I have been watching other peoples videos and they don't look like this.  It's so terribly jerky while panning.  I need to know if this is just how this camera is or is there something wrong with my unit?

Everything here is shaking.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pFLQBZV-ng

Look at the houses or the sidewalk, just so much shaking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce3K9E4M8Kc

What framerates and shutter speeds are you using? Those have their own effect on the smoothness of the video.

First of all, the higher the framerate, the smoother the motion will be - at least in theory. 60fps produces usually smoother video than, say, 24fps.

Second, are you adjusting your shutter speeds according to the so-called "180 degrees" rule? That means the latter number of the shutter speed should be double the framerate used. For instance, when I shoot at 30fps, I usually keep my shutter speed at 1/60. And with the same principle, when shooting at 60fps, the shutter speed should be 1/120. Most of the times, this creates a natural looking motion blur that looks the most like the way a human eye usually sees motion. Using other speeds could cause an exaggerated motion blur, or unnatural looking jerkiness in the motion.

Of course, also having errors in rendering process could also cause jerking in the final video output.

HGDC84 Posted at 7-19 12:52
What framerates and shutter speeds are you using? Those have their own effect on the smoothness of the video.

First of all, the higher the framerate, the smoother the motion will be - at least in theory. 60fps produces usually smoother video than, say, 24fps.

The first one is auto the second one is at 1/50 at 24fps.   I just feel like it is SO Shaky.  Like no one elses footage looks like this.  Some of them have to be using auto.  Is everyones panning look like this?   It looks terrible.   It just seems like this can't be the same camera that everyone is saying is so great with the footage this one is producing?  I understand the shutter speed to make it more smooth but is auto really this terrible?  So terrible that panning across text you can barely read it?

Hi there, may I confirm that if the gimbal will shake when staying still? If no, please kindly note that the device cannot reduce the shake caused by the operator. To reduce shakiness, you can make the body tilt forward slightly when shooting to reduce the shakiness in the vertical direction. Also, 'ninja walk' is recommended.
1. Bend your knees slightly and relax.
2. Move at a constant speed.
3. Walk heel to toe and walk at a steady speed. (The trajectories of the front and rear feet fall as much as possible on the same line.)

Yea.. As the previous person said,  it's the way your walking.  I frequently make the same mistake.  Impossible to fix with post stabilization.  

JohnAven Posted at 7-20 11:11
Yea.. As the previous person said,  it's the way your walking.  I frequently make the same mistake.  Impossible to fix with post stabilization.

That first video with the side scroll I am not walking, it is just a straight up pan.  This has nothing to do with up and down movement, this has to do with panning.  I am talking about how in the first video you can't even read the text on the items because the shaking from the panning is so bad.

thedarksyde Posted at 7-20 11:27
That first video with the side scroll I am not walking, it is just a straight up pan.  This has nothing to do with up and down movement, this has to do with panning.  I am talking about how in the first video you can't even read the text on the items because the shaking from the panning is so bad.

Sorry, I viewed on my phone.  I'm on my PC now and I see what you mean.  Have you tried 60 FPS?

Were you using ND filter? If so, I believe the gimbal must be calibrated. Try calibre the Gimbal.


But I beleive it's not from the Gimbal. The video was striaght out of the camere or you've used software editing? Because I used to have that problem in post-processing. I used to render every timeline in 25fps but it was recorded in 30fps. And I realized it was causing that jirkness.


Hope it helps.

Video one inside the store, no filter was used, and this was uploaded straight from the camera, no post processing.  

I was going to switch to 60fps and try this out more.  I have been looking at other footage, and a lot of cameras do this, most are shot wide, so it's not an issue.  But it does seem like this is a common issue on close shots on pan.

I'll try with mine and later I'll post the videos here for you to compare...

Ok, I did some tests, with no filter and in auto exposure and ISO. In 24fps it appears jerky as well... but take a look yourself...

Inside:
24fps:
30fps:
60fps:

Outside:
24fps:
30fps:
60fps:

Hope it helps.

So it looks like in these clips your 60fps is the worst, it also looks like your 24 frame super close inside doesn't have nearly the issue mine does.  The 24 fps inside shot is the most interesting to me, while the text does blur I don't see it at the extent of mine, and you are moving faster.  Also I wouldn't say it is as jerky.  I am going over what I shot last night and when I shoot wide, which is what I am mostly doing this isn't as big of an issue.  So I think I am going to keep this camera, but it does seem like this is might be a general issue with this camera.

Hi man,

It was 2 years ago i know but i got the same jirky footage on panning shot on my mini3 pro!!! Did you resolve the issue?
  Thanks!  @yellonight

The judder that you see is a common artefact with 24 or 25 fps. To a lesser degree, 30fps. To some degree, you can get better detail in the video picture using slower shutter speeds, but less as far as movement goes.

Low shutter speeds = more resolution for a given bitrate. High shutter speeds = less resolution for each frame but much better motion tracking.

So for slow non-moving, or very slow camera motion shots, I use a slow shutter for more definition. For fast camera motion (like panning) I use a higher shutter speed for more fluid motion and sacrifice a little of the detail perhaps.

The speed of your pan makes the next frame appear too far away from the previous frame, so in effect, it is jumping across the screen. The frame rate is too slow for that speed of pan. It will show horribly on contrasty areas or vertical lines. The answer is to either not pan, or pan extremely slowly.

This effect can be seen in cinema footage very often, but they are better at disguising it, by having an out of focus background or twisting the camera as it pans so that the subject remains in the centre of the picture. (The background judders but you’re less aware of it because it’s out of focus!)

There are only three answers and one is to do with what happened with TV.

They used to show two fields (two pictures) every 1/25th of a second. This was to smooth motion. It was called ‘interlaced’ where half of the picture (every other line) was shown and then the other half shown 1/50th second later, so really, TV was two half pictures shown over a period of 1/25th second. In effect, they were showing video at 1/50th, although each frame was actually half a frame. We don't tend to use interlaced video any more and we are showing just ONE field every 1/25th second instead of two.

In USA, they showed two half frames every 1/30th second. (So 1/60th second frame rate using half frames)

So the answer is

A) Don’t pan.
B) Pan very slowly if you have to. Better to take two still shots of the scene.
C) Change frame rate to 50 or 60 fps and you will have way less of a problem.

In spite of all the gubbins spouted about 24 fps being cinematic, yes, it can be, but you have to be WAY more careful how you video it because of the problem that you are showing. Cinema professionals deal with the same issues, but they plan their shots very carefully to avoid it!!

Don't pan. Just let movement happen in front of a still camera and move (if you have to) DEAD slowly.

When you are panning, ask yourself, 'what are you trying to show'? With a pan, you are skirting over something so that nothing is really in focus properly. Your eyes try to find something to lock onto. A fast pan works better if you are following something so that it is still in the frame. Your eyes lock on to the subject and then see the background judder much less.

Video technique is quite different to stills and it also helps if you get the subject in focus and background blurred most of the time!

It's not the camera. It's just the way we see in comparison to a camera.