Hi all,

Proud owner of a Mavic 2 pro here. I would like to start a thread here where we can help eachother regarding the export/render settings used when all the filming and editing is done.

This so people like me(beginners) can learn from the veterans when it comes to making drone videos. I know there are a ton of youtubes out there that could help but i think it could be nice to have a forum thread about it.

Myself i use Adobe Premier.

Hi, I find the easiest way in Prem Pro is to use the Youtube or Vimeo 'Presets'  in the Exports Dropdown list.

El Diablo Posted at 2018-10-24 22:42
It depends. What are you rendering for? Personal use, clients, YouTube? Personaly i don't do client jobs with the drone (yet), therefore I want the best possible quality to ensure some 'future proofing'. That means 4K. I shoot in Dlog 10Bit, color grade with Final Cut pro X / Luma Fusion (iPad Pro). Of course I am using a 5K monitor and a 4K TV so for me 1080p is already obsolete.

When rendering any project below 4K remember that soon it it will feel like watching a VHS tape in a Full HD TV... (you can always render the same project at 2 different rsolutions if you have enough HDD space).

I fully agree with you.  Anything below 4K does not make sense. Now there are even TVs showing an 8K resolution.
My preference is also Dlog-M rendering in 10bits.  However, I noticed that my iMac 5K 2017 2TB takes very long to render it in 10bits, i.e. 10 minutes or more for a 30 second video. It gets much worse when I add the lens distortion correction in the "Fusion Tab" (I use the free version of Davinci Resolve 15), i.e. rendering a 10 seconds video it takes me more than 15 minutes.  This is horrible.  I am now thinking of upgrading to the paid version of Davinci Resolve (Studio) but I am not sure if that will help time-wise, any experience?  What computer are you using?  I guess this is the main point when deciding how and in what format to render a project.

Its a bit old now ! - But informative - If your showing videos via Youtube etc there is a max to send as they just get re-rendered at their end... otherwise your just wasting time, effort and disk space...

Thank you so far for your input guys!

My main concern is that since the Mavic 2 pro films in H265 for the 10bit option. What im accually curious about is, are people here filming in H265 and then downscaling it to H264 for the export?

What would i loose if i do it like that?

El Diablo Posted at 2018-10-25 00:44
Absolutely

I am also using an iMac 5K but 2016 and the H.265 files are quite tough to render although I am not getting so long times as yours. I am not sure if the paid version of your editor will solve the issue. Probably Apple's own software is more optimized than the 3d party. The price is practically the same, perhaps considering switching to Final Cut (with the added hassle of learning a new platform)...?

Thanks El Diablo, much appreciated.

I also think that FCPX is the right way to go, will have to do some more research on this, and I agree that FCPX is more aligned with Macs than 3rd party software.

What makes my rendering extremely slow is the lens distortion correction in the Fusion of Free Davince Resolve, the paid version is similar to the FCPX lens correction fix, just adding a value (from what I have seen on youtube)

So, you say that when you render in 10bit no matter with or without lens dist. correction, it takes you same amount of time? I was even thinking of just using normal color mode as you get also very good results, even more when you watch the video of "We Talk UAV" from 1 month in which Alex says that does not see a big difference between the 10bit and the normal color mode.

I agree with you that Lumafusion is great, although I do not have it yet, as I don't have an Ipad Pro, which I think you need, I just have Ipad Mini 4. Generation I believe, but this one may be to slow for 4K 10Bit.  Unfortunately, one can not make lens distortion correction, but you can use LUTs which is great.

El Diablo Posted at 2018-10-25 01:46
You are welcome.

I agree with you, I've said it many times when this whole distortion issue started that the 10Bit is for folks that know how to colorgrade, edit and have the time and the equipment to do so. The Normal profile still works great with LUTs and letterbox bars to get a more 'Cinematic' effect for the majority of people ;)

Thanks Man!

Correct, the dilemma I have is to chose between the "easy-to-use normal color mode" and the more flexible Dlog-m when it comes to color grading but with the downside of having a more soft footage.  Have done extensive testing with every single Style in Normal Mode to see what gives the best results, my favorite is 0-1-0 or 1-1-0.  Dlog-M always in 0-0-0 which is best when using a LUT. But still in notice that Dlog-M gives softer image in post. Anyhow, this is not the right topic here as this goes into best camera settings. Question, what setting are you using in Normal and Dlog-M?

great video I fully agree, I also watched it when it came out, there is not a single video on youtube that I missed on camera settings. there is a big controversy on settings. at the end it comes downs to personal flavor. my priority is on sharpness, then lens distortion fix and finally color grading. but not sure if would give away sharpness for better coloring. but different topic, and I see you are very active in various other threads :-) good man. you also seem to be addicted to this all, just like me :-)  I wish I could work in this kind of field as I seem much more into it than boring banking :-)  cheers...

El Diablo Posted at 2018-10-25 02:57
Hahaha, check this out, I think it will answer most of your questions, I really like these guys, very professional approach to what they say and do (I sound like a fanboy as I've posted this video 2-3 times already).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fSjR7UcDwQ&t=40s

great video I fully agree, I also watched it when it came out, there is not a single video on youtube that I missed on camera settings. there is a big controversy on settings. at the end it comes downs to personal flavor. my priority is on sharpness, then lens distortion fix and finally color grading. but not sure if would give away sharpness for better coloring. but different topic, and I see you are very active in various other threads :-) good man. you also seem to be addicted to this all, just like me :-)  I wish I could work in this kind of field as I seem much more into it than boring banking :-)  cheers...

Ok, for some reason this turned into a "camera settings thread". Ive seen the film poets video and they dont touch the question i asked originaly.

My original topics was regarding the export/settings used. So far we have gotten around to the following:

Some say use the presets. Some say that they downgrade the H265 to H264 in the export due to hardware issues and others recommend keeping it/exporting the finished video in H265.

Any other inputs?

LoMackz Posted at 2018-10-25 06:37
Ok, for some reason this turned into a "camera settings thread". Ive seen the film poets video and they dont touch the question i asked originaly.

My original topics was regarding the export/settings used. So far we have gotten around to the following:

You said Premier, so try Ed Ricker’s video. He goes over export settings and why in this video.

LoMackz Posted at 2018-10-25 06:37
Ok, for some reason this turned into a "camera settings thread". Ive seen the film poets video and they dont touch the question i asked originaly.

My original topics was regarding the export/settings used. So far we have gotten around to the following:

you are right, sorry for this, my fault.  I render in H.265 mainly also because the file size is substantially smaller, almost half. believe the more important question is whether to render in 8 or 10-bit for hlg or dlog-m footage?! my experience is that rendering in 10 bit slows down my imac 2017 substantially, so it takes soooo long to render, so I prefer to render in 8 bit, even if I shoot in 10bit.  I tried to spot the difference in quality, but honestly could not see any difference if rendered in 8 or 10 bit.  I know that some say that this does not make sense to make a 10bit video and to render in 8bit, and I agree with this, but somehow I could not see a difference in the outcome. but that's maybe due to my ignorance.

El Diablo Posted at 2018-10-30 23:45
Thanks, I wish you also lots of fun.

i work as a Photographer so I am very lucky  

You are really lucky man being a photographer.......for me next life

- Good point re: pixel peeing when zooming in, I never thought about that.  But maybe more important in photography.
- Interesting what you say about Zeiss

Now coming to RENDERING.  I now got familiar with Final Cut Pro X:
- Do you work with same?
- Do you render Dlog-M videos in 8- or 10-bit? Maybe stupid thought to render a 10bit video in 8bit?!
- FXPX gives several option in ProRes, is it worth it to render in the higher quality, such as ProRes HQ or even ProRes Raw HQ? There is an interesting Apple ProRes RAW white paper for Final Cut Pro, see here: https://www.apple.com/euro/final ... RAW_White_Paper.pdf

El Diablo Posted at 11-4 23:48
Yes, I use Final Cut and LumaFusion (iPad).

I render in 8Bit or 10Bit depending on my needs, no standard. 10bit is obviously the best for color grading but at the end of the day, we lived with 8bit for many years and it wasn't the end of the world... Also, the problem with H.265 for example, is that many reproduction media devices don't work properly or don't recognize the format (I had issues with my Samsung 4K TV in the past). Therefore I shoot in the best possible settings for the wanted result and then I render it in different formats again depending on where it will be shared or viewed.

thanks man, much appreciated.

agree re: tv.  the newer 4k tvs do support the h.265 codec, am now looking around for a new Samsung 4k 75inch.

I did only little testing comparing HQ with FOV as I always shoot in HQ.  I saw some youtube videos where they claim that FOV is nothing else than a 2.7k resolution.  that's mainly why I do not shoot in FOV, and also no need to have the wide angle view, mostly.

El Diablo Posted at 11-4 23:48
Yes, I use Final Cut and LumaFusion (iPad).

I render in 8Bit or 10Bit depending on my needs, no standard. 10bit is obviously the best for color grading but at the end of the day, we lived with 8bit for many years and it wasn't the end of the world... Also, the problem with H.265 for example, is that many reproduction media devices don't work properly or don't recognize the format (I had issues with my Samsung 4K TV in the past). Therefore I shoot in the best possible settings for the wanted result and then I render it in different formats again depending on where it will be shared or viewed.

just read your comment on "Will M2P get true 4K in the future or not?".....I hope you are right re: the FOV.... your explanation makes sense....

El Diablo Posted at 11-5 00:52
Yeah, that 2.7K Resolution is pure BS. The quality of the footage drops compared to the HQ mode because of the downsampling method used from the original 5.5K. Instead, HQ crops the sensor to have a 1:1 pixel readout, therefore it is a little sharper. Again, these guys keep pixel peeping at 200% and comparing charts while adding a little more sharpness in post makes HQ and FoV indistinguishable... I personaly prefer HQ because of the narrower field of view, I believe it is more immersive.

thanks, agree.  I think Cliff Totten made a very informative and good video about that issue, but I agree with you, he made ONE simple fault, he compensated the HQ crop of the MSP by positioning the quad further back from the cardboard the get the same "field of view" as the P4P, what most probably lead to the wrong conclusion. But this fault is so obvious made by a man with those skills, very strange......

El Diablo Posted at 11-5 02:04
You are welcome. i actually posted in the past a loooong argument why his test shouldn't be taken very seriously. he did various mistakes. if you check his channel, he has another video comparing the MP and the MA and he uses a different methodology so quite inconsistent. I also believe that the M2P has less sharpness added digitaly out of the box. I've filmed in FoV and it is by no means as bad as some want to make it look...

that's good news, thanks.  I will check out his other video you mention.  interesting subject I have to admit.

Hey buddy, thanks for sharing such amazing information regarding our favorite Mavic pro. I want to  add little bit more about this, see Export visible layer Render Settings and AOVs. To export, select File > Export Visible Layer Render Settings. To import, select File > Import Scene Render Settings.