Best drone for replacing a 14mm ultra-wide lens?

Buying Advice Forum
1

I know most drones have lenses around 24mm. What’s the cheapest way to get an ultra-wide 14mm or at least 16mm?

2

Cheapest way? Move the drone back.

But if that’s not an option, I don’t think any consumer drones come with lenses wider than 24mm. There’s a clip-on lens for the DJI Air 3 that brings it to 14mm—search for ‘DJI Air 3 14mm.’

3

@Angel
Yeah, I’ve tried adapters before, but they mess up straight lines, which is a big issue for architecture. Also, moving back isn’t possible—there’s a house in the way.

4

Darcy said:
@Angel
Yeah, I’ve tried adapters before, but they mess up straight lines, which is a big issue for architecture. Also, moving back isn’t possible—there’s a house in the way.

Some of those adapters have barrel distortion correction. You could probably fix it in post.

But if you’re dealing with obstacles, maybe a drone isn’t the best fit for this shot. Could you go inside and use your 14mm lens from there?

5

@Angel
I do high-volume, low-budget work, so I need a quick and easy solution—going inside isn’t really an option.

6

I used to use an Inspire 1 with the X5 camera and a 7.5mm Laowa lens for shots like this.

7

I don’t think any drones come with lenses that wide. You’d need something that can carry an action cam or a higher-end drone that supports mirrorless cameras—like the Inspire series.

8

Jordan said:
I don’t think any drones come with lenses that wide. You’d need something that can carry an action cam or a higher-end drone that supports mirrorless cameras—like the Inspire series.

That’s a good idea, but those setups are pretty heavy, and I’m flying in European cities where drone laws are strict. Maybe I should just shoot vertically and stitch a few shots together?

9

@Darcy
Yeah, that could work. You might also find posts about mounting action cams to drones—if not here, maybe in an FPV drone forum.