I've been trying to get my images in focus while doing night shoots by using the suggested 'Tri-Pod Mode' to no avail.... I dont want to go the route of filming in 4k and then using a video editor to extract a single frame. Because I would feel that it would take away from the natural act of being a Photographer. So I did check for the wind speed last night and in between Brooklyn and Manhattan the wind speed was at 2.2mph. I used not only AEB but also the multiple exposures setting of 5-7-10.
I'm considering asking DJI to swap for the Inspire 2 if it would even make a adifferenceor if even possible.

Don't think they ever "swap" anything. They do send refurbished if under warranty and something defective is found.

ALABAMA Posted at 2017-8-22 12:58
Don't think they ever "swap" anything. They do send refurbished if under warranty and something defective is found.

I just  called there CA office and got told the samething.

If the problem is focus, Tripod mode and AEB aren't going to do anything to improve things.
Is your issue focus or movement?
You need enough light on your focus area to be able to focus.
Are you shooting a lot of black with a few pinpricks of light or something well lit?
How about attaching an example?

Like Labroides said.....could you show us some examples?

This is one of my images from last night.

HG1 Posted at 2017-8-22 20:43
This is one of my images from last night.

OK, there's plenty of light there.  The P4 pro should
It's too small to see nay detail clearly but perhaps it's a bit soft.
What are you doing to focus?
Are you using the green focus square and half squeezing the shutter button before shooting?

Hmmm that's not good at all. I'm no expert but I did try AEB at low light and it didn't work well at all. If there is enough light I found it works very well. I have also used single exposures of over a second that worked well too and were still crisp. One thing I did find is setting your colour profile to none helps considerably.  This wasn't a night time shot but it was way darker then it spears in the image it was shot in AEB mode
https://flic.kr/p/XUrdNi it was in the 5 shot AEB setting and it was a windy night too. If we get decent weather to night I'm going to try some more settings at low light/night and see how I get on

Are you shooting in manual mode? If you are what are you using for ISO, F Stop and shutter speed?
That picture looks like a really slow shutter speed which could cause the slight blur. Try pushing your ISO up to at least 400 (above 800 will introduce to much noise) and set your F-Stop to 5.6 (sweet spot) and then adjust your shutter speed to as fast as possible while still keeping the EV value to as close to "0" as possible, or even a little under or over in order to get a faster shutter speed. You may need to move the F-Stop around a little to get a good shutter speed, you may even be able to drop the ISO to 200.

racer888 Posted at 2017-8-23 04:58
Are you shooting in manual mode? If you are what are you using for ISO, F Stop and shutter speed?
That picture looks like a really slow shutter speed which could cause the slight blur. Try pushing your ISO up to at least 400 (above 800 will introduce to much noise) and set your F-Stop to 5.6 (sweet spot) and then adjust your shutter speed to as fast as possible while still keeping the EV value to as close to "0" as possible, or even a little under or over in order to get a faster shutter speed. You may need to move the F-Stop around a little to get a good shutter speed, you may even be able to drop the ISO to 200.

+1 image is over exposed and there is camera shake from movement, I'd shoot F/5.6 and lower the exposure compensation to increase the shutter speed.

It's a bit difficult to take night shots from a drone as it's a moving platform and with a slow shutter speed that is going to cause blur, the gimbal can't compensate for a super slow shutter speed

This is  from the DJI website, see the camera parameters PHANTOM 4 PRO     1/2s    F2.8    ISO 100    EV 0.0
Fastest shutter speed to reduce camera shake  as lens is wide open at f.2.8, ISO 100 to reduce digital noise

HG1 Posted at 2017-8-22 20:43
This is one of my images from last night.

Sorry HG1 -
since you started your thread so aggressively you deserve it the hard way:
What you are saying in the opening shows you have no clue about photography.
And neither you understand the features of your drone.

Features meant for filming while flying (tripod mode) are useless for photos.
Features like AEB/Multiple exposures are meant for people who don't know which camera setting to choose.
These features may be helpful sometimes in difficult light situations (esp. with fast moving objects) if the time to react is too short.
In your scenario: You just shoot a load of pics to be able to decide on the computer which one you like best.

Buy the Inspire 2, get a helicopter afterwards:
It won't get better if you dont understand the basics of photography.
Lots of people think if they buy more expensive equipment their photos get better.
It's like thinking you become a better driver because you exchanged your Pickup for a Mustang.

Your case here:
As long as you don't tell us shutter speed in those pics we can't help you.
The quality you can upload in this forum is too low to determine if it is motion or focus blur. (It might be both)
Upload the original DNG file to a cloud and send us the link.

There are a few mandatory things when you shoot stills in low light with a drone:
- Don't fly, hover!
- Let the drone settle. Stop in mid-air, work on the angle and wait 10-15 seconds. The drone needs some time to stabilize. You can see that on the screen.
- You must set exposure manually. In automatic settings the software bumps up the ISO to get a decent relation f-stop/shutter speed in order to achieve a sharp image. It may be sharp but totally grainy.
- Do not use Autofocus. Focus systems have problems with low light. With the 24mm lens you have on a P4P infinity starts at a few meters distance. Set your focus manually to infinity. (There are lenses though that focus beyond infinity. Check during day time if your cameras infinity setting is correct!)
- Shoot RAW and underexpose by 2-3 stops. This can easily be handled in post production. NEVER overexpose. More than 1 stop over exposure will never give satisfying results in post.

Still learning here...  Great help..  thks.

Eric13 Posted at 2017-8-23 13:34
Sorry HG1 -
since you started your thread so aggressively you deserve it the hard way:
What you are saying in the opening shows you have no clue about photography.

I do know about photography. When I'm doing photo work on the ground I don't have any of these problems at all. My issue is the wind factor! Yes, the inspire 1/2 Won't help me considering it's still a drone and a more expensive one at that. Like I said I've been using Tripod mode and have been setting my camera settings similar to that of my dslr.

Just another thought. Are you getting vibration from out of balance props and its showing up more in darker shots. Or it maybe you have several contributing, compounding, progressive issues that need to be addressed. or dialed in.
I don't really see it being a wind issue. especially at less than 5 mph.

Lectro88 Posted at 2017-8-28 12:37
Just another thought. Are you getting vibration from out of balance props and its showing up more in darker shots. Or it maybe you have several contributing, compounding, progressive issues that need to be addressed. or dialed in.
I don't really see it being a wind issue. especially at less than 5 mph.

Actually this could be the problem..... I thought I just had to click on the props, power on and lift off.

HG1 Posted at 2017-8-28 11:14
I do know about photography. When I'm doing photo work on the ground I don't have any of these problems at all. My issue is the wind factor! Yes, the inspire 1/2 Won't help me considering it's still a drone and a more expensive one at that. Like I said I've been using Tripod mode and have been setting my camera settings similar to that of my dslr.

To me, it looks like he is shooting a photo with a couple of seconds of shutter being open. That leaves all sorts of room for motion blur if the phantom is not stabilized when it begins to take the photo.

Or camera settings that are allowing way too much light in which appear to be focus related when it really is caused by incorrect camera settings.

Check out my post below. I can recreate your blurry photo and then I can give a cleaned up photo. I gave the settings I used for the images I shot.

I'm not saying this is your particular problem. however,
Sometimes the simplest errors get overlooked in search of the more meaningful complicated solutions that we may "want" to find.
Not sure how you rig the balancing of p4 props.
You would think OEM would be good enough... but
I have made improvements on all my P3p props in a balancing jig.
I have put new props on and started up bird on a work table, and I could see the bird wobble in place. And it gets worse with more throttle.  I first Really noticed this with the dreaded 3 blade props and that prompted me to check all my props.
And  you get 1, 2, 3 or all 4 props a little out of balance It really makes a difference. And if you pay attention you may even hear the difference in how it sounds after a good true balance. (prop tone)
Now some may disagree with this and many never notice the need for what I'm saying, And I'm getting a little of topic, but. stress cracks at motor mounts... Is this from out of balance blades. Just a thought. Hmmm.
Or is it an over complicated engineering problem in the chemistry of the plastic. Along with too thin under engineering of plastic thickness. Not saying any of these is "THE" problem.. I'm  just looking at the simplest way to correct and get a positive outcome and stop the problem.
Ok the soap box is crumbling.

OK, My fuzzy picture is in manual Mode F2.8 / ISO 100 / 3 second shutter Speed And My clearer picture is in manual mode F5.6 / ISO 200 / 3 second shutter speed. It really is all about your camera settings. These photos were taken only a minute or two apart on a virtual wind free evening with Manual Focus on and locked at infinity.

Click on one of the images to open a bigger version then use the "Next" button to cycle back and forth between the two images. You'll see that my drone hasn't changed position. All I did was change camera settings !!!

Having looked at the OP's images above.. My thoughts.. what are you actually focusing on?
Auto focus will struggle to "lock" focus on lights, you need to lock the focus on an area that shows stronger contrasts.
You can test it just by pointing the camera (not even flying it) at a bunch of bright lights and see how it struggles to focus.
DSLR's work exactly the same.. point it at a bright light and ask it to focus and it won't.

Looking at Mr Dave's images the only settings that have changed at ISO and F stop.. if the shutter has remained the same and one shot is sharp and the other isn't then it can only be movement whilst the shutter is open.
That's my take on it anyway

Lectro88 Posted at 2017-8-28 19:43
I'm not saying this is your particular problem. however,
Sometimes the simplest errors get overlooked in search of the more meaningful complicated solutions that we may "want" to find.
Not sure how you rig the balancing of p4 props.

How does one balance the props of my drone?

HG1 Posted at 2017-8-30 20:14
How does one balance the props of my drone?

You can buy one or make your own.  If you do a search on ebay there are many that are suitable.
Here is an easy do it yourself.

HG1 Posted at 2017-8-22 20:43
This is one of my images from last night.

The Exif data on those shots from HG1 show a 2.5s shtter speed

As others said, try shooting in RAW, underexposing it (to get a faster shutter speed) then process the RAW file to get the expose corrected.