Camera focus issue, second Mavic....Is it me?

Motley · Jan 13, 2017

So I got my Mavic back after sending it in because of an issue with focus on the camera. The second Mavic (it was a replacement and not a repair) appears to have the exact same issue. Below is a short video showing that even though I focused several times the tree branches on the right are always blurry. Anyone having the same issue or know if there is something I am doing wrong?

wayneiak · Jan 13, 2017

I'm no expert, quality looks good even in low light.

Sent from my SM-T700 using MavicPilots mobile app

Robbyg · Jan 13, 2017

At those low light level the picture is going to be soft. You need to bump up the exposure or lessen the frame rate. IMO to really test the camera you need a lot more light than you had in that shot and not have the camera pointed towards the sun but away from it for best results.

Motley · Jan 13, 2017

Robbyg said:
At those low light level the picture is going to be soft. You need to bump up the exposure or lessen the frame rate. IMO to really test the camera you need a lot more light than you had in that shot and not have the camera pointed towards the sun but away from it for best results.

Ok, maybe it is just me. I uploaded another video that has more light...but the same issue. That was my last flight before it started to get too dark to do any testing with the camera. Does this also look good to you and is the softness I am seeing still due to low light areas?

Robbyg · Jan 13, 2017

Just at the moment the video cuts I can see that the buildings are in focus but the distant trees are not. Did you tap the focus on the trees or the buildings? And yes the light levels are low for testing the camera properly.

Motley · Jan 13, 2017

yep, tapped to focus and you can see that the tree in the lower right corner of the frame about halfway into the clip is very blurry but sharpens as it gets to the center of the frame. I would expect anything that is the same distance away to be the same sharpness regardless of where in the frame it is. I will admit I am not video or photo expert but I have never experienced this in the other 2 camera drones I have flown.

4wd · Jan 14, 2017

I've noticed with mine the edge and corners look blurred while you are turning, if you hold still or go forwards/back it's much better.
Yawing must take a lot more processing as everything in frame changes, so it 'cleverly' keeps the centre sharp and mushes the corners slightly.
That scene is still pretty dark the problem is less obvious in proper daylight as a secondary limitation is modest dynamic range especially in dark areas.

Kilrah · Jan 14, 2017

Just film a sample in bright daylight, both these dark clips aren't any good for judging quality.

Motley · Jan 14, 2017

Ok, I will get a better shot the next opportunity I get but this entire weekend is snow and cold where I am. Strange that when I sent samples from my first Mavic showing the same issue support did not recommend any of this and were willing to replace it as a camera issue.

Thanks for the replies, I am just trying to determine if there is still an issue or if I am not doing something right. I have seen many videos with the Mavic turning and I don't seem to see this issue in those videos but it may have just been too dark so I will try again in more light. Maybe I will try it out in my garage and see how that looks, when I did that with my first Mavic you could clearly see the garage door not in focus in some areas of the image.

4wd · Jan 14, 2017

You can see the corners thing in this last one I uploaded quite well.
Look at the top right especially, as soon as I stop circling the softness and smudging almost disappears.

Motley · Jan 14, 2017

So in the second video I posted above the thing I am referring to is the tree that comes into frame on the lower right at about 3-4 seconds. You can see as it comes into frame is it very blurry but as the images moves (and even while it is moving) you can see that it starts to become more sharp and detailed as it gets to the center of the frame around 8 seconds in. I guess this could be a lighting issue but the lighting did not change during the time the tree came into frame and when it sharpened up.

Motley · Jan 14, 2017

@Robbyg and @Kilrah, thanks for the input, I believe you were spot on about the light levels. Thankfully the snow has not arrived yet so I was able to get out and get a test in some decent light. Below is the test I did and it looks much better to me, would love to hear your input as well since I am still learning how to color correct and color grade video using DaVinci Resolve. The description in the video describes the settings I used when shooting.

jjmucker · Jan 14, 2017

I have the EXACT same problem. On occasion, the focus is great and sharp throughout, other times ( sometimes 5 mins after its blurry on right side ) i restart the craft, send it up again and the focus is fine. It's bizarre. and frustrating.

Motley · Jan 14, 2017

Well I will keep an eye out, if I ever see it on a shoot where the lighting is good then I will post an update here. At this point I don't have enough experience with the Mavic to say whether it has an issue or if it is a lighting thing I need to be more aware of.

shad · Nov 27, 2017

I was having the exact same problems with my Mavic. Contrary to what most people are saying here, low light is EXACTLY the kind of test you should be running on the focus. The best photography is done at the magic hours at the beginning and end of the day.

After losing my Mavic in a tall tree, I purchased a Phantom 4 which always give me sharp images, accurate color and never any auto focus blurry moments. Sad that I have to use a heavy, big and noisy drone to get good video. I was disappointed with the Mavic Video and am waiting to see the Mavic 2.0 with "newer, sharper, more reliable focusing" as the main feature.