1080 Good Enough?

[davesdronevids]

MP2 here and it’s my first drone. Unlike so many of you I’m an amateur hack and bought it for no other reason but to use it as a toy. Sorry if that offends some purists but it’s the truth.

My question is about the Video Resolution. First off I know very little other than my 4K TV is looks better than my 1080 TV. I won’t be doing tons of editing and whatever simple stuff I do with be with Windows Movie Maker to cut out some stuff, maybe splice two pieces together, etc. My viewing will be mostly on a computer or mobile device. If it’s something really cool I may toss in on the TV to show friends but that’s about it. If anything I may put some on YouTube.

I have a 128G SD card and am thinking about the best bang for the buck in regards to quality / file size.

And yes, I understand that 4K has a higher resolution than 1080 but given the above would 1080 be good enough or if not, what would be the recommended video resolution?

 

[PortCanaveralFlorida]

MP2 here and it’s my first drone. Unlike so many of you I’m an amateur hack and bought it for no other reason but to use it as a toy. Sorry if that offends some purists but it’s the truth.

My question is about the Video Resolution. First off I know very little other than my 4K TV is looks better than my 1080 TV. I won’t be doing tons of editing and whatever simple stuff I do with be with Windows Movie Maker to cut out some stuff, maybe splice two pieces together, etc. My viewing will be mostly on a computer or mobile device. If it’s something really cool I may toss in on the TV to show friends but that’s about it. If anything I may put some on YouTube.

I have a 128G SD card and am thinking about the best bang for the buck in regards to quality / file size.

And yes, I understand that 4K has a higher resolution than 1080 but given the above would 1080 be good enough or if not, what would be the recommended video resolution?

Let's simplify this. Would you rather have the McLaren 720s take you to work or a 2010 Corvette?
Both will get you were you want to go, you're choice

 

[AeroJ]

If you want to be 'future-proof' to some extent, and you have a computer powerful enough to edit and play back 4K footage, then by all means edit, output, and upload in 4K. On Youtube people can adjust playback res as suits their machine and net connection, so still fine if viewed on a tiny screen with rubbish bandwidth...

1080P is a lot faster and easier to edit (and requires a much less powerful machine to produce) but there is no doubt you lose a lot of appreciable detail compared to 4K.

But I prefer an option that is sort of 'the best of both worlds', so I record source footage in 4K, transcode that down to 1080P in Handbrake (best transcoder in the world, and free !) then edit and output the footage in 1080P. There is an appreciable difference in quality between this and native 1080P, but you still get to keep the smaller file sizes - there is no doubt 4k footage takes A LOT of space on your system if you are the sort of person that keeps the originals...

 

[D2010MJ]

@davesdronevids I’m about to purchase one for the exact same reason. How are you finding/enjoying the drone?

 

[davesdronevids]

@davesdronevids I’m about to purchase one for the exact same reason. How are you finding/enjoying the drone?

I like it very much but still have limited experience since today is the first without rain in a while.

 

[TheFunnyMan]

4k is useless to me - the files are too big, you need a super-computer to edit them, etc, etc. I like to shoot in 2.7k (60 fps if there is lots of motion or if I want to slow it down some) and then render (save it) as 1080p - that way my originals look great and the rendered file seems to be noticibly better than when I shoot in 1080 and render in 1080 - hope that helps.

 

[Rick0504N]

I now only shoot in 1080/30 with my MPP. This is just a hobby for me and I share videos with family members. Easy to edit in iMovie on my 2015 MacBook Air and then upload to YouTube or watch on my 1080 TV’s
Personally, I think the quality looks great.

 

[davesdronevids]

4k is useless to me - the files are too big, you need a super-computer to edit them, etc, etc. I like to shoot in 2.7k (60 fps if there is lots of motion or if I want to slow it down some) and then render (save it) as 1080p - that way my originals look great and the rendered file seems to be noticibly better than when I shoot in 1080 and render in 1080 - hope that helps.

Thanks. I didn't consider this option. How much bigger is 2.7 compared to 1080? And how much smaller than 4K?

 

[davesdronevids]

I now only shoot in 1080/30 with my MPP. This is just a hobby for me and I share videos with family members. Easy to edit in iMovie on my 2015 MacBook Air and then upload to YouTube or watch on my 1080 TV’s
Personally, I think the quality looks great.

Is 1080/60 an option?

 

[Rick0504N]

Is 1080/60 an option?

Yes

 

[4wd]

1080p is still pretty much default on youtube, and gives you a perfectly good video result.
It's a fair point that you could transcode any sequences you want to edit at 1080p, and play the 4K direct or save for possible edits later.
A good transcode tool is at www.handbrake.fr

 

[davesdronevids]

Yes

Thought so. Is there a reason you use 30 instead?

 

[TheFunnyMan]

Thanks. I didn't consider this option. How much bigger is 2.7 compared to 1080? And how much smaller than 4K?

2.7k is 'half way' between 4k and 1080p - going to 60fps doubles the size (double the frame-rate) but the computer can still handle it since it's just more frames. Shooting in 4k or 2.7k 60fps and rendering down to 1080 for youtube or other sharing is the same result in my opinion.

I shot this with my Mavic 2 Pro at 2.7k 60fps, then I rendered it at 1080 60fps and it came out ok. If your connection is good it should auto-to 1080-60

 

[Kilrah]

Try all 3 modes and decide yourself what you prefer? Nobody can tell you what you like (well that may not be correct, but that becomes a little too meta for this place )

 

[Rick0504N]

Thought so. Is there a reason you use 30 instead?

I’ll shoot at 1080/60 later and see how it goes. I believe advantages of more fps includes capturing faster moving objects as well as creating slo-mo scenes when editing. I actually do include slow motion scenes when editing so I guess 60fps might be the way to go. We’ll see...

 

[Mattanous]

I shoot real estate video and always use 1080p for shoots. I have no use for 4k as 1080 is still a standard for video players. 4k is definitely rising but the files are much larger and take more time to edit, but still look really good off the card.

Test out both and play with them on your editing software. If 4k doesn't give you a hard time then use it. No harm no foul.

Down the road I plan to use 4k as the standard continues to change, but I have no complaints or problems with 1080, still pretty sharp

 

[davesdronevids]

2.7k is 'half way' between 4k and 1080p - going to 60fps doubles the size (double the frame-rate) but the computer can still handle it since it's just more frames. Shooting in 4k or 2.7k 60fps and rendering down to 1080 for youtube or other sharing is the same result in my opinion.

I shot this with my Mavic 2 Pro at 2.7k 60fps, then I rendered it at 1080 60fps and it came out ok. If your connection is good it should auto-to 1080-60

Well done! Yeah, I think that would be plenty good enough for me. I'll default to 1080/60 while knowing I could go 'better' should the need ever arise.

Thanks ALL.

 

[texasgrape]

MP2 here and it’s my first drone. Unlike so many of you I’m an amateur hack and bought it for no other reason but to use it as a toy. Sorry if that offends some purists but it’s the truth.

My question is about the Video Resolution. First off I know very little other than my 4K TV is looks better than my 1080 TV. I won’t be doing tons of editing and whatever simple stuff I do with be with Windows Movie Maker to cut out some stuff, maybe splice two pieces together, etc. My viewing will be mostly on a computer or mobile device. If it’s something really cool I may toss in on the TV to show friends but that’s about it. If anything I may put some on YouTube.

I have a 128G SD card and am thinking about the best bang for the buck in regards to quality / file size.

And yes, I understand that 4K has a higher resolution than 1080 but given the above would 1080 be good enough or if not, what would be the recommended video resolution?

If no one bought DJIs as toys this forum would be pretty empty--bigger boys; bigger toys! Have fun!

 

[AvatarWings]

Well done! Yeah, I think that would be plenty good enough for me. I'll default to 1080/60 while knowing I could go 'better' should the need ever arise.

Thanks ALL.

With my Mavic Pro (original), I always shot in 1080p 60 fps. However, since getting my M2Z, when flying recreationally, I have started shooting in 1080p 30 fps because it still looks really good and my hard drives are starting to fill up.

HOWEVER, when I am shooting a video that I know I am wanting to keep, I change my settings to 1080p 60 fps or 2.7k 60 fps if I want it high quality. I really like how 2.7k 60 fps turns out. IT LOOKS AWESOME but takes up even more room on my computer.

 

[Eugenious99]

Let's simplify this. Would you rather have the McLaren 720s take you to work or a 2010 Corvette?
Both will get you were you want to go, you're choice

lol , bentley is better