How common and bad is the Air 2S soft camera issue?

[BobbyLashley]

Compared to the Air 2. Saw it mentioned in this guys Youtube video and was shocked where his Air 2S was much softer than his Air 2 and according to him, even his buddies.

I just ordered the 2S and fingers crossed I don't have this issue.

 

[JustADude]

I would say not very common based on the number of threads I've seen.

Isn't this the guy that said dlog and hlg were useless video modes?

 

[ninja_geezer]

this looks stunning !!!

 

[BobbyLashley]

I would say not very common based on the number of threads I've seen.

Isn't this the guy that said dlog and hlg were useless video modes?

Could be. He really said that?

 

[JustADude]

Could be. He really said that?

I went back and looked for the video and he didn't quite say that. What he said was that they were about to do a video saying dlog and hlg are useless. Even though he didn't say that the video doesn't put him in a great light. Here's the video I was referring to:

 

[Aerial Edge]

Typically in video it is preferred to have a softer image since you can sharpen in post. Typically better cameras have a softer image, in fact one of the biggest issue when comparing the M2P and the Air 2 was the air 2 was much sharper video and most “Professionals” and prosumers for that matter would rather have a softer video and sharpen in post.

everyone is different though.

 

[peterc4]

pin sharp mine on par if not better than my 2 pro

 

[itallica]

I have found happiness with my newly sized sensor. I have not experienced anything like softer frames. My main adjustment is the wider frame - I REALLY DO notice it.

Here are a couple of recent examples -

Valley City ND trrain by Kent Osborne, on Flickr

Planting Corn Clay Co SD by Kent Osborne, on Flickr[/ICODE]

 

[ninja_geezer]

mine is very sharp also.compared to buddys m2p the air 2 s is sharper

 

[blong10]

I do have slight soft corners usually top left right and bottom left and right if I zoom in at 105% but I think this is normal. I have a Nikon D850 Full Frame camera with a 15-30 2.8 Tamron lens that does the same thing. And that is a 45 Megapixel DSLR. I don't think too many camera's have perfect focus in the corners.

 

[jmbsmt63]

I also have had no perceived softness with the Air2S.
As mentioned above, I believe the image is sharper than the M2P but not overdone. Much closer to being good to go as is!

 

[Geekinions]

I'm completely happy with the picture from mine.

 

[sarimento1]

also happy here.
one shot from last week, no editing, full frame.
edges show some distortion.

 

[Roamer105]

I wish we would not discuss "sharpness". Sharpness is effectively enhancing minor edge contrast of small details. It offers the illusion of detail because it makes really small things more coarse hence visible. Lens sharpness should be measured by looking at actual details without electronic enhancements. The latter is very common to cheaper cameras as it makes them look better than they are. Perfect examples M2 (zoom), Air2 and older drones for sure.

When you actually compare 4K HLG VIDEO of the M2P with the Air2s there are a few things that become apparent very quickly (and I am comparing the A2S with M2P FOV mode style settings to 0-0-0 - not HQ mode)
1) the A2S and the M2P are incredibly similar in detail resolution with the A2S beating the M2P by being a bit less "muddy" and less strange artifacts (typical to M2P FOV) mostly apparent if one looks at powerlines or other sharp edged objects.

2) The A2S suffers excessive blue issues. I noticed that using auto white balance to calibrate for a shot. It appears to be correct only after adding 400 to the auto value. That in fact seems to be a result of the "blue" issue on the A2s camera.
Using Davinci Resolve, lowering the "blue" offset from 25 (default) to 23.4 eliminates that problem.

After correcting the "blue issue", the resulting video is nearly indistinguishable in particular after adding a "0.12" barrel distortion. Not surprisingly, doing that makes the FOV of both drones nearly the same too. I used an ND8 on both, but the M2P was equipped with a higher quality ND8 that included an adjustable linear polarizer. I am still waiting for Polar Pro to ship the equivalent ND8 PL for the A2s. I should be receiving it early June. Then the comparison may become a bit more valid.

3) Clearly, the A2S video is by far less noisy than the equivalent M2P FOV video. This may be due to built-in noise reduction. Supporting this assumption is the fact that while there is plenty (maybe a bit more) detail on the A2S video, it is also a bit softer than the M2P. So, a very light sharpening (Davinci Resolve Open FX sharpening set to 1.8 with fine detail size set to 0.02) applied to the A2S significantly enhances the result.

 

[FuzzyDice]

I agree, the lens has has added more width and thus more distortion. It absolutely affects the angles you can shoot at for sure.


Anyway, I found the Air 2 had a better lens, but the Air 2S has better color. If you could change the aperture I‘m sure it would get better, but that’s not possible.

Also, I don’t recall the AF being as sensitive to touch in the Air 2 controls, but just trying to activate the map moves my focus quite often. I think that could be a real issue as well, if people are accidentally triggering focus elsewhere the it could very much be an issue.

 

[BobbyLashley]

I'm super anxious now. I got my 2S yesterday and have it all updated. Just waiting for my new Freewell ND's to arrive on Monday and then I will test out the drone.

 

[BobbyLashley]

Here is a really good video which sold me on the Air 2S. Nothing but praise for it.

I found it, the guy who did comparisons on 2S and Air 2 and showed that 2S was noticably softer.

 

[BobbyLashley]

Forward to 2:16. Says the Air 2 is sharper and does comparisons across his and buddys copy.

 

[Roamer105]

I agree, the lens has has added more width and thus more distortion. It absolutely affects the angles you can shoot at for sure.


Anyway, I found the Air 2 had a better lens, but the Air 2S has better color. If you could change the aperture I‘m sure it would get better, but that’s not possible.

Also, I don’t recall the AF being as sensitive to touch in the Air 2 controls, but just trying to activate the map moves my focus quite often. I think that could be a real issue as well, if people are accidentally triggering focus elsewhere the it could very much be an issue.

I totally agree. I don't know about the Air 2. Of course, the larger sensor and 10-bit video is a big step up on the A2s and makes the camera comparison more on par with the M2P and they are awfully close.

I too have issues with the Fly app and its autofocus interface. If AF enabled it is nearly impossible to change camera settings and/or activate the map etc. Very frustrating. There should be a confined area around the center where autofocus is active. The rest on edges etc does not really matter and would produce poor focus adjustment anyway.

 

[Grandzab]

Might be some softness on the edges of the image attached, but wouldn’t send back my drone at that level.