I shot a video at night the other day and was very disappointed with the results. The video has what almost looks like white dust specks in all the dark areas of the shot. At first I thought the lens was dirty, so I cleaned it and tried again. Same thing. Then, while watching the video, I noticed that the "dust specks" seemed to be "erased" by the light areas as they move across the screen. This is a bit hard to explain but can clearly be seen in the screen capture from the video below. Notice the streak of "erased specks" above the light sources as the camera flew over them and they moved from the top to the bottom of the frame. Is there a setting I can adjust to fix this, like maybe the metering or ISO? Or is this a codec encoding problem? The video looks great during the day.

Sorry for the inconvenience. This issue is caused by the camera's  noise.It is not recommended to record a video at night.
I will report this issue and we will keep advancing the product.Thank you~

V+ camera is not suitable for night, a lot noise will be seen, and it is a hardware limitation. We are improving the camera performance on the next gen product.

Will there be also a upgrade then for P2V+ ? SO we can replace old camera with a new improved camera?

DJI-JS Posted at 2014-10-14 10:20
V+ camera is not suitable for night, a lot noise will be seen, and it is a hardware limitation. We a ...

And when might we expect this next gen product?

kev.wardle@tisc Posted at 2014-10-14 19:29
And when might we expect this next gen product?

, I hope I can say more

We all hope that the upgrade will come soon, since at night we can't film or pic nothing..

It would be great to have good sight vision and clear pictures at night.

Thanks

DJI-JS Posted at 2014-10-14 10:20
V+ camera is not suitable for night, a lot noise will be seen, and it is a hardware limitation. We a ...

I got this specifically for night shots..

So I guess I should return the whole thing and find something else since this is a hardware issue?  

craig.pmcs@gmai Posted at 2014-12-29 03:03
I got this specifically for night shots..

So I guess I should return the whole thing and find so ...

Did you do any research before buying this? I know you are disappointed but as a pro videographer  I can assure you that the little sensor and fixed 2.8 aperture has absolutely no chance of capturing meaningful night shots, it is nowhere near sensitive enough.
You will only capture lights, there will be no useful detail.  I have spent tens of thousands of dollars on cameras and lenses with massive sensors and apertures  for low light work and trust me the phantom ain't gonna cut it!
Can I also nag a bit here: a drop or fly away at night is going to be doubly dangerous. You should never fly at night.  The risks are too high - at the best it will get lost and at the worst it may cause an event that will further damage  our hobby.  (in my case I use the phantom professionally and I would not want that jeopodised.)

So, yes, get rid of it. It will not do what you bought it for.

Yep Craig, I would get rid of it.  This is not a suitable option for low light.

rod@voxvideopro Posted at 2014-12-29 04:54
Did you do any research before buying this? I know you are disappointed but as a pro videographer  ...

in my case I use the phantom professionally and I would not want that jeopodised

First of all, nice spelling.  Secondly, are you one of the few people with a permit to use a drone for commercial purposes?  Thanks for your snarky input.

Perhaps installing a gimbal and using the latest GoPro4 may improve results. But it is an expensive mod.

I wouldn't even think of flying the drone in the dark.

I don't get the big deal with flying in the dark.  The lights make it much easier to see where it is and not lose LOS.  I fly very high (atleast 50' higher then the highest thing around) though to make sure I don't hit anything.  
During the day it's pretty easy to be flying over 1000' away still within LOS, look down at the app and then look up and have trouble finding it.  At night, I have no such problems.  The lights show me exactly where it is and which way it is facing.  

leehartley2000@ Posted at 2015-1-1 23:16
in my case I use the phantom professionally and I would not want that jeopodised

First of all, ni ...

Hi Lee, You comment on my spelling and I am being snarky? This is no place for personal  irrelevant attacks. I attend this forum to help and share info where possible and also learn.

My observations weren't meant to be snarky but  firstly to answer the question and impart some technical info on the  vision's limitation to video at night and secondly  to reflect on the daily increasing amount of bad press our hobby is currently getting by people flying near airports and in some reports in traffic! These things are already bringing in legislation to control what we do and may well end up with all flyers needing a licence.

THe OP asked if he should return it to the seller- I suggested he should as it won't do what he was expecting.  

rod@voxvideopro Posted at 2015-1-2 05:00
Hi Lee, You comment on my spelling and I am being snarky? This is no place for personal  irrelevant ...

As for my comment on your spelling. . .  snarky gets snarky.  Your criticism of others expectations for a $700 camera to have some night time abilities had a "down your nose tone" which I find irrelevant and unfriendly.  Those people were not expressing some foolish expectation, I have $50 video cameras that perform better at night than this very expensive DJI unit.

Also, using your drone in a commercial capacity is allowed only by permit from the FAA.  If you are not following the law, you are the one who will trigger heavier regulation.

I get white uniform dots on everything. Full daylight still or video. I have Phantom 2 and GoPro 3 plus Black Edition

I get uniform white dots on everything. Full daylight still or video. I have Phantom 2 and GoPro 3 plus Black Edition.

I fly a lot at night I never have noise, but the temp has been cool here. Below 50F. Maybe my camera has a good sensor but noise levels increase with warmer temps. Temps increase in the camera the longer it is on. This is why some camera that take longer exposures use active  thermal coolers.

scott_barton@ho Posted at 2015-1-2 04:13
I don't get the big deal with flying in the dark.  The lights make it much easier to see where it is ...

I have spotlights on my Phantom that I turn on for night flying. They light up things close by in front, but the main thing for me is being able to find it at night. I have old eyes. The nav lights work but when I am really far away and lose visual sight of the Phantom I just have to yaw it and when it points toward me the spotlights show very brightly in the night sky.  They are a lot brighter than the nav lights.

drone.email Posted at 2015-1-20 02:48
I have spotlights on my Phantom that I turn on for night flying. They light up things close by in  ...

I was thinking about doing something like that. Where did you get the light?

The light came from http://www.mydronelight.com/ they have a bunch of different types. I modified my set with different connectors because I have aux power cables in the landing gear legs. I also added a on/off switch on the Phantom body that controls power to all the aux power cables.

DJI-JS Posted at 2014-10-14 10:20
V+ camera is not suitable for night, a lot noise will be seen, and it is a hardware limitation. We a ...

Hi, I am a new customer to the Phantom 2 Vision + from Germany and have bought this rig just some days ago. I fly a custom made Hexacopter as well, but I really wanted to have FPV and by all your really nice "marketing videos" i thought that this rig would be much better that having to mount my Iphone 5s to the copter to record some nice nightshots.

Unfortunately as it seems, the camera you mounted on your 1199€ rig is just one big piece of crap as even the CCD of an Iphone has a better noise ratio.
I am not including pictures of my Iphone photos in the dark with HDR enabled here because I think most people know what the quality of even this microsmall CCD can do.

Comparing this to the bullshit product I have bought from your company for this price just makes me mad.

PLEASE STATE THE FOLLOWING ON YOUR NICE LITTE HOMEPAGE:
Do never intend to use our newest and coolest and best consumer product at light levels other than full bright daylight. The SUPER camera we put on our Gimbal unfortunately is not able to take any meaningfull pictures at lights less than 2.000 LUX

Maybe that statement would save others from the harsh disappointment I had with your super product!

Rant off:
I asked my Vendor (Conrad Electronic SE, Klaus-Conrad-Str. 1, 92240 Hirschau) to take the S**t back, but they outright refused as it is no "hardware malfunction" and the system works as intended.

So my question towards DJI Germany is the following: Will you give me a DJI Phantom 2 with a Zenmuse 3D (4D) gimbal and iOSD in return, if I send in this stupid product to mount any, but just any meaningful camera onto that copter? Or will you do a full refund for me? The product I have currently is just not usable for photos not even when it is cloudy!

Greetings Sven

I have the older vision (not vision+) and it takes decent night pictures. Very little noise and decent exposure.

I somehow have a feeling that the new Phantom 3 might already be on the horizon to show, and if the camera is among the enhancement list, that will attract me to get a new bird in.

FlyingDog Posted at 2015-2-12 00:17
I somehow have a feeling that the new Phantom 3 might already be on the horizon to show, and if the  ...

Me...not! The big enhancement in camera quality....wow! So...wait...let us wait for the sales pitch via cool new marketing style videos....

"We have noticed our customers wanted to fly at night, thats the reason why we have upgraded our camera to even more megapixels and a new cool night feature improving quality of night shots by a 1000%. Buy now at 1,199 EUR or 1.299 $"

Give the s**t a second thought....I bought a faulty product which doesn't even meet smartphone camera standards expect for the lens........for ooohhhh....wait for it......1,199 EUR.......and.....to resolve the issue the only I answer I get from the producer.....well we have a new product that solves your issues..........

The only answer I can think up is a bit not for this forum....I was close to write it here, but thought twice!

After third rethinking here is the answer:

GO TO HELL WITH YOUR BULL*S**T marketing and alll and develop a product that works. And take mine back for the money I paid. Then I might consider buying another one of your products!

Oh...and the best part: I have to rant via forums as e-mail isn't even answered!

Greets
Sven

Some light helps...this was my first test at night here in Paris, TX.  Clicking on HD option helps too.

https://www.facebook.com/video.p ... ;type=2&theater

Nice vid and music Tony.  That's a beautiful veterans memorial.

s.holtzhausen.g Posted at 2015-2-14 03:00
Me...not! The big enhancement in camera quality....wow! So...wait...let us wait for the sales pitc ...

What about investigating a bit before buying ? If you think you can get a decent night camera attached on a highly technical drone for 1200 Euro you should think twice.
I also would like to have a better camera on my Phantom - but the capabilities of the camera is well documented on youtube - just go there a look at videos taken with Phantom cameras. You get what you are paying for.

tonycorsoimages Posted at 2015-2-14 03:23
Some light helps...this was my first test at night here in Paris, TX.  Clicking on HD option helps t ...

That video looks great Tony.... And your town is lucky to have such a nice memorial to our Vets

nilsblix.gmail Posted at 2015-2-14 05:42
What about investigating a bit before buying ? If you think you can get a decent night camera atta ...

Well, as you can see in this other thread:
http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=2001

I am not the only one having serious problems with the camera quality.
I will change to the quick release plate!

FrankDevin Posted at 2015-2-15 03:32
Well, as you can see in this other thread:
http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=2001
...

Of course you are not the only one - I think we all would like to have better cameras - but from stating that to be as mad as some in this thread is a big difference. I mysef is also considering the ¨dronexpert ¨route. What is holding me off is the price point. I consider saving a bit longer a go for a second item - a Inspiron.

did you mean Inspire?  I Googled inspiron and could not find anything.

kjkisatsky Posted at 2015-2-14 05:04
Nice vid and music Tony.  That's a beautiful veterans memorial.

Thanks...it really is an impressive memorial...and still a work in progress.