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Downward Sensor issue (or not)

jorgimello

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Hello guys!

I recently bought my Mavic Mini, already had a few flights, everything is working just fine.
But I noticed something that may be an issue or not, as I wrote in this Thread title. Maybe you guys can help me out.

I was making a video call with my family and I was showing them the drone.
I turned the mavic mini on to show the bottom light and with my phone's camera I noticed that only one of the sensors was "working". Today I took the picture and still, only one is turned on.

Maybe this is normal, since the drone is not flying? I could not test it while flying because I haven't had time (and space) to do it lately.
Before any of you ask: yes, the drone is landing normally.

Can you guys take a few minutes of your time and check if the same happen with your mavic mini?


IMG_20191217_212626.jpg
 
Perfectly normal

The outer two circles are the IR sensors to judge distance to ground. One is the emitter, the other is the receiver.
The middle hole is the camera.
 
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Perfectly normal

The outer two circles are the IR sensors to judge distance to ground. One is the emitter, the other is the receiver.
The middle hole is the camera.

Thanks for your reply.
Hope this thread is useful for someone else that notices it as well.
 
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The camera you used for the video will be great for finding IR illuminated security cameras at night.
 
Thanks for sharing, my MM is on the way from DJI now so I'm reading up so I know a bit more about it before the launch.

My other main learning point is don't get carried away flying downwind.
 
The camera you used for the video will be great for finding IR illuminated security cameras at night.
"Any" video camera including your phone can do this.
Before drones this was the way how you could test that the TV IR remote was still working or not. ;)
 
"Any" video camera including your phone can do this.
Before drones this was the way how you could test that the TV IR remote was still working or not. ;)
Try “many”.... Most even. It isn’t ANY..... I have paid good money to have the IR filters removed from the sensors of SLR bodies I used for IR photography.

The point I was making is the camera recorded the IR illuminated very well... Probably an IPhone.
 
My Examples.. of older devices. It does not need to be a Iphone. :)
  • Nokia 6680 (Year 2005)
  • Nokia E50 (Year 2006)
And pretty much everything that is afterwards. Your scenario about IR photography is a bit extreme.

The difference is that you removed the filter from your camera to be able to get those magic pictures with the benefits of reflected IR light that produces a fascinating array of surreal effects. Examples: Vegetation appears white or near white. Skin takes on a very milky, smooth texture, although veins close to the skin surface can be accentuated and take on a rather ghoulish appearance, etc.

The Remote or an IR Led does emit IR light, is much brighter/strong in comparison to reflected IR, and even when the camera filter does remove some part, there is plenty left over so the light is visible in the sensor.

To make the example more clear:
- reflected light from a surface is almost or maybe not visible at all.
- direct projected light from a LED into the sensor is visible.

This is why I wrote "any". Feel free to test this with a TV remote and all camera cell phones or any cheap point and shoot camera you have in hand.
Btw.. this is the oldest youtube video I could find supporting this. It was published 10 years ago (on Nov 15, 2009).
 
My Examples.. of older devices. It does not need to be a Iphone. :)
  • Nokia 6680 (Year 2005)
  • Nokia E50 (Year 2006)
And pretty much everything that is afterwards. Your scenario about IR photography is a bit extreme.

The difference is that you removed the filter from your camera to be able to get those magic pictures with the benefits of reflected IR light that produces a fascinating array of surreal effects. Examples: Vegetation appears white or near white. Skin takes on a very milky, smooth texture, although veins close to the skin surface can be accentuated and take on a rather ghoulish appearance, etc.

The Remote or an IR Led does emit IR light, is much brighter/strong in comparison to reflected IR, and even when the camera filter does remove some part, there is plenty left over so the light is visible in the sensor.

To make the example more clear:
- reflected light from a surface is almost or maybe not visible at all.
- direct projected light from a LED into the sensor is visible.

This is why I wrote "any". Feel free to test this with a TV remote and all camera cell phones or any cheap point and shoot camera you have in hand.
Btw.. this is the oldest youtube video I could find supporting this. It was published 10 years ago (on Nov 15, 2009).
I’m not sure what your point is however in case I wasn’t clear- my observation was simply that the IR illumination appeared to be very well depicted in the posted image. It is well known that digital sensors will record the IR spectrum we can’t see with unaided vision -and- professional cameras almost always have an IR filter in front of the sensor to maximise performance in recording the visible spectrum.
 
My dear friend, the point was just to add that you do not need anything special (as hardware) to see the lights emitting from the LED directly into the camera. Nothing more. No rant, no special hidden intentions. I hope that I've cleared possible misunderstandings up.
 
My dear friend, the point was just to add that you do not need anything special (as hardware) to see the lights emitting from the LED directly into the camera. Nothing more. No rant, no special hidden intentions. I hope that I've cleared possible misunderstandings up.
Agreed- most digital imaging systems will capture the IR, all I was saying is that some are more sensitive- those with limited or no IR filtering performing best for obvious reasons. Removing the IR filter (sandwiched on the sensor) of an SLR and replacing it with a visible light filter is the ultimate solution. If you had read further down the source you copied and pasted from above you might have learnt that exposure values for outdoor scenes are pretty close on an IR modified SLR to those for visible light. That makes it obvious why most cameras have a strong IR filter.
 
Hey WithTheBirds, thanks for pointing out how it works. Please be assured that we are both on the same page. I decided never to butcher my DSLR to attempt this kind of pictures as I never felt the urge to get these types of photo's. This does not imply that I do not look for other folks who are looking to get IR pictures. Anyway.. Allow me to send you a thumbs up from Sunny Bucharest. Thumbswayup
 
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