Exposure lock works on photo mode but not video?

Bunraku · Mar 18, 2025

Hi all.

Quick question. Why can I use exposure lock on photos but not on videos?i notice i can tap the screen when in video mode and the yellow square appears but no sun symbol or scale on the right appears. I can't do anything with the square by tapping or holding my finger down.

But in photo mode the yellow square appears with the sun symbol and scale appears on the right. Holding my finger on the square locks exposure.

So why is it not working in video mode?

Thanks

HoozierDroneDaddy · Mar 18, 2025

Don't have an answer, however, I know there was a YouTube video that showed the exposure lock working in Video.

Bunraku · Mar 18, 2025

HoozierDroneDaddy said:
Don't have an answer, however, I know there was a YouTube video that showed the exposure lock working in Video.

Yeah I've seen it myself. That's why i am asking. Thanks

slup · Mar 18, 2025

Bunraku said:
Hi all.

Quick question. Why can I use exposure lock on photos but not on videos?...

You should be able to... just tap once on any blank space in the frame to bring up the yellow square, then tap it again to lock the exposure.

Bunraku · Mar 18, 2025

Did a firmware update again and now working!

Bunraku · Mar 19, 2025

Correction. Exposure lock works on Video Auto settings, but not on Pro settings.

Donnie Frank · Saturday at 10:39 AM

Exposure Lock? Isn't that just another word for "Manual Mode?" Just take it out of Auto mode.

D

fnf · Sunday at 3:37 PM

Donnie Frank said:
Exposure Lock? Isn't that just another word for "Manual Mode?" Just take it out of Auto mode.

D

Auto ISO & auto SS improve the dynamic range by about 2-3 stops that you won't get with manual exposure. This is a new trend in modern sensors with DCG.

Donnie Frank · Monday at 1:04 AM

fnf said:
Auto ISO & auto SS improve the dynamic range by about 2-3 stops that you won't get with manual exposure. This is a new trend in modern sensors with DCG.

Hmmm...it sounds like cheating dynamic range by changing exposure setting mid shot, which would be unacceptable in any pro setting. But I could be wrong. I'll research this. Thanx for the heads up.

D

fnf · Monday at 5:22 AM

Donnie Frank said:
Hmmm...it sounds like cheating dynamic range by changing exposure setting mid shot, which would be unacceptable in any pro setting. But I could be wrong. I'll research this. Thanx for the heads up.

D

No, the increased dynamic range comes from activating auto ISO and auto shutter speed only, instead of auto exposure i.e., Auto ISO & SS with Exposure lock enabled will provide increased DR.

In other words, you'll get lower DR at the exact same ISO and SS in manual exposure mode but higher DR at the same indicated ISO and SS with Auto ISO/SS and Exposure lock engaged, because the sensor employs DCG behind the scene to both boost shadows and drop highlights by effectively merging multiple exposures in the same frame.

Donnie Frank · Monday at 11:26 AM

fnf said:
No, the increased dynamic range comes from activating auto ISO and auto shutter speed only, instead of auto exposure i.e., Auto ISO & SS with Exposure lock enabled will provide increased DR.

In other words, you'll get lower DR at the exact same ISO and SS in manual exposure mode but higher DR at the same indicated ISO and SS with Auto ISO/SS and Exposure lock engaged, because the sensor employs DCG behind the scene to both boost shadows and drop highlights by effectively merging multiple exposures in the same frame.

I assume this option is available for compressed video modes only (h.264 and/or h.265). Correct? I assume that this option would NOT be available in RAW or ProRES modes. Correct?

I did some quick research, and DCP seems to be utilized mostly by consumer LED TV's, which makes sense. In that setting, the TV changes contrast settings. Which, again, makes some sense.

Keep in mind that my query comes from a film industry standpoint (I haven't been in that industry for 5+ years). While racking the aperture during a given shot is SOP, changing contrast, ISO or Shutter would be a definite no-no.

D

fnf · Monday at 11:36 AM

Donnie Frank said:
I assume this option is available for compressed video modes only (h.264 and/or h.265). Correct? I assume that this option would NOT be available in RAW or ProRES modes. Correct?

I did some quick research, and DCP seems to be utilized mostly by consumer LED TV's, which makes sense. In that setting, the TV changes contrast settings. Which, again, makes some sense.

Keep in mind that my query comes from a film industry standpoint (I haven't been in that industry for 5+ years). While racking the aperture during a given shot is SOP, changing contrast, ISO or Shutter would be a definite no-no.

D

This technology is available on some recent DJI drones such as the Neo, Air 3S and Mini 4 Pro (might also be available on others, I haven't checked).
In RAW mode it shouldn't make a difference, but ProRes might still benefit from it because it's not a raw RAW format, as I understand it.

The increased dynamic range comes from the fact that the drone makes multiple exposures and automatically applying HDR-style processing to the footage. It should result in better quality compared to doing so in post because:
- Some drones have dual native ISO, boosting shadows from ISO 100 by 3 stops is not the same as shooting at the 2nd native ISO value of e.g. 800.
- Compression might destroy shadow details, making recovery impossible in post.

Exposure lock is then used to make sure that the exposure value won't change, even with the increased DR.