I've noticed the new Action 5 Pro in Auto Exposure mode does not try to use the lowest ISO setting as possible.instead it seams to me that it is peaking a random setting and then it adjusts the shutter speed in order to get te right exposure.


It also never goes below 200 ISO even with the shutter speed needed to correctly expose the frame is super fast.
This behaviour happens with all the color profiles (normal 8 bit. normal 10 bit, HLG, DLOG).
I've attached a couple of screenshot.


Is it right this behaviour?
Why is it not picking the 100 value for the ISO?

Maybe because you are blocking the temperature sensor with your hand...

I didn’t block the temperature sensor in the pictures used as an example…

But just in case I’ve tried again paying super attention to not block it and the behaviour of the camera didn’t change

Cloudy will give higher ISO, but I get your point.
With OA4 it tend to be at ISO 160 and above in sunny weather, so if I want it to be ISO 100 I need to put it in Manual mode.
But theese cameras are so good with higher ISO that ISO 100 and 200 will look about the same without really pixelpeeping.

It looks a bit strange that at 1/8000 it should be giving you the lowest ISO. So that might need answering . But on the whole too slow a shutter speed will give you as much noise high ISO . You should be able to see if the recording at the shutter is giving you more noise than should be acceptable.
So just record a couple of minutes manual and the same in auto and compare.

In the examples posted, it was cloudy but the same behavier happens also during sunny day.

From 100 to 200 ISO, the difference is present but it is not so evident.
But when the camera push to 800 ISO there is a big difference.

Right. THIS IS A BIG ISSUE! Camera prefers higher ISO values instead of lower ISO. In auto mode videos are not punchy anymore because of bad behaviour using 800 ISO in a sunny day. DJI please FIX IT

yes it is big issue, I would like to hear someone from DJI to understand why it is behaving like that and if they can fix it.

any news from DJI?

Agreed.

I've also noticed that there's no "100-200" or "100-400" auto ISO option in the Action 5 Pro, which is a great way to force camera into certain low ISO values.

Those options existed in the Action 4, why cancelling it i wonder? Really wish DJI add these low ISO options in next firmware.

djiuser_W6epb2KQKkNs Posted at 9-29 21:09
Agreed.

I've also noticed that there's no "100-200" or "100-400" auto ISO option in the Action 5 Pro, which is a great way to force camera into certain low ISO values.

This ISO Function is only in the Pro Version available

djiuser_W6epb2KQKkNs Posted at 9-29 21:09
Agreed.

I've also noticed that there's no "100-200" or "100-400" auto ISO option in the Action 5 Pro, which is a great way to force camera into certain low ISO values.

But it is not the right solution.
Because if in a moment during the recording due to a sudden decrease of the amount of light of the enviroment the camera would not be able to expose correctly.
It should be just fixed by DJI prioritizing low ISO values with respect to shutter speed.

Same issue here. Totally sunny day. Both GP12 and AcePro had automatically chose ISO100 while DJI chose ISO300 to get 1/1500 shutter in photo mode for a selfie on top of a mountain. The 100-800 range is too broad. Need at least 100-200 or simply ability to lock into ISO100 while in auto mode.

If you switch in manual mode there is already the function to lock the ISO to a fixed value.

They should just to change the alghoritm in order to prioritize the use of the lowest ISO value as possible in accordance with the exposure value.

madao05 Posted at 10-15 23:00
If you switch in manual mode there is already the function to lock the ISO to a fixed value.

They should just to change the alghoritm in order to prioritize the use of the lowest ISO value as possible in accordance with the exposure value.

For on the go camera it should come with some middle ground. Yes manual works for ISO lock but then in that menu it should  gives us option to pick  Shutter ranges, not just single shutter.

Hi madao05,

Thank You for reaching out. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience you are experiencing. Could you send us the App Log to check further on this issue? This will allow us to investigate further and provide you with the most accurate solution based on the specific issue you're encountering. We are looking forward to your response for further assistance. Thank You

How can I send you the log?

Thanks

Should be nice also if you go in the settings of the exposure, that if you change things to test out, that you can leave the settings without a change (a cancel button). Not only the confirm button. Sometimes you don't want to change things, but do not know anymore what the first settings where.
Sorry, maybe a bit off topic but can't make a new post (new here)

I’ve made some other test and it seems that the base ISO is 253.
No matter what the camera doesn’t go below that value.

The issue is bigger with Timelapse. In low light environments the camera try to push the ISO as much as possible instead of using longer shutter speed.
So the quality of the results is very poor.

Set the iso on the minimum range, 100-800 on timelapses, that forces the camera to choose slower shutter speeds when the light decreases.
A5P should have more low iso ranges like 100-200 100-400, perhaps on a new firmware.
Manual iso could also work, depending on the conditions.

Michele_rm Posted at 2024-9-24 10:57
Right. THIS IS A BIG ISSUE! Camera prefers higher ISO values instead of lower ISO. In auto mode videos are not punchy anymore because of bad behaviour using 800 ISO in a sunny day. DJI please FIX IT

VERIFIED! I was shooting in broad daylight  via 5Pro and the iso was at auto 1600!!! The blue sky looked like your classic marshmallow. Same goes for indoors when set to auto everything is bright and overexposed! But I refuse to go back to my gopro10.

hgamelas Posted at 1-2 09:31
Set the iso on the minimum range, 100-800 on timelapses, that forces the camera to choose slower shutter speeds when the light decreases.
A5P should have more low iso ranges like 100-200 100-400, perhaps on a new firmware.
Manual iso could also work, depending on the conditions.

If I set the 100-800 range the camera chooses the highest value 800 all the time.
The results are really poor.
The manual mode is a no go, because if the light conditions change the frames will be underexposed or overexposed.
Really sad that after so many months dji hasn’t fixed this big bug.
I’m thinking to sell it and try with other brands.

madao05 Posted at 1-2 23:25
If I set the 100-800 range the camera choose the highest value 800 all the time.
The results are really poor.
The manual mode is a no go, because if the light conditions change the frames will be underexposed or overexposed.

Action 4 isn’t the same. It offers 100-200 and 100-400 ISO range. That comes in really useful.

Iancraig10 Posted at 1-3 00:45
Action 4 isn’t the same. It offers 100-200 and 100-400 ISO range. That comes in really useful.

But anyway it is not the proper way that AUTO ISO should work.
All the cameras that I’ve tried,  when the auto iso mode is on, they choose the lowest possible value until the shutter speed reaches the threshold limit imposed to the FPS of the video.
Only then the cameras try to increase the ISO.

madao05 Posted at 1-3 01:44
But anyway it is not the proper way that AUTO ISO should work.
All the cameras that I’ve tried,  when the auto iso mode is on, they choose the lowest possible value until the shutter speed reaches the threshold limit imposed to the FPS of the video.
Only then the cameras try to increase the ISO.

No, that’s why I returned to the 4. At least it’s one of the reasons. I think the 4 gives a better quality of video in general than the 5.

Having said that, many love their Action 5 in spite of its slight oddities.

You’re right. It would have been a great camera, if the firmware wasn’t full of oddities.

madao05 Posted at 1-2 23:25
If I set the 100-800 range the camera chooses the highest value 800 all the time.
The results are really poor.
The manual mode is a no go, because if the light conditions change the frames will be underexposed or overexposed.

It's because the 5 is always trying to get enough exposure for the shadows.  That's part of it's "dynamic range" HDR adjustment.   I returned it and use the 4 now.

madao05 Posted at 1-3 01:44
But anyway it is not the proper way that AUTO ISO should work.
All the cameras that I’ve tried,  when the auto iso mode is on, they choose the lowest possible value until the shutter speed reaches the threshold limit imposed to the FPS of the video.
Only then the cameras try to increase the ISO.

In this case, the camera is trying to get the fastest shutter speed possible by increasing the iso, to ensure smooth results from the electronic image stabilization, which is not required on timelapse mode, because the camera is stationary.
This algorithm should be revised for the timelapse mode, in a future firmware update. The next best thing would be to have smaller ranges for the iso...

hgamelas Posted at 1-3 08:05
In this case, the camera is trying to get the fastest shutter speed possible by increasing the iso, to ensure smooth results from the electronic image stabilization, which is not required on timelapse mode, because the camera is stationary.
This algorithm should be revised for the timelapse mode, in a future firmware update. The next best thing would be to have smaller ranges for the iso...

But I think that the electronic speed stabilisation algorithm does not strictly require 1/1000s a shutter speed to work.
Often I see 800 ISO because I cap the camera to that range and the shutter speed value for the right exposition is faster than that.

From my point of view the best thing is not a smaller range for ISO but an option to prioritise lower values of ISO.
With a smaller ISO values range like 100-200 ISO only, the probability to get part of the video during a recording underexposed is rather high.

I think it might be more to do with the obsession about it being an Action cam. Instead of treating it like a ‘normal’ camera, they have geared it more towards ‘auto’ fast shutter for stabilisation so that no major adjustments are necessary for action shots.

So it is set up to have a preference for fast shutter speeds which really isn't great for lower frame rates that are highly regarded as being 'cinematic'. That’s why I would like the ISO ranges to be altered to lower ranges, in order to force the shutter down in auto while still having the manual option if it’s still too high. A little motion blur even at higher frame rates can look really nice.

I think that someone did test shutter/stabilisation and found 1/160 to be lowest (safe) shutter. For still shots with fast moving subjects and I'm not physically moving, I still prefer 1/50th though because it’s less glassy looking.if I'm moving, then faster shutter or a gimbal.

On a cloudy day with auto exposure of 50 fps, Rocksteady, the camera tries to hold the shutter speed at 1/640 ISO reaches 800, but the shutter speed is held at 1/640.
I think DJI thinks that this is the best shutter speed for the camera, at which stabilization will work well.
With stabilization disabled, the auto exposure on a cloudy day is about 1/400 ISO about 400. This is better, but it is still a strange algorithm for the camera.
Pocket 3 with the same settings always holds ISO 50.
Maybe the Action 5 has a native ISO higher than 100 ???
Has anyone wondered what the native ISO is for the Action 5 ???

Supsss3 Posted at 1-6 02:15
On a cloudy day with auto exposure of 50 fps, Rocksteady, the camera tries to hold the shutter speed at 1/640 ISO reaches 800, but the shutter speed is held at 1/640.
I think DJI thinks that this is the best shutter speed for the camera, at which stabilization will work well.
With stabilization disabled, the auto exposure on a cloudy day is about 1/400 ISO about 400. This is better, but it is still a strange algorithm for the camera.

With HLG the camera does not go below 250 ISO.
Instead with normal color mode it does not go below 800 ISO.

Supsss3 Posted at 1-6 02:15
On a cloudy day with auto exposure of 50 fps, Rocksteady, the camera tries to hold the shutter speed at 1/640 ISO reaches 800, but the shutter speed is held at 1/640.
I think DJI thinks that this is the best shutter speed for the camera, at which stabilization will work well.
With stabilization disabled, the auto exposure on a cloudy day is about 1/400 ISO about 400. This is better, but it is still a strange algorithm for the camera.

I got this answer from DJI Mindy regarding 'native iso' ....….


Regarding your question about the native iso of Action 5 Pro, when the camera is shooting 4K images at 60fps or below, the ISO is 570; when shooting 8K images at 100fps or above, the ISO is 6400.

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us anytime. Thank you.

strange answer because the Action 5 pro does not record 8K images
Moreover the native ISO value of a sensor does not change from a setting to an other because is a property of the sensor itself based on how they engineered.

madao05 Posted at 1-8 23:35
strange answer because the Action 5 pro does not record 8K images
Moreover the native ISO value of a sensor does not change from a setting to an other because is a property of the sensor itself based on how they engineered.

I did question it but got no reply. It looks to me as though they don’t know what the native iso is.

Iancraig10 Posted at 1-6 03:20
I got this answer from DJI Mindy regarding 'native iso' ....….

Honestly, I didn't understand this answer. It turns out I'm not the only one )))

Supsss3 Posted at 1-9 01:02
Honestly, I didn't understand this answer. It turns out I'm not the only one )))

I know. Doesn’t really make sense, but I couldn’t be bothered after that reply tbh. They must think were a bunch of nutters or something……