Mavic wont focus at all, not manual, not auto, replace camera or send to DJI?

[nom3d]

So I've had my Mavic Pro v1 for a little over a year. I had an issue with the camera and gimbal that DJI fixed (sent me a new drone) but now a little over a year later, the camera all of the sudden will not focus at all. It looks as if it's stuck on super close up. I have tried manual & auto focus as well as resetting camera settings and everything else. From what I've researched and read online others with this same issue all sent theirs into DJI. I am wondering if I should buy a camera off ebay (about $90) and try to replace it myself? I'm skilled enough to do the job, just wondering if this would fix the issue and be cheaper than what DJI would charge me. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Former Member]

Sometimes it's better not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Your problem could be something as simple as your camera sensor. All you might need to replace is the camera barrel, around $25 - $30 and then see what happens.

Replacing your gimbal motors will not help, and might even cause a gimbal motor overload if the new gimbal you install is not OEM DJI..

 

[nom3d]

Ok cool, thanks @Thunderdrones, I had thought about that part. I suppose I could start with that and if it doesn't work send the part back? If it weren't this part then what else could it potentially be?

 

[Former Member]

Ok cool, thanks @Thunderdrones, I had thought about that part. I suppose I could start with that and if it doesn't work send the part back? If it weren't this part then what else could it potentially be?

Thats where I would start. If it's not that, then try replacing your gimbal PCB. If not that, then maybe your core board is malfunctioning.

The reason for your camera not focusing could be normal wear and tear on the sensor, moisture, or simply a mechanical failure.

When replacing the camera barrel, do your absolute best to be patient. The 2 side screws in the camera barrel can strip easily because they are loctited in. Also, as you try to separate the lens barrel from the motor assembly, be gentle, or you can tear your LVDS silver cable and have to buy a new one. I am overly cautious because I dont like to have to replace parts that werent broken before.

 

[Grippo]

Hello, I am brandy new here and brandy new to drones.
Mine stopped focusing well and I recalibrated the vision system. This requires usb cabling the Pro to the computer and running DJI Assistant. I am currently waiting for batteries to charge and will see if that fixed it later.
I will report back the result.

Well Crapola! That did not do it. I did notice that while flying the screen was crystal clear and thought for sure that was the fix but when I brought them into Lightroom that were crap again. Just fuzzy.

I have this thing for about a week now and the first picture were great and sharp. I shooting in Raw or DNG.

I tried.

 

[Former Member]

Hello, I am brandy new here and brandy new to drones.
Mine stopped focusing well and I recalibrated the vision system. This requires usb cabling the Pro to the computer and running DJI Assistant. I am currently waiting for batteries to charge and will see if that fixed it later.
I will report back the result.

I hope that works for you. Normally, calibrating the vision system involves the forward obstacle avoidance and downward positioning, but not the gimbal. Who knows, maybe it will help.

 

[Grippo]

Strange because the image on my iPhone seemed very sharp, sharper than before camera calibration. And yes the software puts you through front and downward sensors too.

Recallibration of the camera should have fixed it I believe because of the exercise of focusing on reticles.

I should also add that as a newbie, I had forgotten to remove the gimbal stabilizer when starting the drone up about 3-4 times. I do not know if that played a role. Since testing post-calibration, I have recalibrated the gimbals and will try it again.

 

[Grippo]

I found a solution I hope.
When I first got the drone a week ago I recorded a quite a few videos but my primary is interest is still photography.
The camera worked well during that time so I figured it was worth a try to switch back to video then back to stills.

Viola!! Sharp focus is back for stills!!

Coincidence? Maybe but I do not think so but I admit I do not know enough to know.


Since that first test I have made a couple of flights and the still shots are sharp as they are supposed to be.
I hope it is not a coincident and not an intermittent elegical problem. (yes I misspelled electrical on purpose)

 

[iowahill]

Ok cool, thanks @Thunderdrones, I had thought about that part. I suppose I could start with that and if it doesn't work send the part back? If it weren't this part then what else could it potentially be?

That camera module by itself can be replaced without having to take the gimbal assembly apart. If the gimbal is working correctly then that's the way to go. Just be careful in removing it once the two small screws that hold it are taken out, and the braided cable is pried up. I found the modules on eBay for around $12 and they work fine. Hardest part is the wait as they come from China, about 3 1/2 to 4 weeks. I keep several around "just in case", as well as spare gimbal cables and the braided video cable.

But did you go into the Go4 ap with the bird connected and do the camera calibrations for the front camera and the two downward cams? I had the same focus problem even after having replaced the cam module on one of my MP's. After the second time going through the camera calibration all was good in the world again. From what I found focus is in the cam module, not the gimbal control board.

Strangely, sometimes you have to do some calibrations several times before things gel.

 

[Former Member]

That camera module by itself can be easily replaced without having to take the gimbal assembly apart. /QUOTE]

I have to disagree with you there. It is not an easy replacement, at best it's fairly difficult. For a novice DIYer, things can go wrong very quickly, and then other parts will need to be replaced. I have replaced hundreds of them, and maybe 1 in 10 pry apart without having to use vise grips due to the loctite and putty holding the camera barrel halves together.

It sounds like you have some experience modding so for you maybe it's easy, and you have spare cables in case something goes wrong.

 

[iowahill]

I'd have to agree with you on all points Rob. My experience with the MP is limited to the two I've owned (so far!) and repaired. And I DID notice that although the same model, they exhibited different adhesives, hardware, cabling, etc. Repairs on these exquisitely designed and built machines are not for the timid, inexperienced, or ill-prepared. I've bought more parts than needed during my own learning curve, both because of an abundance of caution and ham-handedness.

 

[Former Member]

I'd have to agree with you on all points Rob. My experience with the MP is limited to the two I've owned (so far!) and repaired. And I DID notice that although the same model, they exhibited different adhesives, hardware, cabling, etc. Repairs on these exquisitely designed and built machines are not for the timid, inexperienced, or ill-prepared. I've bought more parts than needed during my own learning curve, both because of an abundance of caution and ham-handedness.

Looks like you have a long history of electronics repair (I peeked at your website), so I can understand you wanting to have extra parts for repairs to your bird.

 

[Grippo]

Well, it happened again. I lost focus in my stills.

I switched back to video for about 15 seconds. Then switched back to still photography and focus was sharp as expected.

 

[iowahill]

Well, it happened again. I lost focus in my stills.

I switched back to video for about 15 seconds. Then switched back to still photography and focus was sharp as expected.

At this point I'd have to suspect something in your camera settings. I don't see a connection between the camera module and switching between video and photo modes

 

[Grippo]

At this point I'd have to suspect something in your camera settings. I don't see a connection between the camera module and switching between video and photo modes

I realize it is a flakey premise but we have all seen connections that were not supposed to be there. The connection is that both systems use the same vision system. The capture difference is continuous versus discreet.

However, I will double check my camera settings and my process.

 

[iowahill]

I realize it is a flakey premise but we have all seen connections that were not supposed to be there. The connection is that both systems use the same vision system. The capture difference is continuous versus discreet.

However, I will double check my camera settings and my process.

It will be interesting to hear back on what you ultimately find. Though I almost exclusively shoot video with my MP1 I just tried switching between photo and video mode and didn't see a focus problem. I primarily use AF because my shots don't require anything special, they're mostly just what you might call "industrial" quality (for mapping and site evaluation).

I hope you get your solution soon.

 

[Grippo]

It will be interesting to hear back on what you ultimately find. Though I almost exclusively shoot video with my MP1 I just tried switching between photo and video mode and didn't see a focus problem. I primarily use AF because my shots don't require anything special, they're mostly just what you might call "industrial" quality (for mapping and site evaluation).

I hope you get your solution soon.

Thanks and appreciate your open mind. Who knows, it could be a combination of how I prepare and operate the camera and drone and the fact that I went through the whole vision recalibration routine, that may be the lucky recipe.I am a mechanical engineer and have seen many strange things happen in telecommunications manufacturing. Some good and some bad.

The camera is good enough for my needs which 100% landscapes, sunrises, and sunsets over water. I only shoot in Raw which allows enough bit depth that I put it through some aggressive work in post with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. In fact, I have gotten some great results.

 

[Patmaherjfm]

I have this no focus controll too, nothing works, when I tap it bleeps but nothing happens, manual focus does nothing, I have replaced the camera barrel twice now, and still not working, I've calibrated everything,, rolled back the firmware, and updated back to the latest, each time reseting everything back to default and re celebrating. I'm concidering replacing the PCB that the camera and sensors connect to, but don't want to keep buying parts that don't help, seems like lots of people are having this issue, but can't find any confirmed solutions, any body managed to fix this ?

 

[Grippo]

It will be interesting to hear back on what you ultimately find. Though I almost exclusively shoot video with my MP1 I just tried switching between photo and video mode and didn't see a focus problem. I primarily use AF because my shots don't require anything special, they're mostly just what you might call "industrial" quality (for mapping and site evaluation).

I hope you get your solution soon.

Just thought of a possible process issue. It may be possible that I put the camera in Manual focus, then switched to video, then back to stills. In video the camera is in auto focus and maybe when I switched back from video mode to still mode the camera actually stayed in auto focus.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[iowahill]

Just thought of a possible process issue. It may be possible that I put the camera in Manual focus, then switched to video, then back to stills. In video the camera is in auto focus and maybe when I switched back from video mode to still mode the camera actually stayed in auto focus.

I hope that makes sense.

There are so many variables with settings and controls that it's easy to overlook some of the vagaries. But you just might be onto a solution there! Let us know.