Greetings,

I've been following the purple and magenta posts closely while testing my new M3 in preparation for a beach trip in early Dec.  Today I went to a local beach (really cold, about 35 degrees) to practice flying over waves.  While I have not noticed purple spots in images and video around my house like others have, I think the purple in my beach shots from today are clear as day.  SO CLEAR, in fact, that my wife (a complete non-videophile or imaging expert) immediately noticed.

Here are some examples.  I should be able to return and swap at my local BB, I just don't know if we can definitively call this a hardware or software issue at this point.  I think I might prefer to try that than to send back to DJI and risk not having the drone returned in time for my vacation.  Any advice appreciated.  

I was recording in Pro mode, DLOG, h.265, 4k60fps, 1/120 shutter, around f/4.5-5.6 aperture, DJI ND32 filter.  WB was around 6000k.


Here is the file with basic edits - DJI Official M3 DLOG to Rec 709 LUT, some additional contrast and shadow lift.  Nothing else.




Here is the same edit as above, adding +50 Vibrance (more than I would ever normally do, but it helps it stand out here, and this amount of Vibrance should not introduce these purple spots in normal imaging).




Original DLOG unedited image.

I just tried to edit it and found that I get slight purple in the trees

I just double checked all my shots, shot in normal and no purple in the jpegs.

Suren Posted at 11-27 23:10
I just tried to edit it and found that I get slight purple in the trees

Do you see the purple on the left and right side in the water from my video screenshots?

Chest Rockwell Posted at 11-27 23:13
Do you see the purple on the left and right side in the water from my video screenshots?

Yup, it is very clear. Strange that I don't notice that in mine.

Suren Posted at 11-27 23:17
Yup, it is very clear. Strange that I don't notice that in mine.

That's one of the things that makes me think it may be hardware related. Then again I haven't seen it in any of my images or video until today. That said I've been shooting video over grass and barns primarily, today was my first day in a new location and the water really seems to bring it out.

Suren Posted at 11-27 23:10
I just tried to edit it and found that I get slight purple in the trees

I've seen some slight purple in trees on my property but found I could correct that by shifting the red hue in Premiere towards yellow a little, that seems to fix it. If it was that easy all the time I'd be fine with it. But I can't find a good way to correct what I see in the video today, nor do I think we should have to.

Its hard to deny its there, but one guy yesterday returned his and just got back one that showed the same thing. Difficult though it will be Dji need to come out and call it, I hate the thought of returning and getting something similar. I think we will just get too many conflicting answers which are mostly Guessing what the problem is. Moderators need to be on top of this with real answers and then we can work the rest out for ourselves. Thanks again for posting.

I thought I'd seen DJI support "call it" to some extent, saying it's a software issue and they working on fixing it in the firmware. I think the only rational reason to send the drone back at this point is to actually get a refund so that if/when DJI do demonstrably fix it, one can rebuy the M3 and "try again". Sending the drone back for a replacement, which will be existing, unpatched stock feels overly hopeful at this point.

That said, plenty of owners will not find themselves impacted by these artefacts, either because they get super lucky and get a unit that seems to be less affected, or because the pictures/videos they shoot just don't provoke and show the problem. The reason I as a non owner have been following this is to try to characterise this effect. Are there truly units that don't suffer? Is there a set of circumstances that provoke it. Can it be sorted in firmware/profiles? Those are the questions I'm trying to figure out, albeit vicariously. All the time wishing you guys the best of luck getting a solution.

Nicodema Posted at 11-28 06:26
I thought I'd seen DJI support "call it" to some extent, saying it's a software issue and they working on fixing it in the firmware. I think the only rational reason to send the drone back at this point is to actually get a refund so that if/when DJI do demonstrably fix it, one can rebuy the M3 and "try again". Sending the drone back for a replacement, which will be existing, unpatched stock feels overly hopeful at this point.

That said, plenty of owners will not find themselves impacted by these artefacts, either because they get super lucky and get a unit that seems to be less affected, or because the pictures/videos they shoot just don't provoke and show the problem. The reason I as a non owner have been following this is to try to characterise this effect. Are there truly units that don't suffer? Is there a set of circumstances that provoke it. Can it be sorted in firmware/profiles? Those are the questions I'm trying to figure out, albeit vicariously. All the time wishing you guys the best of luck getting a solution.

I think part of the problem is, support online telling people to return drones, one here on this forum and another couple on mavic pilots. Then one moderator coming out here saying engineers are aware of the problem and working on it. This is pretty vague, it is or is not a SW issue, it can be and will be sorted out through FW, these are real confirmations and should be relayed to consumers to give some confidence that it will be fixed.

The purple on the left and right side in the water are readily evident.  If I was a betting person I'd say it is a SW issue.  Hopefully DJI will correct this in an expeditious manner.  I put off buying M3 until January 2022 to see how everything smooths out.  

Looks a bit like what Hallmark experienced.

Thanks for the feedback. As annoying as this will be, I think I'm going to buy a second one from BB today and compare to see if there's any improvement without gaining new issues. Then I'll return one or both depending on what I find.

The challenging thing is that I didn't see these purple spots in any of my footage at home, only on the coast. I'm not sure I'll have time to get to the coast again before leaving for my trip but I'll do my best to A/B the two and see what I find.

As an update to this thread, I did end up purchasing a second M3 to compare.  I had some soft clouds in the sky today so I got it in the air with the ND16 filter.

I was unable to notice any substantial purple in the video when looking directly at the sky or primarily at the sky.  I cycled through all apertures while testing.  I do still occasionally have to adjust the red hue for shadowy areas, but that's not a huge deal.

Unfortunately, the purple is very prominent in images with the new M3.  Here's a couple pictures below.  Of note - the horizon is level, this is an awkward shot with a hill sloping to the right.


Here is a mild edit, Vibrance 40, Dehaze 34, Highlights -55, Shadows 23.  More than I would normally do, but used for accentuating the issue.




Here is the raw DNG image.  You can still see it without any edits.




So yeah... I'm not sure what to do.  Hopefully it's something that can be fixed with software.  I have to pick one to return and go from there I guess.  I could return both and roll the dice again, but I'm beginning to thing this is something that is just going to happen to all M3 drones under the right conditions.

One more interesting note -- from a photo standpoint, I was able to fix the sky by using the Hue slider in Lightroom - moving Purple and Magenta all the way to the left, and Aqua all the way to the right (if you look at the photos above, it looks like some aqua/cyan fringing on the left and right edges as well).  It now looks pretty accurate.  

Again, I took videos of this same scene and was not able to produce any egregiously purple hues.

I contacted support and received a response in a timely fashion.  They said it's a known software bug with the algorithm that should be fixed with firmware.  So I'm going to pick one of these two, return the other, and hope that new firmware is introduced soon.

In the meantime, I'll bring the drone on vacation and hope these issues don't ruin too many of my shots.

Here's the relevant portion of the quote from DJI Support:

"We are working on it and it is preliminarily determined that the issue occurs due to software algorithm error, which will be resolved through firmware update. Please pay attention to latest firmware update information. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Our engineers will fix it as soon as possible."

Chest Rockwell Posted at 12-1 14:44
I contacted support and received a response in a timely fashion.  They said it's a known software bug with the algorithm that should be fixed with firmware.  So I'm going to pick one of these two, return the other, and hope that new firmware is introduced soon.

In the meantime, I'll bring the drone on vacation and hope these issues don't ruin too many of my shots.

I think best thing to do is wait, I’m doing the same and I’ve seen it in some images none in video , but I can tone it down in the images. I’m really liking the drone and with extended warranty I’m happy just to go along for now. Enjoy your trip maybe we might see some nice footage and photos when your back. Good luck.

hallmark007 Posted at 12-1 14:52
I think best thing to do is wait, I’m doing the same and I’ve seen it in some images none in video , but I can tone it down in the images. I’m really liking the drone and with extended warranty I’m happy just to go along for now. Enjoy your trip maybe we might see some nice footage and photos when your back. Good luck.

Thanks, yeah that's how I feel as well.  It flies really well and the image can look excellent under ideal conditions.  Current forecast for my destination is... rain.  Every day lol.  We'll see, hopefully just scattered showers.  Maybe I'll get some cool dramatic clouds.  Still waiting for approval from the local government to use my drone though... hopefully I get that soon!

Good luck to you as well.  Hopefully January will bring some great things.

Hope you have an excellent time out there. Good luck with dodging the showers.

I had the same issue, i was told to send the M3 for a repair. It’s an hardware problem. They just replaced the camera board and they will ship it back in 2 days.

Travelwild Posted at 12-3 05:39
I had the same issue, i was told to send the M3 for a repair. It’s an hardware problem. They just replaced the camera board and they will ship it back in 2 days.

Ooh, interesting. Let us know how it goes when you get it back.

Travelwild Posted at 12-3 05:39
I had the same issue, i was told to send the M3 for a repair. It’s an hardware problem. They just replaced the camera board and they will ship it back in 2 days.

Thanks, I've seen some people getting that resolution as well. Definitely let us know the result.

Chest Rockwell Posted at 12-3 23:48
Thanks, I've seen some people getting that resolution as well. Definitely let us know the result.

Just received, they sent me a new drone with a gift for the inconvenience.. I'll try it tomorrow

Travelwild Posted at 12-9 07:15
Just received, they sent me a new drone with a gift for the inconvenience.. I'll try it tomorrow

If possible, do a test before and after firmware update. Grey or white flat surface, evenly lit. If it's not too much trouble. Would give us some useful data points.

Nicodema Posted at 12-10 02:55
If possible, do a test before and after firmware update. Grey or white flat surface, evenly lit. If it's not too much trouble. Would give us some useful data points.

I did before and after firmware update, unfortunately it shows always purple tint, nothing changed

Travelwild Posted at 12-10 07:35
I did before and after firmware update, unfortunately it shows always purple tint, nothing changed

i lost a lot of time and money cause this issue.. crazy

Very disappointing.

Travelwild Posted at 12-10 07:35
I did before and after firmware update, unfortunately it shows always purple tint, nothing changed

Why are you increasing Dehaze by so much,  I can see, you also have increased tint which is basically magenta. Along with increased contrast you have just coloured your photo purple. Or are you just trying to accentuate the photo to show here.
I don't think I have ever edited an image adding more than 11 dehaze and 6/7 tint.

hallmark007 Posted at 12-10 09:07
Why are you increasing Dehaze by so much,  I can see, you also have increased tint which is basically magenta. Along with increased contrast you have just coloured your photo purple. Or are you just trying to accentuate the photo to show here.
I don't think I have ever edited an image adding more than 11 dehaze and 6/7 tint.

Hallmark, that's actually not true, he hasn't increased the tint towards magenta. If he had it would say "Custom" in the white balance, not "come scattato" or "as shot". That means the white balance was just like that (probably Auto, I'm guessing).

+35 Dehaze is a bit juicy, but not crazy if you're trying to crisp up the haze on those mountains. Not like our "old fave" of +80. It does however show how blunt an instrument Adobe's Dehaze is though. I generally use more conventional tools to remove haze.

It is very odd though, how yours seems to have benefitted so much from the new firmware, whereas Travelwild seems to be coming up empty. @Travelwild, I know it's probably wasted effort, but are you sure the firmware update succeeded? Hallmark's camera seems totally fixed by it. Just checking.

hallmark007 Posted at 12-10 09:07
Why are you increasing Dehaze by so much,  I can see, you also have increased tint which is basically magenta. Along with increased contrast you have just coloured your photo purple. Or are you just trying to accentuate the photo to show here.
I don't think I have ever edited an image adding more than 11 dehaze and 6/7 tint.

i increased so much to accentuate the photo to show how it looks. I can see it clearly on the video straight out of the camera. No adjustment at the tint, white balance set to 5700. Anyway, it doesn't matter if you raise the Dehaze at 11 or 50, this color variation should not exist at all

Nicodema Posted at 12-10 09:28
Hallmark, that's actually not true, he hasn't increased the tint towards magenta. If he had it would say "Custom" in the white balance, not "come scattato" or "as shot". That means the white balance was just like that (probably Auto, I'm guessing).

+35 Dehaze is a bit juicy, but not crazy if you're trying to crisp up the haze on those mountains. Not like our "old fave" of +80. It does however show how blunt an instrument Adobe's Dehaze is though. I generally use more conventional tools to remove haze.

Yes, i did twice, i updated the firmware, nothing changed, then i refreshed the firmware with dji assistant 2
same result..

Nicodema Posted at 12-10 09:28
Hallmark, that's actually not true, he hasn't increased the tint towards magenta. If he had it would say "Custom" in the white balance, not "come scattato" or "as shot". That means the white balance was just like that (probably Auto, I'm guessing).

+35 Dehaze is a bit juicy, but not crazy if you're trying to crisp up the haze on those mountains. Not like our "old fave" of +80. It does however show how blunt an instrument Adobe's Dehaze is though. I generally use more conventional tools to remove haze.

Oh miss translated was going on a a guess. But I find Dehaze in LR or PS very severe its a better tool for adding haze than dehaze.