fogged screen on Mini 3 pro

[Mazdaman323lx]

Anyone experience launching their Mini 3 and suddenly having the screen "fog" up. I launched the mini 3 today on a calm mild day about 16 degrees , and seconds after launching the vivid display appeared as if the drone had entered a smoke band or fog bank , but the skies were crystal clear ? It got bad enough to actually hamper navigation via the screen . Anyone had a similar experience
I saw a similar issue on this YT video 3.35sec in , but he was using the RC-N1 ,but the issue was identical , so maybe its a signal issue ?

 

[Mazdaman323lx]

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[Mazdaman323lx]

Ok , just checked the SD card and the footage is foggy , caused by moisture in the air getting into lens ? Strange as it wasn't humid , but warm with a slight breeze and no rain .
So not a problem with screen , but would expect this issue on a cold morning not a summer evening
Footage here

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[FLDave]

So, you had your drone in a warm environment with OK relative humidity for all parts of the lens. You take it outside to 16 degrees and components drop in temperature very quickly. The amount of moisture the internal air can support at 16 degrees is much less than at the warmer temperature. Any captive internal moisture could condense on components.
Going from cold temperature to warm would cause condensation on the exterior, just like it happens with eyeglasses.

 

[DoomMeister]

The amount of moisture the internal air can support at 16 degrees is much less than at the warmer temperature.

Are you thinking of 16 degrees F and not 16 degrees C as @Mazdaman323lx is referring to.

I think there is an issue with the sensor causing this. It is odd to get condensation like this.

 

[Mazdaman323lx]

No it was 16deg Celsius . Not raining , dry all day.

 

[vindibona1]

I haven't seen a Mini 3 yet, but I presume that the lens is covered with a polycarbon window that should be sealed. Perhaps there is a leak on the window's seal allowing for condensation?

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Ok , just checked the SD card and the footage is foggy , caused by moisture in the air getting into lens ? Strange as it wasn't humid , but warm with a slight breeze and no rain .
So not a problem with screen , but would expect this issue on a cold morning not a summer evening
Footage here

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As someone who flys there drones in the rain , that lens should be Air Tight and that should not be happening.
I would consider sending it back, as that will be frustrating to deal with.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land in the Water .

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Yes, seems common, two other recent threads here on the forum too.

There's a link in this first one with a link to a blog where it was reported and a possible bad batch (or simply higher moisture when shipped) . . .

Is this fogging?

The other thread . . .

Camera fogging up

Was working in some rain Forrest today. It certainly quite humid, but no rain or fog. After a couple of flights the inside of the camera lens has fogged up making the camera sub par. Anyone else having issues in humid environment?

mavicpilots.com

 

[jess1972]

Yep I had the same thing today. It was 20c (so almost 70f) not cold, no rain or moisture. The shots were horrible, I needed to return with the mini 2 and reshoot them without issue. I've spoken to DJI and I'm returning the drone. For a small drone that is in this price range you would expect it to perform better than this. The drone itself does seem to get warm so this is going to be a huge problem for them.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

If you folks aren't using extreme amounts of gimbal up tilt I am wondering if you would try some experiments?
1) put a piece of tape across the 'gap' above the camera i.e. between the two forward looking obstacle avoidance censors.
I am wondering if the airflow is cooling the camera enough to form condensation inside the lens cover? Or if the air flow around the camera is sufficient/such that a low pressure region forms around the camera and a 'cloud' forms in front of the lens? (Like the 'cloud' that sometimes forms over a plane's wing.)
2) If you can get down quickly enough, look and see if there is condensation on the inner or outer surface of the lens cover, or the front of the inner lens.
3) if you get fogging on a particular flight recreate that flight ASAP with the front lens cover removed? From what I have seen the front lens cover is a twist off thing.

 

[bcfd29]

remember: your gear needs to acclimate to the environment in which you are operating. if just removed from a cool dry or warm home or vehicle it needs to get to ambient in the environment your operating, this may take some time. same with any camera gear or optics...

here is S FL when i arrive at a scene to process, my DSLR, lenses, etc. need to sit outside and get to temp. so any air gap inside does not present with condensate.

try allowing for the components to reach ambient temp and see if the fogging issue persists.

 

[Waseem666]

Hello All,
I am new here. Got a mini 3 pro few months back and since a month i am observing fog built up inside the lens which disappear couple of minutes after landing.
Note: Gear had acclimatized to the environment and no sudden variation of temperature ex: ac to outdoor etc.

I saw a few videos where people are suggesting to use hair dryers..

Could anyone suggest how to get the issue rectified... Also i stay in India so there are no DJI centres for drone service. (in my knowledge)

Thank you in advance.

Regards
Waseem

 

[archoptical]

Just sent mine away for repair, after it fogged up last week. It happened once in August, but I never saw it happen again, Now we have some quite unseasonably warm sunny weather in the UK and I'm guessing the temperature difference as the drone rises up into the air is quite significant. I tried it out again today and it fogged up straight away. I even tried pointing the camera at the sun for a few minutes to see if I could warm it up, but it made no difference. So it is now on it's way to Holland.

 

[richandhiscat]

Just sent mine away for repair, after it fogged up last week. It happened once in August, but I never saw it happen again, Now we have some quite unseasonably warm sunny weather in the UK and I'm guessing the temperature difference as the drone rises up into the air is quite significant. I tried it out again today and it fogged up straight away. I even tried pointing the camera at the sun for a few minutes to see if I could warm it up, but it made no difference. So it is now on it's way to Holland.

Let us know how you get on, and how long it takes for it to be returned, I'm in the same boat after it was ok all summer.

 

[archoptical]

Will do.

So far, I dropped it off at a shop yesterday (without propellers, battery or sd card) at midday and this morning it was received in Holland.

Hoping it will be on its way back in a few days, as I'm guessing they just need to change the camera, hopefully stick some fresh propellers on, cross their fingers and send it back for me to test.

 

[richandhiscat]

Will do.

So far, I dropped it off at a shop yesterday (without propellers, battery or sd card) at midday and this morning it was received in Holland.

Hoping it will be on its way back in a few days, as I'm guessing they just need to change the camera, hopefully stick some fresh propellers on, cross their fingers and send it back for me to test.

That's good - what shop was it by the way? I got mine from LRCE Nottingham branch.

 

[archoptical]

Aaaah. It was a 'corner shop' that served as a UPS collection point. I bought mine from Argos, but took the issue straight to DJI.

 

[archoptical]

Right. So the drone returned today, 9 days after I shipped it out.

They sent me a brand new drone (without a battery, but with new propellers).

Unfortunately, this means I've lost the skin I'd bought and spent hours fixing to the original drone, to deter birds (which worked imo). £34 it cost me, plus weeks to get it shipped from Italy...

Overall, the process has been quite quick, but watching the tracking information on the shipments and the repair progress was quite frustrating, even more so now they've just lobbed mine in a pile and sent a brand new boxed standalone. Pretty sure they could have had it back to me in 5 days tops, if they got on with it.

The process:

Tuesday - dropped package at UPS corner shop
Wednesday am - drone arrives at 'dock' in Holland
Thursday am - drone gets booked in after 24 hours.
Friday - drone gets assessed for damage (I'd already shown images to DJI and been told to send it for repair under warranty.
Saturday - drone marked 'preparing for shipping'
Sunday - day of rest
Monday - no sign of shipment until afternoon, when I'm told it will be delivered on Tuesday
Tuesday - told it will be delivered on Wednesday
Wednesday - told UPS missed the scheduled time and it was 'delayed'. In the evening it left Holland and went to Germany.
Thursday - told it would be delivered by 12:00 today. Arrived at about 10am.

Throughout the entire process I've been wondering when it would actually be back in my hands.

Now quite frustrated at losing the skin and having to set everything up again, attach the id etc.... Nice to have a brand new drone of course, but that could have been done in days and my original drone was not exactly well used.

Overall, it'll probably be about a month in total before my drone is back to normal.

EDIT: Btw, although the cost to me was nothing, the quote was 182.23 euros. 132.23 for the new camera module and 50 for the repair. I have no idea why they quoted all this, as they simply sent me a brand new drone. Was under the distinct impression they were going to fix the camera on my actual drone.

 

[Cymru]

If you look on the DJI forum, many many people are suffering fogging issues.

Im getting it as well.

A workaround seems to be a filter, any filter. The extra layer of glass in front of the camera stops the lens itself cooling down in the ambient air and forming it. Far from idea but it works.