Poor image quality

[pingaddict]

so after sending in my mini4p i got a new mini4p back (different SN, nice). i am getting now tired of the image comparison and i know you too
summary:
the new mini4p has less edge distortions - great (only bottom right seems a little worse)
however, the image quality is still disappointing, considering all the hype i am reading about, because i still l rate it worse than the mini2

my conclusion from best to worse:
mini2 jpeg ( i have not tried mini 2 raw)
mini4p dng
mini4p jpg (only slightly worse than DNG)

i use rawtherapee to look at the dng file

for the mini4p i used the AF mode and made sure my subject was selected green.

i still challenge anyone to show me a clear mini2 vs mini4 comparison of jpegs where the mini4 is clearly better. this should not include low light images because we should believe the f1.7 and larger sensor at same 12MP produces better low light images.
yes, the mini4p has nice features overall but if anyone thinks he/she needs to buy the way more expensive mini4 or mini3 over the mini2 because of better still images i would say forget it.

On the left, the image is oversharpened. This is not due to the optics, but to the drone's digital processing, and it's not pretty.

 

[tuxtard]

This just looks like a post processing shaprness difference. M4P has a adjustable shaprness settings. Have you tried adjusting it?

 

[erhard]

Jpg or dng shouldn't make any difference to what you've complained about.

Selected green ??
What are you talking about?

I still challenge you to make the effort to shoot proper images that make it easy to see if the cameras have the problems you complain about.

Yes, you would, but should anyone accept your opinion?

no, obviously not, it is a free country (at least for now). however, maybe other people take a critical look too and if they agree maybe DJI will react to it. my statistic is 3 drones (2x mini2, 1x mini3, 2x mini4p). for me it is simple, i am just disappointed, here is a drone with amazing capabilities but fails in the key feature

 

[erhard]

This just looks like a post processing shaprness difference. M4P has a adjustable shaprness settings. Have you tried adjusting it?

no, i have not adjusted anything - i shared the exif data before. i played with the sharpness in the DNG file but makes no difference. look, in the end it should not depend on some tweaking here and there, many reviewers say the image quality is greatly superior over mini2 if that is the case i should not to see worse images with DJI's default settings. would be nice if some of he professional photo sites like DPREVIEW would take a look.

 

[erhard]

This just looks like a post processing shaprness difference. M4P has a adjustable shaprness settings. Have you tried adjusting it?

valid point. you could be right but i was not really successful in DNG file but it improved a little. i think but it does not seem to be available for stills in the drone per manual

 

[erhard]

in-spite my issues i want to compliment DJI for reaching out to me after i received the replacement drone to see how my experience was. obviously i shared my experience mention above but they do seem to care and i had almost 1hour discussion with them. they promised my to have an image expert get in touch with me - will see.

 

[erhard]

i did send mini2 and mini4p jpeg and DNG to DJI for evaluation. here the reply from DJI:

" According to the assessment from the DJI senior technical team, the pictures shooter by your DJI Mini 4 Pro drone are normal, which means they are good.

The deviation may be more obvious in the DJI Mini 3 Pro/DJI Mini 4 Pro lens due to the larger aperture and shallower depth of field. We recommend choosing the central position for focusing to balance the resolution of the peripheral positions of the view."

i did use the central focus position.
so my personal conclusion: if you do mainly daylight (at least not very low light) still shooting and you do not need the fancy features of the m4p stick with mini2.
i find it still interesting that the image quality issue/comparison was not highlighted more in other reviews or postings

 

[Droning on and on...]

i find it still interesting that the image quality issue/comparison was not highlighted more in other reviews or postings

Likely because, as in this thread, others don't share your criticism. The rest of us think the M4P images are superior.

Since there's a healthy share of subjectivity in such analysis, arguing further about it seems a waste of time.

 

[erhard]

Likely because, as in this thread, others don't share your criticism. The rest of us think the M4P images are superior.

Since there's a healthy share of subjectivity in such analysis, arguing further about it seems a waste of time.

thanks for your comment, you are probably right but to me and 2 experienced photographer friends it does not look like a subjective issue. m4p i worse. i wish there would be a way to reduce the aperture to f2.8 for good light use