What do you do to fix fuzzy 7x photos?

[dji30t]

The 1x footage and photos are so sharp but I love the 7x mode so much. The only problem is it's quite fuzzy. Spoke to another
Mavic 3 owner and he said the 7x lens is crap too. I am currently just using structure to 100% in Capture One 23.

Do you think I have a bad lens or is the 7x just bad. What technique do you use to resolve as much detail as you can from 7x?

 

[Filmarik]

The 1x footage and photos are so sharp but I love the 7x mode so much. The only problem is it's quite fuzzy. Spoke to another
Mavic 3 owner and he said the 7x lens is crap too. I am currently just using structure to 100% in Capture One 23.

Do you think I have a bad lens or is the 7x just bad. What technique do you use to resolve as much detail as you can from 7x?

If you are postprocessing in Capture One I assume you are talking about stills. In that case play with sharpening settings and try something like 500-1.0-0.3 and see if that makes any difference. Also set the Noise Reduction to 15-75-15. My 7x zoom camera produces razor sharp photos with the above settings in place. If your pictures will still look soft even with the above settings, the lens on your 7x zoom camera might be defective.

 

[dji30t]

Based on Mavic 3 forum users Is it common the 7x zooms to be damaged or miscalibrated? I tried these settings with Photoshop and image at 100% still do not have the resolution I am used to from similar small point and shoot zooms with smaller sensors.

I shot at 1/1000th so motion blur should not be a problem. Maybe I am expecting too much but they are definitely not razor sharp. Looking at the images on 2021 Macbook Pro 14" retina screen. 1x images are so sharp and full of life. Amazing. 7x is "usable" for mobile phone presentation.

Is there a way to test if the 7x is not working properly?

 

[Filmarik]

Based on Mavic 3 forum users Is it common the 7x zooms to be damaged or miscalibrated? I tried these settings with Photoshop and image at 100% still do not have the resolution I am used to from similar small point and shoot zooms with smaller sensors.

I shot at 1/1000th so motion blur should not be a problem. Maybe I am expecting too much but they are definitely not razor sharp. Looking at the images on 2021 Macbook Pro 14" retina screen. 1x images are so sharp and full of life. Amazing. 7x is "usable" for mobile phone presentation.

Is there a way to test if the 7x is not working

Why don't you post a picture or better still a link to a original DNG file uploaded to Dropbox. That way we can have a look at it and compare to ours to see if your camera performance is in the ballpark or if it is unacceptably soft.

 

[Filmarik]

Why don't you post a picture or better still a link to a original DNG file uploaded to Dropbox. That way we can have a look at it and compare to ours to see if your camera performance is in the ballpark or if it is distractingly soft.

Recently I posted here a short cinematic landscape video which I shot with the 1x and 7x cameras on Mavic 3. Let me know if the footage from the 7x camera next to the footage from the main camera stands out in your opinion as being distractingly fuzzy.

 

[Ralph thompson]

If yr shooting at 1/1000th sec then maybe yr ISO is high to compensate for the fast shutter? i don’t know the sweet spot for that lens but it’s probably somewhere in the middle f5.6. The gimble should prevent any shake but if that’s not functioning properly, then 7x zoom will not be good. This magnification will be very sensitive to the slightest movement. The sensor & image size are smaller than the main camera 4/3 sensor so the quality & noise will not be the same.

 

[Dale D]

The 1x footage and photos are so sharp but I love the 7x mode so much. The only problem is it's quite fuzzy. Spoke to another
Mavic 3 owner and he said the 7x lens is crap too. I am currently just using structure to 100% in Capture One 23.

Do you think I have a bad lens or is the 7x just bad. What technique do you use to resolve as much detail as you can from 7x?

In my experience, it is not possible to focus an unfocusable image.

 

[Filmarik]

If yr shooting at 1/1000th sec then maybe yr ISO is high to compensate for the fast shutter? i don’t know the sweet spot for that lens but it’s probably somewhere in the middle f5.6. The gimble should prevent any shake but if that’s not functioning properly, then 7x zoom will not be good. This magnification will be very sensitive to the slightest movement. The sensor & image size are smaller than the main camera 4/3 sensor so the quality & noise will not be the same.

The tele lens has fixed aperture of f4.4. You can not change it. The only option to get correct exposure in video is to change shutter speed (if you want to brake away from the 180 deg rule), ISO or use ND filters. For stills it would be only shutter speed and ISO as ND filters do not offer any benefit when taking photos with a drone. With this tele camera you need to stay as close to ISO100 as possible due to the small size of the sensor. Anything over ISO 400 will be noisy and the image quality will deteriorate quickly from there.

 

[Meta4]

The 1x footage and photos are so sharp but I love the 7x mode so much. The only problem is it's quite fuzzy. Spoke to another Mavic 3 owner and he said the 7x lens is crap too.

Do you think I have a bad lens or is the 7x just bad. What technique do you use to resolve as much detail as you can from 7x?

Posting some examples might help identify the reason your images aren't satisfactory.
With its tiny sensor, the 7x camera won't ever match the main camera, but I'm not convinced that it is as bad as some people think.
See my thoughts here:

Mavic 3 Tele Lens

I see some members dismissing the tele lens that's incorporated into the Mavic 3 and confess that I was initially skeptical about it. With a fixed aperture and dinky 1/2 inch sensor, I didn't think it would be capable of producing the quality I wanted. It definitely has limitations and can't...

mavicpilots.com

 

[Kiwicbrthou]

Recently I posted here a short cinematic landscape video which I shot with the 1x and 7x cameras on Mavic 3. Let me know if the footage from the 7x camera next to the footage from the main camera stands out in your opinion as being distractingly fuzzy.

Mate that video was superb, just wow.

 

[Filmarik]

Mate that video was superb, just wow.

Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it.
I find the tele camera very useful. To me, output from both cameras need a bit of sharpening. I have a special sharpening preset for each to make the footage look as close in terms of sharpness as possible. To have a tele lens on such a small drone is absolutely amazing! The footage has a unique look and perspective and despite the long focal length it is mostly smooth and very usable. I have certainly not noticed any fuzzyness.

 

[Kiwicbrthou]

Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it.
I find the tele camera very useful. To me, output from both cameras need a bit of sharpening. I have a special sharpening preset for each to make the footage look as close in terms of sharpness as possible. To have a tele lens on such a small drone is absolutely amazing! The footage has a unique look and perspective and despite the long focal length it is mostly smooth and very usable. I have certainly not noticed any fuzzyness.

I had the m2z and honestly I never used the zoom feature very often.
I only sold it and bought an air2s a couple of months ago, seeing videos such as yours really open up a whole other aspect to making videos and just how useful that 7x zoom can really be.
I think there will be another addition in the near future!

 

[akdrone]

Recently I posted here a short cinematic landscape video which I shot with the 1x and 7x cameras on Mavic 3. Let me know if the footage from the 7x camera next to the footage from the main camera stands out in your opinion as being distractingly fuzzy.

If you‘re unhappy with that you have higher standards than I. Some sections were shot with a lot of mist in the air but it all looked as sharp as I’d expect.

 

[Filmarik]

If you‘re unhappy with that you have higher standards than I. Some sections were shot with a lot of mist in the air but it all looked as sharp as I’d expect.

No, no..I am very happy with sharpness of videos (and stills for that matter) taken with the tele lens. My question was intended for the OP because I certainly don't see any fuzzyness. I just wanted to hear from him if he can see fuzzyness in my video. But I never heard back from him, so I thought this thread was done and dusted.

 

[dji30t]

Great video. I can't really tell if 7x on your video are less sharp as video compression and 5k studio monitor make even 4k youtube content look less sharp. I think the video of the motorboat was shot with 7x. was that cropped? I spent three weeks shooting with 7x and images on video are definitely less noticeably soft as the camera is often moving. WIth stills I definitely notice fuzziness. Maybe i'm just used to the spectacular wide angle quality.

 

[Meta4]

With stills I definitely notice fuzziness. Maybe i'm just used to the spectacular wide angle quality.

If you post a few examples, you might be able to get some helpful feedback.

 

[Filmarik]

Great video. I can't really tell if 7x on your video are less sharp as video compression and 5k studio monitor make even 4k youtube content look less sharp. I think the video of the motorboat was shot with 7x. was that cropped? I spent three weeks shooting with 7x and images on video are definitely less noticeably soft as the camera is often moving. WIth stills I definitely notice fuzziness. Maybe i'm just used to the spectacular wide angle quality.

Thanks.
I understand that videos uploaded to YT and Vimeo are affected by compression applied in the process, so the sharpness is hard to judge. The motorboat clip was indeed taken with the 7x camera and about 200% magnified in post (cropped in) hence noticeably softer than the rest of the clips in the video.
The stills, at least from my 7x camera are actually surprizingly sharp for such a small sensor. I've read about manufacturing variation with lens and sensor not being properly aligned which can contribute to IQ degradation. Mine has one corner a bit softer but the rest of the field is reasonably sharp. The DNG files take well USM sharpenning. 400 0.9 0.3 in CaptureOne is my go-to setting for this 7x camera after which the "developed" TIFF or JPEG files look pretty darn good to my eye. If I want even crisper look I apply a small amount of Smart Sharpening again in PS, as a final step before delivering or printing.

 

[dji30t]

Wow, Filmarik. That is very sharp and impressive for 12 megapixel telephoto. I like it. My images on 7x are nowhere as sharp. Unless you step back 10 feet from monitor. I cannot post images as I have been at an assignment that has not been published. I just got back home and have not had a chance to test the 7x on a chart on the wall. However, looking at these results i did not get anything as sharp so I think I need to have it checked out. This is common with camera lenses where people have had bad samples.

Thanks.
I understand that videos uploaded to YT and Vimeo are affected by compression applied in the process, so the sharpness is hard to judge. The motorboat clip was indeed taken with the 7x camera and about 200% magnified in post (cropped in) hence noticeably softer than the rest of the clips in the video.
The stills, at least from my 7x camera are actually surprizingly sharp for such a small sensor. I've read about manufacturing variation with lens and sensor not being properly aligned which can contribute to IQ degradation. Mine has one corner a bit softer but the rest of the field is reasonably sharp. The DNG files take well USM sharpenning. 400 0.9 3 in CaptureOne is my go-to setting after which the "developed" TIFF or JPEG files look pretty darn good to my eye. If I want even crisper look I apply a small amount of Smart Sharpening again in PS, as a final step before delivering or printing.View attachment 159706

 

[Filmarik]

Wow, Filmarik. That is very sharp and impressive for 12 megapixel telephoto. I like it. My images on 7x are nowhere as sharp. Unless you step back 10 feet from monitor. I cannot post images as I have been at an assignment that has not been published. I just got back home and have not had a chance to test the 7x on a chart on the wall. However, looking at these results i did not get anything as sharp so I think I need to have it checked out. This is common with camera lenses where people have had bad samples.

I need to remind everyone that this is NOT a straight out of camera JPEG.
It was shot as DNG, comprehensively processed in CaptureOne with sharpening as mentioned in my previous post applied, exported as 16bit TIFF, further tweaked in PS and finally converted to JPEG with quality setting of 11.
That is what you are looking at

 

[dji30t]

Hi, yes i shoot in DNG, process in Capture 23 Pro. The DNGs from the wide lens and the m43 sensor are spectacular in Capture One. Just amazing. The color rendition from zoom is definitely less appealing and less sharp. I have tried different sharpening settings but you can't get detail that is not there to begin with if the lens is not sharp. I had decentering problem with expensive Zeiss 35/1.4 FE and it was never quite sharp. Sony 35/1.4 GM is super sharp and this reminds me the issue with M3 tele. I spent almost 3k USD on the flymore combo and feel like I got only half my money's worth.