I was doing some testing today comparing my Phantom 4 pro with my new Mavic 3 Pro (non Cine) and came across this really strange artifact.



The noise in this part of the sky (right above the fence / tree) is creating geometric patterns that are very noticable upon zooming in. It doesn't look natural at all.
I assume this is due to some sort of post processessing / sharpening that the drone is doing but I don't see an option to turn it off?


Other parts of the sky are perfectly normal and have a standard noise pattern that matches with the subject.

Original DNG file

I had previously noticed in other photos a bit of a "painterly" effect - and I assume it was due to this same post processing issue, but idk.

I assume this is due to some sort of post processessing / sharpening that the drone is doing but I don't see an option to turn it off?
You cannot see the thing you are talking about until you enlarge the image 300%.
There's nothing at all wrong with your image, it's normal for things to fall apart when you overenlarge that much.

It is pixelation. And is how Labroides explained it.

Labroides Posted at 5-31 19:13
I assume this is due to some sort of post processessing / sharpening that the drone is doing but I don't see an option to turn it off?
You cannot see the thing you are talking about until you enlarge the image 300%.
There's nothing at all wrong with your image, it's normal for things to fall apart when you overenlarge that much.

Sorry but that doesn't mean its normal or is ok.

I paid over $4,000 for the Mavic 3 Pro and expected the camera to be better than my P4 Pro.... but this doesn't happen on my Phantom 4 Pro (below):

volaredrone Posted at 6-1 06:14
Sorry but that doesn't mean its normal or is ok.

I paid over $4,000 for the Mavic 3 Pro and expected the camera to be better than my P4 Pro.... but this doesn't happen on my Phantom 4 Pro (below):

I agree with you, this is not acceptable , and not normal.
It is not typical pixellation because of high magnification. The fact that it is only on a part of the image proves that.
I have never seen this on any of my own image files, but it is is a known phenomenon and has been discussed on photography forums. There was a well reputed camera brand that had the same issue with the files.
Is this on all your images, and in the same area of the image? If so, something is wrong with the sensor, or most likely the data readout or internal image processing.
I would not accept it, and I would open a case with DJI.

ArcticPhoto Posted at 6-1 07:15
I agree with you, this is not acceptable , and not normal.
It is not typical pixellation because of high magnification. The fact that it is only on a part of the image proves that.
I have never seen this on any of my own image files, but it is is a known phenomenon and has been discussed on photography forums. There was a well reputed camera brand that had the same issue with the files.

It might be a case of using losless compression in Mavic's 3 Pro but its strange it only affects a part of the image.
Now I can see it even at 100% magnification when mentioned its only in a part of the image and I know where to look. lol

volaredrone Posted at 6-1 06:14
Sorry but that doesn't mean its normal or is ok.

I paid over $4,000 for the Mavic 3 Pro and expected the camera to be better than my P4 Pro.... but this doesn't happen on my Phantom 4 Pro (below):

Are you serious, take a look at that photo you just posted. It’s complete mush…

Hallmark007 Posted at 6-1 08:12
Are you serious, take a look at that photo you just posted. It’s complete mush…

I agree - but my main point was that it doesn't have the weird artifact like the Mavic 3 Pro.

volaredrone Posted at 6-1 08:15
I agree - but my main point was that it doesn't have the weird artifact like the Mavic 3 Pro.

No matter what camera you are using you can distort the image, you can make it look ridiculous, I still cannot see what the problem is if it doesn’t affect the actual photograph . I can’t see the point here.

Hallmark007 Posted at 6-1 11:05
No matter what camera you are using you can distort the image, you can make it look ridiculous, I still cannot see what the problem is if it doesn’t affect the actual photograph . I can’t see the point here.

I'm not the one distorting it – the camera/software is
Its noticeable at (arguably) 100% and for sure at 200%. If I were to print this out on a poster it would for sure be noticeable.

Be fine with an inferior product if you want – that's your prerogative.
But when I pay when $4000 I expect better.

That pattern is called maze artefacts, and are moiré patterns caused by the camera's internal image processing (demosaicing).
It could be reduced if you use a different rawconverter. Which do you use?

ArcticPhoto Posted at 6-1 14:10
That pattern is called maze artefacts, and are moiré patterns caused by the camera's internal image processing (demosaicing).
It could be reduced if you use a different rawconverter. Which do you use?

Thanks for the info – I didn't know what it was called.

My typical workflow is to download the DNGs to my computer and then import into Lightroom Classic. Edit there and then export to JPG.

Lightroom by default has some sharpening and noise reduction enabled. I turned everything to 0 and the maze artifact still is visible on the photo in Lightroom.

I also tested opening directly into Photoshop and getting the same result.

Hi there. Thank you for reaching out. Can you please send us the original unedited file that came from the SD card of the unit? We will coordinate this with our designated team for clarification. Please keep us posted. Thank you.

DJI Paladin Posted at 6-1 19:56
Hi there. Thank you for reaching out. Can you please send us the original unedited file that came from the SD card of the unit? We will coordinate this with our designated team for clarification. Please keep us posted. Thank you.

Thanks Paladin,

The original DNG is in the original post:
Original DNG file

volaredrone Posted at 6-1 11:37
I'm not the one distorting it – the camera/software is
Its noticeable at (arguably) 100% and for sure at 200%. If I were to print this out on a poster it would for sure be noticeable.

Why the need to blow up the photograph 100% or 200% ? If you want to produce poster size photos then maybe you need more pixels. @300dpi you should max out at 17.5” x 13’ approx, you can lower the dpi but then you’re back to reducing quality.

Hallmark007 Posted at 6-2 02:36
Why the need to blow up the photograph 100% or 200% ? If you want to produce poster size photos then maybe you need more pixels. @300dpi you should max out at 17.5” x 13’ approx, you can lower the dpi but then you’re back to reducing quality.

Why the need to blow up the photograph 100% or 200% ?
It's actually 300%

Hallmark007 Posted at 6-2 02:36
Why the need to blow up the photograph 100% or 200% ? If you want to produce poster size photos then maybe you need more pixels. @300dpi you should max out at 17.5” x 13’ approx, you can lower the dpi but then you’re back to reducing quality.

Hallmark, did you seriously just ask: "Why the need to blow up the photograph 100%?"

Give me a freaking break. You're all over this forum in every single thread dismissing any single concern that someone has with their drone. Why?

Look, I've loved my 4 DJI drones that I've had over the years... but that doesn't mean that every product doesn't have its own issues and challenges to overcome.

Crowdsourcing bugs/issues is the best way to find them and solve them – especially when its something that is likely caused by post processing and not the hardware itself and could potentially be patched. If you're going to be on here, then offer helpful solutions - not ridiculous excuses. You're not worth responding to anymore.

Definitely follow up (as you have sent the DNG) with DJI.  I have 5 DJI drones and none of them present anything like this even at 300%. I can see noise at 300 but no patterns like this so something is definitely up and hopefully DJI will be the only ones to fix it with a new drone. Hopefully you have insurance . I would note, however, that the DNG you posted shows no such pattern after I open it and view it even when zoomed in...and THAT leads me to believe that if the first image you posted was not a raw file it may have something to do with your workflow...

digibud Posted at 6-2 07:42
Definitely follow up (as you have sent the DNG) with DJI.  I have 5 DJI drones and none of them present anything like this even at 300%. I can see noise at 300 but no patterns like this so something is definitely up and hopefully DJI will be the only ones to fix it with a new drone. Hopefully you have insurance . I would note, however, that the DNG you posted shows no such pattern after I open it and view it even when zoomed in...and THAT leads me to believe that if the first image you posted was not a raw file it may have something to do with your workflow...

I would note, however, that the DNG you posted shows no such pattern after I open it and view it even when zoomed in...and THAT leads me to believe that if the first image you posted was not a raw file it may have something to do with your workflow...

No.
It is clearly visible in the RAW-file. I have tried it in two different converters. But like he said, it is only in parts of the image.
Take a closer look.

ArcticPhoto Posted at 6-2 08:13
I would note, however, that the DNG you posted shows no such pattern after I open it and view it even when zoomed in...and THAT leads me to believe that if the first image you posted was not a raw file it may have something to do with your workflow...

No.

I can see some patterns at 400%...but can hardly see them at 300 and not at all at 200 or 100. I've never pixel peeped my images to that degree so who knows....

digibud Posted at 6-2 08:52
I can see some patterns at 400%...but can hardly see them at 300 and not at all at 200 or 100. I've never pixel peeped my images to that degree so who knows....

Look again.
Clearly visible if you print it in a large format.
If I uploaded this to my picture agency it would be rejected immediately.
It has nothing to do with (the negative meaning of) pixel peeping. This is a faulty camera.

I downloaded your png and cropped it in LightRoom as close as possible to your crop. Mine looks better for some reason.

Mobilehomer Posted at 6-2 10:57
I downloaded your png and cropped it in LightRoom as close as possible to your crop. Mine looks better for some reason.[view_image]

Ya turning off ALL sharpening and noise reduction does help reduce it... but its still noticeable and still only in one part of the image which is strange.

My P4 Pro taken at the exact same time with exact same settings has nothing of the sort in the file. Strange.

volaredrone Posted at 6-1 20:14
Thanks Paladin,

The original DNG is in the original post:

Thank you for the information provided. We will keep you posted once we receive an update. We appreciate your understanding.

ArcticPhoto Posted at 6-1 07:15
I agree with you, this is not acceptable , and not normal.
It is not typical pixellation because of high magnification. The fact that it is only on a part of the image proves that.
I have never seen this on any of my own image files, but it is is a known phenomenon and has been discussed on photography forums. There was a well reputed camera brand that had the same issue with the files.

You might need to check again, the pixelation is right through this photo and is consistent , it only really shows after 275%. It is consistent below and up to 275% its just noisy as you would expect, but in some areas hard to see. For printing , its size it will print easily at 320 dpi and will get better results if taken correctly and edited correctly. I’m not sure why anyone believes they can increase the percentage of an image by 300% and not expect to see the image start to pixelate. If you increase it to 800% you will now see it fully pixelated as you should. This does not seem to be a problem with the sensor or camera.

If you sent this through to your printer to be printed at 300 dpi or 320 dpi your printer would have nothing to complain about, except the photo is slightly soft on the edges an falls away in the corners but I think that’s down to how the photo was taken. If you ask him to blow it up to 300% and print it I’d expect him to think you made a big mistake and not print it.

volaredrone Posted at 6-2 06:49
Hallmark, did you seriously just ask: "Why the need to blow up the photograph 100%?"

Give me a freaking break. You're all over this forum in every single thread dismissing any single concern that someone has with their drone. Why?

I think the whole point here is, it is a post processing issue but at 300% there is nothing unusual about this and you’re incorrect if you think it only is one area of the photo. You talk about crowd sourcing but I’m not seeing the crowds.

Hallmark007 Posted at 6-4 11:40
I think the whole point here is, it is a post processing issue but at 300% there is nothing unusual about this and you’re incorrect if you think it only is one area of the photo. You talk about crowd sourcing but I’m not seeing the crowds.

Im working in a printing house where we print wide format. We very often print images larger than 60 inches ( 340% magnification in this case for this image ) and I have a print of this image in front of me.
This pattern is not uniform and occur in certain regions only and its not your usual pixelation. I rarely see something like that if ever. Sometimes we see something similar when the photo was poorly processed by the Processor Chip or interpolation algorithm when it comes straight out from a camera.

Crio Posted at 6-12 03:45
Im working in a printing house where we print wide format. We very often print images larger than 60 inches ( 340% magnification in this case for this image ) and I have a print of this image in front of me.
This pattern is not uniform and occur in certain regions only and its not your usual pixelation. I rarely see something like that if ever. Sometimes we see something similar when the photo was poorly processed by the Processor Chip or interpolation algorithm when it comes straight out from a camera.[view_image]

Sometimes we see something similar when the photo was poorly processed by the Processor Chip or interpolation algorithm when it comes straight out from a camera.

I would be interested to know how you can pinpoint this as been caused the processor chip . Or is this surmising. Looking at the raw image pattern magnified 600% the pattern is from what I see uniform .

Hallmark007 Posted at 6-12 07:18
Sometimes we see something similar when the photo was poorly processed by the Processor Chip or interpolation algorithm when it comes straight out from a camera.

I would be interested to know how you can pinpoint this as been caused the processor chip . Or is this surmising. Looking at the raw image pattern magnified 600% the pattern is from what I see uniform .

I said that sometimes we see something similar from other cameras and we know whats causing it. Where did you see my saying that this is the case here.

Im in printing and imaging business for years but Im far from being an engineer though so this is speculation only. However I've seen similar pattern few times, sometimes even worse than this, but these usually came from cheap devices. So this pattern from OP image is not what you normally see or in other words some parts of the image doesnt have this at all. My M3P doesnt had this anywhere in the frame.

Heck even some mirrorless cameras if compressed raw is used can produce artifacts on very contrasting edges purely by internal camera processing.


Actually ArcticPhoto described this perfectly in this thread few posts up.