Mavic Pro: ISO and focus issue

Flight - Discussion and Q&A
1

I am happy to have finally gotten my Mavic in! After I played with it to make sure it flies correctly and the camera has not issues I was ready to make my first map. Flight ID: 1481637566_JOEYINSPIRE

Once the I selected my mission all checks passed and she flies beautifully. As I watched the camera feed I noticed the picture looked very overexposed. It was a bright clear day.

I get back to my computer and upload the photos for processing. This is the result: http://drdp.ly/cj7bUR
Now I have no clue what happened. I figured I would get an overexposed map but I get the exact opposite. Every photo came out underexposed.

2

Tried the same location today. First mission had the correct exposure but out of focus images, the second mission the photos were again extremely underexposed. At this point I believe DroneDeploy does not work correctly with the Mavic yet.

I have not changed any automatic settings in DD or DJI go. On the second mission I tried to autofocus once image capture started. The camera feed shows a clear image with good iso.

3

I have the same issue. I have flown several missions and more often than not the exposure and/or focus is incorrect.

@DroneDeploy can you advise what the settings/steps are to avoid this when using the Mavic Pro please?

4

@karaemurphy Is this a problem that DD is awarenof and working on / waiting on firmware updates from DJI or is it just a settings problem for a few of us?

My results are really hit and miss so if there is something I can do to make it more predicatable I’d really like to know.

5

I don’t believe anyone at DD actually has a mavic to test it on, no other explanation my it’s so hit and miss

6

It seems like the iso and focus are adjusted at the beginning of the mission and remains that way for the duration of the mission. I get dark photos if I start from the ground, blurry photos if I start at a few feet, and overexposed up high.

7

We do have several mavics at DD. We have seen a couple issues that DJI is fixing in their sdk. A lot of us and customers have made successful maps though.
Thanks for letting us know what’s happening. We are looking into it.

8

We have seen the issue with the camera feed looking fine and the photos coming out underexposed. I’ve actually seen it the most when trying to run a mission manually in DJI go. It’s frustrating. We are in contact with DJI about this.

9

How’s this going? My trial has ended and I’m not yet convinced the bugs have been ironed out.

10

Hi

I can also report the same issue. If I use automatic camera settings in DD, the images turn out to dark but in focus. If I tun of automatic camera settings and rather adjust the camera in the DJI GO 4 app prior to a DD run, the images turn out with correct exposure but out of focus.

Regards
PK

11

After some more investigation I have found a solution that works for me, running on Android.

  1. Plan your flight path and flight altitude in your DD project
  2. Take off and ascend to the flight height that you have planed in the DD project using the DJI GO4 app
  3. Set the camera to vertical position
  4. Tap to focus
  5. Set the camera in MANUAL mode, and adjust the shutter speed to at least 1/200 (depending on your planed flight speed). Faster flight speed means that you may have to set the shutter speed even faster
  6. Adjust the ISO to get an acceptable exposure
  7. Unplug the micro usb cable from the phone while the drone is hoovering at the flight altitude
  8. Reinsert the micro usb cacble, and select DD as the app to launch
  9. Select your project in DD
  10. Under advanced settings select manual camera control in the DD project, and start the flight mission
    Enjoy sharp and well exposed images.
2 Likes
12

Possible solution: I downloaded the DJI Go 4 app. Now photos are perfect. BUT battery percentage always reads 0%.
-The Go 4 app triggered an update to the Mavic

Pix4d capture app works fine. Always a solid backup.

13

Tried your method, it worked flawlessly in iOS. Don’t even need to unplug any cable, just switching apps mid air. Thanks for the tip!

14

Our recent ios release should help with the focus issues. Let me know how it goes. Android coming soon.

15

Focus issue seems to be fixed but the over exposed problem is still around with the auto camera setting.

16

Can you send some specific examples to support@dronedeploy.com and ask to forward to chase?

17

Same issue with mine today… extreme overexposure.
I have emailed an example.

Interestingly the PIX4D app worked perfect!

18

I have just had the same under-exposure problem. Is there a fix on its way? Do you still want examples emailed?

19

We are working on a fix that should help quite a bit with any exposure problems.

20

After running my camera in Manual mode for pictures in DJIgo app then having terribly exposed pictures on next DD mission, I’m wondering if some of this isn’t from leaving the camera in manual mode when shutting down. Then few days later when you want to go fly a DD mission forgetting it’s in Manual and having your old camera settings. At first I thought it was just the focus issues everyone was having issues with DD on the Mavic Pro, but after Pix4d app had same exposure issues on a flight I zero’d in on what the cause was on my end.

Is the DD app supposed to be able to override the camera settings if left in manual on shutdown?