I took my new MA2 out for a spin on a beautiful fall morning in New England. My videos came out looking pretty good, but my RAW still images did not look good (see attachment). The color was there, but the sharpness fell far short of what I expected. Anyone experienced this, or know how I might resolve this issue?

Thanks!

I'm experiencing the same issues with both RAW and 48mp images on the MA2, but from what I understand, it's down to my lack of experience, as far as RAW goes at least.

Coming from the Spark, I've only previously had the option of JPG output, but I always found the results from the Spark to be excellent most of the time. I was bit underwhelmed with my first few JPGs with the Air 2 in comparison, but have come to the conclusion that it performs better in Manual mode, whereas I used to rely on Auto / AEB with the Spark for the most part.

I've recently been experimenting with both RAW and 48mp and was initially really disappointed with RAW - getting the same soft image results you're experiencing - but the more I read, the more I realised that RAW files very much depend on how skilled you are in post processing them to get good results. And I'm currently nowhere near skilled enough!

I think JPGs have made me lazy, but I'll persevere with RAW in the hope I can improve

You must a good eye then because this looks good to me.

RAW files will be flatter than JPEGs off the card as designed for you to edit in post.

As you mentioned, This is a RAW file and always expected to be flat in terms of Contrast, Color Saturation and sharpness!
So, you have got enough space to cook it as you want in post-processing. As a photographer, I do NOT use 48 MP as it looks useless! Go for native 12 MP and enjoy!

Hi Nealski, could you please check the JPEG picture and see if it is the same? Please try to reset the camera settings and try again. See if that helps.

That shot looks great to me, But I see what you mean when zoomed in. It quickly loses definition.  Great colours though.

Thanks for your comments, everyone. Shooting in RAW shouldn’t make the photos sharper. Sharpness is about the quality of the lens and the elimination of camera movement. I am seeing two things in my photos: soft edges on the buildings and blockiness (thus loss of detail) in the colorful trees. From afar the photo looks great, but it falls apart on close inspection. @DJI Susan: I’ll check the JPG and reset the camera and see what happens.

Blériot53 Posted at 10-19 23:51
That shot looks great to me, But I see what you mean when zoomed in. It quickly loses definition.  Great colours though.

Lol. Thanks! I’m excited for this weekend when colors should be near peak.

Nealski Posted at 10-19 23:57
Thanks for your comments, everyone. Shooting in RAW shouldn’t make the photos sharper. Sharpness is about the quality of the lens and the elimination of camera movement. I am seeing two things in my photos: soft edges on the buildings and blockiness (thus loss of detail) in the colorful trees. From afar the photo looks great, but it falls apart on close inspection. @DJI Susan: I’ll check the JPG and reset the camera and see what happens.

And don't forget you're referring to an $800 drone... Not an $8,000 Inspire 2 X5S

Nealski Posted at 10-19 23:59
Lol. Thanks! I’m excited for this weekend when colors should be near peak.

The leaves are already falling like snow over here

I'm a professional photographer but new to drones. I just purchased the Mavic Air 2 and am now feeling very very stupid. I believe the answer to your problem is the fixed aperture of 2.8 and nothing at all to do with pixels, Raw/Jpeg or anything else. My photos are all pretty much unuseable because of this.

TheLiverpool Posted at 5-1 08:04
I'm a professional photographer but new to drones. I just purchased the Mavic Air 2 and am now feeling very very stupid. I believe the answer to your problem is the fixed aperture of 2.8 and nothing at all to do with pixels, Raw/Jpeg or anything else. My photos are all pretty much unuseable because of this.

I agree with TheLiverpool   Cameras with fixed focus lenses will not produce pics sharp enough for the professional market.  Cheapest Solution is to get a mavic pro .  I use mavic 2 pro but am always looking for another drone under $3000 which has a manual focus, and no geo fencing  But without success

One of the chickens got out.... I see her roosted on the cell tower.