Mushy, Soft looking Video's on my MPP?

[Dopper]

I am new to drones and the video game (2 months) and I am wondering if someone can help me with my video filming questions and recommend better settings.
I have been watching a lot of videos an trying to educate myself on filming technique and MP settings but it's all little confusing for someone who is new to it.

My videos don't look very detailed or crisp. When I fly over a canopy of trees they just look like green mush. People and objects appear soft (i think thats the right word for it) or not quite in focus.
I understand why motion blur is desirable for a cinematic look, nevertheless, I think I would prefer to have more sharpness and detail for everyday videos.
My Camera settings are:
ISO 100-2720X1530 @ 30fps, what balance "sunny"(depending on conditions) Style Landscape (+1 +1 +0) Color D-Cinelike

It was a very bright, almost cloudless day today. It was necessary to use a ND32 filter today in order to get my shutter down to 1/60. I use the right wheel to adjust exposure by using the histogram. I try not to go crazy with the exposure so I try to keep it close to 0 as long as it looks decent.
While I was flying the shutter speed would drop down from 1/60 to 1/50 at times. Is it suppose to do that or do I have to lock the shudder speed somehow?

I also tried a ND16 filter. I started the shutter speed @ 1/60 but it quickly jumped up and stayed around 1/100 to 1/120 as I was flying. The videos seemed to look ok but still mushy.
If my shudder speed goes to a higher/lower setting while filming should I be concerned and use the exposure wheel to correct it or...should I not worry about shutter speed (as long as it is close to the 1/60 range) and just try to keep a balanced exposure, close to 0?

Sorry this is so convoluted! Their is a lot to digest here with bothersome newby questions! I would appreciate any feedback you can give me.

 

[brett8883]

I am new to drones and the video game (2 months) and I am wondering if someone can help me with my video filming questions and recommend better settings.
I have been watching a lot of videos an trying to educate myself on filming technique and MP settings but it's all little confusing for someone who is new to it.

My videos don't look very detailed or crisp. When I fly over a canopy of trees they just look like green mush. People and objects appear soft (i think thats the right word for it) or not quite in focus.
I understand why motion blur is desirable for a cinematic look, nevertheless, I think I would prefer to have more sharpness and detail for everyday videos.
My Camera settings are:
ISO 100-2720X1530 @ 30fps, what balance "sunny"(depending on conditions) Style Landscape (+1 +1 +0) Color D-Cinelike

It was a very bright, almost cloudless day today. It was necessary to use a ND32 filter today in order to get my shutter down to 1/60. I use the right wheel to adjust exposure by using the histogram. I try not to go crazy with the exposure so I try to keep it close to 0 as long as it looks decent.
While I was flying the shutter speed would drop down from 1/60 to 1/50 at times. Is it suppose to do that or do I have to lock the shudder speed somehow?

I also tried a ND16 filter. I started the shutter speed @ 1/60 but it quickly jumped up and stayed around 1/100 to 1/120 as I was flying. The videos seemed to look ok but still mushy.
If my shudder speed goes to a higher/lower setting while filming should I be concerned and use the exposure wheel to correct it or...should I not worry about shutter speed (as long as it is close to the 1/60 range) and just try to keep a balanced exposure, close to 0?

Sorry this is so convoluted! Their is a lot to digest here with bothersome newby questions! I would appreciate any feedback you can give me.

Seems like you have a solid understanding of the basics. Just to get it out of the way you can set manual exposure to keep the shutter where you want it.

As to your soft mushy issues I would advise just shooting in 4K 30FPS. It’s a personal choice but I do custom style settings 0 -2 1. Having a flatter tone curve allows me pull the contrast out in post where I can control it. It’s easy to darken blacks and lighten whites but much more difficult the other way around in post. If I need more sharpness I’ll also add that in post.

just my 2 cents

 

[Robert Mitchell]

Your softness and mushyness is called watercolor effect and is a result of over aggressive noise reduction algorithms on the MP.

There are many posts on this subject and how to minimize it.

As for your shutter speed, 1/60 or 1/50 is fine, set your camera to manual, using the proper ND filters and ISO to achieve this for a particular scene,

I shoot stock and production and Ive been able to produce commercial quality footage with the MP, but it can be a challenge.

 

[Dopper]

Thank you for your feed backs. I have been reading other posts on the subject. Unfortunately, the converstation starts getting into editing techniques in post production etc. It will be a while before I can tackle all of that. In the mean time.....
So, what I don't understand is...say my ISO is set to 100 and my shutter speed at 1/60. What if my scene is over or under exposed? I have been turning my wheel to adjust the brightness but if I do that more then a click or two it changes my shutter speed. How do I maintain those two settings and yet bring the brightness to an exceptical level?

 

[brett8883]

Thank you for your feed backs. I have been reading other posts on the subject. Unfortunately, the converstation starts getting into editing techniques in post production etc. It will be a while before I can tackle all of that. In the mean time.....
So, what I don't understand is...say my ISO is set to 100 and my shutter speed at 1/60. What if my scene is over or under exposed? I have been turning my wheel to adjust the brightness but if I do that more then a click or two it changes my shutter speed. How do I maintain those two settings and yet bring the brightness to an exceptical level?

This is where only with experience you’ll be able to know the right answer because it is different in every situation. In a perfect world the light wouldn’t change within the flight so your initial settings will always produce perfectly exposed frames. This of course is not the case in reality. Light changes all the time.

I personally find the histogram to be the final authority on exposure and find the EV (exposure value) given as the numerical value in DJI Go 4 to be almost worthless. DJI’s EV is set to be between +0.3 to +1 stops to bright at the “perfect” exposure value of 0. The histogram on the other hand is much more accurate. As long as the edges of the histogram are not touching the the right or left of the graph then the scene is properly exposed and you can keep the current settings and continue filming.

Technically, if the histogram is hitting either end of the graph that’s when you should come in and change filters. Having said that it would still be ok increase or decrease shutter speed a couple of notches without anybody noticing but the problem with that is you will see an obvious change in exposure in the clip that you will then need to edit out and honestly it might just be easier to change the filter.

It’s a great question without a real coherent answer so sorry if you are more confused after my attempt but it’s a judgment call and fully qualified people will have different answers to this. I personally don’t like to change camera settings in the middle of a clip because PITA to fix later in post.

 

[Robert Mitchell]

The suggestions of 1/60 and ISO 100 are the IDEAL settings. Use your ND filters to get close to this for a particular scene but don't be afraid to stray from this once airborne and you feel the need to fine tune. A couple of stops in ISO, or shutter speed are not going to be detrimental.

One convenient way to adjust is to set your ISO to the lowest reasonable value, let the camera auto exposure determine your shutter speed, (using the ND filter which places you closest to 1/50-1/80) and then, before you start your scene, "lock" your settings so that the exposure doesn't change during your scene. There is a little exposure lock/unlock icon on the upper right Go4 screen.

As Dopper said above, changes of exposure during a scene are what you are trying to avoid... and the histogram is your friend.
Edit: As Brett said above...

 

[Dopper]

Thank you Thank you! All of your advice really helps my understanding of this. I'll take all of the suggestions and play with settings for awhile and see if I can come up with a better video. Much appreciation!

 

[Dopper]

I hate to bother the members with more camera questions but here goes! As promised, I have been taking your advice on playing with different camera settings. I think I'm starting to get some decent videos!
Today I was flying and making a video. I had my ISO set at 100 and my shutter speed was 1/60 and the histogram looked pretty balanced. So far so good! During the flight I noticed that the shutter speed was dropping to 1/40 and possibly 1/30 once or twice when the sun hit a certain angle to the camera. It would go back up to 1/60 again shortly after. In a situation like that should I raise my ISO to say 200 to brighten the scene to prevent my shutter speed from dropping that far or, wouldn't that accomplish anything other then wash out my scenes?
The video didn't seem to bad to my "untrained eye."
Maybe a better question is...should I always leave my ISO at 100 at all times and just use the ND filters to get my shutter speed to (or at least close to) the 1/60 speed and not worry about a temporary drop in speed?
I put my Sharpnes number to +2 hoping that would give me a little more detail (trying to off-set the color saturation problem) in my videos and raised my contrast to +1 and configuration to 0.
Are those higher numbers to extreme?
I'm not editing anything so I'm just trying to get a decent raw video.

 

[brett8883]

I hate to bother the members with more camera questions but here goes! As promised, I have been taking your advice on playing with different camera settings. I think I'm starting to get some decent videos!
Today I was flying and making a video. I had my ISO set at 100 and my shutter speed was 1/60 and the histogram looked pretty balanced. So far so good! During the flight I noticed that the shutter speed was dropping to 1/40 and possibly 1/30 once or twice when the sun hit a certain angle to the camera. It would go back up to 1/60 again shortly after. In a situation like that should I raise my ISO to say 200 to brighten the scene to prevent my shutter speed from dropping that far or, wouldn't that accomplish anything other then wash out my scenes?
The video didn't seem to bad to my "untrained eye."
Maybe a better question is...should I always leave my ISO at 100 at all times and just use the ND filters to get my shutter speed to (or at least close to) the 1/60 speed and not worry about a temporary drop in speed?
I put my Sharpnes number to +2 hoping that would give me a little more detail (trying to off-set the color saturation problem) in my videos and raised my contrast to +1 and configuration to 0.
Are those higher numbers to extreme?
I'm not editing anything so I'm just trying to get a decent raw video.

Technically you are best just setting ISO 100 and shutter 1/60 and just leave it like that. If the scene gets dark temporarily then so be it. It gets darker when you turn from the away from the sun. That’s natural. Dark is also much better than too bright. If you are gonna be shooting in that direction moving forward then you’d change filters.

That’s The by the book answer. In reality it might not be possible to continually change filters all the time. In which case it would be better to go down to 1/40 and that’s too bright step up ISO to 200. At 1/30 you doing one shutter per frame and that’s 360 degree shutter angle which is gonna be a whole lot of blur.

I personally think +2 sharpness is over the top. typically cameras do a horrible job of adding sharpness and it will make things look speckled.

Reducing your contrast instead of increasing it will help with keeping your exposure right. When you increase the contrast that makes the histogram longer and your margin for under exposure or over exposure smaller because you are at higher risk of hitting the sides with a longer histogram. On the other hand decreasing contrast makes your histogram tighter and gives you more leeway with your exposure. Two birds one stone would be to reduce contrast setting to 0 or -1.

 

[Dopper]

Thank you Brett!
Even though I set my shutter speed is at 1/60 it still jumps around a bit. Is there a way to lock the shutter speed so it doesn't drop below 1/60 or is that just the nature of the beast because of changing light conditions?
If I notice a shutter speed drop "that low" should I use the compensation wheel to raise the shutter speed or change my setting to a slightly higher shutter speed to off-set that ocassional drop or am I just over thinking (obsessing with the numbers) and probaly making my videos worse with over exposure and higher then advised shutter speeds?
If I already asked this question in another way in a previous post, I apologize.

 

[brett8883]

Jus

Thank you Brett!
Even though I set my shutter speed is at 1/60 it still jumps around a bit. Is there a way to lock the shutter speed so it doesn't drop below 1/60 or is that just the nature of the beast because of changing light conditions?
If I notice a shutter speed drop "that low" should I use the compensation wheel to raise the shutter speed or change my setting to a slightly higher shutter speed to off-set that ocassional drop or am I just over thinking (obsessing with the numbers) and probaly making my videos worse with over exposure and higher then advised shutter speeds?
If I already asked this question in another way in a previous post, I apologize.

In your camera settings under the exposure tab switch to “M” and then set ISO to 100 and shutter to 1/60. Then choose the filter that gets the histogram to as close to the middle of the graph as possible. Your shutter speed and iso will not change unless you change it.

You can use the dial to change shutter speed if you REALLY REALLy need to but try not to do it while filming. Watch the histogram. It may look dark to you but that can just be due to the lighting conditions on your screen so use the histogram as the guide. In the histogram we trust.

 

[Dopper]

Thank You!!! I think that I while was flying I might have bumped the compensation wheel and that's why I thought the shutter speed had changed by itself. I flew today and had a steady shutter speed. Appreciate your help! Any advice on cleaning camera lens and ND filters? Should I just use a soft cloth or can I use a lens cleaner?

 

[brett8883]

Thank You!!! I think that I while was flying I might have bumped the compensation wheel and that's why I thought the shutter speed had changed by itself. I flew today and had a steady shutter speed. Appreciate your help! Any advice on cleaning camera lens and ND filters? Should I just use a soft cloth or can I use a lens cleaner?

I would use a MICROFIBER cloth that is designed to clean camera lenses and they also have those brush thingys you can get because cleaning the inside of the filter is really tough. I’d avoid using product on it unless it’s really needed. Try really hard not to touch them especially the inside. I always use a lens cleaning cloth to handle the filters. The mavic lens cleans up pretty nice.