Ok, I've been dealing with this for a bit now, and it's drivin me nuts. Im new to the drone game.....so forgive any ignorance. Can someone help me understand why Im getting smudgy blurry images?

I focused the image. I've got focus peaking on, so I can see redlines where things should be sharp.
I've got it set to 100 ISO, 1/50th shutter speed.....and a 32ND filter on.Shooting 4096x2160, 24fps

This is raw right out of the camera. Believe its set to D-Cinelike.
Style is set to Sharpness -1, Contrast -1, Saturation 0.

Check out the trees specifically in the image....But in general, it looks like it's applied a Photoshop filter.
WTH is goin on? I can't seem to clean up the image.

No expert here, but I would try without the ND filter.

It's hard to tell since we can't see what you are seeing.
You've posteded some reduced size images.
One was 1693 x 804 and the other was 1941 x 1181

1/50th of a second is a bit slow for something thats moving like a drone,   try to get that up to at least 150th of second.

Ok, I'll try the suggestions you guys have made so far.
I went with 1/50th of a second, mainly because thats the "ideal" for motion blur etc. But maybe it doesn't matter so much for drone footage?

Labroides Posted at 7-23 19:00
It's hard to tell since we can't see what you are seeing.
You've posteded some reduced size images.
One was 1693 x 804 and the other was 1941 x 1181

This was a screenshot from the footage at 100% scale.

JacobB84 Posted at 7-24 13:23
This was a screenshot from the footage at 100% scale.

It's not the actual size of your original video.
You've posted some reduced size images.
One was 1693 x 804 and the other was 1941 x 1181

The minimum size of your images would be 4000 pixels wide.

JacobB84 Posted at 7-24 13:20
Ok, I'll try the suggestions you guys have made so far.
I went with 1/50th of a second, mainly because thats the "ideal" for motion blur etc. But maybe it doesn't matter so much for drone footage?

I went with 1/50th of a second, mainly because thats the "ideal" for motion blur etc. But maybe it doesn't matter so much for drone footage?
The concept of motion blur is over hyped in drone forums, by people who don't necessarily understand what they are talking about.
It's really not necessary for much drone work.
Try with and without and see what works for you.

Labroides Posted at 7-24 17:05
It's not the actual size of your original video.
You've posted some reduced size images.
One was 1693 x 804 and the other was 1941 x 1181

Here is a full res export from the footage.

JacobB84 Posted at 7-25 09:19
Here is a full res export from the footage.

[view_image]

Here is a full res export from the footage.
Where are you getting the video file from?
That's not the full resolution video, the resolution is only 1500x792.
Your full resolution video gets recorded to the SD card and you have to get it from there.

Labroides Posted at 7-25 16:32
Here is a full res export from the footage.
Where are you getting the video file from?
That's not the full resolution video, the resolution is only 1500x792.

Looks like the DJI Forum might be scaling the image. I've attached a link from my google drive.
I kicked out the image from After Effects

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11Csokp3mmXIy5iSFESVTs5h6dRsHq0kn/view?usp=sharing

JacobB84 Posted at 7-25 17:55
Looks like the DJI Forum might be scaling the image. I've attached a link from my google drive.
I kicked out the image from After Effects

OK ... that's 4096 x 2160 which is the full resolution for the Mavic pro.
But the image looks like it's computer rendered.
There's no detail at all in things like grass or building surfaces.
It appears sharp, there's no motion blurring.

Can the camera record detail properly?
How are the results when you take the filter off and shoot some test stills and video?

Labroides Posted at 7-25 18:13
OK ... that's 4096 x 2160 which is the full resolution for the Mavic pro.
But the image looks like it's computer rendered.
There's no detail at all in things like grass or building surfaces.

Thats exactly my problem. Trying to figure out why im having an issue with that.....

JacobB84 Posted at 7-26 11:29
Thats exactly my problem. Trying to figure out why im having an issue with that.....

Can the camera record detail properly?
How are the results when you take the filter off and shoot some test stills and video?

Ok, I took some more test shots. I removed the ND filter...100 ISO, and 1/2000 shutter speed, to adjust for the scene brightness. While it looks better,  I feel like im not getting any detail in the footage. Especially in the greens. It literally looks like a bag GIF from the 90s. When scaled down to 50%, its not that bad, but if I need to export at 4K, its just not gunna work. It looks as though the compression of the footage, is ducing the number of colors. Just.....kinda unimpressed..... sadly.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JkwYfl-xukBdE5m-VdA7TTq08MXZWqMq/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VEi8hw90UKAMDCWsEw8fdRHipqLtUqd8/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LkVxh5Kq_-NwE0eGhEslZFKpD0QF-BA8/view?usp=sharing

JacobB84 Posted at 7-27 15:34
Ok, I took some more test shots. I removed the ND filter...100 ISO, and 1/2000 shutter speed, to adjust for the scene brightness. While it looks better,  I feel like im not getting any detail in the footage. Especially in the greens. It literally looks like a bag GIF from the 90s. When scaled down to 50%, its not that bad, but if I need to export at 4K, its just not gunna work. It looks as though the compression of the footage, is ducing the number of colors. Just.....kinda unimpressed..... sadly.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JkwYfl-xukBdE5m-VdA7TTq08MXZWqMq/view?usp=sharing

Those three still shots look fine to me. Without seeing the original video footage, it is not possible to offer any opinion on the moving footage.

Geebax Posted at 7-27 15:48
Those three still shots look fine to me. Without seeing the original video footage, it is not possible to offer any opinion on the moving footage.

Alright. I posted a couple exports. you'll likely have to download them, so you can view the detail at 100%.
They're in ProRes. Im thinking, its all coming down to the compression of h264 that the drone records in.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Krb6vcG1T56RgtEj9zFoKcmYsV_sXtEa/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V0wCz1X1P0ubXGFFC7p2mwBJ1k9jMMip/view?usp=sharing

JacobB84 Posted at 7-28 10:38
Alright. I posted a couple exports. you'll likely have to download them, so you can view the detail at 100%.
They're in ProRes. Im thinking, its all coming down to the compression of h264 that the drone records in.

OK, I downloaded the first of the two clips, I did not try the second, as being out in the boonies, my internet feed is a bit slow. As you say, it is in Prores, 4K and 760 Mb/s, and on my 4K monitor, it looks exactly as you would expect 4K footage to look. It seems to me that the problem you are experiencing is due to your exporting them from the editor in a lower bitrate.

Geebax Posted at 7-28 14:59
OK, I downloaded the first of the two clips, I did not try the second, as being out in the boonies, my internet feed is a bit slow. As you say, it is in Prores, 4K and 760 Mb/s, and on my 4K monitor, it looks exactly as you would expect 4K footage to look. It seems to me that the problem you are experiencing is due to your exporting them from the editor in a lower bitrate.

Thats not the problem at all. The raw file from the drone seems to be the issue.
The Drone kicks out a file at 59K/kbps.
The ProRes file I spit out, was at 748k/kbps.


In the interest of getting this figured out, i'll provide the file, straight off the drone.
Screenshots were taken from 00:48ish & 9:13

Be sure to view the file at 100%, so you can see how muddy the footage looks....even stuff thats suppose to be in focus.

2:50ish ( Check the tree....limited color and detail. )


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a7Ilcxr4LoclgqdphuBWUeEmIGt6Z-FP/view?usp=sharing

JacobB84 Posted at 7-29 11:41
Thats not the problem at all. The raw file from the drone seems to be the issue.
The Drone kicks out a file at 59K/kbps.
The ProRes file I spit out, was at 748k/kbps.

OK, I looked at that clip, and I still cannot see anything wrong. The bitrate of 60 mbps is the best that a Mavic Pro can do, but the resultant file holds up quite well. I do notice that your entire neighborhood is a case of fifty shades of gray, which does take a bit of getting used to, but technically I cannot see anything wrong. You mention a tree at 2.50 which I presume is the one directly in front of your home, and it looks just fine.

Try downloading a copy of VLCPlayer from https://www.videolan.org/vlc/ and try playing the file with that player, that is what I am using and viewing it on a genuine 4K monitor. It seems something is wrong with how you are viewing the file, not the file itself.

Geebax Posted at 7-29 17:10
OK, I looked at that clip, and I still cannot see anything wrong. The bitrate of 60 mbps is the best that a Mavic Pro can do, but the resultant file holds up quite well. I do notice that your entire neighborhood is a case of fifty shades of gray, which does take a bit of getting used to, but technically I cannot see anything wrong. You mention a tree at 2.50 which I presume is the one directly in front of your home, and it looks just fine.

Try downloading a copy of VLCPlayer from https://www.videolan.org/vlc/ and try playing the file with that player, that is what I am using and viewing it on a genuine 4K monitor. It seems something is wrong with how you are viewing the file, not the file itself.

Yup, im very familiar with VLC. I work in the video industry, so Im very familiar with video. I guess my expectations are just too high for the little sensor inside that drone. And yes....we are a bit Grey in the neighborhood heh. Ours isnt though

Thanks for the input. Guess I'll just have to live with it.

JacobB84 Posted at 7-30 08:49
Yup, im very familiar with VLC. I work in the video industry, so Im very familiar with video. I guess my expectations are just too high for the little sensor inside that drone. And yes....we are a bit Grey in the neighborhood heh. Ours isnt though

Thanks for the input. Guess I'll just have to live with it.

Something of a coincidence, I am retired from the television/video/film industry, having spent 50 years working there. Best of luck.