Hi ,

I just got a mavic mini and am impressed with the overall experience. The only thing that is bothering me a bit is that I am seeing a lot of grain in my videos even while underexposing. My guess is that the iso should be low with the negative ev value but theres no way of telling due to no manual control. I do not see this grain in others video on youtube. I have a feeling that there is something wrong with my sample. Anyone else had a similiar experience? Thanks

Hello and good day. I am sorry to know that you are having issues with the captured videos on your DJI Mavic Mini and thank you for reaching out. Can you please try to post a short sample footage of the said video for us to able to see and assist you further. Thank you.

DJI Stephen Posted at 2-15 10:17
Hello and good day. I am sorry to know that you are having issues with the captured videos on your DJI Mavic Mini and thank you for reaching out. Can you please try to post a short sample footage of the said video for us to able to see and assist you further. Thank you.

Thanks a lot for the prompt reply Stephen. I will try to upload some samples and post them here shortly,

djiuser_1N01i8kHjtpi Posted at 2-15 10:31
Thanks a lot for the prompt reply Stephen. I will try to upload some samples and post them here shortly,

You are very much welcome and I am very glad to assist you.

Definitely post a video sample so we can see what you are talking about. In general, though, underexposure results in poor quality video with these smaller sensors, even at low ISO. It's best to get as bright as you can w/o blowing out the highlights.

Ex Machina Posted at 2-15 18:05
Definitely post a video sample so we can see what you are talking about. In general, though, underexposure results in poor quality video with these smaller sensors, even at low ISO. It's best to get as bright as you can w/o blowing out the highlights.

Thanks a lot for your insight. This is my first drone and I could be spoilt by mostly photographing using a full frame dslr. I typically always expose to the right, but as I am focusing more on learning to fly, I could have underexposed more than required. I am posting a link to a sample below and will definitely make sure I expose all the way to the right for my next flights.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tmOkvYIjKonIwKihIQh755_nFXAHxduG

djiuser_1N01i8kHjtpi Posted at 2-16 13:35
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tmOkvYIjKonIwKihIQh755_nFXAHxduG

Yes, definitely under-exposed. The sensor in these cameras is very small, they need plenty of light to perform well. If you know how to ETTR, then bring up the histogram on the RC unit display and use that to manually expose your shots.

djiuser_1N01i8kHjtpi Posted at 2-16 13:35
Thanks a lot for your insight. This is my first drone and I could be spoilt by mostly photographing using a full frame dslr. I typically always expose to the right, but as I am focusing more on learning to fly, I could have underexposed more than required. I am posting a link to a sample below and will definitely make sure I expose all the way to the right for my next flights.

I think what you are reporting as grain are actually compression artifacts, especially noticeable when panning up from the water? Smoothish surfaces are notoriously challenging to compress, even on devices that have higher resolution and throughput than has the Mini. More light can bring out more detail which can give the compression stack more to work with, but fwiw you probably can't be rid of it entirely.

Ex Machina Posted at 2-16 16:51
I think what you are reporting as grain are actually compression artifacts, especially noticeable when panning up from the water? Smoothish surfaces are notoriously challenging to compress, even on devices that have higher resolution and throughput than has the Mini. More light can bring out more detail which can give the compression stack more to work with, but fwiw you probably can't be rid of it entirely.

Im guessing you streamed the sample and didnt download the file. I also see these compression artifacts if i stream it.

I've been experiencing this too and wondering if it was my unit or what...
I have concluded a few things:
- Mavic Mini has low dynamic range, vegetation and areas where there is subtle variation of tones (hundreds of greens, branches) make the mini struggle and it looks, bad.
- Scenery with high contrast looks better, for example a city, or buildings with straight defined edges, rooftops, windows etc.
- Shooting at dusk or when there is no direct sunlight reduces contrast leading to more ugly details.
- The best results I manage come from flying in sunny environments, with sun behind or at the side, creating strong shadows and this results in more contrast, and less artifacts.

I would love to find a way to test the focus, sharpness, noise and overall performance of the camera in a more technical manner.

djiuser_1N01i8kHjtpi Posted at 2-16 23:11
Im guessing you streamed the sample and didnt download the file. I also see these compression artifacts if i stream it.

Ha! I didn't realize Google Drive streams -- it looks much better when viewed as a discrete download. I have seen similar artifacting in my own non-streamed MP video over grassy areas.

Let us know what you think of the video when using ETTR -- I'm not sure how much of what I am seeing in the downloaded video is noise, artifacts or moiré.

InspektorGadjet Posted at 2-17 01:44
I've been experiencing this too and wondering if it was my unit or what...
I have concluded a few things:
- Mavic Mini has low dynamic range, vegetation and areas where there is subtle variation of tones (hundreds of greens, branches) make the mini struggle and it looks, bad.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I think I need to spend some time with the mini to understand all the limitations. Still very pleased with the overall experience.

OMG, that just taught me ETTR thingy, which I never heard of before. I've got noisy photos and videos too. Usually I put EV to -3, which is definitely underexposed.
Gonna try out ETTR technic soon
Thank you @Ex Machina !

Try image stacking. Shoot a series of 5 images one after the other.

As for video the best (free, in every sense) NR engine that I know is the YouTube encoder... after I upload my MM edited videos there they become as smooth as a baby bottom! And far cleaner than that (I really meant spatial and temporal noises).