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Is 4K worth it?

Taylor1430

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Today, I decided to shoot some video in 4K. I saw a lot of lag on my device during the flight. I wasn’t concerned as I recognized this as a device issue expected different results when playing back on a PC. Unfortunately, saw lots of lag on the playback. After researching it, I see this is a common issue depending on playback device, post processing, etc.

For a hobbyist not shooting professional commercials, is 4K world changing? I do want to shoot good video but again, it’s a hobby and not a career.

I’m curious how many shoot in 4K and how many are satisfied with a lower resolution.
 
I do shoot 4k because I want maximum resolution files for commercial jobs.

2.7k is good also, but 1080 is terrible on the Mavic, due to aliasing. That is a shame because that is a sweet spot for resolution, performance and file size.

Give 2.7 a try and if things don't improve, give 720 a try if your device is being challenged and you don't need the resolution. For general web based work, etc. that just might suit your needs.
 
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Today, I decided to shoot some video in 4K. I saw a lot of lag on my device during the flight. I wasn’t concerned as I recognized this as a device issue expected different results when playing back on a PC. Unfortunately, saw lots of lag on the playback. After researching it, I see this is a common issue depending on playback device, post processing, etc.

For a hobbyist not shooting professional commercials, is 4K world changing? I do want to shoot good video but again, it’s a hobby and not a career.

I’m curious how many shoot in 4K and how many are satisfied with a lower resolution.

Shooting in 4k should not in any way affect the lag on your device, unless you decided to also change the transmission quality from 720p to 1080p, because the recorded footage is independent of the transmitted footage. If you are seeing lag on the footage from the SD card while playing it back on a good PC, something is wrong with either the SD card you're using or your Mavic itself is the issue.

There are a couple of channels that have shown 2.7k vs 4K in detail (rather than just posting two pictures side-by-side and stating their opinion without anything to quantify it, like some channels), and ultimately 4K looks better due to the higher resolution, even if you're downscaling to 1080p.
 
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I find 2.7k a happy medium, decent sized files excellent quality, easy enough to edit on a good laptop. I generally love to shoot in 1080, but the aliasing is just awful on the Mavic at that resolution . :( So I've upped to 2.7k now. I edit in 2.7k then I run it through handbrake down to 1080p. much better video quality than shooting and editing 1080p native.
 
I 1080 is terrible on the Mavic, due to aliasing.

All my work is 1080p -- and beautiful


That is a shame because that is a sweet spot for resolution, performance and file size

Yup, those are some of the reasons. Here's another: I get to send 1080p to my iPad that looks as good as what I get on the AC -- and it has audio to boot

.
 
I like using 4k as you can take nice stills off the video footage

alkimos 60% - Copy.jpg
 

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I like take 4k, 24fps and convert this to 2.7k, 60fps in post production using final cut pro in OS X. The final video looks incredible and better than shooting at 2.7k originally.
 
Some devices will get choppy, even with default transmission speeds. I had a cheap smartphone that looked good, but couldn’t handle the data coming from the Mavic so the screen became ‘blocky’ in flight. However, once you’ve got the data off the drone and onto a computer, it should play back fine, unless you start to edit, in which case your computer may sweat unless the graphic card/RAM is robust enough to take it. This will manifest itself as lost frames, longer stutters or a system crash. I am an enthusiastic amateur, but enjoy 4K footage, particularly on a larger monitor. If you are playing your video back on a laptop screen or similar, many would argue that 4K is an overkill. 2.7K is worth a try for sure. However, the hidden cost of buying a 4K drone can be the hardware you need to get the very best from it.
 
I like take 4k, 24fps and convert this to 2.7k, 60fps in post production using final cut pro in OS X. The final video looks incredible and better than shooting at 2.7k originally.
That's an interesting procedure. Could you share an example?
 
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I do shoot 4k because I want maximum resolution files for commercial jobs.

2.7k is good also, but 1080 is terrible on the Mavic, due to aliasing. That is a shame because that is a sweet spot for resolution, performance and file size.

Give 2.7 a try and if things don't improve, give 720 a try if your device is being challenged and you don't need the resolution. For general web based work, etc. that just might suit your needs.

Just_Nick is right -- shooting in 4K doesn't affect the lag that you are seeing.

As to whether it is worth it, that depends on a lot of things. Editing 4K video takes a lot of horsepower that many simply don't have. Things like extra memory, fast CPU and GPU, and a 4K monitor make a huge difference. File sizes larger, too, but I have enough memory that it's not even a consideration for me.

For me it is worth it, but I have the equipment to do it. To me, 4K is a very big step up in resolution from 1080, but I understand that most who watch my videos on line probably do so at only 1080. 4K looks great, but the 1080 versions on Youtube, Vimeo, and Airvuz still look very, very sharp.

I would love to shoot 1080 on my Mavic because when I'm overseas the smaller files upload in MUCH less time on poor internet connections.
 
Just_Nick is right -- shooting in 4K doesn't affect the lag that you are seeing.

As to whether it is worth it, that depends on a lot of things. Editing 4K video takes a lot of horsepower that many simply don't have. Things like extra memory, fast CPU and GPU, and a 4K monitor make a huge difference. File sizes larger, too, but I have enough memory that it's not even a consideration for me.

For me it is worth it, but I have the equipment to do it. To me, 4K is a very big step up in resolution from 1080, but I understand that most who watch my videos on line probably do so at only 1080. 4K looks great, but the 1080 versions on Youtube, Vimeo, and Airvuz still look very, very sharp.

I would love to shoot 1080 on my Mavic because when I'm overseas the smaller files upload in MUCH less time on poor internet connections.
My suggestion was referring mainly to his playback issue on whatever computer equipment he has, not the device lag.
 
I like take 4k, 24fps and convert this to 2.7k, 60fps in post production using final cut pro in OS X. The final video looks incredible and better than shooting at 2.7k originally.
I do the other way around. After going through all this mess with the Mavics 4K issues, I've finally found a good workflow:
1. It starts with filming in 2.7K 3ofps, ISO100, shutter 60-120fps using an ND16 filter, sharpness +1 contrast -1, saturation -1, color profile ART.
2. Then I colorgrade the footage using mLUT from motionvfx.
3. For reducing the GOP effect and removing existing noise I use NeatVideo using the profile specifically created for the Mavic by "The Film Poets"
4. Finally the footage gets exported and scaled up to 4k in Apple ProRes
5. That very big file goes up to Youtube to ensure a maximum base material for YTs agressive compression.
Result below
 
I do the other way around. After going through all this mess with the Mavics 4K issues, I've finally found a good workflow:
1. It starts with filming in 2.7K 3ofps, ISO100, shutter 60-120fps using an ND16 filter, sharpness +1 contrast -1, saturation -1, color profile ART.
2. Then I colorgrade the footage using mLUT from motionvfx.
3. For reducing the GOP effect and removing existing noise I use NeatVideo using the profile specifically created for the Mavic by "The Film Poets"
4. Finally the footage gets exported and scaled up to 4k in Apple ProRes
5. That very big file goes up to Youtube to ensure a maximum base material for YTs agressive compression.
Result below
Nice work... impressive. And thanks for the info.
 
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Today, I decided to shoot some video in 4K. I saw a lot of lag on my device during the flight. I wasn’t concerned as I recognized this as a device issue expected different results when playing back on a PC. Unfortunately, saw lots of lag on the playback. After researching it, I see this is a common issue depending on playback device, post processing, etc.

For a hobbyist not shooting professional commercials, is 4K world changing? I do want to shoot good video but again, it’s a hobby and not a career.

I’m curious how many shoot in 4K and how many are satisfied with a lower resolution.

If you editing computer can reasonable handle the 4k, you should work with 4k (and if not consider using proxies). You can always convert down, but converting up doesn't improve results. There is lots of evidence out there that suggests that even if you want 1080p out, start with 4k and downscale as it appears to make the final image better.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=benifits+of+converting+4k+to+1080p+for+image+quality&ie=&oe=

I always use 4k, and honestly never bother to upload anything in less that 4k as YouTube can convert it to what ever the user wants/needs.

The other nice thing about 4k is that when 8k starts to be common, your only one generation of video quality old. Linus from Linus Tech Tips also did a video on why they started shooting 8k. I get they are a business... but the cost to store 4k is marginally overall, and you may want some of that in 4k later.
 
Thank you to everyone for the excellent responses. I spent this weekend out playing with different options. Not sure if its my age, but i an struggling to see a large difference with 4k. My thought is if just out flying around, the lower quality will work as i think this still looks great. For those must have moments, 4k would be the way to go and can process down from there if need by. Ill continue to play with the 4k. Space isnt an issue for what i do, just the post processing part has been an issue.
 
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Our internet has recently increased speed enough to view youtube at 1440 rather than 1080p - not 4k (yet!) but there is a marked difference on smart TV at 1440, especially if you watch it from reasonably close.
So pleased I mainly uploaded at 4K the past couple of years, even though I could only view 1080p
On a typical laptop or tablet 1080p is plenty, in fact higher res can look a bit scratchy like too sharp.
 
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