4k video snapshot v actual photo

[RonanCork]

Hey Guys,

Using my Mavic Air - I recently shot some footage of a castle (4k - 24fps or 3fps). I also took a load of photos too (with the recommended settings from online posts, i.e shoot in raw, use AEB, etc).

When I loaded the photos into Lightroom and did some editing (I'm a beginner-ish at this, well 6 months of it) I wasn't blown away by the photos - they were ok. So I (in VLC) played some of the videos I took and grabbed screenshots/snapshot from them (using from the menu: Video > Take Snapshot). These snapshots from the video (after I edited in Lightroom) seem, to me, to look better that the photos I took!

Am I going mad here ?

On a side-note to me I find it strange that the MA has a 12MP camera but my Huawei Phone (p20) has 20MP.

Thanks Ro

 

[IShouldBeWorking]

These snapshots from the video (after I edited in Lightroom) seem, to me, to look better that the photos I took!

That does seem strange. Any chance we could get a look at some of your shots for a comparison?

 

[WithTheBirds]

Screen grabs from video can look nice- properly shot stills should be better.

As has been suggested share some images (with settings) And you should get helpful suggestions. We might also make recommendations about what you could do in your post processing workflow.

Do you also find it strange your phone doesn’t fly and your drone can’t make phone calls?

 

[RonanCork]

Hey Guys,

Sorry for delay. Sure, let me dig out some and I'll post here for comparison. Just thinking it would have made sense for me to add these photos for comparison in my original message ;-))

Thanks Ronan

 

[PAW]

Hey Guys,

Using my Mavic Air - I recently shot some footage of a castle (4k - 24fps or 3fps). I also took a load of photos too (with the recommended settings from online posts, i.e shoot in raw, use AEB, etc).

When I loaded the photos into Lightroom and did some editing (I'm a beginner-ish at this, well 6 months of it) I wasn't blown away by the photos - they were ok. So I (in VLC) played some of the videos I took and grabbed screenshots/snapshot from them (using from the menu: Video > Take Snapshot). These snapshots from the video (after I edited in Lightroom) seem, to me, to look better that the photos I took!

Am I going mad here ?

On a side-note to me I find it strange that the MA has a 12MP camera but my Huawei Phone (p20) has 20MP.

Thanks Ro

Here's an example I made regarding this from a recent post
for-us-amateurs-only

 

[IShouldBeWorking]

Hmmm. Well, in your shots of the forest (is that Mt. Hood in the background?) the colors are certainly different in your frames from the video versus the still jpeg. Is that what you mean by "look better"? I feel like the crispness and detail is about the same in all three of those shots. If you're working in Lightroom and shooting your stills in raw, you've got lots of room to tweak colors, brightness and other things until they are more pleasing to your eye. I'm not a professional pixel peeper, but what's coming out of the camera looks pretty good to me.

 

[PAW]

Hmmm. Well, in your shots of the forest (is that Mt. Hood in the background?) the colors are certainly different in your frames from the video versus the still jpeg. Is that what you mean by "look better"? I feel like the crispness and detail is about the same in all three of those shots. If you're working in Lightroom and shooting your stills in raw, you've got lots of room to tweak colors, brightness and other things until they are more pleasing to your eye. I'm not a professional pixel peeper, but what's coming out of the camera looks pretty good to me.

Mount McLoughlin, Southern Oregon
I don't know about "look better". They look fine here. But much more you could do with a snapped RAW than the frame shot from the MP4. I use the process as a backup, as I often miss grabbing a good photo and then spot the missed opportunity when editing the video.
Again, I admit this is an amateur move...

 

[IShouldBeWorking]

Mount McLoughlin, Southern Oregon
I don't know about "look better". They look fine here. But much more you could do with a snapped RAW than the frame shot from the MP4. I use the process as a backup, as I often miss grabbing a good photo and then spot the missed opportunity when editing the video.
Again, I admit this is an amateur move...

I don't think it's amateurish. If it's a choice between getting the image you want and not getting it, you do what you have to do. I was more concerned that you weren't liking the quality of the images you get when you don't capture a still from video. I'd say you're getting nice shots either way. And as an aside, I've only visited mountains and forests of Oregon a couple of times, but I'm always impressed by how beautiful they are. You live in a great place to fly!

 

[PAW]

I don't think it's amateurish. If it's a choice between getting the image you want and not getting it, you do what you have to do. I was more concerned that you weren't liking the quality of the stills you get when you don't capture a still from video. I'd say you're getting nice shots either way. And as an aside, I've only visited mountains and forests of Oregon a couple of times, but I'm always impressed by how beautiful they are. You live in a great place to fly!

Thanks, it is a nice area. Some of the desert shots I see from others as well as the seacoasts... this is a beautiful country.