I have done an incredible amount of troubleshooting trying to figure out the "flickering" I get from my Mavic Air 2. From what I can tell, it's Moire. At first I thought it was my computer. I have tried filming at 1080 and 4K in all available framerates. Both HDR and Normal. Even if it is helped by recording in Cinema-D that is an awful workaround. I am not that great at colorgrading and am learning how to do so in Final Cut Pro. I use an "ExtremePro" SD card, but even when recoding internally I have had the same issue so that can't be the problem. I am on a macbook, but again that's not the issue. I have tried the raw footage in a local computer shop with a custom $5k video production rig and the effect is the same. On that same high-end setup the owner has a Mavic 2 Pro and I can see the exact same issues though a little less pronounced. What is the solution to this flickering, flashing, juttery video???? It's just garbage. At this point I am only using the drone for photos because I don't know what will turn out and what won't. From my DSLR and GoPro I've never seen this issue. What's up DJI? I have more clips, this one is just handy. It is the worst on water but is also just as bad on lines like brick etc. Somebody please help! I want to use my drone and am just totally turned off to DJI video right now

That's not moiré. What you are looking at is likely the result of excessive sharpening or too low a bitrate when encoding the output file -- I suspect it's the latter. I have not flown over water with my Mavic Air 2 so I have no first-hand experience, but footage I have seen from other forum members doesn't show the same artifacts, so I think the actual recording is fine.

MisterFrag Posted at 7-10 10:49
That's not moiré. What you are looking at is likely the result of excessive sharpening or too low a bitrate when encoding the output file -- I suspect it's the latter. I have not flown over water with my Mavic Air 2 so I have no first-hand experience, but footage I have seen from other forum members doesn't show the same artifacts, so I think the actual recording is fine.

The raw file has the same effect

What do you guys think about though that you HAVE TO use ND filters on sunny day on waters? Could that help? And of course adjust manually iso, shutter..

NordicFinn Posted at 7-10 10:56
What do you guys think about though that you HAVE TO use ND filters on sunny day on waters? Could that help? And of course adjust manually iso, shutter..

That's a good question, I haven't tried it. I am not sure how putting a ND filter on and lowering shutter would help, but I am here for feedback and ideas. I have had the same issues at dusk so I don't think its a shutter issue. For clarification I am much more of a photo guy and some of the more advanced video stuff throws me for a loop. I still suck and color grading and yet photoshop is easy peasy for me, just totally different.

Here is a video of a compilation of stuff I threw together since I got the Mavic Air 2. I don't have my external hard drive on me with the real crappy stuff. I can assure everyone though that the the clunky puts are just as bad on the raw files, and those raw files have been viewed on multiple machines.
Options I have't tried

• New SD card, though like I said I've had the same effect when on internal
• ND filters
• anything post-production to solve the issue
  

ND filters would require a slower shutter speed, increasing motion blur and reducing the apparent sharpness, so that would definitely help. Ideally you'd want to have the shutter speed at double the framerate. For the time being (summer) and during daytime flights, the ND64 filter from my Fly More Combo permanently lives on my MA2.

MisterFrag Posted at 7-10 11:21
ND filters would require a slower shutter speed, increasing motion blur and reducing the apparent sharpness, so that would definitely help. Ideally you'd want to have the shutter speed at double the framerate. For the time being (summer) and during daytime flights, the ND64 filter from my Fly More Combo permanently lives on my MA2.

That is great info. I will try this weekend. Thank you!

MisterFrag Posted at 7-10 11:21
ND filters would require a slower shutter speed, increasing motion blur and reducing the apparent sharpness, so that would definitely help. Ideally you'd want to have the shutter speed at double the framerate. For the time being (summer) and during daytime flights, the ND64 filter from my Fly More Combo permanently lives on my MA2.

Anything else I can try in addition to that?

You probably just need to follow the 180 degree rule when filming moving objects.

hallmark007 Posted at 7-10 11:54
You probably just need to follow the 180 degree rule when filming moving objects.

The issue wasn't with moving objects. The drone was the moving object. Water, cliffs, buildings are what is jittery and flashing

Water Drone Posted at 7-10 12:01
The issue wasn't with moving objects. The drone was the moving object. Water, cliffs, buildings are what is jittery and flashing

Water is a moving object .

Water Drone Posted at 7-10 12:01
The issue wasn't with moving objects. The drone was the moving object. Water, cliffs, buildings are what is jittery and flashing

Water is a moving object . And I think that advice above to slow shutter down to 180 rule is specifically what posters are advising you use ND filters for.

Water Drone Posted at 7-10 11:32
Anything else I can try in addition to that?

Go easy on ND if you are filming people on water. As a photographer you know that lowering your shutterspeed to 1/60s will result in blurry image when your AC is moving.This is not ideal if you want your subject sharp. I believe that 180 degree rule is better for filming when camera is more static but objects are moving, versus when camera is moving. You expect blurry moving objects and sharp static object even when camera is in motion.

Through trial and error I found out the following in order not to get the effects you see:

• Use D-Cinelike - Normal mode is not for cinematic effect. You will see oversharpening which will create annoying artifacts you see. D-Cinelike does minimal in-drone processing so the footage can be post-processed for professional cinematic look.
• Use ND filter for motion blur when your are flying low over something. This will avoid jitterness of the picture. However, contrary to what other forum members are sying I never use ND64 and rarely use ND32. However, I oftend use ND16 and ND8. While this may not give you exact 180 degree rule, for me it is a better compromise between optimal blur and sharpness of some focus objects. I found that shutter speed of 1/125 to 1/250 is better than 1/60 with 30fps. Again - this is subjective and goes against widely accepted 180 degree rule but 1/60s shutter speed tends to blur your subjects too much when your drone is moving.
• Use high bitrate in post-production. I use maximim quality which is higher than 80,000kb/s. Default for YouTube in many editing tools is 10,000kb/s. This is too low.
  

Mirek

Water Drone, the other thing that's apparent in the second video you posted is that it is "jumpy" instead of smooth. That too hints at a shutter speed that is far too fast in order to deal with the amount of light in the scene. I would try the ND64 filter, and on a sunny day at noon maybe the ND256.

MisterFrag Posted at 7-10 13:32
Water Drone, the other thing that's apparent in the second video you posted is that it is "jumpy" instead of smooth. That too hints at a shutter speed that is far too fast in order to deal with the amount of light in the scene. I would try the ND64 filter, and on a sunny day at noon maybe the ND256.

I just have the stock DJI 4,8, and 32. I'll try the 32 and go from there and see if it's worth getting a few more variations. I suppose this is why the M2P has an adjustable aperture. Kind of kicking myself for not getting the M2P.

To me the Freewell Variable ND looks tempting:

Freewell Variable ND on B&H
The 1 to 5 stop VND should cover most uses, but if that's not enough there is the 6 to 9.

Looks like two different issues intermittently mixing.  Focusing problem and Video processing problem.  

Re-read opening OP.   Have you verified SD cards can keep up with bit rate of video coming from Mavic Air-2?
You may have gotten fake SanDisk ExtremePro SD cards.

What looks like a Focusing problem, could be lowered resolution to compensate for slow writes.  Need to look at Raw video files.

The only thing I know that can fix flickering is using ND filters to get that shutter speed down.

Hello there Acadia. I am sorry for the trouble this has caused and thank you for reaching out. In addition to this thread I will post a link where in you can find some tips on how to make your aerial videography stand out ( https://store.dji.com/guides/aerial-videography-tips/ ). I hope this can also help. Have a safe and a happy flying always.

ND filter will help , but even expensive canon dslr have this same problem when shooting video usually caused by an AA filter. It is fairly easy to remove Moire in post these days albeit time consuming.

I'm not sure about it.
On FHD screen I don't see moire.

The issue is slightly better, but not gone. I used a ND 32 Filter to get 1/50 at 25FPS. There is some improvement. There are still aliasing issues along with the slightly  clunky video. I have the same output results taking it through Final Cut Pro on computer vs running it through my iPhone 11pro. While I understand you don't edit video on a iPhone, it does at least show the issues is reproduced on other devices. 2 weeks past I used the same technique with a very high end PC video editing machine and was seeing the same issues. I have gotten a lot of feedback on camera angles and such, but I'm not buying into it. I have a GoPro I use all the time on my boat, set it and forget it. Yes, some shots look better but none of them anything as bad as the Mavic Air 2. I also use my Nikon DSLR for moving video and various angles (boat, plane, vehicles) and have never experienced this. While there may be solutions to help the solution with on solutions, they are issues that I have never experienced with any other video. There is a also a difference between what is optimized, acceptable, and just plain bad. I've had just plain bad. If you look at the posted footage and don't see there is an issue (no matter what you label the issues as) I wouldn't know how to discuss further.

In my opinion there are a few things going on here. Im guessing you shot this with the shutter on either auto or higher than the 180 rule. (24fps = shutter 48, 25fps = shutter 50, 30fps = shutter 60 so on so forth). Also at a guess you didn't shoot in d-log. The issue appears, I think, down to the standard profile and its sharpening, the stuttering can also be attributed to the high shutter speed. The aliasing and moire you see in some parts of the clip (cranes) are because of the high contrast and over sharpening of the standard profile.

I would have set the camera to d-log, ISO 200, 4k 24fps and shutter at 48 (50). Before take off check the histogram, if it looks good, not too much under or overblown highlights and shadows (enabling zebras can help here) and have a look at the image is it too dark or too bright, hows the exposure. If its too dark increase the ISO to 400 (note that above ISO 400, digital noise starts to become more apparent). Also remember that d-log will bring some information back from the shadows and highlights and you will need to add a little contrast and colour control in post (someone has given a free lut away on here that can help with this)
If it's too bright, you need to use a ND filter, depending how blown out it is will determine the ND filter. Depending on the filters you have available. Your ISO set at 200 will help when you are in the air you have the option to go up or down ISO to compensate for changes in brightness.

The main thing is to maintain the 180 degree shutter and adjust everything else around it. Start with ND filters before changing ISO. Doing this should create some nice buttery smooth footage that needs a bit of colour and contrast adjustment in post. To combat the moire and aliasing don't use too much sharpening in post. You could try adding a tiny bit of unsharp mask to bring back a little detail.

Finally you have to remember, even though this drone has a high bitrate, the sensor is still a small sensor and no doubt it uses pixel binning. You will get moire and aliasing. It's just a fact you have to work around.

Hope some of this helps.

Malakai_UK Posted at 7-13 07:05
In my opinion there are a few things going on here. Im guessing you shot this with the shutter on either auto or higher than the 180 rule. (24fps = shutter 48, 25fps = shutter 50, 30fps = shutter 60 so on so forth). Also at a guess you didn't shoot in d-log. The issue appears, I think, down to the standard profile and its sharpening, the stuttering can also be attributed to the high shutter speed. The aliasing and moire you see in some parts of the clip (cranes) are because of the high contrast and over sharpening of the standard profile.

I would have set the camera to d-log, ISO 200, 4k 24fps and shutter at 48 (50). Before take off check the histogram, if it looks good, not too much under or overblown highlights and shadows (enabling zebras can help here) and have a look at the image is it too dark or too bright, hows the exposure. If its too dark increase the ISO to 400 (note that above ISO 400, digital noise starts to become more apparent). Also remember that d-log will bring some information back from the shadows and highlights and you will need to add a little contrast and colour control in post (someone has given a free lut away on here that can help with this)

the last video posted was with ND32 ISO100 25fps 1/50 shutter I was not in D-Cinema, you are correct. I know D-Cinema is the way to go, it's just a bummer you have to use it to get acceptable results. As a photo guy, video color grading is not intuitive at all for me. A color wheel is just note enough to do anything well. If anyone has advice to learning color grading in FCP without plugins let me know please. I realize all these issues intertwine. At the end of the day the DJI still requires more tinkering than a GoPro which is a bummer for DJI. I noticed the same issues from the Mavic 2 Pro so it's not just a Mavic Air 2 issue, it's a DJI issue. I understand there are workarounds but none that most of you seem used to, but on other platforms people would laugh if you had to use them to get any results at all. With that said I do a lot of post work on photos to get what I want and there is a process with that as well with video, I get that.  

Water Drone Posted at 7-13 08:55
the last video posted was with ND32 ISO100 25fps 1/50 shutter I was not in D-Cinema, you are correct. I know D-Cinema is the way to go, it's just a bummer you have to use it to get acceptable results. As a photo guy, video color grading is not intuitive at all for me. A color wheel is just note enough to do anything well. If anyone has advice to learning color grading in FCP without plugins let me know please. I realize all these issues intertwine. At the end of the day the DJI still requires more tinkering than a GoPro which is a bummer for DJI. I noticed the same issues from the Mavic 2 Pro so it's not just a Mavic Air 2 issue, it's a DJI issue. I understand there are workarounds but none that most of you seem used to, but on other platforms people would laugh if you had to use them to get any results at all. With that said I do a lot of post work on photos to get what I want and there is a process with that as well with video, I get that.

You may have a problem with drone itself.   One of replacement drones I got had a video problem, which was intermittent.  Problem showed up as a few smeared lines in image.  As if drone's video processor was having trouble keeping up with drone's camera sensor.

Know anybody with MA2 which could fly next to your MA2 using same video settings, filming same things, and then compare two videos?   Possibly repeat flight with microSD cards switched between drones.

I would still verify microSD cards you are using are more than sufficient to handle continuous write rate required for your Mavic Air 2.

Best of luck!

Water Drone Posted at 7-13 08:55
the last video posted was with ND32 ISO100 25fps 1/50 shutter I was not in D-Cinema, you are correct. I know D-Cinema is the way to go, it's just a bummer you have to use it to get acceptable results. As a photo guy, video color grading is not intuitive at all for me. A color wheel is just note enough to do anything well. If anyone has advice to learning color grading in FCP without plugins let me know please. I realize all these issues intertwine. At the end of the day the DJI still requires more tinkering than a GoPro which is a bummer for DJI. I noticed the same issues from the Mavic 2 Pro so it's not just a Mavic Air 2 issue, it's a DJI issue. I understand there are workarounds but none that most of you seem used to, but on other platforms people would laugh if you had to use them to get any results at all. With that said I do a lot of post work on photos to get what I want and there is a process with that as well with video, I get that.

WaterDrone,

Recheck my post #15. It is not ND filter or 180 shutter rule. Low shutter speed masks some bad stuff by making it blurry but you want to fix it and not mask.
It looks like bad processing and low bit rate (my bullet 1 and 3).

Try recording in D-Cinelike profile and watch it without any processing whatsoever. Putting it on YouTube for us to watch does provide post-processing which may contribute to your issue.

You need to watch original D-Cinelike video with no post-processing on your PC and asses if the issues are gone. If they are, you have the answer. If the issues persist, than your complaint about MA2 is justified.

Mirek

Mirek L Posted at 7-14 13:36
WaterDrone,

Recheck my post #15. It is not ND filter or 180 shutter rule. Low shutter speed masks some bad stuff by making it blurry but you want to fix it and not mask.

Mirek,

While  I understand that shooting in D-Cinema could help, I cannot believe the only way to get usably footage is to professionally color grade every video shot on DJI hardware. Does that seem reasonable? DJI needs t get their stuff together if that's the case. If there was another leader in the industry I would change in a heartbeat. To me it all comes down to on my DSLR, GoPro, and iPhone I do not have these issues. I expect DJI to be at the same level. I should not have to use a ND filter and color grade every video to get results that don't provoke a seizure. I would really like DJI to address this.

Water Drone Posted at 7-14 13:41
Mirek,

While  I understand that shooting in D-Cinema could help, I cannot believe the only way to get usably footage is to professionally color grade every video shot on DJI hardware. Does that seem reasonable? DJI needs t get their stuff together if that's the case. If there was another leader in the industry I would change in a heartbeat. To me it all comes down to on my DSLR, GoPro, and iPhone I do not have these issues. I expect DJI to be at the same level. I should not have to use a ND filter and color grade every video to get results that don't provoke a seizure. I would really like DJI to address this.

You are right that DJI can do better in "out of the box" processing.
We all complained about lack of manual control in contrast, oversharpening of images etc. They can definitely improve that.

However, if you want "professional" results you need professional tools. I never use GoPro default mode because it does not provide enough dynamic range. I use flat profile which is kind of like D-Cinelike in MA2.

With this particular issue I really believe that oversharpening (DJI fault) combined with bad low bitrate compression (perhaps YouTube fault) contributes to subpar results in a very challenging setup (extremelly small wave details changing very rapidly).

I would really be interested to see if original D-Cinelike video with no post-processing and no YouTube conversion experiences same bad results.
If it does, we have a genuine DJI problem. If it does not - well... "professional" results with "professional" tools.

Mirek

Mirek L Posted at 7-14 17:08
You are right that DJI can do better in "out of the box" processing.
We all complained about lack of manual control in contrast, oversharpening of images etc. They can definitely improve that.

I'll track with that. I can't share the raw files here obviously without some streamer compressing them. While I will say the YouTube version is worse, the original is bad as well. I'm exporting at a high bitrate out of Final Cut Pro. I have tried this in 1080p with the same results. That's what really surprises me. What you are seeing in these few random random clips I did frequently in my spark. There is no comparing how the MA2 and the spark fly and I really love how the MA2 flies BUT at 1080p the video from the spark was much better for me. I am going to try D-Cinema combined with the ND filters to see what the results are. I just want to learn to color grade and to know for sure if I have a hardware issue.


What do you all recommend for a mSD card? I am using an extreme pro I ordered with the MA2 from DJI. Should I use a faster card?

Most if not all Nikon DSLRs have no AA filter and thus most Nikons don't have issues with Moire like Canons. This would explain the lack of problems using your nikon. As for the rest of us its a very real problem that just is part of the technology no matter who makes the sensor or how good it is. It can also happen with striped shirts worn by the subject being capture. ND filters will help but there are several workflows depending on what software you are editing in to remove it in post processing. You will just need to Google a tutorial for your specific software, here are a few I found quickly.

DaVinci Resolve:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LSgw8MSlsE
Premiere Pro:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTXIbXIb1bM
Final Cut Pro:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw9lTNbBdTA

I figure if your not a pro you probably use DaVinci Resolve since its free any pretty good as far as editing goes.

Hope this helps.

LOADiNG// Posted at 7-14 18:06
Most if not all Nikon DSLRs have no AA filter and thus most Nikons don't have issues with Moire like Canons. This would explain the lack of problems using your nikon. As for the rest of us its a very real problem that just is part of the technology no matter who makes the sensor or how good it is. It can also happen with striped shirts worn by the subject being capture. ND filters will help but there are several workflows depending on what software you are editing in to remove it in post processing. You will just need to Google a tutorial for your specific software, here are a few I found quickly.

DaVinci Resolve:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LSgw8MSlsE

I'll check it out for FCP. Thanks! Just an issue I haven't run into, appreciate all the feedback. Sounds like a known issue that a lot of people are just used to dealing with.

Just to add, CPL filters help over water, and check out the Neat Video plugin product for FCP...   And there are numerous LUTs you can apply to your D-Cinelike footage which are quite acceptable.  Search this forum for those... lots of freebies.

https://www.neatvideo.com/

Water Drone Posted at 7-14 17:42
I'll track with that. I can't share the raw files here obviously without some streamer compressing them. While I will say the YouTube version is worse, the original is bad as well. I'm exporting at a high bitrate out of Final Cut Pro. I have tried this in 1080p with the same results. That's what really surprises me. What you are seeing in these few random random clips I did frequently in my spark. There is no comparing how the MA2 and the spark fly and I really love how the MA2 flies BUT at 1080p the video from the spark was much better for me. I am going to try D-Cinema combined with the ND filters to see what the results are. I just want to learn to color grade and to know for sure if I have a hardware issue.

Extreme Pro card ordered from DJI is fine. This is not a card problem.

Mirek

Water Drone Posted at 7-10 13:52
I just have the stock DJI 4,8, and 32. I'll try the 32 and go from there and see if it's worth getting a few more variations. I suppose this is why the M2P has an adjustable aperture. Kind of kicking myself for not getting the M2P.

The M2P has variable Aperture but to be honest anything above f5.6 starts to become an issue, it gets soft quick from f5.6 onwards.

Andy Uk Posted at 7-15 05:28
The M2P has variable Aperture but to be honest anything above f5.6 starts to become an issue, it gets soft quick from f5.6 onwards.

That is excellent info I didn't know about the MP2

I spent a lot of time with DJI tech support last night. They do think there is a problem with the drone from what I submitted. They offered to send it in but said it could take 2-3 weeks. I opted to do a refresh because it's a very fast turn around doing refresh express (I hope this is true). I am not convinced of any one issue, but this seemed like a easy step to take seeing I don't know anyone else with a MA2 to compare raw footage on the same computer with. I know that D-cinelike is the proper method to use for color, I just wish it wasn't so daunting. I'm very fluent in photography with photoshop/lightroom and video just feels so backwards to me. I feel Like I wouldn't be able to tell my known issues are truly gone until I can get the image to the way it's supposed to be seen.

LOADiNG// Posted at 7-14 18:06
Most if not all Nikon DSLRs have no AA filter and thus most Nikons don't have issues with Moire like Canons. This would explain the lack of problems using your nikon. As for the rest of us its a very real problem that just is part of the technology no matter who makes the sensor or how good it is. It can also happen with striped shirts worn by the subject being capture. ND filters will help but there are several workflows depending on what software you are editing in to remove it in post processing. You will just need to Google a tutorial for your specific software, here are a few I found quickly.

DaVinci Resolve:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LSgw8MSlsE

This looks like a really effective method (FCP) but the problem I has is screen wide usually, or 3/4 of the screen. I am guessing that blur will just look awful with that. What do you think?

I just spent an hr looking of looking at videos with high view counts on youtube of MA2 footage and they all look like/near mine. Apparently I'm just crazy. Thank you all for this exercise in OCD. I will use ND filters and shoot d-cinelike for now on though