Video washing out

[Popcorn14]

Have recorded four soccer games since August with the following results

Late afternoon, cloudy/overcast day, no ND filter, 2.7k, quality was decent, but the color wasn’t as expected

Midday, bright sunlight, no ND filter, 2.7k, video unwatchable (washed out)

Early morning (8am) few clouds but sun was out and was located at a 90 to the right of the drone, ND8 filter, 2.7k, quality was better, but color is still not as expected. Video seemed to stay minimally washed out for the majority of the time (but not as bad as previous videos) and would have moments of better color

930am, bright sunlight (directly in front to a 45 angle of the drone), ND32 filter, 2.7k, quality was probably a tie with the overcast day (fields actually looked green in the appropriate areas)


So simple analysis would be that the ND filters are the key (4pack of ND8, ND16, ND32 and CPL came with the “amazon package”) but am I missing something else simple on the settings of the camera?

And outside of different ND filter levels – would I see a noticeable difference with a higher quality filter?

 

[old man mavic]

have you tried the right hand thumb wheel on the controller to adjust the EV value sounds like you are over exposed

 

[brettbrandon]

As far as the color problems, what do you have the white ballance set at?

 

[Popcorn14]

Haven't touched any of the intricate settings...was hoping I could get by using "auto" for everything...only changed the quality a few times. So short answer is unsure about the white balance setting....

And it's possible I've inadvertently changed the EV value, can check this evening.

 

[brettbrandon]

I tried a 360 using auto white ballance and it was changing at different angles. I would suggest if its a sunny day, use the sunny setting. Same for cloudy ect. Adjusting the white ballance in post on pictures is easy. If you are doing video, I imagine fixing changing white ballance in post would be a nightmare.

 

[DanMan32]

Also make sure you didn't accidentally hit AE lock, or if you do, your exposure is what you want overall.
You may want to go over all the camera settings and be sure they are what you expected.

What constitutes exposure is light coming in, filter, ISO, shutter and aperture. Aperture adjustment is only available on the Pro.

Note too that if you're in the sun, your screen may not be bright enough to overcome the ambient light. If you try and compensate your exposure so that you can see your subject on the screen, you may end up with your recording/photo overexposed.

 

[Meta4]

Late afternoon, cloudy/overcast day, no ND filter, 2.7k, quality was decent, but the color wasn’t as expected
Midday, bright sunlight, no ND filter, 2.7k, video unwatchable (washed out)

What do you mean about colour not as expected?
If it was too yellow or too blue, that's a white balance issue.
It it was just too washed out, that's an exposure setting issue.

The simple answer for bad exposure is that your exposure settings were incorrect for the scene you were shooting.
There are a couple of possible causes.
A screen shot of the problem videos might help if you need more explanation.

So simple analysis would be that the ND filters are the key (4pack of ND8, ND16, ND32 and CPL came with the “amazon package”) but am I missing something else simple on the settings of the camera?
And outside of different ND filter levels – would I see a noticeable difference with a higher quality filter?

No .. your metering will try to give an appropriate exposure for what the sensor sees.
If you have an ND filter reducing the light that reaches the sensor, the metering will adjust to still give proper exposure.
Putting a darker filter on will not make the image you record any darker.

 

[ZX14-R]

Maybe not the filters but the settings you used?

All depends on what you want and what you edit with?

If you want the best the RTFM - get settings correct, film in 4K H265 (I use normal but can use D-Log M if you want to color grade)

 

[Popcorn14]

Checked the EV setting, it was at +0.3....that is probably the issue. Going to attempt to attach a screenshot of the morning game using the ND8 filter, one has a little color (but still not good) while the other is what I would call washed out...approximately 2-3 mins between these shots on the video

Edited to add that those are off a YouTube video that is a little grainy due to internet service...but the color difference alone is noticeable. In my mind the better one is still not appropriate

 

[Moose1967]

Maybe the monitor or device you are watching it with - I took a bunch of aerial footage with my MP - watched it, it looked somewhat OK till I saw it on a 85 inch new TV thru YouTube - I changed my tune right away - it looked amazing - I prefer to use a larger device and use an old Ipad Mini 2 - the color on it isn't so great - I also have a new samsung s8 and the color on it is amazing - the bigger tv screen is even better yet.

So what I am trying to say is don't go by what you are seeing on your mobile device or computer screen as it maybe downgraded (so to speak) - was a big eye opener for me !!!

 

[Popcorn14]

Video looks the same across 5 devices...the only time the clarity isnt the same is when it's being streamed, color is essentially the same no matter what.

Guess my expectations to be able to set everything to auto and fly/record arent realistic. Will do a couple tests this weekend playing with the settings to see if I can achieve the results I'm looking for...

 

[Dave Maine]

There is no magic to getting good color. As I have posted previously:

1. Calibrate the monitor you are using to view the image. Garbage I garbage out.

2. Understand and use the exposure control that DJI provides. ND filters will have no effect at all on the image if the drone is set to auto exposure. Use the histogram display provided by DJI and center the displayed exposure map to taste. Most of the time I use a -.3 to -.7 exposure bias.

3. Set the color balance to the lighting conditions you are shooting under - daylight, cloudy etc.

4. If the image is close to what you want, finish the job with an image editor. If the original is too far off, no amount of color correction afterward will fix it. If the histogram is clipped, either on the high end or dark, this is unrecoverable.

5. Take a photography course to understand the basics of making good images. The best cameras made, think Hasselblad, Nikon, Canon etc all require knowledge of the basics to get good results.

 

[Mossiback]

You can use different pre-set color profiles in the camera settings. I also thought my colors were lacking until I changed the profile. It is mentioned on a DJI forum HERE.

Because it can be difficult to judge by just looking at the screen, learn to use the histogram to gauge brightness. You can also turn on the over-exposure warning to put zebra stripes on the washed out portions but I find that too distracting.

There are some camera setting suggestions from DJI HERE.

 

[DanMan32]

White balance in auto can have an adverse effect. In a park near me, the baseball field has very orange infield. When I fly and video over there, the auto WB tries to reduce the saturation and hue, making everything else rather blue.

If you have AWB, it may be neutralizing the green field.

 

[Popcorn14]

Tested several different settings and was able to get the video quality I was expecting on auto - (main issue was over exposure)...now if they can just make a battery/drone with a 45 min flight time while recording video I’ll be set… thanks for all the input

 

[GadgetGuy]

Tested several different settings and was able to get the video quality I was expecting on auto - (main issue was over exposure)...now if they can just make a battery/drone with a 45 min flight time while recording video I’ll be set… thanks for all the input

A battery swap on the M2 takes less than 30 seconds, and remembers all the GPS satellite locations from the prior flight, allowing you to be back in the air in less than a minute. Just time the swaps appropriately for a pause in the action.