I believe I am having an issue with my video quality, maybe someone with a keen eye for flaws can share their opinion, I've tried fooling with the settings a bit but I can't seem to get rid of this pixelated/grainy look (which isn't horrible, but it just seems to slightly overlay all of my footage). I realize my location probably isn't the best for judging this kind of thing but it's all I've got so far. It doesn't seem too severe but none of my footage is coming out clear, here is a short clip displaying my issue. It might be worth mentioning that it was between 10-15F when I filmed this.


[size=14.6667px]

Tried messing a little with the sharpness while editing today, as I thought the unedited footage was maybe turning out this way because it was a bit oversharpened but it seems like it just blurs the video even if I only bring it down slightly so I'm not sure thats the issue.

DISCLAIMER: I don't have my Mavic yet, so take this with a grain of salt.

The first video is too dark to be of much use, but the second one starts out unfocused and looks like you tapped-to-focus about 30 secs in, at which point it seems ok to me. People forgetting to focus the Mavic after launch is/was a source of many early video complaints, here's hoping that's all this is.

If you haven't upgraded yet, the latest firmware adds an autofocus mode by default meant to address the issue I describe above. You can always switch to manual focus if you prefer.

I do have the latest firmware and I tapped a few times just to be sure. I am unable to see the distinction between the first 30 seconds of the video and any further on, the drone itself is swaying in the wind a bit and I am panning for part of it but I believe the focus remains the same. As for the rest looking "OK" the picture looks somewhat grainy to me, though funny enough, the raw footage looks worse before it was uploaded to youtube. Maybe I am just looking too hard for issues but I have seen some gorgeous vids (with editing) and some great vids with little to no editing that don't appear to have the same problem I'm seeing.

res89 Posted at 2017-1-7 20:09
I do have the latest firmware and I tapped a few times just to be sure. I am unable to see the distinction between the first 30 seconds of the video and any further on, the drone itself is swaying in the wind a bit and I am panning for part of it but I believe the focus remains the same. As for the rest looking "OK" the picture looks somewhat grainy to me, though funny enough, the raw footage looks worse before it was uploaded to youtube. Maybe I am just looking too hard for issues but I have seen some gorgeous vids (with editing) and some great vids with little to no editing that don't appear to have the same problem I'm seeing.

My bad, what I was seeing with the 30-sec comment was YouTube not delivering the full stream at first, now the video "pops" into focus only a few seconds in. sigh.

What are your recording format and ISO settings?

Seems "normal" to me. I discovered that using sharpness 0 or +1 increases drastically the amount of noise in the shot, due to the software trying to get more detail. On the other hand, using negative values for the sharpness results in good looking objects that are well exposed, but the areas that are in shadow get so badly compressed that it appears to be out of focus. This is a codec issue, and It should be fixed with firmware updates, but it seems that the quality of the Mavic Pro camera has been decreasing with the recent updates. If you watch videos from reviewers who got it just after its release, the quality of the video is much, much better that the quiality of the video from the rest of the people's Mavics.

My ISO was 100 and my format was 4k30fps, NTSC. I think my settings were 0/+1, 0, 0 iirc.

D.Walls, I do believe I was shooting in 0 or +1 Sharpness, I don't remember exactly which but I will try shooting in -1 today and see if that helps at all, as for the current firmware having issues, if I were to reset to factory and do firmware upgrades in steps do you think it would make a difference?

I am in the process of uploading a few videos I took today, I think they look better than my previous clips. I shot in -1, -1, -1. Will edit this post with the links when they are completed. I should note that I still am seeing issues, especially with the raw footage but I think in the longer video minus some poor flying at times by me it is looking better overall.
Here is the first:

And the second:

res89 Posted at 2017-1-8 09:56
I am in the process of uploading a few videos I took today, I think they look better than my previous clips. I shot in -1, -1, -1. Will edit this post with the links when they are completed. I should note that I still am seeing issues, especially with the raw footage but I think in the longer video minus some poor flying at times by me it is looking better overall.
Here is the first: https://youtu.be/tcGy1vGpWX8

The codec's bitrate is too weak for 4K. Try 2.7K instead. It's the sweet spot for the Mavic. And, no high frame rates either!

roedaal Posted at 2017-1-8 10:09
The codec's bitrate is too weak for 4K. Try 2.7K instead. It's the sweet spot for the Mavic. And, no high frame rates either!

I will give that a shot next time for sure! However as I do have some 4k displays and really am able to see a difference between that and FHD at least, is it still possible to get great video while recording on 4k?

I have used the X5 for over a year and know what good video looks like. Right now I'm very disappointed with the video and stills this camera is producing. I realize this is not a high end camera but dad burn at least give me a camera that will focus.  Mainly it is the edges that are consistently out of focus. Have tried many different setting in different lighting conditions and it still persist. Looking around the web on different forums it looks like many others are having the same issue. Don't really know if this is a firmware fix or a misaligned lens but something has to give or DJI will get this bird back. Anyone have any suggestions?

mikes1 Posted at 2017-1-9 05:18
I have used the X5 for over a year and know what good video looks like. Right now I'm very disappointed with the video and stills this camera is producing. I realize this is not a high end camera but dad burn at least give me a camera that will focus.  Mainly it is the edges that are consistently out of focus. Have tried many different setting in different lighting conditions and it still persist. Looking around the web on different forums it looks like many others are having the same issue. Don't really know if this is a firmware fix or a misaligned lens but something has to give or DJI will get this bird back. Anyone have any suggestions?

I don't expect it to measure up to something like the X5 or even the camera on the p4p, but the images and video I'm getting don't seem up to snuff even with other unedited footage I've seen online. I will try a camera reset and maybe resetting the firmware as well today to see if that fixes the problem.

Hi res89,

please tell us more after you reset your camera and firmware.
I have issues with my camera too, see my post here: http://forum.dji.com/thread-79516-1-1.html

Cheers,
Atilla

mikes1 Posted at 2017-1-9 05:18
I have used the X5 for over a year and know what good video looks like. Right now I'm very disappointed with the video and stills this camera is producing. I realize this is not a high end camera but dad burn at least give me a camera that will focus.  Mainly it is the edges that are consistently out of focus. Have tried many different setting in different lighting conditions and it still persist. Looking around the web on different forums it looks like many others are having the same issue. Don't really know if this is a firmware fix or a misaligned lens but something has to give or DJI will get this bird back. Anyone have any suggestions?

It won't be up to X5 standards but should give good focus. If it's in focus in the center but out on the edges you may have a lens alignment issue.  On my Mavic I had an out of focus spot on the right lower side and DJI fixed that. Before you call DJI, I'd try an IMU and Gimbal calibration and a reset of of the image settings (not sure why that would help but there have been some reports that it cleared up focus issues).

WolfgangStiller Posted at 2017-1-9 08:24
It won't be up to X5 standards but should give good focus. If it's in focus in the center but out on the edges you may have a lens alignment issue.  On my Mavic I had an out of focus spot on the right lower side and DJI fixed that. Before you call DJI, I'd try an IMU and Gimbal calibration and a reset of of the image settings (not sure why that would help but there have been some reports that it cleared up focus issues).

To me it doesn't even seem to be a focus issue in my case. It looks like the appearance of a slightly grainy or noisy overcast which seems uniform across the whole lens so I don't think any specific area is out of focus.

I'm also having issues with noise in photos and video. At ISO 100 noise should not be an issue imo.

Just got back from shooting, tried out 4k@30 again and it looked much the same, 4k@24 was quite similar, 2.7k@30 looked better but the issue was still very apparent. -1, -1, -1 as before. When I got home I reviewed the footage to find out nothing really changed, I then took the drone outside into my backyard and reset the camera. Upon resetting the camera and leaving the camera to auto adjust itself (with the ISO static at 100 for the duration of the clip) I thought the video looked A LOT better. I am in the process of uploading it and will post it here soon. The issue is still there but it seems to not be as blatant as with the footage I posted before. Let me know what you guys think, I am still debating a factory reset to downgrade the firmware but if this "fix" is enough to produce some quality footage I may just leave it alone.
Video AFTER camera reset (4k@30):

2.7k@30 (Cinelike):

res89 Posted at 2017-1-9 08:33
To me it doesn't even seem to be a focus issue in my case. It looks like the appearance of a slightly grainy or noisy overcast which seems uniform across the whole lens so I don't think any specific area is out of focus.

At 4k the data rate the Mavic can handle can't quite keep up but you shouldn't have any issues based on at 2.7k. I am not sure what is going on there.   

res89 Posted at 2017-1-9 08:33
To me it doesn't even seem to be a focus issue in my case. It looks like the appearance of a slightly grainy or noisy overcast which seems uniform across the whole lens so I don't think any specific area is out of focus.

At 4k the data rate the Mavic can handle can't quite keep up but you shouldn't have any issues based on that potential issue at 2.7k. I am not sure what is going on there.   

WolfgangStiller Posted at 2017-1-9 18:03
At 4k the data rate the Mavic can handle can't quite keep up but you shouldn't have any issues based on that potential issue at 2.7k. I am not sure what is going on there.

Are you able to see a big difference (color aside as one is using None and the other Cinelike) in the videos I posted? To my eyes the 2.7k actually does look less noisy but the color could be throwing me off, I'll have to try identical settings aside from the resolution to better compare I guess.

I think the 2.7K looks a lot better on my screen at least.
Cinelike -1 -1 -1 ?

Have you tried 24p as it gives smoother results as well.

Bent Kangaroo Posted at 2017-1-9 21:43
I think the 2.7K looks a lot better on my screen at least.
Cinelike -1 -1 -1 ?

Yeah thats what I'm using, and no I haven't tried 24fps yet but I will next time I fly. Thanks for the feedback!

res89 Posted at 2017-1-10 09:42
Yeah thats what I'm using, and no I haven't tried 24fps yet but I will next time I fly. Thanks for the feedback!

Yes, I am trolling all posts that relate to poor video quality of the mavic and it does not look good!  I would like to have this little drone but not with a lousy camera!  

Took some more footage today, again I'm noticing the problem I saw before. It seems much more apparent on the H setting than Cinelike, I took clips with a few different settings from 4k, to 2.7k, 30 to 24p, cinelike and H. Still kept my settings -1, -1, -1 and the conditions were less than ideal (very damp, slightly windy with overcast skies and fog). Uploading a few clips now. Becoming slightly more concerned as I haven't found a completely working fix for this and no threads I've seen have a response from DJI on whether this is just the quality we should expect, if the firmware updates are having a negative effect, or if others aren't experiencing this problem its just my drone needing repair.

Not seeing an option to edit my posts for some reason so here are the videos I took earlier.

2.7k@24fps Tripod Mode -1, -1, -1 Cinelike:


2.7k@30fps Normal Mode -1, -1, -1 Cinelike:

Your camera looks fine now to me, or at least as good as it can be.
You can't expect sparkling crisp footage in poor light with a hint of mist.
At editing you can probably give things a little more punch by increasing contrast and saturation.
Edging contrast up a little will usually make video look sharper.

When it's dull you might go back to the default zero settings when recording or it can look a bit too flat and muddy.
Trouble is it's hard to see how things look on a phone screen in the field!

4wd Posted at 2017-1-11 14:24
Your camera looks fine now to me, or at least as good as it can be.
You can't expect sparkling crisp footage in poor light with a hint of mist.
At editing you can probably give things a little more punch by increasing contrast and saturation.

Thank you for your input. I guess my cause for alarm is that I know the weather here won't improve too much over the next month, and I am taking a trip to the Philippines in mid February. My goal before I go there is to have my camera and drone as fine-tuned as possible (along with working on my piloting skills) because I am aiming to get some great footage there. I do see some very clean video from the Mavic though in other videos and I am just trying to get a solution as quick as possible in the case that I do need to send it in for repair as I am on the clock a little bit. I was pretty happy with the results of the video I'll link below. I posted it before and did a bit of editing a few nights ago.
Edit: It's worth mentioning that the second video in my previous post is 4k@30. Apparently you are unable to edit your posts after 2 minutes.

Are you able to say in public what you think the problems is?

Not smooth enough, too sharp, too blurry, too much noise etc....

I see a problem that is common to my footage and have seen others comment on. But i do expect that the limitations of the camera have been met.
Im not real impressed with my footage but i know the next model mavic will see improvement in this field, just as the P4 was superseded by the IQ of the P4P.

Bent Kangaroo Posted at 2017-1-11 16:35
Are you able to say in public what you think the problems is?

Not smooth enough, too sharp, too blurry, too much noise etc....

As someone who is completely new to photography/videography  I've never really been able to pinpoint flaws in video where others can see them, however, I do believe there is a slightly grainy overcast on my footage. It appears worse in trees and the grass from what I can see. The appearance is actually lessened when I upload the videos to youtube, the raw footage is worse. I am really trying to get the opinion of others because if this is truly the limitation of the camera I can live with it. I'm just doing my best to make sure this isn't an issue with my Mavic in particular before I take it somewhere that I really want to get the best footage possible.

I sent you a PM

I took some video the other day in the afternoon so the sun was setting and it was getting a bit darker. I changed the settings to manual so I was selecting my own shutter speed, I happen to think it came out pretty poor. I will link the raw footage below along with an edit for color correction and additionally the same edit but compressed to 90mb with Adobe Premiere after rendering (why does it do this btw? automatically sets the targeted bitrate significantly lower than the original video). In truth I can't see a huge difference between the two edited videos and I'm curious if anyone else can. Let me know what you guys think.

Original Footage: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4gdz9xv6quaf38g/DJI_0125.MP4?dl=0

Edited Video, not compressed: https://www.dropbox.com/s/p6d1ez6qaxe7db6/DJI_0125_1.mp4?dl=0

Edited Video, compressed to target bitrate between 10-12mbps: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ojf4ca ... pressed%29.mp4?dl=0

Viewing in DB looks like you recorded in 640x480.
Is that just my PC or dropbox in general?

From what I have experienced from my own footage and results I've seen here and elsewhere on the web, there's nothing wrong with your camera. Low or poor light seem to be the issue when compared to examples where light levels are good. I'm sure with the experience you've gained managing footage in poor light, you'll be more than happy with the results you get in the Philippines where the light should be perfect. Some of the video examples you've published here look great to me, and unless you intend to use this drone for professional purposes you're not going to get better images unless you upgrade to a more expensive professional drone. I don't believe an RMA replacement will be of any benefit to you and I don't want to accuse you of pixel peeping, but if these images are for your own, family and friends enjoyment then I think you've reached the capabilities of the camera, which after all still produces incredible footage and great tech in a compact and relatively inexpensive package when compared to the next level up. Can't wait to see your results from the Philippines!

rick39 Posted at 2017-1-14 02:52
From what I have experienced from my own footage and results I've seen here and elsewhere on the web, there's nothing wrong with your camera. Low or poor light seem to be the issue when compared to examples where light levels are good. I'm sure with the experience you've gained managing footage in poor light, you'll be more than happy with the results you get in the Philippines where the light should be perfect. Some of the video examples you've published here look great to me, and unless you intend to use this drone for professional purposes you're not going to get better images unless you upgrade to a more expensive professional drone. I don't believe an RMA replacement will be of any benefit to you and I don't want to accuse you of pixel peeping, but if these images are for your own, family and friends enjoyment then I think you've reached the capabilities of the camera, which after all still produces incredible footage and great tech in a compact and relatively inexpensive package when compared to the next level up. Can't wait to see your results from the Philippines!

Thank you for the detailed feedback! As I mentioned before, not being too experienced with drones or camera equipment I wasn't sure if the quality of my footage was suffering because of a camera issue or if this really just is the limitation of such a small sensor. I agree with the lighting observation and maybe I could try bringing up the ISO just a bit if I find myself filming in low light. The weather and opportunities I've had to film around here haven't really been ideal so the footage I currently have is all I've been able to get so far. Again, really do appreciate the input and I'm hoping my footage from the Philippines will look as good as some of the other videos I've seen out there! (Just need a bit of work on the piloting aspect to keep footage smooth).

@Bent Kangaroo: Unless someone else is seeing the same issue the dropbox files should be the raw footage uploaded in 4k so I'm not sure whats going on..
Edit: Actually when I click the links myself the quality does look horrible.. if you can, maybe try downloading it?

I did some tests today. I went to the beach and it was very sunny here in Greece.

I tried 1080p - 60 frames: The picture quality was terrible. I'm not going to use that footage. Especially the trees were like oil painted
2.7K -30 frames / 4K - 30frames: More or less the picture quality (not resolution) was OK without the problems seen in the 1080p - 60 frames.

Tried to take a still image: The image quality was very poor, like the jpg has been encoded with a very low quality setting. I will continue testing but so far this is my view.  

My setup:
-1,-1,-1 and Style: Truecolor

If you check the bitrate of your footage you will find that 4k video is 60Mbps as advertised, but 2.7k is only 45Mbps. This is a bummer, and I'm wondering if it is a hardware limitation or a software limitation.

Check my footage from today: https://www.dropbox.com/s/f09is8mp4y95o2r/DJI_0050.MOV?dl=0
You guys think I expect to much from this little camera? Its not even sunset, just cloudy!I dont think so. I am not expecting Inspire like video quality, but my footage looks like mess.
Not happy. Still photos (RAW) look even more worse.

4k Cinelike with 0,0,0

raybanner Posted at 2017-1-15 08:18
Check my footage from today: https://www.dropbox.com/s/f09is8mp4y95o2r/DJI_0050.MOV?dl=0
You guys think I expect to much from this little camera? Its not even sunset, just cloudy!I dont think so. I am not expecting Inspire like video quality, but my footage looks like mess.
Not happy. Still photos (RAW) look even more worse.

Your footage looks very similar to mine. Keep in mind I had to download the clip because for whatever reason, streaming it through dropbox looks absolutely horrible. Trees and grass especially look very noisy. I completely agree with your comment about stills too, when I zoom in even on a RAW photo the image breaks down much faster than I think it should, though I have seen better pictures taken with the mavic that don't become pixelated quite as fast when zooming.

Really hoping someone from DJI can take a look at these and comment on what seems like it could be a potential hardware issue with some of our drones.

Took a few more videos this morning, going to link some of them as I believe still playing around with settings and filming in different light I am struggling with noise in my footage. In these clips my ISO was set at 100, WB Cloudy, -1, -1, -1, Cinelike. The first clip I had manual settings on for shutter speed which I believe was 640, and the other 2 clips had auto as I wanted to see if going between the two yielded different results. If anyone is able, please download the videos as streaming them through dropbox seems to kill the resolution.

First Clip: https://www.dropbox.com/s/mo1y2syih2sjv4h/DJI_0002.MP4?dl=0

Second Clip: https://www.dropbox.com/s/y6v2237117tsag3/DJI_0003.MP4?dl=0

Third: https://www.dropbox.com/s/nbaejwdvm2jvndp/DJI_0004.MP4?dl=0

A rule of thumb is that your shutter speed should be set at double the frame rate. In your case 60 not 640.
I viewed an earlier clip after d'l it and it seems fine. maybe some noise with vegetation but i think that is from low light restrictions from the 1/two third sensor.