Aerial drone company DJI announced their new Zenmuse Z3 aerial camera this week. What makes this camera system ground breaking is that it is the first mass-marketing drone camera with a built in 3.5x optical zoom. This is a huge advancement for aerial video, as it will give cinematographers the option to zoom in closer to subjects without adding safety concerns. It will also be ideal for any one who needs to zoom in and inspect a subject in real-time, like search and rescue teams or firefighters. The Z3 aerial camera pairs perfectly with the DJI Inspire 1 aerial drones we utilize at Ozark Drones, so you can bet we will be investing in a few upon their release in August. The Z3 lens has enhanced stabilization ability and can shoot video in 4K and photo in RAW or JPEG format at 12 megapixels. At Ozark Drones we are looking forward to experimenting with some of the ‘Dolly Zoom’ effects that can be achieved with the Z3 camera, which effectively means flying the drone forwards while zooming out to create interesting depth effects seen in a lot of major motion pictures. Time will tell if the DJI Z3 will be the next go-to camera for Arkansas drone operators.