4 Pro camera can zoom in on it?
The DJI Phantom 4 Pro and Advanced do not have optical zoom, but they will digitally zoom in briefly before capturing a photo if “Focus Assistant” is on. In this post, I will explain the differences between optical and digital zoom, and provide a way for you to zoom while in post-production using the “Ken Burns” effect.
Difference between optical and digital zoom
Optical zoom is the change in focal length of the lens, and this is the best way to zoom in on something while keeping the full resolution of the subject. The large, professional cameras that you see people lugging around often have 50x (or more) optical zoom. This means that you can zoom in on a subject 50x without losing any of the image quality.
Digital zoom is what you will find in most smartphones. Have you ever zoomed into a subject with your iPhone and noticed that the image quality (resolution) looks really poor? This is because digitally zooming into something simply cuts the outside of the image off and focuses on the center. Digital zoom is not really zooming in the true sense of the word; it's just image manipulation that gives the appearance of zoom.
Digital zoom is not really zooming in the true sense of the word; it's just image manipulation that gives the appearance of zoom.
What is Focus Assistant?
As mentioned above, Focus Assistant will allow you to digitally zoom in on the area that you would like to have in focus for the image you will be capturing.
It's important to note that the area that is zoomed into is just a visual representation of what part of the frame is in focus. When you take the picture, the zoomed out perspective is what the image will be of, not the zoomed in image.
We have the option to use Focus Assistant while we are in auto focus, as well as when we are in manual focus. I'll walk you through how to use Focus Assistant for both.
Auto Focus with Focus Assistant
To enable Focus Assistant, you will first need to open up the camera settings from the camera view of the GO 4 app.
Next, you will need to tap on the settings gear icon and scroll down to where you see “AF Focus Assistant” and “MF Focus Assistant”. I toggled both since I will be demonstrating how to use Focus Assistant with each.
Return to the camera screen to use Focus Assistant while in Auto Focus mode. All you need to do to activate Focus Assistant is tap on the area of the screen where you would like to zoom into. As you can see in the image to the right I tapped on the tree and the image digitally zoomed into the tree to show you what will be in focus when you take the picture.
Manual Focus with Focus Assistant
I already demonstrated how to toggle Focus Assistant on for both Auto Focus and Manual Focus in the steps above.
Assuming that you have “MF Focus Assistant” toggled on in the settings and have “MF” selected on the camera view screen, you're ready to use Focus Assistant. Simply tap on the slider bar on the right-hand side of the screen and you can slide up or down until the zoomed in image is in focus.
What is the Ken Burns effect and how can it help you zoom in
Ken Burns is a filmmaker known for creating documentaries in a unique way by panning and zooming in on still images to highlight people and objects of interest.
His method of zooming in on still images was named the Ken Burns effect, and videographers use it frequently to this day.
When capturing video and pictures with your drone, it's nice to be able to get different angles and approaches with each shot. Using the Ken Burns effect allows you to get multiple shots with a single image.
Most video editing software will give you the option to use the Ken Burns effect, and I'd suggest looking on YouTube for a video tutorial on how to use Ken Burns with your software.
Refer to the images below for a demonstration on before and after the Ken Burns effect was applied.
The video below is how the Ken Burns effect looks while in action. Oh, and isn't it kind of cool that my friend's dog likes to randomly sit on stumps?
I use Final Cut to edit my videos and applying the Ken Burns effect really is a simple process. Here is a YouTube video that clearly explains how to achieve the effect, but remember that the process will vary depending on the software you're using.
Trevor's Take
We are living in an exciting time, where the average individual can pull his/her credit card out and buy a flying camera that has incredible capabilities. One area that hasn't been perfected yet (if you don't want to fork over thousands of dollars) is being able to zoom in with your drone's camera. DJI did release the Mavic 2 Zoom not too long ago which has 2x optical zoom, but I'm excited to see what the future holds when it comes to drone cameras with more optical zoom. For now, you will just have to fly closer to your friend's golden retriever to get a close-up. If you don't need the ultra-high definition image, then either crop it or apply the Ken Burns effect in post-production.
