Hello fellow pilots!

Last week, I started a discussion around hyperfocal distance and stuff related to focus. I have taken several shots in different light conditions since I own a Mavic Pro. I have to admit I'm still on a quest to raise the quality of my shots to get to the level of what you see on Instagram under some hashtags like #dronephotography and all.

Here is an example of a shot I took this evening (DNG format)Did tweak it in post, which gave a good result I think.

I still find the resolution not optimal (take a look at the trees on the left hand corner).

The settings were the following:
- White Balance: Sunny
- D-LOG
- 4:3
- ISO : 136
- Didn't have any ND filter on
- HDR format (wanted to try the bracketing, but picked HDR by mistake instead)

What you guys think? Any way I can optimize resolution / definition / quality?

Not a bad pic! You could probably do a lot with it in post, but yes, the not-in-focus parts put a damper on it a bit...
From my experience, the small sensor on the Mavic is going to struggle in low light (i.e. - right before the sun goes below the horizon, like in this pic). Also, the darker it is, the more it will have trouble focusing. And, even if it is all in focus, the darker areas of the image will be grainy, and if you put the ISO above 200, it will make it even noisier.... The conclusion... This is just not a very good camera for taking photos anything after about 10-15 min before you took this one, when the sun is a little higher still, and those dark areas still have a bit more light on them.

With all of that said, it you know what you are doing, you can take almost any pic (and likely this one), and make it look 10x better in post processing. The ones you are seeing on Instagram are likely edited as well, to get the look you are seeing.
Update: didn't see your edited photo... I think that one came out really good! Don't see a whole lot wrong with it, but also can't maximize the size... All of the above still applies to this camera though, the darker it gets...

Isn't D-LOG only for video?

with graduated ND over sky in post u can lift blacks on ground a bit to see more detail, nice pic otherwise ;)

dancopter Posted at 2017-6-20 00:32
Isn't D-LOG only for video?

Shoot. Yes, meant DNG (RAW)

UPDATE: Meant DNG (RAW) instead of D-LOG.

Bill Drones Posted at 2017-6-19 19:14
Not a bad pic! You could probably do a lot with it in post, but yes, the not-in-focus parts put a damper on it a bit...
From my experience, the small sensor on the Mavic is going to struggle in low light (i.e. - right before the sun goes below the horizon, like in this pic). Also, the darker it is, the more it will have trouble focusing. And, even if it is all in focus, the darker areas of the image will be grainy, and if you put the ISO above 200, it will make it even noisier.... The conclusion... This is just not a very good camera for taking photos anything after about 10-15 min before you took this one, when the sun is a little higher still, and those dark areas still have a bit more light on them.

Click on "good result" on my OP. Should lead you to the edited pic on my instagram.

Bill Drones Posted at 2017-6-19 19:14
Not a bad pic! You could probably do a lot with it in post, but yes, the not-in-focus parts put a damper on it a bit...
From my experience, the small sensor on the Mavic is going to struggle in low light (i.e. - right before the sun goes below the horizon, like in this pic). Also, the darker it is, the more it will have trouble focusing. And, even if it is all in focus, the darker areas of the image will be grainy, and if you put the ISO above 200, it will make it even noisier.... The conclusion... This is just not a very good camera for taking photos anything after about 10-15 min before you took this one, when the sun is a little higher still, and those dark areas still have a bit more light on them.

Thank you for this!