I'm using a DJI Mini 2 and the video looks very nice and detailed when doing aerial shots, such as from 300+ ft in the air. However, when I fly over objects closer to the ground, the video looks very pixelated, both in 4K and HD. Here are some example clips (the tall waving grasses look very blurry):

4K, 30 fps example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwYlZuEQ4kM

HD, 60 fps example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KeebR4YH8E

I am using the drone's auto recording settings. The SD card that I use is ImageMate PRO 128 GB -- it's 170 MB/s and supports 4K. I used Adobe Premiere Elements and exported the 4K example videoclip in 4K, and the HD example videoclip in HD. Viewing the original 4K video straight from the SD card (using the Microsoft Movies & TV app) on my computer looks just as pixelated as the example clip I linked above (but actually the HD videoclip linked above looks even MORE blurry than the original version on my computer... but maybe YouTube has quite finished processing it at this time?).

Any ideas for something I could do to improve my video playback quality? Or perhaps the DJI Mini 2 just doesn't film small details in motion very well -- it is a very small camera with a surely tiny sensor.

Link to SD card I'm using: https://www.walmart.com/ip/SanDisk-128GB-ImageMate-PRO-microSDXC-UHS-1-Memory-Card-with-Adapter-170MB-s-C10-U3-V30-4K-UHD-A2-Micro-SD-Card-SDSQXBD-128G-AW6KA/530353043?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222222312309102&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=s&wl2=c&wl3=74698185387175&wl4=pla-4578297730183741&wl5=&wl6=&wl7=&wl10=Walmart&wl11=Online&wl12=530353043_0&wl14=imagemate%20pro%20128gb%20sandisk&veh=sem&msclkid=784dfe2b78151e86c4c79eb70cac1711

I think this due to the limitations of the camera (open aperture = lower dof). It looks like the grass is out of focus as it is too close.

Chanc3: wrong, very wrong.
Why are you talking about DOF? With such a tiny sensor, everything from 0.5m to infinity is in focus.
And IF something is out of focus, that doesn't look like pixelated, like op sayed, just soft.

Dragonfly:
it's NOT because of tiny sensor, and not because of your card.

I tell you the secret:
it's about video compression!

Yes, i hear you: "but i read it's 100mbps quality"
Yes, bitrate can be 100mbps, but this is only one parameter from 100 of video encoding.
I'm sure with such a tiny, cheap drone and without active cooling, the used encoding algorithm
is also light and not so cpu hungry, compared to encoding on PC at 100mbps with handbrake.

If you are familiar with x264 encoding, there are profiles for example: fast, slow, ultraslow, etc.
All are different in encoding speed, and quality of course.
Here we see a bad example for 100mbps encode: lot of macroblock when there is lot of details
on the picture and you move fast. (incidentally this is the case with Osmo Action too in 4k/60p mode)

What can you do? Test all video modes, maybe 2.7k/30p is better. And fly/rotate slower.

Or use another drone

relaxosmo Posted at 5-12 21:38
Chanc3: wrong, very wrong.
Why are you talking about DOF? With such a tiny sensor, everything from 0.5m to infinity is in focus.
And IF something is out of focus, that doesn't look like pixelated, like op sayed, just soft.

You are mostly correct, but:

I'm sure with such a tiny, cheap drone and without active cooling, the used encoding algorithm
is also light and not so cpu hungry, compared to encoding on PC at 100mbps with handbrake.

Encoding at 100 Mb/s is mid-range, a higher bit rate would be better, however, the encoding in the aircraft is hardware encoding, it has nothing to do with the CPU in the aircraft, it is all done inside an Ambarella video processing chip.

The problem is that type of encoding expects a lot of the detail in the frame to be the same as the previous frame. However you are flying at low level over grass with a high degree of detail, and the image is rapidly changing. As a result, the coding algorithm is not able to handle the fast changes. The solution is to gain some altitude so that the grass is not moving so quickly.

Fast motion (relative to distance), shutter not controlled (so no motion blur but crisp frames), tiny sensor, fine detail and not the best encoder. The encoder cannot keep up with the amount of detail it has to encode in real time.

I use 2.7k/60p mode in my Osmo action while riding in a forest exactly because of this!Gopro for ex. with hevc is far better with fast motion and lot of details. Even in 4k/60p.

Thanks for your help, everyone!