Mavic 2 Pro Normal vs DLOG

CaptHook · Nov 1, 2019

So here are some results for:

Mavic 2 Pro
4k 30fps Normal FOV vs 4k 30fps DLOG FOV
Settings: 0, 0, 0

The first picture below is Normal straight out of camera vs DLOG with DJI DLOG LUT and distortion correction.
As seen below, the DLOG barrel distortion never gets quite right.
This is applying the correction of (Full FOV 0.245) in Davinci Resolve as recommended by DJI.
And the DLOG sharpness is painfully dull.

Here is a 2x zoom for sharpness comparison:

Here are the same pictures with full grades.
Normal has small contrast and saturation boost and a modest application of ResolveFX dehaze.
DLOG has DJI DLOG LUT, distortion correction, medium contrast and saturation boost
and larger dehaze AND aggressive sharpening filter.

And a 2x zoom for sharpness comparison:

The DLOG, even with the extra, aggressive sharpening, is still painfully dull.

Conclusions:
I have done many, many settings tests with the Mavic 2 Pro.
They all have lead me to shoot in 4k 30fps Normal.
This test of Normal vs DLOG, for me, confirms my decision.

The 'unfixable' barrel distortion, 'washed-out' image, and 'muddy' unsharp image are my primary issues.

Next up - comparing HQ:
4k 30fps Normal HQ vs 4k 30fps DLOG HQ

Not A Speck Of Cereal · Nov 1, 2019

If by "DJI DLOG LUT" you mean a DJI supplied LUT, I have found all of theirs to be either dull or overdone (DLOG recording mode is only as bad as the LUT you applied).

I am not super experienced with LUTs, but I found the SkyGrade ones to be fairly nice (Store - Film Poets).

I am also of the impression that they are just a starting point. I have yet to make my own, but I have ventured beyond LUTS and done some manual grading and am looking forward to it (rolling my own).

I dialed up my own distortion correction (have never seen DJI's recommendation for Resolve) and came up with 0.130.

Chris

Piglet3003 · Nov 2, 2019

You can also look at spectrum grades lut packages. DLOG has so much to offer over normal video because of the 10bit. Just play around and over time you will see the possibilities of DLOG over Normal.

CaptHook · Nov 2, 2019

It's not about a particular LUT - they are just starting points or creative looks.
It's about DJI's technology as well as implementation of DLOG.
And 10-bit should/could offer better footage.
I just don't see it.
I DO see why people suggest a +1 on sharpness and then noise reduction for DLOG.
Guess I'll have to try some +1 and even +2 footage.

I have some footage comparing the HQ normal vs HQ dlog - but it's basically the same result as FOV.

However, footage comparing Normal FOV vs HQ is more interesting.
The HQ is considerably sharper than I remember.
Will post some pics later.

brett8883 · Nov 2, 2019

CaptHook said:
So here are some results for:

Mavic 2 Pro
4k 30fps Normal FOV vs 4k 30fps DLOG FOV
Settings: 0, 0, 0

The first picture below is Normal straight out of camera vs DLOG with DJI DLOG LUT and distortion correction.
As seen below, the DLOG barrel distortion never gets quite right.
This is applying the correction of (Full FOV 0.245) in Davinci Resolve as recommended by DJI.
And the DLOG sharpness is painfully dull.

View attachment 84639

Here is a 2x zoom for sharpness comparison:

View attachment 84640

Here are the same pictures with full grades.
Normal has small contrast and saturation boost and a modest application of ResolveFX dehaze.
DLOG has DJI DLOG LUT, distortion correction, medium contrast and saturation boost
and larger dehaze AND aggressive sharpening filter.

View attachment 84641

And a 2x zoom for sharpness comparison:

View attachment 84642

The DLOG, even with the extra, aggressive sharpening, is still painfully dull.

Conclusions:
I have done many, many settings tests with the Mavic 2 Pro.
They all have lead me to shoot in 4k 30fps Normal.
This test of Normal vs DLOG, for me, confirms my decision.

The 'unfixable' barrel distortion, 'washed-out' image, and 'muddy' unsharp image are my primary issues.

Next up - comparing HQ:
4k 30fps Normal HQ vs 4k 30fps DLOG HQ

The sharpness is the only concerning aspect and it’s probably due to the raw subsampling issue the Mavic 2 Pro suffers from. I expect your HQ results will be much better

CaptHook · Nov 2, 2019

Normal HQ vs Dlog HQ

Same as before:
Normal has small contrast and saturation boost and a modest application of ResolveFX dehaze.
DLOG has DJI DLOG LUT, distortion correction, medium contrast and saturation boost
and larger dehaze AND aggressive sharpening filter

2x zoom

And the previous 2x images of FOV mode:

Clear to see the bump up in image quality of HQ vs FOV.

CaptHook · Nov 2, 2019

One last image, a better true comparison.
2x crop, Dlog sharpening filter removed.

So HQ or FOV, Dlog has been implemented by DJI native in-camera that results
in a significantly softer image compared to Normal.

I hope to compare -1 Normal and +1 and +2 Dlog soon.

CaptHook · Nov 2, 2019

Not A Speck Of Cereal said:
I dialed up my own distortion correction (have never seen DJI's recommendation for Resolve) and came up with 0.130.

Here is the table for lens correction provided by DJI:

nafisgal · Nov 2, 2019

Very good research / information ... great job.

Gizmo6257 · Nov 2, 2019

I agree,the normal mode looks awesome straight out of camera. I don’t think Dlog is worth all the trouble,for any advantage you Might get. My videos all look awesome in normal mode.

Dave Maine · Nov 2, 2019

I have experimented extensively with Dlog with my various DJI drones, using both LUTS available on line, as well as constructing my own. I have not tried with any 10 bit originals, but all the 8 bit don’t improve using dlog. The best, and easiest settings are the cinema-d choices, which maximize the dynamic range, and provide a slight desaturation which gives you the most flexibility in post.

Andrea1976 · Nov 2, 2019

Gizmo6257 said:
I agree,the normal mode looks awesome straight out of camera. I don’t think Dlog is worth all the trouble,for any advantage you Might get. My videos all look awesome in normal mode.

Hi
1- I’m not a PRO
2- if you assume that mavic's dlog is the same of other dlog files (witch is not) look at that
I also have tons of problems with dlog..

cheers
Andrea

manowar_gub · Nov 2, 2019

I prefer to shoot D-LOG and set sharpness to -1 because of moire effect
In standart mode I met lot of moire

Smokieflies · Nov 2, 2019

Dlog is video raw format, just which means the video is not edited in any way. Difference of shooting RAW or JPEG on a DSLR camera. JPEG fixes things like lens distortion, and color corrects, adjusts contrast, and sharpness. RAW does not, you have to take it into Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop to adjust. You might be able to make it look better then jpeg. You might not. Depends on your skills with those programs. Also how much of a control freak you are (I assuming we all are to a certain extent since we are flying our own drones.) It just might take some time to figure out how. Some programs will fix the distortion and stuff automatically when you put in lens information. Question is if profiles have been written for out drones yet. My stills I work on myself. Still learning the video editing, so for now, I am not shutting dlog. Just making easier on myself for know.

GFields · Nov 2, 2019

I always use normal

Not A Speck Of Cereal · Nov 2, 2019

Dave Maine said:
I have experimented extensively with Dlog with my various DJI drones, using both LUTS available on line, as well as constructing my own. I have not tried with any 10 bit originals, but all the 8 bit don’t improve using dlog.

There's a big difference between 8 and 10 bits. Those 2 bits are on the upper-end, so they represent large numbers.

The best, and easiest settings are the cinema-d choices, which maximize the dynamic range, and provide a slight desaturation which gives you the most flexibility in post.

"cinema-d"? I don't believe there is such a choice on the M2P..

Chris

CaptHook · Nov 2, 2019

Andrea1976 said:
Hi
1- I’m not a PRO
2- if you assume that mavic's dlog is the same of other dlog files (witch is not) look at that

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I also have tons of problems with dlog..

cheers
Andrea

That was an interesting video discussing data rates.
And gets to the heart of the problem with the Mavic 2 Pro (M2P) Dlog IMO.
The M2P is amazing technology as is the video it can capture.
But the size/weight/cooling requirements means compromising somewhere.
(In multiple areas actually)

From the video you linked (and discussed many other places),
4k 10-bit data rate is recommended at 880 Mbps. 400 Mbps is the recommended minimum.
The M2P has a data rate of 100 Mpbs.
Again, amazing in such a small, flying device.
But this is where some of the compromises required are seen.

paulatkin73 · Nov 2, 2019

CaptHook said:
That was an interesting video discussing data rates.
And gets to the heart of the problem with the Mavic 2 Pro (M2P) Dlog IMO.
The M2P is amazing technology as is the video it can capture.
But the size/weight/cooling requirements means compromising somewhere.
(In multiple areas actually)

From the video you linked (and discussed many other places),
4k 10-bit data rate is recommended at 880 Mbps. 400 Mbps is the recommended minimum.
The M2P has a data rate of 100 Mpbs.
Again, amazing in such a small, flying device.
But this is where some of the compromises required are seen.

try to get a commercial full version of the davinci resolve, if you can. in full version it will allow export in h265 and also will use 100% of GPU resources for lens distortion correction module, so you can easily fix it. in free version it is not using GPU, so it would take forever.

now, from the comparison you do - you deal here with apple and oranges essentially comparing out of the camera JPG with an DNG file - RAW with the result of the in-drone video processing unit.
when you feed DLOG into the resolve - you need first apply a LUT, then deal with other filters, including required level of sharpening - and also figure out what to apply, as you processed DLOG result looks more blurred than an original one.

Dave Maine · Nov 2, 2019

It may not be called Cinema-D, but there generally is a cinema setting which attempts capture the broadest dynamic range ad make it available for post processing. If you use a post processing stage in your work flow, what is needed is t avoid clipping either the whites or blacks. Clipping cannot be corrected in post, but if you have detail in the whites and blacks using the color controls in post you can adjust them to a satisfactory point. White clipping is particularly nasty looking, and spoils the shot.