Overview
Taking over from its predecessor, the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual Thermal, the new DJI M3T further advances camera technology to make the M3T a true next-generation thermal imaging drone.
Where the Mavic 2 EDT only had two cameras (hence the name dual) DJI have added an additional camera to the new M3T making it three.
In this post, we will be looking at those cameras and going into each one in detail, giving you a good idea of what each one does and including their specs.
M3T Cameras
As previously stated the DJI M3T has three cameras, each with a different purpose.
Below we will look closer into these three cameras:
Wide
Specifications
1/2" CMOS Sensor
Equivalent Focal Length: 24mm
48 Megapixel
Zoom
Specifications
56x Hybrid Zoom (Tele Lens)
Equivalent Focal Length: 162mm
12 Megapixel
Thermal
Specifications
Display Field of View: 61°
Equivalent Focal Length: 40mm
Resolution 640 × 512
M3T Camera Use-Cases
The advantage of the DJI M3T is that it can be used in many different use cases and scenarios. The three different cameras give you the ability to adapt your missions all from one platform.
Below we will look at what missions best suit each camera.
Wide
Ideally, the wide-angle camera should be used for mapping and inspection missions.
Here at Hammer Missions, we have a vast range of mapping and inspection missions to suit most scenarios ranging from Roof Inspections to 3D Mapping and Facade Inspection.
The example below was taken with the DJI M3T wide-angle camera:
Zoom
Using the zoom, or telephoto lens as its also known is a good secondary camera when flying inspection missions.
When flying an automated mission it is not recommended to use zoom but to let the mission finish its course.
Once the mission has finished you can go back to those areas of interest and use the zoom lens to hone in on the affected area and take additional photography for your client or stakeholder.
The example below was taken with the DJI M3T wide-angle camera:
Thermal
Thermal cameras have an obvious huge advantage compared with visual cameras, the ability to be able to see what the human eye or visual cameras can't...
Thermal cameras are commonly used by emergency services, search and rescue, and for surveillance purposes.
Over the last few years, thermal technologies have started to be introduced into the survey and inspection market for missions including Roof Inspection, Solar Farm Inspection, and Power Line Inspection.
Inspecting a roof using a thermal camera has many advantages over a standard inspection and lets you determine defects like heat leaks or water ingress.
The same applies to both solar farms and power lines, thermal imaging can help you define if the solar farm is running at peak efficiency by seeing defects in the panels that a standard camera cannot see. Equally thermal imaging can detect electrical issues in power lines.
The DJI M3T thermal camera shoots dual images alongside the wide camera to give you a comparison shot, allowing you to easily determine where the photo was taken during the inspection.
Examples of thermal and wide are shown below:
💡 One interesting tip we have learnt from the M3T user community is that you can setup c1/c2 button shortcuts on your smart controller to easily switch between the zoom, wide and thermal cameras!
All sample images from the cameras above are available to download.
DJI M3T In Action With Hammer Missions
The DJI M3T has been fully tested in the field by the team at Hammer Missions and we have compiled an extensive end-to-end video that takes you right through from planning and data collection to processing and data analysis.
Summary
We hope the article helps you understand the different cameras on the DJI M3T and what those cameras can be used for in the field.
If you'd like to learn more about how to capture high-quality data and get the most out of your drone flights using our cloud-based platform, please feel free to visit our learning resources.
If you haven't got a Hammer account and would like to try Hammer Missions you can get started on our free trial.
To learn more about our enterprise solutions, including mission collaboration, data processing, and AI solutions, please contact us at team@hammermissions.com.
We look forward to hearing from you.
— Team at Hammer Missions