One of the most commonly asked questions about drones is how far a drone camera can see.
In some cases, it can be great when a drone camera can see a long way, especially for search and rescue missions.
Most times how far a drone can see is a concern. Everybody likes their privacy, and nobody likes the thought of somebody with a drone spying on them from a long way away.
Some drones cameras can see a very long distance, and some can’t see well at all. Here’s why some drones can see further than others, and how far they can actually see.
What Determines How Far a Drone Camera can See?
There are four main factors that determine how far a drone can actually see. I included examples, so it’s easy to get an idea of how they impact how far a drone camera can see.
Digital Zoom
A drone camera takes a pretty wide shot. Unless it’s close to something, it’s not going to see much unless it zooms in.
Digital zoom is what most drones use to zoom in, and it’s done by cropping in on the image. The more you zoom in, the worse image quality you get. You can only zoom in about 5x on a drone camera without getting a really bad quality image.
Higher Resolution
If a drone camera has a higher resolution, it will be able to have better quality when zooming in.
The image on the left is a 4k image zoomed in, and the image on the left is a 720p image zoomed in. There’s a huge difference! The drone camera with a 4k camera on the left can see way further than the 720p image on the right.
Optical Zoom
To get around the quality issues of digital zoom, some cameras have optical zoom.
In the image below, the 1x zoom normal camera is on the left. There’s a 3x optical zoom camera on the right. Optical zoom allows you to zoom in without losing hardly any quality.
The only downside of optical zoom is it needs to be on a second camera. iPhones have optical zoom, that’s why they have two or three cameras.
Amount of Light
People can’t see in the dark, and drones can’t either. Even in a dimly lit room, a drone camera can’t see the piece of paper on the wall unless it’s really close.
How Far Can a Normal Drone Camera See?
A normal drone camera without optical zoom can see for miles, but can’t see any detail from a distance. I took this photo with my 4k DJI Mavic Mini 2 at 400 feet of elevation.
If I zoom in, I can see people walking around their cars. There’s no way I could see any detail or any fish unless I hovered the drone low to the ground right over them.
There are some new drones that would be able to use optical zoom and see a lot more, like the DJI Mavic 3 that has a 4x optical zoom, allowing people to zoom in four times as far without quality loss. These fancy drones cost a lot though, and the DJI Mavic 3 starts at over $2,000 dollars.
How Far Can a Drone Camera See at Night?
As we already mentioned, cameras can’t see well at night.
Image Sensor Size
The bigger the sensor size that the drone has, the more light it will be able to capture, and the more darkness it’ll be able to handle. Even with big 1 inch sensors, drones can’t see well in the dark.
Night Vision Cameras
A drone camera can see well at night if it has a night vision camera. These are very expensive and a little hard to find, and still don’t have anywhere near the quality of a normal camera in the daytime.
Can a Drone Camera See Inside your House?
I wanted to try this for myself, so I hovered my drone right outside my window with the blinds open.
It’s really hard to see inside because of the reflection on the glass. I can make out the shape of somebody inside, but I can’t see any detail.
Can a Drone Camera See Into your Yard?
Any drone with a decent camera can easily see into your yard.
Simply flying over your property isn’t illegal, but if you think you’re being spied on illegally with a drone or somebody is operating a drone illegally over your property, the best way to stop them is to go and talk to the pilot or call the police.
Final Thoughts
How far a drone camera can see varies on the resolution of the camera, optical zoom capabilities, and how close it is.
For example, a drone hovering at 400 feet in the sky would be able to see if you walked into your backyard, but wouldn’t be able to see what book you’re reading unless it’s hovering right over you.
Comment below with any questions, and let us know if you’ve ever had any issues with drone privacy!