Just got my Action 3. First impressions were of the terrible image quality. Really bad. Here is a still image. Would appreciate your feedback. I compared it to a picture taken with my phone, and the phone image was far superior.

Dear all:

  

Thank you for your feedback.

Our engineers are aware of the issue, please be advised that it is found that this problem is caused by the large internal parameters of some cameras. In response to this problem, you can provide our technical support with your SN and DJI account, original photos, and videos through Chat, email, and other channels, and we will help you to solve this problem asap.

Here is the link to contact us: https://www.dji.com/support

Or just need a little post production

...but shouldn't need to do that, especially for the "soft" video.

Seems like the same issue posted by andrei193 "I think Osmo Action 3 applies a beauty filter"

I'm not happy with it. I've requested a refund. I didn't notice this issue with my Action 2.  Anyone here got both and can do a comparison?

johansenfoto Posted at 9-21 09:49
Or just need a little post production[Image]

Seems it's the blurry image problem. No sharpness at all.
Sad, but while this issue is not fixed, not sure if Action 3 can compete with Hero 11.

wonder we see c/p DJI   post soon

But it is hard to hold still the camera when taking a picture becuase it probably doesn't use any stabilization.
The image I took today with my OA3 is just like my phone, not the sharpest but maybe because I am used to DSLRs.

johansenfoto Posted at 9-21 09:49
Or just need a little post production

Hi, there.
We are sorry for the inconvenience caused.
Could you please send us the original images and video?
You can upload it via Google Drive or Dropbox and then send us the link.
We will confirm the details with the relevant team and keep you updated here asap.
Thank you for your support.

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osmonauta Posted at 9-22 16:28
Is there maybe a quality setting somewhere in the camera (eg JPG high/mid/low) that you forgot to set?

No. Only raw or jpg. I found no difference in the raw file. Camera has now been returned. I've ordered a Gopro 11 instead, which has many more settings for video, including sharpness!

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osmonauta Posted at 9-23 00:29
That sucks. I”m supposed to get mine today - according to tracking. I am very curious about the results. There is virtually no photo samples available on the net. Maybe because of the poor quality? In which case mine will be returned, too.

I'm a retired professional photographer, and have had dozens of cameras through the years. That picture I posted is the absolute worst quality still image I have ever seen.

But have you guys tried to compare it to other cameras like your phone? I'm just saying because the sensor is really small, and it is only 12MP in size

johansenfoto Posted at 9-23 01:16
But have you guys tried to compare it to other cameras like your phone? I'm just saying because the sensor is really small, and it is only 12MP in size

My iPhone blows it away, despite the dramatically smaller sensor. The lens looks defocussed on the Action 3. No firmware update will ever fix that, and here in the UK, we've only got a 14 day return window.

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Are you purchasing the Action 3 for photos mainly?  If so, I wouldn't advise keeping it then.  If you're looking to make quick action videos or clips of things here and there where you don't want to risk your phone in the elements or dropping then it'd be great for that.  I will say I've probably taken a few photos on any action camera I've purchased but that's usually just in the beginning when I get it and I've never taken a photo again unless for some reason I forgot my phone and I'm in a pinch.

Just my $0.02.  I don't think the Action 3 (or any action camera at that) will ever beat a new or even fairly new phone that is out on the market today.

osmonauta Posted at 9-23 04:29
I bet that's not a €380 iPhone though... but sure, the photo quality of the A3 is somewhat disturbing if that's the best it can do. I didn't expect miracles out of a tiny action cam, but still...

It's an iPhone 13 Pro

WiscoPaddler Posted at 9-23 04:31
Are you purchasing the Action 3 for photos mainly?  If so, I wouldn't advise keeping it then.  If you're looking to make quick action videos or clips of things here and there where you don't want to risk your phone in the elements or dropping then it'd be great for that.  I will say I've probably taken a few photos on any action camera I've purchased but that's usually just in the beginning when I get it and I've never taken a photo again unless for some reason I forgot my phone and I'm in a pinch.

Just my $0.02.  I don't think the Action 3 (or any action camera at that) will ever beat a new or even fairly new phone that is out on the market today.

I would never have used it for photos. That was just a lens test!  Unfortunately, it seemed that the degraded image quality had a terrible affect on video quality, which isn't surprising, given that the stabilization is digital.

Iphone 13 have 3 sensors on 8MP each making images in a lot more MP than OA3 have with only 12MP.
Even my Gopro 10 doesn't take good images.

But I agree that OA3 is not as sharp as gopro, the old insta360 ONE R is also sharper. But what is need is that we can change sharpness in menu.

I've used film and digital cameras for over 20 years, that image certainly has a softness that looks optical.  Maybe a lens element was misaligned.  One time I had a cheap front filter give similar soft results too, is there anyway to take another photo but this time with the protective filter removed.   Thanks

djiuser_i82mY6tgH5DN Posted at 9-23 08:09
I've used film and digital cameras for over 20 years, that image certainly has a softness that looks optical.  Maybe a lens element was misaligned.  One time I had a cheap front filter give similar soft results too, is there anyway to take another photo but this time with the protective filter removed.   Thanks

Yes, I tried that. There was no difference.

It's strange because the corners actually look sharper than the center of the image

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osmonauta Posted at 9-23 11:20
The sample photo here looks better then what you've uploaded, so maybe yours did have some issues. (...although that photo is still not 12MP, maybe the uploader only allows a certain max size):

https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=275457

Uploader only allows 1Mb - I had to crop it (losslesly).

Video is the same. My first video on OA3 had me returning to the GoPro 9 to compare. The GoPro is streets ahead in sharpness. Like I’d put some glasses on.

I tried sharpening in post which did improve things, but the curious thing is that everything except my face sharpened up. Close focus (even at 3 feet) is on the edge of being in proper focus. I also felt as though some kind of filter had been applied to my face. It reminded me of that horrible GoPro skin tone you can sometimes get.

I wonder whether GoPros just do a lot more ‘in camera’ processing and sharpening than Osmo.

Close focus on the Osmo though is still an issue for me.

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osmonauta Posted at 9-30 03:39
I cannot compare it to a GoPro because I don’t have one, but when I look at the original footage form the camera, it is actually quite good. Sure my iPhone takes nice photos but the OA3 is not bad at all. I usually just shoot in 1080p - just because I prefer longer battery life, and a 1080p footage on a retina MacBook pro is actually quite nice - but when I shoot in 4k the footage is really nice (provided there is adequate light).

When I take pictures, I set a timer of 0.5 or 1 second. It is because you have to apply some force to press the shutter (at least in my case) which can easily cause blur due to camera shake. The small delay will compensate for this. When the camera is on a tripod, the delay is not necessary.

I'm very disappointet, the Action 2 is considerable better than Action 3.
In Action 3: both, picture and video are very blurred.
Action 3 is a bad buy.

Below is a screen shot from a comparison video of 6 action camera's, showing image softness of the Action 3. Link to full comparison video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63ntRkKP1jw

Fell Wanderer Posted at 10-3 01:14
Below is a screen shot from a comparison video of 6 action cameras, showing image softness of  the Action 3.  Link to full video

[view_image]

Great find! Well, this pretty much proves that the OA3 has problems with lens calibration.

Hopefully this can be resolved through a firmware update.

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mine just arrived today, i did notice that it is blurry... the real question is IS IT FIXABLE VIA FIRMWARE?

I canceled my order. till this is sorted out, that said. funds back in hand

Hmm?  If the extent of “out of focus” is a reality on our unit - it may go right back to DJI.  The only issue is you only have 14 days max and have to pay for shipping.  So buying from Amazon might be a better choice.  DJI Support - can you confirm this is a problem you are seriously looking into - and if it is are you going to correct it?  Scroll to 10:00 min for his comments and examples of this.

What I have found out is that it is soft when recording in Dewarp, but looks good in Ultra Wide also also not bad in Wide.
I think the reason is it "zoom in".
I still haven't made a good comparison video against the old OA.

And btw I am actually thinking about selling my Gopro 10 and buying Insta360 RS or something.

If that is the case in our OA3 unit - that may be a big problem.  Pretty much 95+% of the time we shot in standard dewarp FOV.  Often with horizon balancing or horizon steady.  So cropped right in.  That pretty much took out all the fisheye effect.  

Here are cropped screenshots from the Action 2 while I had it.  Sharpness was perfectly ok in 4K and 2.7Kp60 - a very slight loss in resolution was expected at 2.7 - 2K was terrible comparably.  If the OA3 cannot closely match up to this - it will likely have to go back.  All this talk of soft images and soft footage is a big problem if all units coming out are like this.  My hope is that this is not the case.  But so far it is not looking good with so many confirmed out-of-focus complaints.

Other than this - a 360 cam is a good option or a Hero 11.  But in 360 - 4Kp60 outputted at 16:9 is hard to come by.  The Insta 360 X3 comes close - but also has no 4Kp120.  Overall though - if the OA3 unit we get is soft - we may swap for the X3 and get 360 footage instead.  Always pros and cons.

Fishycomics Posted at 10-3 08:14
I canceled my order. till this is sorted out, that said. funds back in hand

I'm with Fishy on this one. I was going to pull the trigger on the camera but after seeing this, I'm going to wait and see if this gets corrected. Fingers crossed.

I'm returning mine. I love new features but when it comes to focus issue cameras from 2010 had better results.

Just canceled my order with DJI based on all these reports especially without any response from DJI.  Will wait and hopefully order one from Amazon when all sorted out ...or go with something else.  Appreciate all the tests and reports done by everyone.

10-Bit Posted at 10-3 15:05
If that is the case in our OA3 unit - that may be a big problem.  Pretty much 95+% of the time we shot in standard dewarp FOV.  Often with horizon balancing or horizon steady.  So cropped right in.  That pretty much took out all the fisheye effect.  

Here are cropped screenshots from the Action 2 while I had it.  Sharpness was perfectly ok in 4K and 2.7Kp60 - a very slight loss in resolution was expected at 2.7 - 2K was terrible comparably.  If the OA3 cannot closely match up to this - it will likely have to go back.  All this talk of soft images and soft footage is a big problem if all units coming out are like this.  My hope is that this is not the case.  But so far it is not looking good with so many confirmed out-of-focus complaints.

When I mentioned Insta360 I was thinking about this one with 4K boost:
https://www.insta360.com/product/insta360-oners

But 360 is also great, but think X2 is still way to go since I still haven't really seen that X3 is way better for the price.
And still no 360 cameras shoot 360 @ 60 fps in highest resolution.

johansenfoto Posted at 10-3 22:46
When I mentioned Insta360 I was thinking about this one with 4K boost:
https://www.insta360.com/product/insta360-oners

Yeah 1/2” is always better for low light.  We have 3 FF cams and 3 crop.  FF wins every day except for reach.  Will be interesting to see what DJI Support says as I queried them about this OA3 sharpness concern.

3.6K or 2.7Kp60 is perfectly fine as long as it is sharp vs soft.  With this much competition - DJI has to address these issues immediately vs staying silent.  Cancelled orders and device returns are not good for business.