Dear all,

i am new to drones so I do not know what to expect as normal and what not, so I am asking the community.

Owning a new M4P since end of last year without any crashes or heavy landings, the video footage is very unstable in low wind conditions filming close distance objects. The attached video shows a strong side movement (left to right) even with just 1-2 m/s wind (27sats coverage). I am not talking about the moire effect! You can see the movment also by looking at the building (chimney, right edge of the roof) or the drone shadow in the left bottom corner.


What I have already done:

Updating to latest firmware
Checking probs and gimbal, no damage
Calibrate Gimbal, IMU and compass
Different locations and wind condiations

Nothing improved the behaviour!
UPDATE: To exclude any negative impact by the roof or pv modules, I would like to share a footage of an object in an open/free area with good gps coverage. You can see the same lateral movement. The wind was stronger with gust up to 7m/s





What is your experience with the M4P filming close distance objects? Do you also have this side by side movement? Is this a fault of the drone or expected behaviour?

Thanks for your feedback!
Br
Michael

Nothing improved the behaviour!
That's not surprising because there's nothing wrong with the drone or camera.

What is your experience with the M4P filming close distance objects? Do you also have this side by side movement? Is this a fault of the drone or expected behaviour?
If there really was movement, you would see it affecting the building too, not just the surface of the solar panels.
What you are seeing is called Moire.
Look it up to find more info and try shooting something like a house or a tree to see if your video is really "unstable".

Labroides Posted at 1-11 02:30
Nothing improved the behaviour!
That's not surprising because there's nothing wrong with the drone or camera.

You can see the movment also by looking at the building (chimney, right edge of the roof) or the drone shadow in the left bottom corner.

I can see the same behaviour also filming a tree or other objects.

Fenta Posted at 1-11 02:32
You can see the movment also by looking at the building (chimney, right edge of the roof) or the drone shadow in the left bottom corner.

I can see the same behaviour also filming a tree or other objects.

Get a bit further away and you won't notice it.

Labroides Posted at 1-11 02:36
Get a bit further away and you won't notice it.

Thats right, but thats only a workaround.

The question was, can I expect a stable footage when I am closer to an object within just low wind conditions or not?

Fenta Posted at 1-11 02:39
Thats right, but thats only a workaround.

The question was, can I expect a stable footage when I am closer to an object within just low wind conditions or not?

It's not wind.
The drone's position holding and the gimbal's stabilisation should take care of things.
Wind shouldn't make any difference, (unless the wind is very strong).

Labroides Posted at 1-11 04:34
It's not wind.
The drone's position holding and the gimbal's stabilisation should take care of things.
Wind shouldn't make any difference, (unless the wind is very strong).

Ok, so something is wrong with my drone and I should contact DJI support?

Fenta Posted at 1-11 04:42
Ok, so something is wrong with my drone and I should contact DJI support?

I just went up with my M4P to reproduce your shots. There is hardly any wind at all today so it's difficult to really compare. However, I did see a "small" movement on the front edge of our roof but hardly anything along the back edge. By no means as much as in your video.
The M4P is a very light drone, so in the wind it won't be absolutely stationary. The drone movement, judged by the shadow, does correlate with the wind direction. Perhaps the wind at the level of the roof was a little stronger than what you experienced at ground level? If you brought the drone down to around 2m you should get a better idea of how it performs in the wind conditions you're experiencing.

As an aside, I do wish some people would try to be more constructive with their comments, rather than just prove they hadn't read the original post properly!

Fenta Posted at 1-11 04:42
Ok, so something is wrong with my drone and I should contact DJI support?

No, you need to RTFM!!!  The drone is within specs!

Mobilehomer Posted at 1-11 05:36
No, you need to RTFM!!!  The drone is within specs!
[view_image]

Read my post and please be polite.

Mobilehomer Posted at 1-11 05:36
No, you need to RTFM!!!  The drone is within specs!
[view_image]

Ok so it is within the variance and the image quality is as expected.

StepCH Posted at 1-11 05:32
I just went up with my M4P to reproduce your shots. There is hardly any wind at all today so it's difficult to really compare. However, I did see a "small" movement on the front edge of our roof but hardly anything along the back edge. By no means as much as in your video.
The M4P is a very light drone, so in the wind it won't be absolutely stationary. The drone movement, judged by the shadow, does correlate with the wind direction. Perhaps the wind at the level of the roof was a little stronger than what you experienced at ground level? If you brought the drone down to around 2m you should get a better idea of how it performs in the wind conditions you're experiencing.

Thanks a lot for investing your time and providing real life experience!

Fenta Posted at 1-11 06:00
Sry I do not understand your comment.

I know that the drone was flying far below the 10m/s limit. So that is why I am asking here because I would expect that the drone can manage the given condition of 2m/s wind and good gps coverage and provide a more stable video quality.

10m/s (36km/h) is quite a strong wind for such a small drone. You'll get quite a bit of movement under these conditions. Wind is rarely constant so the drone will react to changes in position as you can see from the drone shadow at the beginning of your clip.

Fenta Posted at 1-11 06:00
Ok so it is within the variance and the image quality is as expected.

Also, when you are close to a wall, the wind reflects off that causing varying currents.

StepCH Posted at 1-11 06:06
10m/s (36km/h) is quite a strong wind for such a small drone. You'll get quite a bit of movement under these conditions. Wind is rarely constant so the drone will react to changes in position as you can see from the drone shadow at the beginning of your clip.

Your assumption that I didn't read the OP's post is flat wrong!
You seem to think that the camera is fixed solidly to the drone.
But it is on a gimbal that compensates for any movement of the drone.
Wind shouldn't make any difference, unless it's very strong .... but you don't seem to have read that part of my previous post.

Labroides Posted at 1-11 12:01
Your assumption that I didn't read the OP's post is flat wrong!
You seem to think that the camera is fixed solidly to the drone.
But it is on a gimbal that compensates for any movement of the drone.

If you watch the video you'll see the roof moves left and right in the image. More importantly, the shadow of the drone moves across the roof tiles. However, the shadow stays in the same location with respect to the frame the clip. The drone AND the camera are clearly moving left and right. The gimbal can only correct for rotation around the 3 axes to keep the camera level and pointing in the same direction. It cannot compensate for lateral movement, i.e. 10-20cm left right motion (or vertical motion). Normally, at greater distances to the subject, the effect of lateral motion becomes less apparent, but at these distances it remains evident. There is nothing the gimbal can do to correct it. When considering lateral motion the camera/gimbal is indeed effectively fixed to the drone.
Hold your drone in your hand and move it left and right. You'll see the effect.

Hello, there. Thank you for reaching out. May I ask if you could test the aircraft in an open area and away from interferences with strong GPS signals? You may upload the video through Google Drive or Dropbox and provide the link here for further analysis. I hope to hear from you soon.

DJI Gamora Posted at 1-11 22:11
Hello, there. Thank you for reaching out. May I ask if you could test the aircraft in an open area and away from interferences with strong GPS signals? You may upload the video through Google Drive or Dropbox and provide the link here for further analysis. I hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks for your answer.

Just to be sure, you would like to see in the video if the drone is hoovering in position without lateral movement, right?

- At which height should I do that?
- Collision avoidance on or off?
- Should the camera focus a object on the ground to see the movement? With an object far away it would be difficult to notice the drone movement.
I updated the original post with a second video of a nearby object in an open area with good coverage. But in that case the wind was stronger with gust up to 7m/s.

Thanks for your answers!

I updated the OP with a second video to exclude negative influence by the roof or pv modules.

Fenta Posted at 1-11 23:07
Thanks for your answer.

Just to be sure, you would like to see in the video if the drone is hoovering in position without lateral movement, right?

Hello, there. Thank you for the prompt response. Your latest video attached is suffice, however, for better judgment, I'd like to coordinate this with our relevant team. Therefore, may we ask for you to re-upload the video through shareable links through Google Drive or Dropbox and provide the link here? I hope to hear from you soon.

DJI Gamora Posted at 1-14 02:10
Hello, there. Thank you for the prompt response. Your latest video attached is suffice, however, for better judgment, I'd like to coordinate this with our relevant team. Therefore, may we ask for you to re-upload the video through shareable links through Google Drive or Dropbox and provide the link here? I hope to hear from you soon.

I have send you the links in a private message

Thx!

Seems that DJI Gamora doesn't think it looks normal.

Fenta Posted at 1-14 05:26
I have send you the links in a private message

Thx!

Thank you for your cooperation. Rest assured that this will be handled accordingly.

trainee Posted at 1-14 06:10
Seems that DJI Gamora doesn't think it looks normal.

Hi! Thank you for your input. We would like to ensure that the case will be evaluated accurately by coordinating as well with our engineers for better confirmation.

Fenta Posted at 1-14 05:26
I have send you the links in a private message

Thx!

Hi. We've received the update regarding this matter, please check our latest message and keep us posted if you have further concerns. Thank you for your support!