Lens decentered? What to do?

[drone84]

My mini 3 seems to have a decentered lens. The left side of the image always is slightly usharp compared to the right one. Problem is that it is not massively unsharp so I`m not sure if DJI will repair it / send a new one if i send it in. Do you have any experience with this issue? Would you send it to DJI?
Unfortunately its too late to send it back to Amazon.

 

[Lister]

Send several full-rez images to DJI, including crops/enlargements of the corners.
I imagine they've seen this problem before.

 

[globetrotterdrone]

It seems like it a bit.
If you can, lift up again and make a 90 ° downgrade shot, as it easier to judge with a plane focus.

It is likely DJI will say it's in tolerance and it's even more likely that nearly all lenses/sensors have some sort of slight shift, yet I perfectly understand you to like to have an even result, ie softness in the corners.

A side note: the higher the resolution/magnification from this "little" sensor, the more obvious even slight deviations get. Try to include 12 and 48 MP shots to see, if there's a noticeable difference too.

 

[drone84]

Its also visible when shooting 12mp photos. (Btw. my Mini 2 was sharp edge to edge)
Of course the lower the resolution gets the less visible it is. My worry is that i send it in for repair and get it back with a new lens that delivers the same results or even worse results. I`ve seen some Mini 3 photos on the internet which also have that "decentered lens issue". On the other hand a friend of mine has a Mini 3 that delivers sharp images edge to edge.

 

[globetrotterdrone]

On the other hand a friend of mine has a Mini 3 that delivers sharp images edge to edge.

I've not seen any DJI drone that doesn't show a fair reduction of sharpness in the extreme corners tbh.
It's by design (as with normal lenses) but I fully see that yours is not evenly distributed and left to right is softer.

You can't get past the issue without sending it in and see what your new model is like.
That is annoying, I know, but has been done before. Sometimes with worse results, sometimes with better ones. It's a hassle nonetheless.

 

[offtheback]

My mini 3 seems to have a decentered lens. The left side of the image always is slightly usharp compared to the right one. Problem is that it is not massively unsharp so I`m not sure if DJI will repair it / send a new one if i send it in. Do you have any experience with this issue? Would you send it to DJI?
Unfortunately its too late to send it back to Amazon.

How long have you had it?Amazon will make exceptions sometimes on the 30 day rule.Your reason could be that you didn't use it for sometime after getting due to work or family or the like.Worth a try especially if you're a frequent Amazon customer without a whole lot of returns.If they agree to take it back tell them you'll order a new one while you pack it up to ship back.That way your obsession can continue with minimum interruption.Good luck!

 

[drone84]

How long have you had it?Amazon will make exceptions sometimes on the 30 day rule.Your reason could be that you didn't use it for sometime after getting due to work or family or the like.Worth a try especially if you're a frequent Amazon customer without a whole lot of returns.If they agree to take it back tell them you'll order a new one while you pack it up to ship back.That way your obsession can continue with minimum interruption.Good luck!

I have it for 2 month now. I asked Amazon and unfortunately they do not take it back, i would have to send it in for repair.

 

[CanadaDrone]

In the case of a decentered element, there's nothing you can do yourself. Since you mentioned that the return period has expired, your options are to have DJI repair or exchange it, hopefully under warranty.

Decentered lens elements are unfortunately fairly common, even in the professional full-frame photography realm. It is also much more prevalent and much more noticeable on wide angle lenses. Most lenses have a little bit of decentering, which is normal, however if one side or one corner is much worse than the others, that is a problem.

Hope you can get this sorted out with minimal hassle.

 

[drone84]

I sent it to a DJI service store in hungary. Hope they will change the lens or send a new drone.
I shot some more photos yesterday and its obvious that the lens is decentered or has some other kind of issue. I also looked at many photos from different DJI drones I found on the internet. (Downloaded Raw files when possible) The number of photos with similar issues is quite shocking! Lots of different DJI Drones (Air2S!) seem to have decentered lenses or show weird blurry spots in the images.

 

[drone84]

Update: Service Center will change the Camera Lens Module.
Not sure why but they will also change the rear propulsion motors.

 

[drone84]

The Service Center sent me a new drone a few days ago... but the hassle isn`t over yet.
On the first flight with the new drone i recognized that there is condensation inside the lens. All images looked very foggy. WTF!!
On the second flight the lens stayed clean but I`m not sure if it will stay like that.

 

[familiarjoe]

The Service Center sent me a new drone a few days ago... but the hassle isn`t over yet.
On the first flight with the new drone i recognized that there is condensation inside the lens. All images looked very foggy. WTF!!
On the second flight the lens stayed clean but I`m not sure if it will stay like that.

How's it working for you now? I think I may have the same issue with my mini 3...thought it was user error so been optimistic and keep flying more.

 

[drone84]

How's it working for you now? I think I may have the same issue with my mini 3...thought it was user error so been optimistic and keep flying more.

I sent it back a third(!) time 2 days ago. Every mini 3 drone i got either had a decentered lens or condensation inside the lens. First one had both issues.
Whats the problem with your mini 3 - condensation?

 

[Octisurfer]

I suspect that with my freshly delivered mini 3 pro I also got one with decentered lenses. Unfortunately. I see that the left edge area is clearly blurred. Attached are 2 test photos.