Noisy footage?

[Lazerbrains]

Been really enjoying my new Mini 3, and have spent the last week learning it. Yesterday I shot my first test footage in Cinelike and edited it. It does look better in general than footage from my Mini 2, however I am noticing a bit of noise in the footage. The following video was shot in pro mode, 4k 30fps. Shutter speed 1/60. ISO range between 100 and 200. Edited in Davinci. In several shots I am seeing noise in the green grass areas. Is this normal or should I send it back?

 

[FLDave]

What were you exposure settings? Did you use any ND filters?
The fast movement makes it difficult to determine anything about the clarity of video frames.

 

[Lazerbrains]

What were you exposure settings? Did you use any ND filters?
The fast movement makes it difficult to determine anything about the clarity of video frames.

I listed the exposure settings in the first post. I'm not talking about clarity, I'm talking about video noise. In the very first shot, you can see noise in the green grass in the foreground. I'm curious if this is normal - it looks excessive to me.....

 

[FLDave]

Perhaps clarity wasn't the correct word; sharpness would be better. As seen in the video the image isn't sharp enough to determine what might or might not be noise.
Setting 30 fps doesn't tell what what exact shutter speed was. There are other aspects that can vary: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. What did you have set at fixed? Use of ND filter can also change automatic control.

 

[Lazerbrains]

Perhaps clarity wasn't the correct word; sharpness would be better. As seen in the video the image isn't sharp enough to determine what might or might not be noise.
Setting 30 fps doesn't tell what what exact shutter speed was. There are other aspects that can vary: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. What did you have set at fixed? Use of ND filter can also change automatic control.

Again, I wrote "shot in pro mode, 4k 30fps. Shutter speed 1/60. ISO range between 100 and 200" -

Noise is clearly seen in the very first shot - has nothing to do with sharpness. Play at 4k and zoom in to the lower right corner to see it.

 

[moldorf]

it's hard to tell from the video you posted, but b "noise" do you mean flickering or shimmering in the uniformly green areas...like grass or trees?

I've been getting that too, mainly when flying over vineyard rows from an angle; and over thick forests.

apparently Resolve has a deflicker function but it appears to be behind a $295 paywall; I only have the free version. I've tried the opacity option but it doesn't solve the issue. Of course, it's likely I was doing it wrong because the learning curve of Resolve is steep

 

[Lazerbrains]

it's hard to tell from the video you posted, but b "noise" do you mean flickering or shimmering in the uniformly green areas...like grass or trees?

I've been getting that too, mainly when flying over vineyard rows from an angle; and over thick forests.

apparently Resolve has a deflicker function but it appears to be behind a $295 paywall; I only have the free version. I've tried the opacity option but it doesn't solve the issue. Of course, it's likely I was doing it wrong because the learning curve of Resolve is steep

Yes, I only see it in the green areas, and oddly only in some of the shots. In the video I linked, it is very noticeable in the first shot, if you zoom in to the right bottom corner. It looks like noise/artifacts/"snow" - is that what you mean by "flicker"? I'm surprised to see it at such low ISO's as I am using.

I am using the free version of Resolve also.

 

[Shayne]

I feel your pain in shooting at sunset. Balancing overexposure and underexposure is a challenge I'm working on myself. Do you mind if I ask for a few more details?

I don't see an answer to the question about what ND filter you were using. ND32? ND64? Was it polarised? Brand?

What was your EV range during the flight? Did you notice? I very recently turned on subtitles for my own Mini 3 Pro, but I can't recall if it outputs EV. I'll check later today.

It looks to me like certain shots lack the dynamic range that other shots have. In Davinci, did you have to work hard to recover the shadows in those noisy clips? Is the noise in those clips before you did anything in post?

 

[FLDave]

I don't know if the mini 3 records subtitles or not, but that is where you find the technical exposure settings for each frame: ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and ev. Those details would help in any image quality analysis.

 

[Shayne]

I don't know if the mini 3 records subtitles or not, but that is where you find the technical exposure settings for each frame: ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and ev. Those details would help in any image quality analysis.

It does. I have the Mini 3 Pro. When the subtitles setting is enabled, it records an .srt file alongside every video file. Very handy.

 

[Lazerbrains]

I feel your pain in shooting at sunset. Balancing overexposure and underexposure is a challenge I'm working on myself.

It looks to me like certain shots lack the dynamic range that other shots have. In Davinci, did you have to work hard to recover the shadows in those noisy clips? Is the noise in those clips before you did anything in post?

I think that is the problem. The first shot (straight into the sun), I underexposed the shadows to not blow out the sky. Going back to the unedited clips it is quite dark in the foreground grass. I was planning on using the latitude to pull out the details - they were there, but so is the noise. That would also make sense why the noise is not there on the flatter shots facing away from the sun. I just learned today about the HDR setting for video - I wonder if that would have helped?

 

[Cymru]

The HDR video isnt really HDR. It may help a bit, or not.
It does look like pulling up shadows shows noise (this is quite normal).
That sort of thing is easily fixed with NeatVideo or similar to filter the noise.

 

[Shayne]

I think that is the problem. The first shot (straight into the sun), I underexposed the shadows to not blow out the sky. Going back to the unedited clips it is quite dark in the foreground grass. I was planning on using the latitude to pull out the details - they were there, but so is the noise. That would also make sense why the noise is not there on the flatter shots facing away from the sun. I just learned today about the HDR setting for video - I wonder if that would have helped?

Yes, I agree. I think that was the 'problem' with the very first clip. In contrast, when you flew with the sun at 90 degrees, the result is much more dynamic, in terms of light (that sure is a beautiful location). That's why I asked about polarisation and what ND filter you're using.

I don't imagine the HDR would help to any sufficient degree. I think that's more about giving you more shades of color to work with, across the specttrum. But, turning on your subtitles will definitely show you how your exposure changes across the course of your clip (VLC PLayer will overlay the .srt info while playing). Nothing is burned into your video, so there's no real reason not to leave the subtitles on for every video you shoot. Shooting in D-cinelike might help too.

Good luck with everything. Thanks for sharing your video. Nice job.

 

[Lazerbrains]

Yes, I agree. I think that was the 'problem' with the very first clip. In contrast, when you flew with the sun at 90 degrees, the result is much more dynamic, in terms of light (that sure is a beautiful location). That's why I asked about polarisation and what ND filter you're using.

I don't imagine the HDR would help to any sufficient degree. I think that's more about giving you more shades of color to work with, across the specttrum. But, turning on your subtitles will definitely show you how your exposure changes across the course of your clip (VLC PLayer will overlay the .srt info while playing). Nothing is burned into your video, so there's no real reason not to leave the subtitles on for every video you shoot. Shooting in D-cinelike might help too.

Good luck with everything. Thanks for sharing your video. Nice job.

I didn't use any filters for this shoot. All footage was shot in D-cinelike and graded in Resolve.