Do people take photos or grab stills from 4K video?

[Hubster]

I am still a novice when it comes to using my drone and was wondering what people's approach is to photography. Do people take photos during the flight or do they film in 4K resolution and then grab images from the footage in software afterwards? I am thinking the latter would give more flexibility as you can scan the footage for the best image.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

 

[jgnu]

I guess it depends on what you want to achieve (stills from video is "faster" I guess, but not as good).

I pretty much only use my drone for photography (no video), and I always take photos. Some reasons are:

- To be able to focus on the photo and set up my composition. My kind of images (landscapes) are not well suited for "run and gun" photography. I like to take my time and compose the image just the way I want it.
- To get raw (DNG) files. I always post-process my images, and I want all the information I can get.
- To get the full sensor resolution. 4k video is always 16:9 and about 8MP resolution. I like the 4:3 ratio and the 12MP of the full sensor.
- To be able to merge several shots into one (bracket for more dynamic range, or panorama for more resolution/larger field of view)

It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish I guess. If I wanted a still image of a moving motorcycle that my drone is following or something, then I might consider grabbing stills from 4k video.

But my images are generally more like this one from a few days ago:

 

[Hubster]

Amazing photo. Where was that taken?

 

[jgnu]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it

It's taken about an hour north of Stockholm, Sweden. I saw the forecast for fog and got up stupid early on a sunday morning

 

[4wd]

A screen grab from the 4K is close to being as good as JPG with some careful processing, and select a frame with minimal movement if possible.
Better results can be had from RAW/DNG - but it's annoying you must pause recording and perhaps change settings - it may not be worth it on many occasions.

 

[WithTheBirds]

Frame grabs from 4K are more than adequate for sharing on line- even for small prints. This is especially true if your not interested in fiddling around with post processing.

If quality is important for a larger prints this is where the shortcomings of 4K will be apparent (compared to the still image).

 

[msinger]

I am thinking the latter would give more flexibility as you can scan the footage for the best image

Yes, it works well for that. If you want the best possible image (or need the RAW file), then a photo would be the way to go.

 

[jgnu]

If quality is important for a larger prints

Don't forget exposure blending or panorama stitching. Large printing is not the only reason for wanting more control than you get from a screen grab.

 

[WithTheBirds]

Don't forget exposure blending or panorama stitching. Large printing is not the only reason for wanting more control than you get from a screen grab.

At the risk of combatting any further potential suggestions of possible forgetfulness allow me to clarify- if you want the best possible results for any form of still image presentation use photo mode.

 

[jwt873]

I do it often.. As a matter of fact, in my movie folder, I keep a folder called "Stills" where I save the frame grabs.

In some videos, I like to do a frame grab of interesting scenes. That way I don't have to view the whole video to see the subject. Also, I can load the stills on my iPad or upload them to the web to show people interesting aspects of a video without making them watch the whole thing.

 

[Squamer]

My issue is often times I am videoing something and I see a good opportunity for a photo but I can't stop recording video to take the photo and then start recording again because it would ruin the shot. So these photos usually do not come out AS good, but they are acceptable given the fact my options were either no photo or a less than perfect quality screen grab.

 

[lilewis]

Easy for me to say here since I've never done it - but why not keep running the video till you're satisfied, then go back to the scene you want and take raw photos?

 

[Cymruflyer]

This is a screen grab from my video last winter, it's fine for showing but I have not attempted an enlargement of it yet. For all other things I feel it is fine. That was me below next to my vehicle.

 

[Dacosta]

I guess it depends on what you want to achieve (stills from video is "faster" I guess, but not as good).

I pretty much only use my drone for photography (no video), and I always take photos. Some reasons are:

- To be able to focus on the photo and set up my composition. My kind of images (landscapes) are not well suited for "run and gun" photography. I like to take my time and compose the image just the way I want it.
- To get raw (DNG) files. I always post-process my images, and I want all the information I can get.
- To get the full sensor resolution. 4k video is always 16:9 and about 8MP resolution. I like the 4:3 ratio and the 12MP of the full sensor.
- To be able to merge several shots into one (bracket for more dynamic range, or panorama for more resolution/larger field of view)

It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish I guess. If I wanted a still image of a moving motorcycle that my drone is following or something, then I might consider grabbing stills from 4k video.

But my images are generally more like this one from a few days ago:

View attachment 81454

Awesome!

 

[Cymruflyer]

My issue is often times I am videoing something and I see an good opportunity for a photo but I can stop recording take the photo and start recording again because it would ruin the shot. So these photos usually do not come out AS good, but they are acceptable given the fact of my options were no photo or less than perfect quality screen grab.

I think you may want to go back through your text and edit it for correct words, as it reads, it is not making sense.

 

[Mrmund]

If I pull stills from video I do it in post with software.
I'm sometimes looking for a shot of someplace I've been and didn't get the photo I wanted but took some video. I'll go back through the video in Premier Pro, find something I like, pause it and click the little camera icon and violá I have the shot. A little work cleaning the image up in Lightroom and it's pretty good. If I was going to do a large print I would definitely shoot the photo in Raw/DNG.

 

[GDadd]

I am still a novice when it comes to using my drone and was wondering what people's approach is to photography. Do people take photos during the flight or do they film in 4K resolution and then grab images from the footage in software afterwards? I am thinking the latter would give more flexibility as you can scan the footage for the best image.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Both. I primarily focus on video and fly to points where I can frame a still photo, then take several. Stills from video can produce unexpectedly interesting results and I like relying on it because I don't need to stop the video constantly.

In places where I can fly multiple times, occasionally I will video-only on the first pass, then after exchanging the battery I'll switch to photo mode and fly to specific locations to capture stills.

I capture video in D-LOG, which isn't exactly RAW, but its de-saturated output provides more color editing flexibility than normal mode. Normal mode still editing is similar to editing JPEGs.

Resolve has a simple still capture option in Edit, and I save them as TIFFs to import into Photoshop or Lightroom where I can apply edits.

One issue is frame rate. Generally I film at 23.976 and 1/50 shutter. The lower frame rate generally creates blurring on moving objects, something you don't get with stills at, let's say 1/160. Plus, light management can be an issue, even if using an ND filter. If there's too much light while filming at 1/50, there's no option but to stop down the aperture (M2P as Zoom has no aperture), which softens the image further.

The best of both worlds is Hyperlapse. Because it can produce RAW stills, there is no loss like video.

Here is a still grabbed from video. Definitely not as sharp as a photo, but good enough to keep in a photo album.

 

[PoonDog]

I guess it depends on what you want to achieve (stills from video is "faster" I guess, but not as good).

I pretty much only use my drone for photography (no video), and I always take photos. Some reasons are:

- To be able to focus on the photo and set up my composition. My kind of images (landscapes) are not well suited for "run and gun" photography. I like to take my time and compose the image just the way I want it.
- To get raw (DNG) files. I always post-process my images, and I want all the information I can get.
- To get the full sensor resolution. 4k video is always 16:9 and about 8MP resolution. I like the 4:3 ratio and the 12MP of the full sensor.
- To be able to merge several shots into one (bracket for more dynamic range, or panorama for more resolution/larger field of view)

It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish I guess. If I wanted a still image of a moving motorcycle that my drone is following or something, then I might consider grabbing stills from 4k video.

But my images are generally more like this one from a few days ago:

View attachment 81454

Awsom photo. What softwear are you using for edit?

 

[Dave Maine]

It really depends on your final usage. The best still images in terms of sharpness and color detail will always be from raw images processed with a good raw processor and shot with a high shutter speed, at least. 1/250 or more.

You can shoot video as well at higher shutter speeds, but the h264 or h265 codec images have more lossy compression, and limited color resolution.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Frame grabs from 4K are more than adequate for sharing on line- even for small prints. This is especially true if your not interested in fiddling around with post processing.

If quality is important for a larger prints this is where the shortcomings of 4K will be apparent (compared to the still image).

Agreed! Also, if you will be making frame grabs from the 4K video, you certainly don't want the induced motion blur from using ND filters for a slow shutter speed designed for a cinematic look! You want a high shutter speed! Leave the ND filters at home!