Why is this camera not great?

Mitch · Sep 22, 2018

MaxHam said:
Depends on which drone you already own. If you have a P4P and your are focussing on video whithout minding the extra weight & noise, I would cancel.
If your focus is on still photography you have a great item with the M2P. Image quality compared with the P4P is hardly noticeable and doesn't justify the bulky Phantom.

There is one thing in general abot the M2P:
It is SO MUCH quiter and smaller then the Phantoms and your 'footprint' is way lower!
With the MP2 I fly somewehere where I wouldn't take a Phantom

I predominantly use my drones for video, not stills. I have an MPP now. Was planning to sell it after getting acclimated with the M2P. This was ASSUMING the video was going to be as good or very close to that of the P4P. I'll not likely ever buy another Phantom as I've owned 2 and experienced stress cracks with both.

MaxHam · Sep 22, 2018

Mitch said:
I predominantly use my drones for video, not stills. I have an MPP now. Was planning to sell it after getting acclimated with the M2P. This was ASSUMING the video was going to be as good or very close to that of the P4P. I'll not likely ever buy another Phantom as I've owned 2 and experienced stress cracks with both.

Then you are stuck. The M2P video quality doesn't even get near the P4P, even in HQ mode.
I guess it's a question of luck but I have over 1100km on my P4P and there is not even a micro crack anywhere...

Mitch · Sep 22, 2018

MaxHam said:
Then you are stuck. The M2P video quality doesn't even get near the P4P, even in HQ mode.
I guess it's a question of luck but I have over 1100km on my P4P and there is not even a micro crack anywhere...

I just cancelled my order. Too many bugs. Also seeing a report of poor workmanship on the bind button. DJI has issues to fix. I'll gladly pay 50 more dollars in the future once the reports show the video quality is up to par for starters..... I bought at the lower price point. For now I'll stick to suffering with my MPP camera. One camera is enough to be disappointed in.

bkushner · Sep 22, 2018

Mitch said:
So, as I wait for my M2P to ship I'm pondering to cancel. Are these issues fixable via software/firmware? Or, will DJI need to make an unannounced hardware tweak where holding off until March-ish 2019 for the issues to mysteriously go away be the 'smart' move?

If it's heat I don't know how they will fix in software?

TheRock · Sep 22, 2018

To answer an original question, DJI owns a majority stake in Hasselblad and has used this union to create what it believes is a more powerful camera. Hasselblad actually has a past history in aviation photography. I don't have the new drone, so I can't speak to any of the other questions, but since DJI owns a god chunk of Hasselblad, it is basically putting the honored name of this company on its new drone to obviously show an improvement or commitment to quality.

ac0j · Sep 22, 2018

A quality camera for both video and stills will cost about $1000 I have been told.
I certainly dont expect that quality on a drone camera. At least $900 is the flying part alone. That doesnt leave much money to hang a "quality" camera on it.
i think you photo purists need to get in the $4000.00 and up price range to get the drone you want.

Mitch · Sep 23, 2018

ac0j said:
A quality camera for both video and stills will cost about $1000 I have been told.
I certainly dont expect that quality on a drone camera. At least $900 is the flying part alone. That doesnt leave much money to hang a "quality" camera on it.
i think you photo purists need to get in the $4000.00 and up price range to get the drone you want.

Personally I'm no photo purist. I just want a camera as good as what's on the P4P on the Mavic. The last 2 Phantoms I owned developed stress cracks and am not interested in venturing into that pain yet again.

bkushner · Sep 23, 2018

ac0j said:
A quality camera for both video and stills will cost about $1000 I have been told.
I certainly dont expect that quality on a drone camera. At least $900 is the flying part alone. That doesnt leave much money to hang a "quality" camera on it.
i think you photo purists need to get in the $4000.00 and up price range to get the drone you want.

I think the issue is it's not as good as the P4P which cost the same or less.

noosaguy · Sep 23, 2018

Supercaliber said:
Does anybody know exactly what Hasselblad has contributed to this camera besides their name?
I really expected a camera that would be AT LEAST as good as the P4P or better, right out of the box..
Anybody feeling me on this?

From what I understand, DJI have been the major shareholder in Hasselblad for a year or more now. And as far as your question about image quality, I think you must be pixel peeping. I won't go into my history as a photographer but needless to say, I owned a large commercial photography studio of many years (now retired) and I've held off buying a drone for photography until the M2P. The image quality I'm finding from such a small camera (and such a portable drone) is nothing short of sensational IMO. It's early days for me but I believe I'll be able to shoot award winning images with this little beauty. Here's a shot just practicing and fooling around out the front of my place yesterday...

noosaguy · Sep 23, 2018

bkushner said:
I think the issue is it's not as good as the P4P which cost the same or less.

But can you fold up the P4P and put it in your coat pocket?

Spy_Corfu · Sep 23, 2018

i am using Adobe Lr for raw editing. Any dji mavic 2 pro specific colour profiles out yet?
Very happy with this new addition to the dji line up .. they are way ahead of the competition.. ok there is no competition really!!
Especially night photos are very impressive.. iso 100 f2.8 and all the rest according to what's needed for best result. Originals are raw.

noosaguy · Sep 23, 2018

Spy_Corfu said:
i am using Adobe Lr for raw editing. Any dji mavic 2 pro specific colour profiles out yet?
Very happy with this new addition to the dji line up .. they are way ahead of the competition.. ok there is no competition really!!
Especially night photos are very impressive.. iso 100 f2.8 and all the rest according to what's needed for best result. Originals are raw.
View attachment 47497 View attachment 47498

Beautiful stuff, congratulations. I haven't seen any colour profiles for LR or PS but there are lens corrections included in CC.
By the way, is that top image in Budapest near the Chain Bridge?

Spy_Corfu · Sep 23, 2018

In normal conditions pretty much all cameras pretty much have the same result , great example is the comparison of expensive DSLR cameras and mobile phones like iPhone x and samsung s9 .. it is difficult to separate them .. BUT in difficult conditions such as night shots for example that is where you need a big sensitive lens .. that is on more reason i was really impressed with the mavic 2 pro .. its like it is mounted on tripods .. and it is flying ! imagine how even more astonishing it is to take such good quality photos.
I have owned dji drones for many years now starting with the phantom 1 then all the way to phantom 4 then stoped and went to the mavic pro then air and back to mavic 2 pro.
This one is a keeper i think , at least until they come out with a bigger than 1" sensor maybe.. who knows?

noosaguy · Sep 23, 2018

Spy_Corfu said:
In normal conditions pretty much all cameras pretty much have the same result , great example is the comparison of expensive DSLR cameras and mobile phones like iPhone x and samsung s9 .. it is difficult to separate them .. BUT in difficult conditions such as night shots for example that is where you need a big sensitive lens .. that is on more reason i was really impressed with the mavic 2 pro .. its like it is mounted on tripods .. and it is flying ! imagine how even more astonishing it is to take such good quality photos.
I have owned dji drones for many years now starting with the phantom 1 then all the way to phantom 4 then stoped and went to the mavic pro then air and back to mavic 2 pro.
This one is a keeper i think , at least until they come out with a bigger than 1" sensor maybe.. who knows?

They probably will (end up with a bigger sensor) but my guess is that will need a compromise on portability. And yes, the ability to the gimbal to steady the thing is amazing. I've just bought a range of ND and NDPL filters to get some long exposures by the sea. Can hardly wait to learn more about the drone and try new perspectives.

TheRock · Sep 23, 2018

Spy_Corfu said:
i am using Adobe Lr for raw editing. Any dji mavic 2 pro specific colour profiles out yet?
Very happy with this new addition to the dji line up .. they are way ahead of the competition.. ok there is no competition really!!
Especially night photos are very impressive.. iso 100 f2.8 and all the rest according to what's needed for best result. Originals are raw.
View attachment 47497 View attachment 47498 View attachment 47500

Really nice work. Camera seems fine to me!!

TheRock · Sep 23, 2018

I shoot underwater images professionally and I am always asked about cameras. My usual reply is what is the intended use of the images you produce. Even though people are drooling (and rightfully so) over the Nikon 850 and D500 models, with proper light and processing, a D7200 will turn out files that can be used for 90% of what most people need in a RAW image. The same with the Mavics. If you're not doing billboards for Nike, just get better at using the DJI camera of whatever drone you use to produce optimum RAW files, study proper composition and then learn proper "darkroom" work with LightRoom or Photoshop. In the end, you should have professional results. It just takes time and a few more steps than flying up and clicking the button.

noosaguy · Sep 23, 2018

TheRock said:
I shoot underwater images professionally and I am always asked about cameras. My usual reply is what is the intended use of the images you produce. Even though people are drooling (and rightfully so) over the Nikon 850 and D500 models, with proper light and processing, a D7200 will turn out files that can be used for 90% of what most people need in a RAW image. The same with the Mavics. If you're not doing billboards for Nike, just get better at using the DJI camera of whatever drone you use to produce optimum RAW files, study proper composition and then learn proper "darkroom" work with LightRoom or Photoshop. In the end, you should have professional results. It just takes time and a few more steps than flying up and clicking the button.

I agree entirely. 99.99% of images will finish up smaller than 1920 x 1080 @72 px/inch. The M2P is designed to be an 'all rounder'. Exceptional image quality, versatility and portability. I'll take it places I would NEVER take a Phantom or larger drones. And, if you shoot RAW and know how to post process in any good image editor, your images will be spectacular, not only quality wise but also in unique aspect.

felix hug · Sep 23, 2018

MaxHam said:
Depends on which drone you already own. If you have a P4P and your are focussing on video whithout minding the extra weight & noise, I would cancel.
If your focus is on still photography you have a great item with the M2P. Image quality compared with the P4P is hardly noticeable and doesn't justify the bulky Phantom.

There is one thing in general abot the M2P:
It is SO MUCH quiter and smaller then the Phantoms and your 'footprint' is way smaller!
With the MP2 I fly somewehere where I wouldn't take a Phantom.

I think your assesment is to the point and very accurate. Ihave the MP2 since about 2 weeks. Thats exactly what i think. I’m very happy that i got it, its an upgrade in many ways...and i’m dissatisfied at the same time, because video quality could be much better with the exact same components. I dont think its a camera propblem per se, but a sensor reading and finetuning issue. Just feels the video improvements were rushed at the end.