More camera focus questions.

Thanks for your advice.
I sent them an email yesterday with my serial numbers telling them that I had an issue.
They sent an automated response today so I will see what they say.
The shop I got it from has said they would exchange it so at least I have options if DJI won't take it.
I live in the UK and I think the nearest DJI place is in Germany or would it go back to China?




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I believe if you live in the UK you will send it to Germany, I live in the states and I had to send mine to the Los Angeles repair facility. I have found it is much faster to use the live chat option to get things going, email exchange back and forth takes too long.
 
Thanks Sinisalo, I tried the live chat yesterday but my Mac didn't seem to like the chat certificate. It might be that China is 8 hours ahead of the U.K. And no one was there to answer. I will give it another go tomorrow morning.
Something I do remember when I first opened the box was the gimble guard was at the bottom of the box so it has come all the way from China with the camera flapping around, do you think that might of caused my problems with the camera?



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Thanks Sinisalo, I tried the live chat yesterday but my Mac didn't seem to like the chat certificate. It might be that China is 8 hours ahead of the U.K. And no one was there to answer. I will give it another go tomorrow morning.
Something I do remember when I first opened the box was the gimble guard was at the bottom of the box so it has come all the way from China with the camera flapping around, do you think that might of caused my problems with the camera?



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Maybe, out of the 6 Phantom 3 Pros that i have handled, 1 had the battery not fully inserted, another had the gimbal lock out of place, another had the cable at the top plate of the gimbal disconnected so I didn't get any video signal, another had a camera that had a chip in the metal where the uv filter seats when it screws on. You should test to see if you have gimbal horizon tilt issues and then it will be easy to get them to replace your camera, you won't have to prove focus issues at all. My gimbal was 1 degree off but when I would adjust it mid flight with the C1 + C2 + Right thumb wheel combo it would just go right back to tilted seconds later. If you don't have a flat horizon anywhere to test you can fly in front of something flat like a score board 10 meters away, take a picture with the board on the far sides of the screen and compare. Even thought mine was only 1 degree off it was obvious something was going on with the gimbal. At startup the gimbal would initialize and then start from far left and slowly come back to centered position at the end of the gimbal initialization. Sometimes it would do the same thing but with the tilt as well instead of just yaw.
 
I have definitely decided to return the quad but should I send it to DJI or exchange it in the store I bought it from and chance getting a phantom that may have the same or worse issue? Personally I think if DJI have it back they might ensure the new one will have a properly calibrated camera. Your thoughts are appreciated [emoji106]


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Personally, I would exchange it at the store. You've got good odds that you'll receive a good unit. The bonus is that if for some unlikely reason you ended up with another out of focus unit you could then open a ticket at DJI and.... your warranty is based on your exchange date (your return bill of sale will identify this)... so longer warranty period... win/win.
 
Maybe, out of the 6 Phantom 3 Pros that i have handled, 1 had the battery not fully inserted, another had the gimbal lock out of place, another had the cable at the top plate of the gimbal disconnected so I didn't get any video signal, another had a camera that had a chip in the metal where the uv filter seats when it screws on. You should test to see if you have gimbal horizon tilt issues and then it will be easy to get them to replace your camera, you won't have to prove focus issues at all. My gimbal was 1 degree off but when I would adjust it mid flight with the C1 + C2 + Right thumb wheel combo it would just go right back to tilted seconds later. If you don't have a flat horizon anywhere to test you can fly in front of something flat like a score board 10 meters away, take a picture with the board on the far sides of the screen and compare. Even thought mine was only 1 degree off it was obvious something was going on with the gimbal. At startup the gimbal would initialize and then start from far left and slowly come back to centered position at the end of the gimbal initialization. Sometimes it would do the same thing but with the tilt as well instead of just yaw.
Blimey! You have had a nightmare then.
On one of my clips shown in the sunset video I posted the horizon was definitely off. I might take that approach.


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Personally, I would exchange it at the store. You've got good odds that you'll receive a good unit. The bonus is that if for some unlikely reason you ended up with another out of focus unit you could then open a ticket at DJI and.... your warranty is based on your exchange date (your return bill of sale will identify this)... so longer warranty period... win/win.
That's not a bad idea to be honest.
Another plus is that I won't be without the quad.
Thanks for your advice.


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Well, I sadly boxed her up last night ready for her to go back to the shop today. They said it would take a few days for the replacement to arrive as they haven't got any stock at my local store. I'm more gutted that I have only had 40 mins flight time since I've had it. I hope I don't get a lemon [emoji849]


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Like many of you here , I have major issues with my still photos, video sometimes also shows blur on left/central area, sometimes it's completely fine but most of my photos are blurry. I can take 5 photos in same area while hovering 1 out 5 might be Ok the rest will be blurry. Have a look, this one the entire photo is blurry, I snapped only 2 photos, second one was a little better and I know maybe if I snapped 4 or 5 more, one would be OK. Videos seem to be OK , so no idea what's going on..I can live with good video, not so much into taking still with my Phantom but it would be nice on the occasion
 

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Like many of you here , I have major issues with my still photos, video sometimes also shows blur on left/central area, sometimes it's completely fine but most of my photos are blurry. I can take 5 photos in same area while hovering 1 out 5 might be Ok the rest will be blurry. Have a look, this one the entire photo is blurry, I snapped only 2 photos, second one was a little better and I know maybe if I snapped 4 or 5 more, one would be OK. Videos seem to be OK , so no idea what's going on..I can live with good video, not so much into taking still with my Phantom but it would be nice on the occasion
I can't really tell as the image you posted is more like thumbnail quality. You will need to post the full res file. What are your settings? I would use a minimum of 1/250 second in flight, anything lower will introduce motion blur especially if you get lower than 1/150 second.


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I can't really tell as the image you posted is more like thumbnail quality. You will need to post the full res file. What are your settings? I would use a minimum of 1/250 second in flight, anything lower will introduce motion blur especially if you get lower than 1/150 second.
I don't recall the settings but I know I tested it out few times..Yes sorry I added the photo with my IPAD and it was just thumbnail version, either way, I know I have some blur issues but it's random and with same settings. SO I'm thinking could it be maybe due to lighting, I'm getting my filters soon wonder if that will make a difference


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I don't think filters will help focus issues, if anything it will make the photos worse because you have to reduce your shutter speed to compensate for the reduced light coming in. Filters especially ND filters are more for video where reducing your shutter speed to twice the frame rate is required.


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Yes I agree about video's reason why I purchased them , photos, I will do more testing with different shutter speeds and see if that is the issue..thanks
 
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Hi,
I know people have had camera focus issues on the phantom 3 but my questions are these:

1. What is the minimum focus distance to get an in focus image.
2. Can you adjust the lens to change the minimum focus distance.
3. How can I reliably test for a focus issue.

The reason I ask is that I'm not 100% happy with the image quality/sharpness.

I use manual settings and shoot in jpeg and raw.
I use Lightroom to edit.

Thanks


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The minimum focusing distance on a 20-mm equivalent lens should be about 1.5 to 3 feet. Note that images may appear out of focus on some programs like Adobe Bridge, but they are actually quite sharp in reality.
 
The minimum focusing distance on a 20-mm equivalent lens should be about 1.5 to 3 feet. Note that images may appear out of focus on some programs like Adobe Bridge, but they are actually quite sharp in reality.
Thanks for your reply.
I'm confused now as DJI recommend testing focus at 10 metres.
I tried Lightroom and Photoshop and they still looked off to me.
It's funny the digital age because if these images were printed they may look ok [emoji848]


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Hi,
I know people have had camera focus issues on the phantom 3 but my questions are these:

1. What is the minimum focus distance to get an in focus image.
2. Can you adjust the lens to change the minimum focus distance.
3. How can I reliably test for a focus issue.

The reason I ask is that I'm not 100% happy with the image quality/sharpness.

I use manual settings and shoot in jpeg and raw.
I use Lightroom to edit.

Thanks


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The Phantom 2/3 has a very simplistic camera setup. The camera consist of a fixed sensor with fixed lens fitted in-front of the sensor. The lens has no ability to adjust focus....during manufacture the lens is fixed to the sensor board and then glued onto the camera casing. The lens unit itself are also as basic as it gets, no adjustable aperture, just a one size hole or aperture to direct the incoming image signal onto the sensor.

Lets look at the specs or FIXED settings of the camera. FOV is 94 degrees if I recall correct, its a average wide angle lens. The aperture as I said is fixed and on the P3 it is fixed at f2.8 At this aperture the focus depth are potentially small, I would have preferred a f4.0 on this lens / sensor size. In addition it seems DJI fixed the focus at approximately 5-10 meters. This vary so much from camera to camera as DJI does no quality control. What does this mean......@ f2.8 and focus set at 5 to 10 meters the chances are everything in the far distance are not clear or sharp.

Photographers keep a basic rule, from the camera to focus point is the avarage one 3rd distance. Two 3rds after the focus point will be in focus. If the focus is set at 5m then up to 10m behind the focus point things will be in-focus and sharp.......

I do NOT think DJI has great imaging experience, pitty they did not do more effort to partner with somebody like Go Pro. The Go Pro camera uses the same basics as the Phantom camera. Go Pro has great experience and know-how and one can see it from the results.......

How can you correct all this. First step is to work in RAW, Lightroom is a great choice because DJI provided the lens profiles (good job DJI) Next is to go build a macro in photoshop cc to correct the mistakes and problems you see with your P3 image.

New functions in Photoshop CC like focus masking is great to repair the poor image quality from the P3. One can get to OK results as long as you accept the basis is poor. Can you distribute your macro to others.....NO. Why, well the camera quality from P3 to P3 are so inconsistent that it is just not possible to create one macro for all.....

Wow this sounds so negative and bad.......yes it is correct.......this is not only for the P3 images......video is as bad....... Try the P3 in poor light quality and the image quality is even worse....
 
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......I do NOT think DJI has great imaging experience, pitty they did not do more effort to partner with somebody like Go Pro. The Go Pro camera uses the same basics as the Phantom camera. Go Pro has great experience and know-how and one can see it from the results.........

They're actually partnered up with Hasselblad so they should have the very best knowledge for this!!!

Hope to to some further flying tests with mine later today.....
 
Hasselblad....the guys creating fancy wooden grips for Sony cameras and then labelling it Hasselblad.Great looking cameras.....

Wood be awesome to see a real upgrade on DJI future cameras.....something like an adjustable focus and aperture ring would be really awesome. This will open really interesting creative options.

DJI could also look towards a Japanese parter to manufacture their camera units, it is critical to up the manufacturing quality and consistency. Finally looking at good optics (lens) will also be great.

From the images one see of the Phantom 4 one can see the basic camera will stay as we know it in the P3, the only difference is the new gimbal configuration. The gimbal on the P3 is good and works well, the only weakness it does not take much to snap the yaw arm.

Will be really interesting to see the GTX Phantom 4 and what will be new.....
 
I have just had a text to say my new P3P is ready to pick up from the store. Can't wait to test it tomorrow to see if I have a good one. Fingers crossed [emoji106]


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When I sent it to the store for an exchange I was also talking to DJI via email. I explained my issues but they seemed to fob me off a bit at first but I mentioned that the gimbal lock was not on when I received it and the lock was just at the bottom of the box. They obviously thought that could contribute to my issues and they have sent an email back with the following:

Dear Ray,

Ah that explains a lot, if the clamp was at the bottom of the box. How old is the Phantom ( please show receipt ).

To apply for your repair we require the following information:

Product (Inspire or Phantom):
Serial number of the drone:
Serial number of the remote:
Serial number of the gimbal:
A short description of the problem:

Full name:
Address:
E-mail:
Phone:
Country:
DJI Care [YES/NO]:
And a copy of your receipt.
For warranty services it is most important that you keep your receipt handy.

We will apply the repair for you and we will send you an email back with your RMA form.

With Kind Regards,

DJI Support EU
Stefan


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