fogged screen on Mini 3 pro

[Cymru]

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...

Its not that. QA processes seem to have left moisture in the sealed camera sensor and lens area.
The problem stems from the fact that the camera heats up a LOT when its active so there's a big temperature differential between the inside and the external glass lens for condensation to form.

Acclimatising wont do anything as its the relative temperature between the hot inside and cold outside air.

 

[archoptical]

It's hard to acclimatise the drone when the conditions in the air are so different to ground level.

Anyway. Hopefully the new drone doesn't have this issue, but rather typically the weather is rubbish now I have a working drone...

I've asked DJI to refund the cost of my lost skin, which I appear to have lost because they sold me a duff drone. Couldn't see any way they would send a new replacement, given the reports of dodgy seals in the camera unit, but maybe they've been having issues repairing it and getting returns of returns.

I guess this is what happens when you rush out a new product. It costs you loads of money. No doubt we all end up paying for it with inflated prices.

 

[archoptical]

The replacement unit has a camera module which looks like this whenever I fly it. It was apparently manufactured in September 2022, according to the label, but maybe they just stuck a reconditioned returned drone in a box in September...

 

[joehandersson]

The amount of moisture the internal air can support at 16 degrees is much less than at 192.168.100.1 192.168.1.1 the warmer temperature. Any captive internal moisture could condense on components.

 

[Cymru]

Took mine apart and the one very obvious thing is the o-ring is a very poor fit. It looks the wrong size.
It wont seal correctly in the groove, is very loose and moves around - not surprised it fails to keep moisture out.

 

[archoptical]

Sent the replacement back (manufacture date Sep 22) and was sent another (manufacture date Aug 22).

I sent the new one up and it seemed to have condensation again when I got it back down (no indication of a problem while flying mind you), but I've tried it another three times, with and without additional filters and I haven't seen any condensation. So, fingers crossed that the first flight was condensation on the outside or it cleared out after use. I've now put another skin on to keep the birds away, so hopefully the condensation issue doesn't reappear.

DJI gave me a voucher for £30 to compensate for the loss of the first skin when they replaced instead of repairing the camera unit, so I've ended up with a wide angle lens, in addition to the propeller set I removed from the first drone before posting.