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Finally Resolved Missing Tripod Mode Issue (With video)

flumpet

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I got my mavic about 2 weeks ago and ever since i've flown in quite a number of places. However, on thing that bugged me was that I could never locate Tripod Mode. Now before you judge me for not reading the manual, i need to say that I know where tripod mode can be enabled, i know where tripod mode can be accessed. However, it was missing. Whenever i play with the DJI GO app without the drone connected, i see the option to turn on tripod mode in the settings under the aircraft icon. Once i connect to my aircraft and fly though, that option completely disappears. Its like a whole line of code got deleted. Swiping left and right also did not yield any results.
Tapping on the intelligent flight modes also did not yield any results. I was definitely MISSING the option.

Last night, i updated my firmware and batteries to the latest version, thinking that my issue would be fixed, but it didnt. This morning, i decided to try the last variable: Updating my iPhone to the latest iOS.

As i am currently using iPhone 6 Plus, i had reservations updating to the latest iOS as i did not want my phone to slow down. My phone isnt a 6S plus, much less a 7 Plus.

After deciding to update however, the tripod mode FINALLY APPEARED! So for those of you still missing your tripod mode, maybe you are in the same situation as I am.

Here is a video of my very first test of the tripod mode. The wind was pretty strong as a storm was approaching, but the mavic pro held on like a champ.


The moire effect is quite apparent though if you look at the background. However the tripod mode worked as advertised. Freaking awesome!
 
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tripod mode is nice... but why does the image quality totally suck in your video? did not tap to focus? down-res and aggressive compression? gimbal cover on?
 
tripod mode is nice... but why does the image quality totally suck in your video? did not tap to focus? down-res and aggressive compression? gimbal cover on?
tripod mode is nice... but why does the image quality totally suck in your video? did not tap to focus? down-res and aggressive compression? gimbal cover on?

Really, i think it looks pretty ok. i did tap to focus initially but of course as the drone moves the focus point stays fixed. so when it goes closer to objects it may not seem in focus. Did you even try watching in 4k?
 
tripod mode is nice... but why does the image quality totally suck in your video? did not tap to focus? down-res and aggressive compression? gimbal cover on?
Looks ok to me also! What were you viewing it on, was it set to HD, good internet speed? Remember YT compresses it as well but even so looked good to me.
 
Looks ok to me also! What were you viewing it on, was it set to HD, good internet speed? Remember YT compresses it as well but even so looked good to me.
he was looking at it through his troll-glasses
 
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looks very nice to me also ...
 
Your video looks much better than anything I've been able to get my Mavic to produce. What was the resolution and frame rate?
 
1920x1080 isn't great on the Mavic. Due to the sensor.
 
2.7k looks better. So for some people they may prefer that. Me personally, if I'm gonna have to shoot in a higher resolution than 1080p60fps, I'll just shoot in 4K.
 
2.7k looks better. So for some people they may prefer that. Me personally, if I'm gonna have to shoot in a higher resolution than 1080p60fps, I'll just shoot in 4K.

I'm still seeing Moire in that 4k video. Are you getting the same results with 4k30fps?
 
That video is is 4k30fps. The right side was 1920x1080 60fps. You might be seeing moire/blur because 30fps tends to blur easily. That's why I normally preferred to shoot in 1080p60fps.
 
Ugh. So 4k30fps gives you more blur with panning but 1080p60fps gives you more moire. I guess I'll have to play with 2.7k a little more to see if I can find a happy middle ground.

I was perfectly happy with 720p60fps on the Phantom 3 Pro. But it's becoming quite apparent that the Mavic's video capabilities are just not the same.
 
The blur is due to 30fps. Some people will say that blur is more "cinema like" and go for that effect. But no matter if you shoot 2.7k or 4k you're gonna have that blur because they're both 30fps.
 
Your video looks much better than anything I've been able to get my Mavic to produce. What was the resolution and frame rate?
I filmed at 4K at 24fps and edited in fcpx and exported in apple pro res 422 and H246.
 
So what's the sweet spot to get good quality without a ton of moire? 2.7k at 30fps?

As the sensor always delivers native 4k, the lower resolutions are usually downsized in software. So your best choice is to always recording the full 4k, and when you encounter difficult things like moire patterns, deal with them in post processing by experimenting with different parameters and do manual downsizing (if you don't want to stay in 4k).

In any case, moire is emphasized by sharpening. So, go into the Go app -> Video camera settings -> Style, select Custom, and dial down the sharpness control to -2 or -3. Explanation: the sensor has an antialising filter in front of it to avoid moire. That filter slighly blurs the image, which is usually compensated by sharpening the resulting image. That is why the default settings for all Jpegs and h.264 video include a fair amount of sharpening. Often however, the default is way too much, and moire becomes visually apparent again. Thus, sharpening is also something that should be applied in post where it can be controlled. Dial it down in camera settings if you don't want to ruin your original footage. You will have plenty of control and time, on a big screen, to apply proper sharpening later.

That antialiasing filter is needed for cameras of that resolution around 12 MP. Without it, we would have moire all over the place. Cameras in the 20-40 MP range can get away without it, more recent Nikon DSLRs for example do no longer have one.

This video does a good job of summarizing and explaining all the Mavic video settings:

 
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Why is the 4k color so bad? terrible blue cast......

The camera operator is responsible for the color. You get to choose white balance, exposure, color styles, contrast, and a bunch of other settings. If you do it wrong or just don't care and use the automatics, the results will be less than optimal.
 
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