Technology

UAV Zoom Camera Technology: Optics and Stabilisation

Four engineering disciplines behind every HITS payload

Every payload in the HITS range is built on the same four blocks: a continuous-zoom optical assembly, a gyro-stabilised mount, a boresighted imaging head and an onboard compute module that carries detection and tracking.

Continuous zoom
Three-axis stabilisation
EO / IR imaging
Onboard AI tracking

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Technology pages

Three disciplines, each with its own constraints and its own vocabulary.

Night imagingNight Vision
Thermal detectors, low-light visible channels and infrared illumination for operations after dark.
Read more →
RangeLong Range Imaging
Focal length, pixel density and jitter budgets that decide how far a payload can identify a target.
Read more →
TrackingAI Tracking
Onboard detection, lock and follow, multi-target tracking and target handover without ground-station compute.
Read more →

A drone zoom camera is not a camera with a large lens bolted to a gimbal. Zoom ratio, entrance pupil and sensor format decide the field of view at both ends of the range, and the mount has to hold that narrower field steady, because every degree of airframe motion is multiplied by the focal length. A 30x zoom on a 129 mm lens leaves the line of sight about forty times more sensitive to vibration than the same head at 4.3 mm.

The pages below cover the three disciplines that decide whether a uav camera with zoom is usable in the field: night-time imaging, long-range imaging and AI tracking. If you are comparing a uav zoom camera against a cheaper gimbal zoom camera, the numbers to compare are angular velocity, stabilisation accuracy, focal range, detector pitch and interface, not the marketing zoom figure.

The four blocks every payload shares

Optical zoom assembly
Continuous zoom from 4.25 mm to 300 mm depending on model, with autofocus, electronic image stabilisation and a lens coating set chosen for the 0.4 – 0.9 micrometre visible band.
Gyro-stabilised mount
Two- or three-axis direct-drive brushless axes with high-resolution encoding, stabilisation accuracy to 100 microradians and angular velocity above 60 degrees per second.
Boresighted imaging head
Visible, thermal and laser channels are aligned on one line of sight at the factory, so switching channel does not move the aim point on the operator display.
Onboard compute and tracking
Person, vehicle, vessel and aircraft detection runs on the payload itself, which keeps tracking alive when the data link degrades or drops out entirely.
Laser rangefinding
1535 nm or 905 nm rangefinders from 5 m to 15 km depending on class, turning a pixel on a screen into a georeferenced coordinate for the ground station.
Control and video pipeline
Ethernet video with RS-422, RS-232, TTL, SBUS and MAVLink control, plus onboard recording so the mission record survives a lost link.

Ground control. One control protocol across the family: Ethernet video with RS-422, RS-232, TTL, SBUS or MAVLink control, plus onboard recording so the mission record survives a lost link.

What changes as you move up the range

The same architecture scales from a 240 g multirotor head to a 22 kg targeting pod. These are the bands it moves through.

Capability	Light class	Mid class	Heavy class	Pod class
Typical weight	240 – 500 g	800 g – 1.2 kg	1.4 – 1.5 kg	1.6 – 22 kg
Visible channel	2688 x 1520 fixed, or dual 8 mm + 25 mm	1920 x 1080 with 10x – 30x zoom	1920 x 1080 with 30x – 40x zoom	Up to 3840 x 2160 with 17.5x – 55x zoom
Thermal channel	640 x 512, 19 mm	640 x 512, 25 – 35 mm	640 x 512, 35 – 50 mm	1280 x 1024, 75 mm, or 640 x 512 continuous zoom
Laser rangefinding	None or 1.5 km	1.5 – 3 km	3 km	5 – 15 km, plus 1064 nm designation on SQ models
Mount	2-axis or 3-axis	3-axis	3-axis	2-axis pod turret
Platform	Multirotor, small VTOL	Multirotor, VTOL, fixed wing	Fixed wing, helicopter	Helicopter, large fixed wing, UGV, USV

Optical zoom and infrared, side by side

Four frames from the same payload: the wide daylight view, the same scene at 10× and 40× zoom, and the 640 × 512 infrared channel. The magnification is optical, so the detail is resolved by the lens instead of being interpolated from a smaller image.

Airborne daylight image at 1x optical zoom — **1× — wide field of view**The frame the operator starts from: route planning, area coverage and situational awareness before anything is zoomed.

Airborne daylight image at 10x optical zoom — **10× — optical zoom**The same view with the lens doing the work, not the processor, so the image stays clean at the long end.

Airborne daylight image at 40x optical zoom — **40× — optical zoom**Picking out a single vehicle, insulator or structural defect from a stand-off the aircraft can hold safely.

Live thermal image from the 640x512 infrared channel — **640 × 512 infrared**The same job with no light at all: heat, not reflected light, carries the image.

Multi-sensor gimbal camera payload on station against a city skyline — **Where the imagery comes from**The same head on station over a city: one turret, one stabilised platform, and every channel above recorded through it.

Zoom ratios, sensor formats and thermal resolutions differ between models — the product table lists them head by head.

Where this technology ships

Three examples across the range, from a 1.4 kg three-axis head to a 10 kg pod with a 15 km rangefinder.

Drone zoom camera optics and stabilisation technology

HQ · 3-axis · EO + IR + LRF

HQ-135T

The flagship of the compact range: 40x zoom, thermal imaging and 3 km ranging on one stabilised cage.

Visible: 1920 × 1080, 40x zoom 4.25 – 170 mm
Thermal: 640 × 512, 35 mm fixed
Laser: 15 m – 3 km (± 1 m)
Weight: ≤1.4 kg

XQ · 2-axis · EO + IR + LRF

XQ-200T

A continuous-zoom thermal channel from 40 mm to 220 mm plus 9.5 km ranging on a 5 kg pod.

Visible: 1920 × 1080, 30x zoom 4.3 – 129 mm
Thermal: 640 × 512, continuous zoom 40 – 220 mm
Laser: 50 m – 9.5 km (± 1 m)
Weight: ≤5 kg

XQ · 2-axis · EO + IR + LRF

XQ-254T

The long-range pod: 15 km ranging and a 254 mm turret for maritime and border patrol aircraft.

Visible: 1920 × 1080, 30x zoom 4.3 – 129 mm
Thermal: 640 × 512, continuous zoom 40 – 220 mm
Laser: 100 m – 15 km (± 1 m)
Weight: ≤10 kg

Compare the range

Model	Series	Axes	Configuration	Visible camera	Thermal imager	Laser rangefinder	Weight
HQ-135T	HQ series	3-axis	EO + IR + LRF	1920 × 1080, 40x zoom 4.25 – 170 mm	640 × 512, 35 mm fixed	15 m – 3 km (± 1 m)	≤1.4 kg
XQ-200T	XQ series	2-axis	EO + IR + LRF	1920 × 1080, 30x zoom 4.3 – 129 mm	640 × 512, continuous zoom 40 – 220 mm	50 m – 9.5 km (± 1 m)	≤5 kg
XQ-254T	XQ series	2-axis	EO + IR + LRF	1920 × 1080, 30x zoom 4.3 – 129 mm	640 × 512, continuous zoom 40 – 220 mm	100 m – 15 km (± 1 m)	≤10 kg

The technology pages explain how the payloads work; the product pages list what is available.

Gimbal camera seriesFifteen two- and three-axis heads from 240 g to 1.5 kg.Read more →
EO/IR pod systemsEight larger pods with 30x – 55x zoom and ranging to 15 km.Read more →
Night visionThermal, low-light and illumination for night operations.Read more →
Long range imagingWhat decides how far a payload can identify a target.Read more →
AI trackingOnboard detection and multi-target tracking.Read more →

Engineering decisions that show up in the video

Why continuous zoom beats stepped zoom

A stepped or dual-FOV lens forces the operator to choose between wide coverage and detail, and the moment of switching is usually the moment the target is lost. A continuous zoom lets the operator widen the field to find the object and then close in on it without an optical break, which is also what makes autofocus and tracking behave predictably.

Why the mount is harder than the camera

A camera is a component; a stabilised mount is a control system. Encoder resolution, loop rate, friction and cable stiffness all feed into the same error budget as the optics, and a good lens on a mediocre mount produces worse imagery than the reverse. That is why stabilisation accuracy and angular velocity are published next to the sensor data.

Why the compute moved onto the payload

Ground-station tracking depends on a link that can be jammed, crowded or simply out of range. Running detection and tracking on the payload means the lock survives a dropped link, and the operator sees the target framed the same way when the link returns.

Close detail of the multi-sensor turret on a HITS camera payload showing the daylight, thermal and laser apertures — Turret detail: daylight and thermal apertures plus the laser path, all on one stabilised axis.

HITS dual sensor gimbal camera payload with a daylight and a thermal aperture in one turret — Two channels, one housing: the daylight lens and the thermal aperture share the same line of sight.

Serial number and QR label on the rear of a HITS gimbal camera payload tracking it through production — Serial and QR on the rear of a unit: optics, firmware and test record stay attached to the serial number.

Designed and manufactured by HITS

Optics, servo hardware, stabilisation firmware and the AI tracking module are developed in house, and every unit is assembled, calibrated and environmentally tested on our own line before it ships.