First day with Mini 4 Pro. Returning it tomorrow.

[EvanWasHere]

Huh. I didn't have any flare issues this morning shooting the sunrise with my Mini 4 Pro. I'm not saying there is no flare...there definitely is (you can see the reddish blob to the lower left of the sun in the second shot), but I didn't have what was shown in that video, and this is quite a bit better than the flare on my Air 2S, which is pretty bad in some circumstances.

WOW. Please tell us your process on your edits of these photos!!! They are beautiful!!

 

[Droning on and on...]

None of the DJI filters are available yet but that would make no difference to me.

Understand, but for public consumption don't the mini 3(p) filters fit?

 

[Torque]

Understand, but for public consumption don't the mini 3(p) filters fit?

No, the filters aren't compatible. Really the only item that isn't interchangeable between the Mini 3 Pro and the 4 Pro - other than controllers.

 

[AusTrekie]

I'm bummed. Already sold my Mini 3 pro. The Mini 4 Pro has (at least mine did) an unbelievable amount of flare when it is angled anywhere near the sun. I have the FPV, Avata, Mavic Air, Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Pro and none of them exhibit the kind of extreme flare this does. I flew it and followed up with a flight with my Mavic 3 Pro and it was a world of difference. I am confident it would have been the same with my Mini 3 as I NEVER saw the kind of excessive flair I did with the Mini 4. So sad. Pics later perhaps but I won't keep this and if I asked for an exchange it would probably put me past the return time so it has to go back entirely.

No substantial or noticeable flare with my Mini 4Pro. Did you have ND filter on ? Traded My Mini 3 Pro into my local DJI Dealer. Will do some further testing when weather improves. Have also Air 3 and Air 2s. Are you exchanging it for another Mini 4Pro ?

 

[Droning on and on...]

No, the filters aren't compatible. Really the only item that isn't interchangeable between the Mini 3 Pro and the 4 Pro - other than controllers.

That's odd. I wonder what necessitated changes to the form-factor of the camera housing. Setting aside the controversy whether or not the sensor is the same functionally, I think it's safe to assume the 1/1.3" sensor is physically identical...

@akdrone posted about severe lens flare issues with the 4 vs. the 3 (and proved it with video... it's bad ). I wonder if this has anything to do with it?

 

[Torque]

That's odd. I wonder what necessitated changes to the form-factor of the camera housing. Setting aside the controversy whether or not the sensor is the same functionally, I think it's safe to assume the 1/1.3" sensor is physically identical...

@akdrone posted about severe lens flare issues with the 4 vs. the 3 (and proved it with video... it's bad ). I wonder if this has anything to do with it?

His is the only post complaining about sun flare that I've seen. I'm hoping it is an issue with his specific drone. I haven't noticed sun flare, but it has been grey here in the Puget Sound with rainy weather. I'll hopefully see sun tomorrow again and test mine.
I read, possibly only the author's assumption, that the camera change was to fix the fogging issue.

 

[NEWorldPhoto]

Could it be that the lens of this Mini 4 Pro has some sort of protective film on it that is very small and almost invisible, that needs to be peeled away? Sounds silly, but who knows, you never know if some sort of lens protector is installed in the factory at some point during assembly, and somebody forgot to remove it?
That horrible flare looks like there's a small plastic protective film over the lens that is transparent and hard to see, but is causing such abnormal flare.

 

[Jman13]

I have to think there was simply something defective or wrong with that one drone. I am looking over all the shots I took yesterday morning at the sunrise, and then the torture test, and while I can certainly get the drone to flare, it's nothing like what's seen in that video, no matter the angle. Some shots from yesterday with the sun in different positions, including one with the sun just out of frame (to the right):

Sun is just out of frame to the right on this one:

A little bit of that red surround flare here, but not too bad:

And a test shot I did to see how the drone did exposure wise shooting directly into the mid-day sun the other day. This is definitely the worst of all the pictures I've taken with the Mini 4 Pro so far, but it's still not as bad as what the OP experienced, and it's still a better than my Air 2S.

 

[projectarjun]

I have to think there was simply something defective or wrong with that one drone. I am looking over all the shots I took yesterday morning at the sunrise, and then the torture test, and while I can certainly get the drone to flare, it's nothing like what's seen in that video, no matter the angle. Some shots from yesterday with the sun in different positions, including one with the sun just out of frame (to the right):

Sun is just out of frame to the right on this one:

A little bit of that red surround flare here, but not too bad:

And a test shot I did to see how the drone did exposure wise shooting directly into the mid-day sun the other day. This is definitely the worst of all the pictures I've taken with the Mini 4 Pro so far, but it's still not as bad as what the OP experienced, and it's still a better than my Air 2S.

Instilled my confidence in purchasing a mini 4 pro someday,

 

[Hauptmann]

OP lives north of Fairbanks, AK, where the sun never rises as high in the sky as it does in the contiguous 48. Thus he will have more flare issues than most of us. Too bad. It's a great drone.

 

[James in the Desert]

I'm bummed. Already sold my Mini 3 pro. The Mini 4 Pro has (at least mine did) an unbelievable amount of flare when it is angled anywhere near the sun. I have the FPV, Avata, Mavic Air, Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Pro and none of them exhibit the kind of extreme flare this does. I flew it and followed up with a flight with my Mavic 3 Pro and it was a world of difference. I am confident it would have been the same with my Mini 3 as I NEVER saw the kind of excessive flair I did with the Mini 4. So sad. Pics later perhaps but I won't keep this and if I asked for an exchange it would probably put me past the return time so it has to go back entirely.

No disrespect to anyone buying this Drone, but flying since 2016 I would say you only going to get what you pay for. However a good entry-level Drone.

 

[rmajoran]

Here is some video from my Mini 4 Pro

That is an insane amount of flare. Wow.

 

[dmwfotos]

I'd be just as concerned, maybe more concerned about the lack of sharpness. The lens was not properly focused. That usually exaggerates flare with a lens.
Some of the angles suggest that their may be something on the lens, grease, finger print??

 

[rmajoran]

No disrespect to anyone buying this Drone, but flying since 2016 I would say you only going to get what you pay for. However a good entry-level Drone.

For sure. I have always flown the MP series, but it would be wonderful (one day) if DJI could release a drone < 250g that was truly Pro. Up here in Canada, our rules are < 400ft, but if the drone is under 250g, you can fly it higher (with caution), and you're allowed in some areas that >250g drones are not allowed.

At the end of the day, I would pay Pro-level prices for a high quality drone < 250g.

 

[Fizzbang]

Just a thought!
Did you make sure you removed all the plastic stickers? Perhaps there is a clear film over the lens.
I know that when I forgot to remove the gimbal guard on a Mavic 2 Pro, the first hint I had that something was wrong, was the blurred image. Doh!

 

[Hermey]

This story offers a lesson in selling anything with plans of buying an upgraded version.

 

[Landshark99]

There is something wrong here that is not a normal flare issue, something on the lens, in the lens path or internal issues in the lens on this drone, I think it is specific with this drone

 

[dajomu]

As others have said in response to the video...yes! The flare looks excessive. My guess as to possible causes:
A. Bad lens sample (so would not occur on all instances of the drone). These things happen.
B. Bad lens design (so others would be seeing it too)
C. Some kind of uniform foreign residue on the lens. The uniformity of the flares and the OPs experience level make this seem pretty unlikely.

I've been thinking of getting this drone, so will watch for reports from others to see if this ends up being option B. I come from a long period of flying Inspire 2 commercially, recently moved to primarily flying Mavic 3 Pro Cine and loving the smaller form factor, longer flight time, in-flight lens switch and video quality. I'm excited by the possibility of getting usable results from the mini 4. But it would be a deal breaker for me if normal quality instances of this drone's lens have that kind of flare. Thanks to OP for sharing that vid and issue!

 

[muabg]

IMO that is NOT lens flare, that is a physical problem in the lens system of the camera. The image is very soft and clearly is a hardware problem and I would return it and try another one before giving up on the Mini 4

 

[Ronny St.]

WOW. Please tell us your process on your edits of these photos!!! They are beautiful!!

Very interested here also