Dear DJI Team,

in order to create videos with footage from different sources (camcorder, Smartphone, etc.) the Spark definitely needs a 25fps option. That's the standard in Europe.
As it is at the moment, I can not use the spark footage, because it will invariably stutter when converted to 25fps.
As far as I know the Mavic has an option to choose the framerates, so it should be possible to include this in the Spark also.
This should on top of the list for the next firmware update - a lot of customers in Europe would be glad if this would happen.

Yes!... I need 25fps...

I dont think that they enable 25 fps...

Posted here , millions of times, nope. SPARK record at "30" fps, actual variable between 29.970 ~ 29.977 fps . If you want to do any better workflow be prepared to convert to 29.97 using for example Adobe Media Encoder. You can see that using MediaInfo on your clips extracted directly from the microSD. My 2 examples:
iMovie also totally &**), some tips , cut the beginning of the clip, dowgrade to 99% of the fps, etc, but too much manual work.

Original , merged with FCP :

Fixed 29.97 fps with AdobeMediaEncoder:

I am 100% backing this need.
It is holding me back buying one.
I actually had the fly more combo in my cart, when I found out about this omission.
It is still there (in my cart)....

With the right post processing workflow works great, I saw some very nice videos done with SPARK

A little tip: If you don't mind a barely noticeable slow motion effect, just tell your video editor to interpret the footage as 25 fps. Playback will be a little slower but perfectly smooth since there is no frame conversion/ skipping going on.

also ffmpeg allows to change framerate of footage without touching any pixel

Thanks for your feedback, I'll forward it to our engineers. If it is possible. I think they'll take it into consideration.

DJI Diana Posted at 2017-9-9 23:47
Thanks for your feedback, I'll forward it to our engineers. If it is possible. I think they'll take it into consideration.

Yes please, 25fps is very important in Europe, also 24fps can to be good for cinematic.
I'm very curios to understand why Dji take care only of the US market, only there they use Ntsc standard with 30fps, in all the others country the standard is Pal 25fps.

No one uses interlacing anymore, that’s why. Your power line frequency no longer has any effect on screen output.

koko_ Posted at 2017-9-9 21:38
also ffmpeg allows to change framerate of footage without touching any pixel

I know, but still it is more work in post AND a unwanted slow down looking unnatural in some occasions.

DJI Diana Posted at 2017-9-9 23:47
Thanks for your feedback, I'll forward it to our engineers. If it is possible. I think they'll take it into consideration.

Sometimes I wish we could get a glimpse of what's to come.
Really wanting to buy this little bird!

Hi folks,

I was looking for ways to render the 30fps material coming from the Spark to 25fps without stuttering in order to merge it with other footage coming from my Camcorder.
After trying all sorts of programs I tried DaVinci Resolve - and it worked !! While the result may not be absolutely perfect, it definitely looks good enough for me. Resolve has an option called "Optical Flow" which eliminates the stuttering in the converted footage. Best of all, Resolve is a free download.

So, for everyone waiting patiently for DJi to come up with a proper firmware upgrade, I would recommend this way in the meantime.

Just really hope DJI will add this soon. I am really looking forward to buying one!

I get that PAL is a lower framerate than NTSC.  But what I don't understand is why someone would try to say that 25fps looks better than 30fps.  It looks stuttered, unnatural, and very hard on the eyes.  It's not at all lifelike.  Pretty much any modern TV can play both NTSC AND PAL.  The power line might be on AC, but the digital encoder that's interpreting the video data is running on DC, so there's no issues there.  The ONLY place you would have a minor headache, is if you still use the ancient analog connections (RCA, coax, F-pin, S-video, etc).  If you have HDMI, DVI, etc, then there isn't a problem.  And essentially any modern TV has at LEAST HDMI.

Honestly, if PAL were really a major burden, and it's really not, then it might be worth their time to do it, but it's just not a big deal anymore.  The digital age has made the differences between NTSC and PAL almost moot.

M1dn1ght N1nj4 Posted at 2017-9-19 07:42
I get that PAL is a lower framerate than NTSC.  But what I don't understand is why someone would try to say that 25fps looks better than 30fps.  It looks stuttered, unnatural, and very hard on the eyes.  It's not at all lifelike.  Pretty much any modern TV can play both NTSC AND PAL.  The power line might be on AC, but the digital encoder that's interpreting the video data is running on DC, so there's no issues there.  The ONLY place you would have a minor headache, is if you still use the ancient analog connections (RCA, coax, F-pin, S-video, etc).  If you have HDMI, DVI, etc, then there isn't a problem.  And essentially any modern TV has at LEAST HDMI.

Honestly, if PAL were really a major burden, and it's really not, then it might be worth their time to do it, but it's just not a big deal anymore.  The digital age has made the differences between NTSC and PAL almost moot.

Except most cinematic footage/film is shot in 24fps. It sucks to shoot on a quality DSLR at 24fps and not be able to do it on this drone.

True, movies are still generally shot at 24fps.  But that old, choppy "cinema" look gets very irritating once you see 30fps.  Heck, 60fps is VERY nice.  I can see up to about 120/144fps until I can't make out much difference anymore.  But still.  Video shot at 30fps can easily be converted to 24/25fps.  Its just hard to go the other direction.

M1dn1ght N1nj4 Posted at 2017-9-19 09:04
True, movies are still generally shot at 24fps.  But that old, choppy "cinema" look gets very irritating once you see 30fps.  Heck, 60fps is VERY nice.  I can see up to about 120/144fps until I can't make out much difference anymore.  But still.  Video shot at 30fps can easily be converted to 24/25fps.  Its just hard to go the other direction.

How would you convert 30fps footage to 25  to match my DSLR footage?
(Shot at 25 fps?)
If you just drop a every 6th frame, the result looks awful.
Slowing it down to 25 looks unnatural in a lot of situations.
Mostly when there are people in the shot.
I really don't see a good solution if you want to combine these two framerates.

M1dn1ght N1nj4 Posted at 2017-9-19 09:04
True, movies are still generally shot at 24fps.  But that old, choppy "cinema" look gets very irritating once you see 30fps.  Heck, 60fps is VERY nice.  I can see up to about 120/144fps until I can't make out much difference anymore.  But still.  Video shot at 30fps can easily be converted to 24/25fps.  Its just hard to go the other direction.

You are another who pretends to talk about things you do not know. Before typing nonsense you should know better. I recommend you continue playing with selfies and gestures.

M1dn1ght N1nj4 Posted at 2017-9-19 09:04
True, movies are still generally shot at 24fps.  But that old, choppy "cinema" look gets very irritating once you see 30fps.  Heck, 60fps is VERY nice.  I can see up to about 120/144fps until I can't make out much difference anymore.  But still.  Video shot at 30fps can easily be converted to 24/25fps.  Its just hard to go the other direction.

Do you even know why they dont use 60fps in cinemas (exception of Blair witch Project)??
It's to do with how dumb humans are. 60fps is too real and and they found out couldn't sleep after a horror movie. It created that home-video feel. IMHO 60fps is good for slow-mo.

In contrast, dropping down the frame rates to 24/25 help create this fantasy-cinematic-motion blur feel to trick the mind. I do hope DJI introduces 24fps/25fps in their next firmware. It would help.

I do speculate that they have held this off due to the Electronic image stabilisation (EIS). It could be that EIS can only handle 30fps for processing for now. I just hope its not a hardware sensor limitation.

M1dn1ght N1nj4 Posted at 2017-9-19 20:09
Exactly.  Seems someone is jealous that I know more than they do, or that I actually have experience in that field.  But hate always going to hate.  That's just how it is. (insert Robert Downey Jr's rolling eyes gif here)

Didn't bother me in the least.  I know what I'm talking about, and I'm not here to train noobs.  Got better things to do.

Not here to hate but to learn. I have two other camera's shooting at 25fps or 50fps and they are stuck in PAL mode (stupid restriction by manufacturer). How should I combine that footage with 30fps footage from Spark?
I've tried it with the 30fps footage from my iPhone and it really sucks.
Just look at a test clip here:

We need 25fps in the UK! It's essential!