Video jitter when yawning and pitching gimbal

[CodeCutter]

I am recording in 1080 25fps and I am experiencing jitter when yawing and pitching the gimbal. Even in tripod mode. Has anybody else experienced this, any suggestions for smooth panning video. It is annoying to watch a jerky video to comes clear when the rotation stops.

 

[Wasabibutler]

I am having the same problem at same settings.

I set my yaw EXP to 20 but still get that slight jerkiness when yawing even if i manually yaw very slowly.

 

[CodeCutter]

I have viewed many You Tube videos on tips to get smooth video and implemented settings like EXP Rudder 10 with out success. When the drone is still or moving forward the video is very clear and remains smooth. When the craft YAWs the video is a series of very small jerks making it difficult to view while panning especially if the objects are close. When the YAWing stops video clarity returns.
I still don't have a solution. I sent some videos to DJI for comment and I have had no response.
I spoke to DJI Support a couple of times I have recalibrated the gimbal restored factory defaults as they suggested and retested without any change.

 

[IslandSpark]

what shutter speed? are you using ND's? are you sure this is a gimbal issue and not a video/shutter issue?

 

[AyeYo]

Why 25fps? Even at 30fps the video quality while panning goes to crap.

 

[CodeCutter]

I am not sure what the issue is, gimbal or video settings.
I posted on this forum to see if anybody else had the same experience and may have a fix.
I got the same result at 1080p 120f/s, I am not using any filters.
I don't believe it to be a shutter issue, if the drone is not yawing and is still or moving forward all moving objects in the frame move smoothly, i.e. movement from forward motion, moving cars, waving trees, birds that fly through the field of view.
As soon as the craft rotates even slowly the video is rendered as a series of small distinct steps, the closer the object the more obvious the steps. Apart from the jerky pan I am very happy with the Mavic video quality.

 

[IslandSpark]

I am not sure what the issue is, gimbal or video settings.
I posted on this forum to see if anybody else had the same experience and may have a fix.
I got the same result at 1080p 120f/s, I am not using any filters.
I don't believe it to be a shutter issue, if the drone is not yawing and is still or moving forward all moving objects in the frame move smoothly, i.e. movement from forward motion, moving cars, waving trees, birds that fly through the field of view.
As soon as the craft rotates even slowly the video is rendered as a series of small distinct steps, the closer the object the more obvious the steps. Apart from the jerky pan I am very happy with the Mavic video quality.

You really need to get the shutter speed down to 2x the framerate using ND's. the way the encoding works for the video on the mavic is that it only takes a full photo of the scene every 8 frames, the frames between the full images (delta frames) record only the changes in the scene. When yawing the aircraft the change in the scene is very abrupt and will create a stuttery effect, this is reduced with proper shutter speeds by introducing motion blur but can not be eliminated unless panning very slowly.

At the same time i would always film at the lowest frame rate available to ensure that video bandwidth ( max 60mbps on the mavic) is used to record extra detail vs more frames.

 

[CodeCutter]

Thanks for the information, what do you mean by ND? (Neutral Density filter).
What you say make sense like the nyquist sample rate should always be twice the frequency of the data change rate you are sampling for no loss of information. Can I change to shutter speed of video, separate to the frame rate?
Do you have a mavic? and what video settings do you use?

 

[IslandSpark]

ND = Neutral Density Filter's (polar pro, tacoRC etc...)

You should set your mavic up for manual exposure mode rather than auto and then yes ou can adjust the shutter speed and ISO. Obviously without ND filters everything but the darkest scene will be over exposed at 1/50th" or 1/60th" second shutter speeds but those are your targets for 24p and 30p framerates.

I shoot 4K, 30P in cinelike picture style with -1 sharpness -1 contrast and -1 saturation and then grade it once it`s on the computer

 

[CodeCutter]

Many thanks for sharing your knowledge.
I will get some filters and give it a try and post some feedback.
Thanks

 

[razors]

I am recording in 1080 25fps and I am experiencing jitter when yawing and pitching the gimbal. Even in tripod mode. Has anybody else experienced this, any suggestions for smooth panning video. It is annoying to watch a jerky video to comes clear when the rotation stops.

Did you ever get this solved?

Mine has the same issue and after running though multiple tests it's getting sent back to DJI

The flashing stuttering effect occurs in my footage especially on straight edges like trees and buildings.

I have seen multiple videos and posts recently about this lately and know if others whom sent back to DJI.

Just wondering what you did

 

[CodeCutter]

No not yet, I have ordered my Taco RC Snap on ND filters for Mavic $72AUD.
They seem to be taking a long time to arrive I purchased them on the 26/1 and expected delivery 24/2.
Aus a long way to swim to.
IsLandSpark above gives a very good explanation of what is happening.
Unlike still photography were you can adjust shutter speed and aperture to get the desired shot.
It appears with video photography there is only one shutter speed that makes a panning video appear natural to the human eye. That shutter speed is twice the frame rate. The ND filters are used to reduce the amount light so as not over expose normal daytime scenes. If the shutter is speed is say 1/120sec for 24 frames/sec the shutter is only open for 1/5th of the time between frames, for the other 4/5ths camera contines to pan with the shutter shut. The next frame another snap shot of the scene from a new angle is taken and video plays back they human eye detects this as a series micro steps. When the shutter speed is at twice the frame rate or less there is more blur in the each frame as the shutter is open for half the time of the frame. When the video is played back at the frame rate each slightly blurred frame combines to appear as smooth movement to the eye.
This is my under standing of what is happening.
When I finally get my ND filters I will try and get some smooth videos and post the results here.

 

[smh]

I have the same issue. Did the filter solve this ? Did you send the mavic back ? Is it covered under warranty ?

 

[CodeCutter]

I finally got my ND filters. I was recording 4K 25 fps. Set video to manual 100 ISO, 50 fps. Took off and made a recording. I was very disappointed in the results. It is not practical to keep adjusting the exposure for light and shade subjects as you fly. But when the shutter speed is twice the frame rate, yawing definitely appears smoother to the eye. I just purchased Final Cut Pro which has gitter filters that I am going to try.

 

[AyeYo]

It is not practical to keep adjusting the exposure for light and shade subjects as you fly.

Why would you need to do this? Expose for the shot, take the shot, finish the shot. Expose for next shot, etc.

 

[CodeCutter]

I am taking a video in manual mode with at 25 fps. Shutter speed 50/sec Not photos. If you set the video mode auto the only way it can adjust for bright sunny scenes and dark shady scenes is change the shutter speed. This looses the 2 to 1 ratio between fps and shutter speed causing yawing jitters if shutter speed gets to high on bright scenes

 

[AyeYo]

Shoot in 30fps, not 25fps. That'll help you out right off the bat. The jitter is a combination of crappy coding and low frame rate. It also doesn't need to be exactly 2:1. It just needs to be low enough to introduce some motion blur. But if you're shooting extreme light and dark, then yes, you do have to swap filters.

 

[stebergl]

CodeCutter, have you tried the latest tip from AyeYo? Is it possible to fly in manual mode and still get nice video?
Thanks for your tests, it helps us that have the same problems!
I didn't buy a ND-filter yet. Tried the best SD-card as you know that is not the problem.

 

[Grumpybeard]

You fellas get this resolved?

 

[stebergl]

You fellas get this resolved?

NO. I contacted DJI but they want so much info that you don't have the strength to go on. Serial numbers of everything, receipt and so on.