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What is the recommended video format for 4K to ensure smooth playback?

Hubster

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Hi,

Please can people tell me what the best video resolution is for 4K? I have a brand new iMac and have found some of the footage a bit "juddery" when I play it back on panning shots. I'm not near my drone at the moment but I believe I have now selected 4k at 30fps. Would switching to the H.265 codec be better? I am currently using the H.264 codec.

Additionally, I am not "blown away" by the footage. My iMac has a 5K screen so I thought the footage would be amazing but it looks a bit grainy.

Thanks
 
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I'm just wondering why my footage lacks the wow factor and also is not smooth. I have tried 24/25/30fps and all are the same.
I think it is highly unlikely that this is a compression codec issue. First, the lack of smoothness could be because you are shooting at too high a frame rate. If you are shooting at 30fps for example, you ought to aim for a shutter speed of 1/60. In order to do that with out over exposing the picture, you need ND filters. Are you using one? If not, look in to it. there is tons of info on ND filters on this forum.

Second, the absence of a "wow factor" as you put it. Are you shooting in D-LOG? 99% of the time, you need to do some serious post production work on any footage for it to have that wow factor. Nothing ever comes out of the camera looking like it does after post. This is even more so if you are shooting in D-LOG, at the very least you need to do some color correction in post.
 
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Thanks for your reply.

I will check my video settings tonight. Would D-LOG also make the footage look grainy? It could be because I am viewing it on a 27" 5k screen from a very close distance so am seeing every little detail!

Also, are there any good tutorials/books to understand all of this?
 
Thanks for your reply.

I will check my video settings tonight. Would D-LOG also make the footage look grainy? It could be because I am viewing it on a 27" 5k screen from a very close distance so am seeing every little detail!

Also, are there any good tutorials/books to understand all of this?
Yes, the 27" screen would bring every little detail so may be you are doing your footage an injustice with that. As for D-LOG, the original footage straight out of the camera looks washed out. A little color grading in post will bring the colors back to life though. So look into your camera settings first to verify what color profile you are using. As for tutorials, there is tons of info here in this forum as well as youtube. So start searching :)
 
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I'm a novice to video editing having never owned a drone before or edited video. My quick reply is explore YouTube regarding the issue of camera/video settings and editing software. As a novice, I was amazed what I still need to learn.

Like a camera, rarely will an image (In this case, video) look "as you want it" straight out of the camera. Post product is the key, learning the numerous tools {Color grading, stabilization, how to get a Cinematic look, etc.), plus learning what "look" you want in the final product.

Good luck!
 
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264 I think. It's more compatible and easier and not enough difference to spend all that time in post editing Dlog. I know people will argue, but I have some awesome videos in 264.265 is very demanding on CPU and Video card. I just don't think it's worth it, unless you are great and like editing a lot. It isn't worth the differance unless you have a reason to edit for a specific reason.
Hi,

Please can people tell me what the best video resolution is for 4K? I have a brand new iMac and have found some of the footage a bit "juddery" when I play it back on panning shots. I'm not near my drone at the moment but I believe I have now selected 4k at 30fps. Would switching to the H.265 codec be better? I am currently using the H.264 codec.

Additionally, I am not "blown away" by the footage. My iMac has a 5K screen so I thought the footage would be amazing but it looks a bit grainy.

Thanks
 
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Change your ISO to lowest setting and apruture to 5.6
264 I think. It's more compatible and easier and not enough difference to spend all that time in post editing Dlog. I know people will argue, but I have some awesome videos in 264.265 is very demanding on CPU and Video card. I just don't think it's worth it, unless you are great and like editing a lot. It isn't worth the differance unless you have a reason to edit for a specific reason.
 
Hi,

Please can people tell me what the best video resolution is for 4K? I have a brand new iMac and have found some of the footage a bit "juddery" when I play it back on panning shots. I'm not near my drone at the moment but I believe I have now selected 4k at 30fps. Would switching to the H.265 codec be better? I am currently using the H.264 codec.

Additionally, I am not "blown away" by the footage. My iMac has a 5K screen so I thought the footage would be amazing but it looks a bit grainy.

Thanks
Panning "judder" is exacerbated by the zoom on the M2Z which can only shoot at 30fps in 4K. Either learn to pan slower, or pull out to full wide angle to get panning judder under control. One other option is to shoot at 60fps in 2.7K. This also works well, at the expense of some resolution. You can even shoot at 120fps in 1080p with up to 4x zoom. Experiment and learn to pan very slowly. If you really want the best quality, pick up the M2P camera instead and shoot 4K in FOV. Its image quality will blow the M2Z away!
 
I fixed my jitter yaw by going to settings in controller and changed the EXP setting on the curve. It is so smooth now.
Panning "judder" is exacerbated by the zoom on the M2Z which can only shoot at 30fps in 4K. Either learn to pan slower, or pull out to full wide angle to get panning judder under control. One other option is to shoot at 60fps in 2.7K. This also works well, at the expense of some resolution. You can even shoot at 120fps in 1080p with up to 4x zoom. Experiment and learn to pan very slowly. If you really want the best quality, pick up the M2P camera instead and shoot 4K in FOV. Its image quality will blow the M2Z away!
 
I fixed my jitter yaw by going to settings in controller and changed the EXP setting on the curve. It is so smooth now.
I was assuming that had already been done already, but that is certainly the best way to get control over the yaw speed, but you still have to pan very slowly when fully zoomed into 2x or 4x on the Zoom, even at the lowest Yaw Expo setting. You can't set it any lower than 10%.
 
Panning "judder" is exacerbated by the zoom on the M2Z which can only shoot at 30fps in 4K. Either learn to pan slower, or pull out to full wide angle to get panning judder under control. One other option is to shoot at 60fps in 2.7K. This also works well, at the expense of some resolution. You can even shoot at 120fps in 1080p with up to 4x zoom. Experiment and learn to pan very slowly. If you really want the best quality, pick up the M2P camera instead and shoot 4K in FOV. Its image quality will blow the M2Z away!
U mean 4k in hq? Looks better to my eyes atleast! Because My zoom's 4k does look better then my 2 pro's 4k fov not hq tho
 
U mean 4k in hq? Looks better to my eyes atleast! Because My zoom's 4k does look better then my 2 pro's 4k fov not hq tho
The HQ mode 40mm equivalent on the M2P is similar to using the 2x 48mm equivalent zoom on the M2Z. It's actually something like 1.67x relative to the 24mm of the M2Z. However, the M2P FOV is 28mm so it is only 1.43x zoom of the 28mm. The greater the telephoto of the lens in 35mm equivalents, the more judder you will see at slow frame rates when panning.

You get a wider field of view with the M2Z unzoomed at 24mm equivalent, than the M2P in FOV at 28mm equivalent, which will reduce judder.

In HQ mode on the M2P, you still have a narrower field of view at 40mm equivalent than the full 2x zoom 48mm equivalent on the M2Z, which makes for less judder.

You won't see any judder flying straight and high or far away from your subjects.
Judder is exacerbated by panning and flying low and close to your subjects, where they move across the frame quickly.

The slower you fly and the slower you pan, the less judder.
 
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The HQ mode 40mm equivalent on the M2P is similar to using the 2x 48mm equivalent zoom on the M2Z. It's actually something like 1.67x relative to the 24mm of the M2Z. However, the M2P FOV is 28mm so it is only 1.43x zoom of the 28mm. The greater the telephoto of the lens in 35mm equivalents, the more judder you will see at slow frame rates when panning.

You get a wider field of view with the M2Z unzoomed at 24mm equivalent, than the M2P in FOV at 28mm equivalent, which will reduce judder.

In HQ mode on the M2P, you still have a narrower field of view at 40mm equivalent than the full 2x zoom 48mm equivalent on the M2Z, which makes for less judder.

You won't see any judder flying straight and high or far away from your subjects.
Judder is exacerbated by panning and flying low and close to your subjects, where they move across the frame quickly.

The slower you fly and the slower you pan, the less judder.
Right i get that and u are totally right i thought u meant m2p's "fov" mode will blow him away.... i was thinking in my head "wait huh hq looks cleaner to me i know gadget guy knows his stuff i remember him from phantompilots, maybe he fell on a rock lol"..but my sleepy @$$ just read your post again and it said "its image quality will blow u away" haha just ignore my post??‍♂️
 
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