So the new P4 Pro looks interesting. Lots of innovation. One thing puzzled me though.

With the introduction of a mechanical shutter there is the promise of removing rolling shutter artifacts. However, I assume that it is purely used for still photo capture, as for video it would be a) very noisy and b) wear out very quickly. I couldn't see where it clarifies this in the blurb.

It's a shame we're still not seeing many CMOS cameras with global shutter for video, since rolling shutter is much more of a prblem in video than stills, but this feature is definitely a move forward.

The features specifically list the mechanical shutter as something to reduce the "jello" effect in video. I was thinking the same thing... a mechanical video shutter is absurd for the reasons you mentioned.

The wibbly wobbly effect of vibration (Jello) can also affect stills...

Andy

Given that rolling shutter artifacts are a product of moving images not still images, eliminating them as DJI promises, could only be achieved using a mechanical shutter in movie mode. And I don't know of any shutter that can do that at 30 fps, other than the conventional revolving blade type of shutter. With a 1" sensor, there does not seem to be room for a rotating shutter.

The whole thing on the DJI site is remarkably foggy, as the animation appears to show both an iris and a shutter, so is it one, the other or both?

It seems the chip is a Sony Exmoor chip, perhaps it has a global shutter, or even a hybrid shutter, where the exposure is started electronically and terminated by a mechanical shutter?

The other issue that is not made clear is how the lens focusses? Is there an auto-focus system, or is it manual? What type of actuator?

Geebax Posted at 2016-11-15 22:48
Given that rolling shutter artifacts are a product of moving images not still images, eliminating th ...

https://www.facebook.com/zawstud ... id=1479238719075108

Geebax Posted at 2016-11-15 15:48
Given that rolling shutter artifacts are a product of moving images not still images, eliminating th ...

Let's not forget that DJI recently joined forces with Hasselblad!!

So hopefully, there has been some input from them on the new Inspire 2.

Not sure about the Phantom 4 though... Still the Sony sensor...


RedHotPoker

The mechanical shutter is for stills only, guaranteed.

Rolling shutter is usually a term applied to video so I would assume that at the very least it would be a hybrid shutter for video. It will be interesting to get the full info on this. I suppose it is possible that it only refers to it being a mechanical shutter in terms of the aperture. Will anyone do a tear down?

100% sure that is for photo only. Any DSLR or Mirrorless use a mechanical shutter to avoid skews due to the rolling shutter of CMOS in photo mode and have jello effects in video because you cannot use the mechanical shutter. The only way to avoid this issue on a CMOS (until it will have 1ms readout) for video is a global shutter that has the drawback to lose dynamic range. CMOS global shutter camera exist but are very expensive so for sure it will not be in a 1 inch consumer camera. Hybrid with a mechanical first curtain traveling at 60 time per second for hours of usage is not an option.
If DJI would have solved the CMOS rolling shutter issue it would be much more advertised and explained but they simply have added a mechanical first curtain as 99% of the CMOS photo cameras on the planet have.

gt3rs Posted at 2016-11-22 12:37
100% sure that is for photo only. Any DSLR or Mirrorless use a mechanical shutter to avoid skews due ...

Thanks for the knowledge... disappointing that they made that a little ambiguous... rolling shutter also effects video, I wonder if they did that intentionally to fool mouth breathers like myself.

Yes I think is a bit of marketing play here, but in any case it is just incredible the specs of the P4Pro camera in such a tiny package. It is a Sony RX100 equivalent (actually better with 4k 60p) in a size smaller than a Gopro. Hopefully the amazing spec will be confirmed in real world usage.

Gopro Hero 5 should have had these specs.... incredible that a drone company is overtaking a camera company on camera design.

To be able to do 4k 60fps you need a quite fast readout (around 16ms) that makes rolling shutter effect less evident combined with the aperture control that allows you to lower the shutter speed at 2x the framerate e.g. 1/120 it makes the effect way less visible. For example from Canon 1Dc 4k at 30fps to the 1Dx II 4k at 60fps they had to improve the readout from 25ms to 14ms making the rolling shutter effect way less visible.§