Sun glare or fault?

[Chris Baish]

Hi everyone,

In my first Mavic flight I noticed a very small, thick line tracking across the shot in video, and captured in stills (see attached). It did move across the image faster than the camera turned, suggesting it is some kind of reflection or glare. However, I'm confused because when I've seen glare before it is usually 'round' and covers more of the image. This is a very small but well defined shape. I just want to rule out the possibility that it's a scratch or defect that is being highlighted by the sun. Any thoughts?

 

[Michael Ainsworth]

Not enough info on this.
Maybe replicate it in other shots?

 

[Chris Baish]

Thanks Michael. Might be a while before the sun comes out here again! I cant see any scratches on the lens, and its horizontal position and strength did seem to be dependent on the angle to the sun. It didn't appear when facing away from the sun, and 'tracked' in from the right hand side as the camera turned left towards the sun. Is it possible that a scratch or camera defect could do that?

 

[Path Finder]

I often see more of a round "dot", but could be flat in your case as the sun was dim and almost gone at that time of day.

keep shooting as suggested to see what you get.

 

[traveller-uk]

Thanks Michael. Might be a while before the sun comes out here again! I cant see any scratches on the lens, and its horizontal position and strength did seem to be dependent on the angle to the sun. It didn't appear when facing away from the sun, and 'tracked' in from the right hand side as the camera turned left towards the sun. Is it possible that a scratch or camera defect could do that?

Hi Chris, I'm pretty new to this myself but I experienced the same thing and like you started to look for scratches on the lens and also on the gimbal cover and then inadvertently sent it up minus the cover and the problem disappeared. Not a good idea I know as the lens and gimbal are very exposed but when I fly in strong sunlight I fly without the gimbal cover. Give it a try.

 

[Chris Baish]

Hi Chris, I'm pretty new to this myself but I experienced the same thing and like you started to look for scratches on the lens and also on the gimbal cover and then inadvertently sent it up minus the cover and the problem disappeared. Not a good idea I know as the lens and gimbal are very exposed but when I fly in strong sunlight I fly without the gimbal cover. Give it a try.

Thanks. I'd read about the gimbal cover introducing glare but actually this was without. I still think it is linked to the sun. I have other shots where the sun/camera are at different angles and they're fine. Hoping it was just the low angle sun causing an unusual shape. I suspect it's sunlight bouncing off the sensor itself and back onto the glass in front.