Losing patience with mavic

[Callum]

This is not a Mavic bashing post, I love it for what it is but I'm starting to lose patience with the image quality.

I don't use it commercially, I just like going out filming great locations and adding a shine with minimal post editing.

Im not new to video or editing but this is my first quad. It's an absolute joy to fly but unfortunately it stops there for me.

I bought the Mavic after watching YouTube videos which obviously had a massive amount of post work done.

Every time I go out I run through 3 batteries and 90% of the footage or images is absolute junk.

I've tried every tip I can find, have polar pro shutter and vivid series filters but I'm left looking for something I feel it will never achieve.

Maybe it's me, maybe I will be able to find a setting that works with minimal post editing but I'm seriously tempted to get a P4P and keep the Mavic for fun.

Anyone else in the same position?

You can't beat mavic for portability, it will get a shot where you wouldn't have carried a phantom, it's great fun to fly but I feel if your after great video you need something else as well.

Thoughts?

 

[LivinLarge]

Can you post an example of the footage or images you are unhappy with. Perhaps you have a defective one.

 

[Callum]

Can you post an example of the footage or images you are unhappy with. Perhaps you have a defective one.

Yeah I can do that.
I'll post up a few photos and some footage tomorrow.

 

[MikeC]

This is not a Mavic bashing post, I love it for what it is but I'm starting to lose patience with the image quality.

I don't use it commercially, I just like going out filming great locations and adding a shine with minimal post editing.

Im not new to video or editing but this is my first quad. It's an absolute joy to fly but unfortunately it stops there for me.

I bought the Mavic after watching YouTube videos which obviously had a massive amount of post work done.

Every time I go out I run through 3 batteries and 90% of the footage or images is absolute junk.

I've tried every tip I can find, have polar pro shutter and vivid series filters but I'm left looking for something I feel it will never achieve.

Maybe it's me, maybe I will be able to find a setting that works with minimal post editing but I'm seriously tempted to get a P4P and keep the Mavic for fun.

Anyone else in the same position?

You can't beat mavic for portability, it will get a shot where you wouldn't have carried a phantom, it's great fun to fly but I feel if your after great video you need something else as well.

Thoughts?

For me it is all about filming in the right conditions. If you have to push ISO anywhere above 200 the image suffers. I always shot in Cinelike . I was getting very "mushy" looking videos until I shot at +1,-1,-1. Getting great results from both my Mavics(long story).
Mike Criss

 

[geigy]

??? What's your application? I really have to look close, even on my 4K monitor, to see problems with my Mavic footage. By the time the videos make it to youtube, even at 4K, the quality is significantly degraded.

I've gotten any number of excellent videos and stills from my Mavic, and I haven't even started playing with raw mode, or really tweaking the video to get better quality.

Make sure you have plenty of light, that sharpen is set to +1, and play with the various color presets until you get a look that you like. Use a higher end video editing program, such as DaVinci or Premiere Pro and play with the various LUTS to get more control and make your images really pop (or not) to match the look you are after.

 

[2nckayakers]

I can't say anything really bad about mine. I am very happy with the video quality even though I am not as thrilled about the still image quality. I would be a lot more happy it I had at least a 24 mp still camera. But what I do is just extract pictures from the 4k video and for the most part I am content. The biggest thing though I can say is DO NOT use auto white balance. That really is the worse thing that will screw up some pictures and video. Pick the right white balance setting manually and go with it and you will get much better results. I don't use any filters on my videos but that is my next investment as I can see where in some situations it would help me out. Good luck, hope you get it figured out.

 

[Callum]

For me it is all about filming in the right conditions. If you have to push ISO anywhere above 200 the image suffers. I always shot in Cinelike . I was getting very "mushy" looking videos until I shot at +1,-1,-1. Getting great results from both my Mavics(long story).
Mike Criss

Right conditions may have a lot to do with it.
I'm in Scotland so get a few months a year of sunshine, the rest is overcast or rain.

I look at all the phantom videos online and they seem to cope better with Scottish lighting.

What kind of post work do you do at +1,-1,-1?

 

[Robert Mitchell]

This is not a Mavic bashing post, I love it for what it is but I'm starting to lose patience with the image quality.

I don't use it commercially, I just like going out filming great locations and adding a shine with minimal post editing.

Im not new to video or editing but this is my first quad. It's an absolute joy to fly but unfortunately it stops there for me.

I bought the Mavic after watching YouTube videos which obviously had a massive amount of post work done.

Every time I go out I run through 3 batteries and 90% of the footage or images is absolute junk.

I've tried every tip I can find, have polar pro shutter and vivid series filters but I'm left looking for something I feel it will never achieve.

Maybe it's me, maybe I will be able to find a setting that works with minimal post editing but I'm seriously tempted to get a P4P and keep the Mavic for fun.

Anyone else in the same position?

You can't beat mavic for portability, it will get a shot where you wouldn't have carried a phantom, it's great fun to fly but I feel if your after great video you need something else as well.

Thoughts?

Not sure I agree. I'll assume for the moment that you don't have a defect or malfunction, otherwise the rest of this is completely moot.

I've been a professional photographer for decades and find the Mavic's camera to be more than adequate, for not only casual work, but professional work as well. Indeed the sensor is a little small and you have to work within it's limitations, but...

The camera has a very impressive array of controls allowing you to correct and compensate for a wide variety of conditions. Not sure how that compares to the P4, as I've never owned one, but compared to other drones, and even terrestrial cameras, I continue to be impressed.

Unfortunately, post editing is almost essential with ANY digital camera these days. It is almost impossible to get a perfectly balanced and optimized image, or footage without doing so. Post is almost as important in digital as developing was to film.

Remember, we are all viewing and comparing our own footage to perfectly optimized footage we see everyday.

 

[Callum]

??? What's your application? I really have to look close, even on my 4K monitor, to see problems with my Mavic footage. By the time the videos make it to youtube, even at 4K, the quality is significantly degraded.

I've gotten any number of excellent videos and stills from my Mavic, and I haven't even started playing with raw mode, or really tweaking the video to get better quality.

Make sure you have plenty of light, that sharpen is set to +1, and play with the various color presets until you get a look that you like. Use a higher end video editing program, such as DaVinci or Premiere Pro and play with the various LUTS to get more control and make your images really pop (or not) to match the look you are after.

I'm using premier Pro, usually c;our grade manually or use Icarus luts.

 

[Callum]

Not sure I agree. I'll assume for the moment that you don't have a defect or malfunction, otherwise the rest of this is completely moot.

I've been a professional photographer for decades and find the Mavic's camera to be more than adequate, for not only casual work, but professional work as well. Indeed the sensor is a little small and you have to work within it's limitations, but...

The camera has a very impressive array of controls allowing you to correct and compensate for a wide variety of conditions. Not sure how that compares to the P4, as I've never owned one, but compared to other drones, and even terrestrial cameras, I continue to be impressed.

Unfortunately, post editing is almost essential with ANY digital camera these days. It is almost impossible to get a perfectly balanced and optimized image, or footage without doing so. Post is almost as important in digital as developing was to film.

Remember, we are all viewing and comparing our own footage to perfectly optimized footage we see everyday.

That makes sense about us comparing our own footage to what we see on TV or YouTube with heavy or professional editing.

I'm not after professional results. I only want footage that is not water colour or mush at one setting and overly sharp at the next.

It also seems as if the right side of my video and images is not as sharp as the left when below +1.

Working within the cameras limitations has probably a lot to do with it and maybe I have more work to do with my lighting levels.

I also tend to only shoot landcapes.

My issue is I fly with people who use Phantom 3 & 4 and they don't have the same issues.


Do you shoot auto or manual for stills?

 

[Ron_Dog]

I use manual for stills. Shooting at the best times (morning and evening) also effects the quality. Here's a picture that was shot in manual, with no editing!

 

[dport177]

I've owned both the phantom 3 Advanced and the mavic pro platinum. I'll also say that I'm a tv snob. Meaning that I pride myself on having the best picture possible (best blacks, no light bleed, perfect gray uniformity, etc).

My mavic pro platinum footage in 4k on my Samsung KS8000 tv is absolutely stunning. Way better than my P3A.

Edit: I live in Philadelphia, United States. My latitude is that of southern Spain. So perhaps my light situation is much different than yours.

 

[Hollow Dog]

One mans junk.........
Happy with what I video.
Anything could be better, always a price $ to pay.
Better equipment available, if not happy moving to a better position is the best bet.
Think at this point we are getting the best for the buck.
Seems like the very high tech we get is under appreciated by some.
Better tech is usually available at a higher price, look there.

 

[Callum]

View attachment 25175 I use manual for stills. Shooting at the best times (morning and evening) also effects the quality. Here's a picture that was shot in manual, with no editing!

I'd be happy with that.
Light does make all the difference. Starting to think that's my issue with a smaller sensor.

Where do you live? That's crazy how flat the horizon is, don't see that often here.

 

[ykwarks]

here’s an example of a still pic
shot in manual settings

1. raw image with zero adjustment
2. after post in lightroom

even the raw image looks decent with such a small sensor in low light condition

 

[charliesRig]

Callum
I'm with you....
and they tell me if you have a Mavic pro you need a filter For color contrast.?
yes same/same.
The Post edit on the u-tube is amazing.!
I dont posess those type of skills

that being said...............
Sometime when you'll get flustrated you just have to pack it Up and shelve It
Give it time Mavic will wait
...then with a fresh set of Eye's pull your mavic pro out and injoy it
Secret to mavic is............ To fly it like you don't care.....
If you think about How much money it cost or will cost if you crash it It will SUCK all the Joy out of Flying Mavic
..........Sp.
.
.
.

 

[stressor]

Without editing, and without shooting in raw, the only photos looking good with fixed f2.2 lens are going to be bright daytime. Night photos will look mostly blurry due to long exposure on top of a not perfectly stable drone. Landscape photographers know bright daylight photos are not the best except perhaps dramatic vistas. However things improve with 1. raw 2. filters 3. location 4. tripod mode. Yet this is still a modest 12mp camera so you cannot expect miracles.

 

[eek]

Regarding the video quality, try ditching the filters and ignoring double shutter speed to framerate. The mavic’s camera is too **** for that. Try using 300 shutter with 24 fps and no less than +1 sharpness. You wont get perfect motion blur, but you will get detailed footage. Worked for me.

 

[LivinLarge]

That makes sense about us comparing our own footage to what we see on TV or YouTube with heavy or professional editing.

I'm not after professional results. I only want footage that is not water colour or mush at one setting and overly sharp at the next.

It also seems as if the right side of my video and images is not as sharp as the left when below +1.

Working within the cameras limitations has probably a lot to do with it and maybe I have more work to do with my lighting levels.

I also tend to only shoot landcapes.

My issue is I fly with people who use Phantom 3 & 4 and they don't have the same issues.


Do you shoot auto or manual for stills?

If one side is softer than the other this is a sign of a decentered lens or the lens axis is not perpendicular to the sensor. No amount of post processing will really fix this, only cover it up by over sharpening.

 

[Callum]

If one side is softer than the other this is a sign of a decentered lens or the lens axis is not perpendicular to the sensor. No amount of post processing will really fix this, only cover it up by over sharpening.

Have a look and see what you think.

Its really obvious in this one, others not so much but every image just looks off.

Id love nothing more than it to be something I'm doing wrong that I can fix.

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