Good afternoon all

First time post.

Earlier this year I got my first drone, I came in at the Mini SE level in case I didn't get on with it, however, I was so delighted with it and the photos I was getting that after reading some excellent write-ups I decided to upgrade to the Mini 3 Pro.

The controller is superb as is the drones performance flying, although so far I have not had any luck in even getting half decent photos. The quality looks poor in jpeg and every single raw file has been completely washed out. They look awful.

I have done three trips in the field to take some photos and each time it's been most disappointing with similar results, jpeg poor and Raw files all washed out

I'm shooting on 12 Megapixel with jpeg and Raw and EV on zero, and these two photos taken in auto are a typical result as to what I've been getting.

The second is the raw file but I had to convert it to jpeg to reduce the size to post but shows it all washed out.

I'm very disappointed and starting to think it's got problems with the camera sensor or something, as all the photos are of a poorer quality to what I was getting with the Mini SE. It should not be like this.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated

Kind regards

Michael

Raw file converted

How are you editing the raw files?   Perhaps post a zip of the raw files to check.  

Raw File are sensor data without data processed. It must be developed to adjust the picture to the result you are expecting. Jpeg from the Drone already get processed. This is where the difference come from. RAW is like a Analog Negative you must do basic process at minimum otherwise result is poor. But Raw content much more data than Jpeg as not compressed.

DAFlys Posted at 12-29 11:50
How are you editing the raw files?   Perhaps post a zip of the raw files to check.

Thank you for your reply.

I’m a n experienced photographer and I use Photoshop Elements for editing and always shoot with raw files with my hand held cameras.

I use SanDisk Extreme Pro cards, 2 x 128gb and a 512gb and it’s the same on all cards.

However, just viewing the DJI Mini 3 Pro files directly off the disk on my Mac without any production they just look rubbish, and most of the raw files I’ve got so far are totally unusable and can not be improved in any way post production.

The raw one in the photos shown is one of the better, some look like they’ve been taken in heavy fog.

Honestly the photos on my Mini SE were far superior.

I’m very tempted to just send it back To Amazon as a faulty return,  as I’ve checked and tried everything from watching several videos on set up etc with the settings  and every time the photos still look really rubbish.

Blackbuckone Posted at 12-29 12:27
Thank you for your reply.

I’m a n experienced photographer and I use Photoshop Elements for editing and always shoot with raw files with my hand held cameras.

Without seeing originals it’s hard to help.   Elements is rubbish.  I’d suggest you use photoshop v24 and Lightroom personally (there’s a free trial to test it) .  But if you’re not happy return it.  The mini se camera is terrible compared to the mini 3 pro.  

DAFlys Posted at 12-29 12:31
Without seeing originals it’s hard to help.   Elements is rubbish.  I’d suggest you use photoshop v24 and Lightroom personally (there’s a free trial to test it) .  But if you’re not happy return it.  The mini se camera is terrible compared to the mini 3 pro.

Elements may not be as good as it’s big brother, but it’s not going to degrade the photos to such an extent they are unusable, and honestly the ones taken on my SE were better, which should give you an idea how poor the Mini 3 ones are.

I understand you can’t tell properly without the originals, but you can see from the above photos, the jpeg image while not great is better than the raw, that is not right.

I'm very tempted  just to return it to Amazon and get a replacement.
Regards

Blackbuckone Posted at 12-29 14:55
Elements may not be as good as it’s big brother, but it’s not going to degrade the photos to such an extent they are unusable, and honestly the ones taken on my SE were better, which should give you an idea how poor the Mini 3 ones are.

I understand you can’t tell properly without the originals, but you can see from the above photos, the jpeg image while not great is better than the raw, that is not right.

It could be that Elements doest have the correct camera profile which is causing the over exposure.  But if you have the option to return it go for it.  Just remember to unbind it from your account before you send it in.

It’s not just elements, the photos look rubbish viewing in other image viewers too.

I've filed for a return with Amazon.

Blackbuckone Posted at 2022-12-30 03:04
I've filed for a return with Amazon.

I got my refund for the return, ordered another and a week ago my new Mini 3 Pro arrived.

Weather has been awful but I took it for a couple of good flights yesterday and it all looks good. I took some JPEG/RAW files in low light (sun had just gone down) with an ND8 filter and the results are very good.

It was certainly a camera/chip problem with the first drone but all now seems well.
I should also add once proof of return had been obtained by Amazon for my first Mini Pro 3, DJI then refunded me the DJI Care Plan in full via the chat page, then it was all returned to my account within 48 hours. Pretty faultless CS and I was very impressed.

Cheers

Michael