DJI support have advised me that new firmware will be released soon, to fix soft focus :/

[mimoid]

Here's a full size test shot of mine:

View attachment 3384

That's... just obvious. And price isn't even much of a factor in it, size is.

Yeah ha ha, it sure is! The Mavic is incredibly portable.

Your picture is a great example of what I mentioned before, I can clearly see the center being MUCH sharper and having a better rendering than the edges and particularly the corners. If this was my DSLR, I would immediately dial it down to f/8 or something. However, I would still say that this quality would work well for the vast majority of my photo needs.

 

[Kilrah]

It is, but slightly, not MUCH...

I'm used to good cameras and quite picky, but in this case it's nothing I'd worry about. There are aspects that make this camera a little more complicated than usual to work with, but it isn't sharpness.

 

[Careljnr]

If I focus on the bottom right where it usually blurs then it focuses perfectly but then the rest of the picture is blurry. Then when I center focus the right is slighty soft/blurry. Is this a software or hardware issue?

 

[Kilrah]

As far as we know so far, hardware.
This thread suggests some hints it could be fixable by software but there's no confirmation at this point, just lots of doubts.

 

[Careljnr]

The first picture is center focus and the second is right bottom focus.

 

[MoOriginal]

The first picture is center focus and the second is right bottom focus.

Yours is a good example

if I set my camera to f2.2 and focused - i would expect the depth of field to make a fair amount of stuff away from the focus area to be out of focus.. as a natural reaction to being set at 2.2.

Of course in a real camera i could change to something better than f2.2...

It makes complete sense to me that some stuff should be out of focus especially more so when we are talking about a tiny lens as on the mavic...

 

[Pedro]

So surely a fixed aperture camera has a set depth of field that cannot be changed by software or filters. Given that f2.2 is a relatively large aperture, are we stuck with a camera with limited dof?

Mind you, that still doesn't explain the propensity for the oof area to be in the bottom right when the bottom left is still quite sharp or at least sharper than the bottom right..

 

[Kilrah]

The camera's DOF is huge! People who use DOF to explain this are trying to be smart but completely wrong. Yes F2.2 on a full frame sensor would lead to somewhat shallow DOF but not even that much at a wide 28mm angle, when focussing at something 35m away something 20m away will still be sharp which on its own is enough to dismiss that theory. Then, once you factor in the tiny size of the Mavic's sensor, the F2.2 lens is actually the equivalent of shooting at F13 on a full frame sensor for DOF calculation purposes.

Even simple observation shows that when you focus the Mavic on "something far" anything beyond about 2m distance from the camera is sharp.

It's just a defect, proven and accepted. Don't know why people keep trying to find other explanations.

 

[Pedro]

So we have two options in your view Andre, be patient and hope that DJI can work a little magic or send your Mavic back for a hardware fix?

 

[deltalimatango]

I am sorry guys, but that is just bollocks from DJI.

Having more than 35 years of experience with cameras and optics, I can clearly see that the Mavic's camera has a center bias, i.e. it is optimized for sharpness and detail rendition in the center of the frame. As you move closer to the edges of the frame, sharpness and image quality gets gradually worse, until it is finally lost near the outer 20% perimeter.

Also I see that the focus plane is not quite even, but is slightly curved inwards (towards the camera). Objects near the edges are not properly focused properly when the subject in the center of the frame is focused. Due to individual manufacturing tolerances, this effect can be more pronounced on one side, left or right and can be more or less obvious with different subjects.

This is not a flaw, but is in fact quite common for simpler (cheaper) DSLR lenses, where the optics are designed in a certain way to cut manufacturing costs (and the retail prices). The outer parts of the image are rendered using the outer parts of the lenses, which are usually much more difficult (and more expensive) to build in such a way that the image sharpness is retained troughout the entire image.

In the DSLR world, with such lenses you will need to close down the aperture to increase edge sharpness, however the Mavic always shoots wide open (to increase low light capacity and to create a certain depth of field blur).

There is not a chance that any kind of firmware will fix this, as this is purely optics. The camera is designed within a certain cost target in mind, which is reflected in the retail price of the Mavic. Higher quality optics would increase the price dramatically.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Someone that understands high end optics. I have been saying all along that the lenses and sensors in the Mavic and even the P4 Pro are consumer level. You can get some very decent stuff but if you want better quality, you need to buy an Inspire where you can change the M4/3 lenses. Some people do not know exactly what to expect from these devices and are sort of disappointed when the level of performance it not what they thought they would get.

 

[Anthony]

The real issue here is DJI called the Mavic a "Pro" Drone this set image expectations quite hi and the Mavic is really just a Mavic IMO

Its a very good Mavic but none the less its just a Mavic......

 

[mimoid]

The camera's DOF is huge! People who use DOF to explain this are trying to be smart but completely wrong. Yes F2.2 on a full frame sensor would lead to somewhat shallow DOF but not even that much at a wide 28mm angle, when focussing at something 35m away something 20m away will still be sharp which on its own is enough to dismiss that theory. Then, once you factor in the tiny size of the Mavic's sensor, the F2.2 lens is actually the equivalent of shooting at F13 on a full frame sensor for DOF calculation purposes.

Even simple observation shows that when you focus the Mavic on "something far" anything beyond about 2m distance from the camera is sharp.

It's just a defect, proven and accepted. Don't know why people keep trying to find other explanations.

Yes, you will need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the design and use it to your advantage. The example photos in Careljnr's reply above clearly show the difficulties - you can either set the focus on the trees in the foreground, or on the house in the middle - but not both. That would require a smaller aperture or a wider lens, something the Mavic's camera by design does not have.

This kind of landscape photography is probably where the Mavic's weaknesses are the most obvious. The Mavic is best used in low level flight from close range, with a clear and sharp subject in the foreground and a (slightly) out-of-focus background with a gentle bokeh. The whole idea with the Mavic is really to follow and take pictures or video of a person or a vehicle a little from above. It is really a flying action camera, and that is where it shines.

 

[mimoid]

So surely a fixed aperture camera has a set depth of field that cannot be changed by software or filters. Given that f2.2 is a relatively large aperture, are we stuck with a camera with limited dof?

Mind you, that still doesn't explain the propensity for the oof area to be in the bottom right when the bottom left is still quite sharp or at least sharper than the bottom right..

Well, f/2.2 would give a very shallow depth-of-field on a full frame camera, but since the sensor of the Mavic is so tiny, it is much wider. However, the trees in the foreground are at least 20-30 meters closer to the camera than the house, so one of them will definitely fall outside the focus plane.

If you look carefully, you can actually quite clearly see the focus plane in the pictures: it is a horisontal band of 1/4 of the picture. You can shift it up and down as you wish, but it will not cover the whole picture. The tree-tops in the bottom right are closer to the camera than the grassy area on the left bottom (because of the height of the trees), so it kind of juts into the focus plane, hence it is sharper. I think your camera is prefectly fine.

I think one should try to avoid these typical 30 degree slanted landscape pictures with the Mavic. It is better to tilt the camera much more to the vertical or to the horisontal plane to hide the side-effects of the relatively shallow focus plane. Or alternatively make sure to have a pretty large (focused) subject in the image (person, vehicle, building, structure, etc) taking up a substantial part of the picture to catch the viewer's attention.

 

[Kilrah]

The example photos in Careljnr's reply above clearly show the difficulties - you can either set the focus on the trees in the foreground, or on the house in the middle - but not both.

No!! Everything should be in focus given the Mavic's camera characteristics, the only reason it isn't is because his camera is defective!

This kind of landscape photography is probably where the Mavic's weaknesses are the most obvious. The Mavic is best used in low level flight from close range, with a clear and sharp subject in the foreground and a (slightly) out-of-focus background with a gentle bokeh.

This is completely wrong. If you had read my explanation above and understood what goes in this you'd notice it isn't even possible.

ou can get some very decent stuff but if you want better quality, you need to buy an Inspire where you can change the M4/3 lenses.

To be clear a bit more detail is needed - because you DO find M4/3 lenses that are actually worse than the Mavic's lens

 

[deltalimatango]

No!! Everything should be in focus given the Mavic's camera characteristics, the only reason it isn't is because his camera is defective!


This is completely wrong. If you had read my explanation above and understood what goes in this you'd notice it isn't even possible.


To be clear a bit more detail is needed - because you DO find M4/3 lenses that are actually worse than the Mavic's lens

Well yes. However I shoot a Nikon D810 and use all Nikon pro glass so I can determine inferior quality that is produced in the lens as well as the camera. The Mavic is fine for consumer projects where people don't really have a critical eye. I bought it, knowing full well it's limitations but it works well enough for me. The main selling point for me was and is the size. If I really need to take photos that count, I use my D810. If I desire to get into aerial photography and videography I'll get an Inspire that's up to the task.


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[Kilrah]

Sure, what I mean is that it's not becasue it's an Inspire that it necessarily gives better results - if you don't use the right accessories e.g. lens in the example or have the skills to use it properly you can totally get garbage that's worse than what comes out from a Mavic. Same as the point-and-shoot vs DSLR situation, if you get your DSLR but couple it to a cheap lens and a Chinese teleconverter you'd totally have better results with the P&S

 

[Careljnr]

Im leaving for South Africa in 3 weeks so I need to know if I have a hardware issue so I can send it in and get it fixed before I leave. Every time I chat to dji support they suggest all these steps that dont end up working.. whats the best way to contact them and get them to actually send it in for repair?

 

[Pedro]

Chat is the best way armed with a link to one of your videos on YouTube clearly showing the issue..

 

[Careljnr]

Just spoke to chat and told them about my situation. Said he referred my case directly to someone so fingers crossed I receive it before I leave the country. I have heard of very quick turnarounds so pretty sure they can get it back to me if they really want. Especially because the big rush is over.

 

[AnotherSteph]

Hi,

I'm having the same focus issue with the Mavic Pro, and as some people argues, at first I believed it was a Mavic Pro limitation or myself using it the wrong way with the "tap to focus".

So I checked my stills and videos to understand, and did some lab tests. I found that the focus of the Mavic is not regular on mine. I mean, if I'm focusing on the middle of a wall, the Mavic being perfectly facing on, the middle of the wall is in focus, the right part of the wall is in focus, but the left part isn't.

In other words, the depth of field is not the same depending on the part of the image! As I discovered this, I understood that no update would correct this. I'm currently returning my Mavic to get the camera replaced, or the whole thing if faster.

This is an example of what I'm talking about. You can see that the right side of the image is perfectly in focus, while the left side isn't. The problem is that both sides are at the same distance. QED.

DJI_0004

• AnotherSteph
• Jan 3, 2017

Focus issue with Mavic Pro