Hi All,


After I used DJI Action4 for a while, in Low Light night situation I use the following settings that seem to work well.

4K   30 FPS    RS
Pro Mode Exposure Manual (M) ;       Color Normal
Shutter Speed 1/100 Sec (or 1/120 for 60 Hz Country)
ISO  100 - 12800


Then Press "Confirm"


All Sample Clips Out of Camera without Post Processing.


When you use DJI Action 4  on Day time, please don't forget to set Exposure back to "Auto"




Suphot

Thank you, this will help.

Thanks for the tips

tips are great, but light always changes

Do you not use the built-in low-light option?

Which built in there are two if not mistaken, priority low and auto low

Fishycomics Posted at 2-9 10:45
Which built in there are two if not mistaken, priority low and auto low

Either, i was just wondering if the OP used it at all.

Fishycomics Posted at 2-9 04:12
tips are great, but light always changes

Yes, light always changes.

In this setting;
The DJI Action 4 will keep Shutter Speed at 1/100 Second. So EIS can maintain sharp video.
When light changes, DJI Action 4 will change ISO Automatically from ISO 100 to ISO 12800.

By the way, we cannot use this setting in Day Light. Because Shutter Speed which fixed at 1/100 Second and Lowest ISO 100, still Over Expose the video clip.

That why we should not forget to set it back to Full Auto when take video in Day Light.


Cheers

Bashy Posted at 2-9 04:41
Do you not use the built-in low-light option?

Yes, I use Built-in-low light option by set Low-Light Image Enhancement to "Auto" in PRO Mode.

When light level is low, DJI Action 4 will Activate Low-Light Image Enhancement Automatically.
You will see this message when press Record Button to start record video clip.


Cheers,

Yanncd FrenchStreetMedic Posted at 1-10 02:30
Thank you, this will help.

Thank You very much for your comment.

I hope you enjoy use it when low light in this setting.


Cheers.

Montfrooij Posted at 2-9 02:17
Thanks for the tips

I hope you enjoy this setting.


Cheers.

Fishycomics Posted at 2-9 10:45
Which built in there are two if not mistaken, priority low and auto low

Do you mean "EIS Priority in Low Light" and "Low-Light Image Enhancement"?

If it is;

"EIS Priority in Low Light" is Active in "Default Mode" of DJI Action 4.
You can set it to "On" , but it is not effect anything when you use DJI Action4 in "PRO Mode"

"Low-Light Image Enhancement" is Active in "PRO Mode".
When you use DJI Action4 in "PRO Mode" and setting as show in the clip above.
It will help Low light video clip as you see in the samples.


Cheers.

Bashy Posted at 2-9 17:28
Either, i was just wondering if the OP used it at all.

In Dark, Low Light situation, I can see that "Low-Light Image Enhancement" deliver clear video image and less noise. (When Shutter Speed is 1/100 Second, and ISO above 1600)

But if the light is not very low, noise is not too much, we can hardly see the different.


Cheers.

Bashy Posted at 2-9 17:28
Either, i was just wondering if the OP used it at all.

the OP did answered.

and thanks OP we appreciate the  advice

Suphot Posted at 2-10 00:08
I hope you enjoy this setting.

I'm sure I will if I ever get an action 4

Just wondering if you have any jitter issue with your current settings.

My settings is kinda like this.
4k25/HB (25Hz for my country)
Shutter 1/100-1/8000
EV -0.7
ISO 100-3200
WB 4500k

scammas Posted at 2-14 17:22
Just wondering if you have any jitter issue with your current settings.

My settings is kinda like this.

No, I have not jitter issue in the video clips. You may see that in sample clips in my post.

For your settings, I think 4K 25 FPS may cause the jitter. I use 4K 30 FPS, which help smooth video clip a lot.

I also live in 25 Hz country, when we set the Shutter speed to be 1/100 Second, it will synchronize with 50 Hz light bulb. Number of Frame Per Second did not cause 50 Hz light bulb to flicker, but Shutter speed did and this is not Jitter in the clip.

You can see Jitter when Frame Per Second is Low (24 FPS, 25 FPS) more than 30 FPS, especially when pan the camera or any fast moving object in the clip.

So Shutter speed 1/100 Second and 30 FPS will smooth video clip (Reduce Jitter than 25 FPS) and synchronize with 50Hz lighting bulb (No Flicker). If you still got jitter video clip, you may try setting to 50 FPS.

Setting 30 FPS, 50 FPS or 60 FPS did not reduce light to reach the camera sensor, because we set Shutter Speed to 1/100 Second. The video clip will be look exactly the same brightness. But Higher Frame Per Sec will help smooth video clip (Reduce Jitter).


Cheers.

hi, can this configuration be good for going around with go-karts at night? Thank you

minasmorgul Posted at 9-2 05:13
hi, can this configuration be good for going around with go-karts at night? Thank you

It is not good for Go-karts at night, because shutter speed 1/100 second is too slow for Go-karts movement.

I think shutter speed 1/640 second or 1/1000 second may be good enough, but at night, it will be very dark for that shutter speed at night.

By the way, you may try setting Shutter speed at 1/640 second. If the Go-karts track is well illuminate, it may be bright enough for recording.

But recording Go-karts at night is very challenging situation for every camera, including very expensive one.


Cheers.

hi, theoretically the track should be well lit. so which complete configuration do you recommend? this is a idea:

4k 30 fps RS (can i use a RS+?)
Exposure M
color normal (can i use dlog?)
SS 1/640 or 1/800 or 1/1000(what happens if the shutter speed is too high?)
iso 100-12800
fov Standard (can i use wide?)wb: auto

minasmorgul Posted at 9-2 23:46
hi, theoretically the track should be well lit. so which complete configuration do you recommend? this is a idea:

4k 30 fps RS (can i use a RS+?)

4K 30 fps RS should be OK, I am not using RS+ because it will crop field of view more.

Exposure M ;  Color normal is OK.

If you use Dlog, you should perform Post Processing, but it can deliver better video clip.
Dlog Post Processing is a lot of work for me to do, so I always use normal color.

If the track is well lit, You may start SS 1/640 sec, if the video clip is not too dark, you can try 1/800 sec.
Using very high shutter speed will deliver very dark video clip.

ISO range 100-12800 and Standard FOV is OK.

If you can try it in advance at Go-karts track, you can try 1/640, 1/800 and 1/1000 sec.
Then you can select the suitable setting that work for actual light level there.


Enjoy you Go-karts,

I have probably found the best low light settings,
but take a deep breath, this post/reply is gonna be long.
I primarily use only 2 settings that i have saved in profile mapped to C1 and C2 settings, and these are as follows :
Also btw thanks to suphot above in this forum, this answer includes his settings too.

FOR LOW LIGHT :
1. Do note that due to fixed shutter speed of 1/100(or 1/120 for 60Hz current countries), the very bright sky will get blown away so its not suitable during daytime, rest everything is fine).
2. Will not work great on motovlogging/fast paced movements like quick camera panning or running, but walking and moderate speed panning would be fine.
3. Btw action cameras are not known for great low light performance, but i've head buying gimbal does increase the performance of camera greatly in low light, also if Vlogging, buy a different cage which has multiple cold shoe mounts, and then mount a LED light like Ulanzi VL49 on it. This way your face is lit nicely even in low/evening night while Vlogging.

So coming to settings :
Pro mode/settings enabled
FPS = 30 (keep it on 30Fps only, irrespective of fact you live in 50Hz current country, cuz shutter speed of 1/100 will fix the flickering) Dont make it 25 fps , cuz, except for when camera is stationery in 1 position, it looks too jittery when camera is moving.
Exposure (auto) - but still some settings need to be set even on Auto mode --> EV = +1.0(click on top left of screen to change this), Shutter speed = 1/100(or 1/120 for countries with 60Hz electricity),  ISO = 100-12800
WB = auto
Color = Normal (Dlog-m wont  work cuz we having low light enhancement setting ON, which will automatically convert it to 8-bit footage, and disable Dlog-m).
FOV = Narrow(or you can put wide as well if you want, but idk why i liked narrow one more as its zoomed in and this camera already feels very wide as compared to smartphone cameras).
Image adjustment = Default
Stabilization = RS (Do not put it on RS+ as that produces softer and little bit more shaky footage - and no, adding sharpness in post production/inbuilt camera settings wont fix that).
Low light enhancement : On (Kindly note color will become 8 bit instead of 10bit, but thats fine 8 bit still has lots of color)

FOR DAYTIME/Good lighting conditions : (This would be suitable for almost any condition when light is good)
Pro mode/settings enabled.
FPS = 50 (make it 60Fps if you live in 60Hz current country)
Exposure(auto) - but still some settings have to be changed, EV = +1.0, ISO = 100-12800, shutter speed will be set automatically, cuz we chose auto settings.
WB = Auto
Color = Normal 10bit (or you can use D-log also this time if you have patience to Color grade it later on, cuz i've heard Dlog will give greater dynamic range after color grading is done)
FOV = Narrow
Image adjustment = Default
Stabilization = RS (Do not put it on RS+ as that produces softer and little bit more shaky footage (and no adding sharpness in post production/inbuilt camera settings wont fix that).
Low light enhancement : Off (it works only till 30fps)

P.S. : i have an external mic (comica vm10 pro) which i connect using usb-c cable - and best settings there that i found are mic gain(on the mic) set to max, and inbuilt camera gain set to 0.

Thank you for your video. I just got my Action 4 and still learning. My initial video from a cloudy day is just horrible. Very blurry. It feels like a resolution of 720p. I will try out your setting.
My question is, many people say that shutter speed slower than 1/200s could cause problem for the RockSteady (RS) because the shutter is too slow hence producing blurring images in low light conditions and RS won't work well. I see you are using 1/100s and RS on. You don't experience issues with the RS function? Thank you for your kind help.

M M5 Posted at 12-10 21:45
Thank you for your video. I just got my Action 4 and still learning. My initial video from a cloudy day is just horrible. Very blurry. It feels like a resolution of 720p. I will try out your setting.
My question is, many people say that shutter speed slower than 1/200s could cause problem for the RockSteady (RS) because the shutter is too slow hence producing blurring images in low light conditions and RS won't work well. I see you are using 1/100s and RS on. You don't experience issues with the RS function? Thank you for your kind help.

Welcome to Action 4 forum,


The answer is Yes and No,

Yes, Shutter speed slower than 1/200 Sec may produce blurry image, If you walk very quickly or there are a lot of camera shake. (No matter it is low light or cloudy).

No,  When you know the situation, walk smoothly, hold the camera steady. It can deliver good video clip.

Shutter speed 1/100 Sec will be more risk to get blurry video clip than 1/200 Sec. But the video clip will be darker than 1/100 Sec.

People walk differently depend on individual person. I recommend you to test it by yourself.

Find out low light location that you want to try,

Set Shutter speed 1/200 Sec and record while walk normally for a few clips. Set Shutter speed 1/100 Sec and do the same. View the result on big screen TV.

If 1/100 Sec did not work well, you have two choices.

Use Shutter speed 1/200 Sec for your walking style.
Or
Use Shutter speed 1/100 Sec and try to walk slower and smoother, until it is good for you.

When you know how to walk smoothly for 1/100 Sec, you can use it when light goes low or cloudy.

By the way, from what I test for myself, no matter of how I try to walk smoothly, Shutter speed 1/50 or 1/60 Sec are too slow in low light or cloudy (video clip always blur from time to time). So that why Shutter speed 1/100 Sec is the lowest speed that can deliver good video clip (with caution to walk smoothly).

I hope this help.


Cheers.

Suphot Posted at 12-11 02:34
Welcome to Action 4 forum,

Hello,
Thank you for your kind help. Today, I went out to take some test videos. I only use 2.7k30fps (I know you use 4k).
It was a dark cloudy day. Video quality was acceptable. I was testing with Auto shutter 1/200s - 1/8000s, ISO 100 - 6400. RS

When I got into a coffee shop, I tested with various settings from Auto shutter 1/200s - 1/8000s, ISO 100 - 6400, RS. All the way to Manual shutter with fixed 1/120s, ISO 100 - 6400. RS. Video quality is not as good as I expected, but I guess passable. I also tried with RS off. Way too shaky. Not usable at all.

On the way home it was very dark. I tried to shoot video or some houses with X/mas light decorations. Video quality became poorer. Settings was Manual shutter with fixed 1/120s, Auto ISO 100 - 6400. RS. Definitely not as sharp and nice like your video example walking down the Central World.

I will continue with more testing.

Vagabond88 Posted at 12-12 19:14
Hello,
Thank you for your kind help. Today, I went out to take some test videos. I only use 2.7k30fps (I know you use 4k).
It was a dark cloudy day. Video quality was acceptable. I was testing with Auto shutter 1/200s - 1/8000s, ISO 100 - 6400. RS

When you walking test several times, you will improve the video clips.

I would like to inform you that, at Central world clip, it was a good brightness location. So DJI Action 4 automatically lower ISO, that why video look sharp and not blurry. (If I remember correctly DJI Action 4 did not activate Low light enhancement when I recording).

When you record very low light (Dark sky with little X'mas light decorations), DJI Action 4 will activate Low light enhancement. Which reduce sharpness from Noise reduction.

By the way, if your video clip did not show blurry or Image Jitter from time to time. It considered you have good walking style for low light recording.

The very dark scene may be not sharp and look noisy (but no Camera movement blur or Jitter), that was limit of DJI Action 4 sensor.

When I need to record very low light location, I will not walk while recording, just stand still and pan camera slowly to record video clip and use this setting.

Pro Mode.

Manual Shutter Speed set to 1/30 Sec.
ISO 100-128000
Low light Enhancement Auto.

You may take a look from this clip.


https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=315280

Suphot Posted at 12-13 02:51
You may take a look from this clip.

Hi Suphot,

Wow, those videos look so good! I wish I could produce quality like that.

I compiled a video of my low light footage. Settings are in my description section. I feel the quality is not good. What do you think? Thank you for your time to review.
I think I might have to record and upload to Youtube in 4k to see if I can get a better quality. I have to test it out to see my PC can process in 4k. I only have a very average PC, I am worried that my PC might not able to handle and crash.

https://youtu.be/9nocJ9OVg-E

Vagabond88 Posted at 12-13 21:43
Hi Suphot,

Wow, those videos look so good! I wish I could produce quality like that.

Hi Vagabond88,


From your video clips, I think it is very good, I did not see Blurry or Jitter in the video.
What you may try to improve video clip may be as follow;


1. You may try to walk slower a little bit, this will smoother movement in the video.

2. Walk each step shorter, this may reduce camera going Up and Down movement.

3. Pan camera more slowly, this also smooth video clip.

4. Yes, you may try  4K,  30 FPS recording, the video clip will be sharper.

5. You may try to select ISO from 100 - 12800 and compare the result. ISO 3200 and 6400 may  not enough for some lighting condition, The ISO 100 - 12800 will deliver brighter video. From I test it for myself, ISO above 3200 to 12800, we did not lost much details.

6. I think your PC can process 4K video, but it may take longer time to complete. I use CapCut software on my Notebook. I think your PC should be fine.  


I hope this help.


Cheers.

Suphot Posted at 12-14 01:27
Hi Vagabond88,

Hello Suphot,
Thank you for reviewing my video. And thank you for your suggestions. I will try to test out different settings and to improve my my walking. I hope my computer can process 4k. I will let you know. Thank you again.

Suphot Posted at 12-14 01:27
Hi Vagabond88,

Hello Suphot,
I tested recording in 4k/30fps, and processed with Capcut. No problem. Thanks again for your help!
Cheers,

Vagabond88 Posted at 12-15 19:57
Hello Suphot,
I tested recording in 4k/30fps, and processed with Capcut. No problem. Thanks again for your help!
Cheers,

Great to hear that.


You are welcome,