P4Pro Camera barrel distortion and vignetting...

[Jim Roof]

There was a thread that posted a photo taken with a P4P that showed really bad barrel distortion and bad vignetting as well. In that thread it was stated that the P4P camera HAS these characteristics, but the DNG file is embedded with corrective details that ACR and other RAW converters utilize to remove the distortion and vignetting.

I commented that my camera shows none of these characteristics when I am looking at my live view and my video footage has no vignetting and no perceivable barrel distortion. I also commented that if a corrective measure was undertaken in the RAW file, why would my stills appear identical to my screen preview images?

To further the discussion, I am posting a snapshot of my P4P remote with the bird itself sitting on an end table and pointed at two objects that SHOULD reveal barrel distortion, if it was present. I see none. I also see no vignetting (f/4). As far as distortion goes, this little lens has less than my Canon 16-35 f.4L. I have drawn two blue lines that are perfectly straight. Keep in mind that the camera on the P4P was NOT leveled exactly. It does not need to be in order to see barrel distortion. And, I am certain my iPhone was a tad skewed too.

Thoughts? This thing looks as close as possible to having zero barrel distortion to my eyes.

 

[KevMo Photog]

Looks pretty dang good to me Jim! I'm still blown away at what these tiny little lenses will do!

 

[Daskid]

Same here. Albeit I haven't placed my P4P in front of a grid to check for barrel distortion, it doesn't have noticeable barrel distortion on the live view, videos, and raw files.

 

[K9VXV]

I have no complaints. My first P4P had an RC disconnect issue but this one seems rock solid. For the price I am amazed that all of the technology that is in it is here and it works so well so I can forgive it's faults. I mean heck I'm sure we all might have paid as much for a lens as we have this. Your image looks solid.

 

[Jim Roof]

Looks pretty dang good to me Jim! I'm still blown away at what these tiny little lenses will do!

I have a friend who is also an architectural photographer. Probably one of the best in the world and a real stickler for quality of gear and end product. One of the reasons I decided to go with the P4P was his impression of it. He stated that no 1500.00 drone/camera combo is going to compete with a 60,000.00 Phase One kist, but for 1500.00... he was totally blown out of the water.

I am favorably impressed too, but still a little confused on some of the heavily vignetted and distorted images I have seen some post.

 

[KevMo Photog]

I have a friend who is also an architectural photographer. Probably one of the best in the world and a real stickler for quality of gear and end product. One of the reasons I decided to go with the P4P was his impression of it. He stated that no 1500.00 drone/camera combo is going to compete with a 60,000.00 Phase One kist, but for 1500.00... he was totally blown out of the water.

I am favorably impressed too, but still a little confused on some of the heavily vignetted and distorted images I have seen some post.

Yeah that puzzles me too on the few shots I have seen as well. It must just be critical in the aligning of this lens to sensor. May be a few that are misaligned from the factory. But yeah I've been a pro portrait guy for 31 years and been all Canon and Canon glass for almost 20 now. I started flying RC when I was 11. Stopped when I was prob 35 or so. Only reason I'm back in RC is because of how good these gimbles and camera's have gotten on these machines. Plus the safety factors that are now built into them. But it's really made me start to love video and I swore I would never get into it because of the learning curve with editing. But I dove in and I'm having fun for sure. I really appreciate all the help from folks in this forum too.

 

[Method007]

There was a thread that posted a photo taken with a P4P that showed really bad barrel distortion and bad vignetting as well. In that thread it was stated that the P4P camera HAS these characteristics, but the DNG file is embedded with corrective details that ACR and other RAW converters utilize to remove the distortion and vignetting.

I commented that my camera shows none of these characteristics when I am looking at my live view and my video footage has no vignetting and no perceivable barrel distortion. I also commented that if a corrective measure was undertaken in the RAW file, why would my stills appear identical to my screen preview images?

To further the discussion, I am posting a snapshot of my P4P remote with the bird itself sitting on an end table and pointed at two objects that SHOULD reveal barrel distortion, if it was present. I see none. I also see no vignetting (f/4). As far as distortion goes, this little lens has less than my Canon 16-35 f.4L. I have drawn two blue lines that are perfectly straight. Keep in mind that the camera on the P4P was NOT leveled exactly. It does not need to be in order to see barrel distortion. And, I am certain my iPhone was a tad skewed too.

Thoughts? This thing looks as close as possible to having zero barrel distortion to my eyes.

View attachment 79932

It's true the camera takes a bigger photo that shows strong vignette and also has barrel distortion. The corrections are applied when you open the photo in software. Are you asking why you can't see it in the live feed? If that's the question, it's because the image is fixed before it's displayed.

If you want to see the RAW file before its corrected, use Capture One to open it. You have to disable manufacturer profile and set it to generic, but then it will show the original picture.

 

[Jim Roof]

It's true the camera takes a bigger photo that shows strong vignette and also has barrel distortion. The corrections are applied when you open the photo in software. Are you asking why you can't see it in the live feed? If that's the question, it's because the image is fixed before it's displayed.

If you want to see the RAW file before its corrected, use Capture One to open it. You have to disable manufacturer profile and set it to generic, but then it will show the original picture.

If what you say is true, then the video is also 'fixed' in REAL TIME as it is captured at 100mb/s onboard the bird.

I am having a hard time believing that is true. You will need to show me proof for me to believe that is even possible.

 

[Jim Roof]

If what you say is true, then the video is also 'fixed' in REAL TIME as it is captured at 100mb/s onboard the bird.

I am having a hard time believing that is true. You will need to show me proof for me to believe that is even possible.

I stand corrected. But the vignetting on my lens is nowhere near as bad as the sample I saw in another thread.

And, I am very impressed that the video is able to be corrected 'on the fly' both literally and figuratively.

 

[Method007]

If what you say is true, then the video is also 'fixed' in REAL TIME as it is captured at 100mb/s onboard the bird.

I am having a hard time believing that is true. You will need to show me proof for me to believe that is even possible.

Well, I use the word fixed loosely. The video doesn't have the same issues as the picture because it uses less of the sensor. Otherwise, the videos would look like the RAW photos. This is why you can frame a picture, then switch to video, and it appears like you zoomed in some.

 

[Jim Roof]

Well, I use the word fixed loosely. The video doesn't have the same issues as the picture because it uses less of the sensor. Otherwise, the videos would look like the RAW photos. This is why you can frame a picture, then switch to video, and it appears like you zoomed in some.

I have been doing photography for a very long time. The kind of barrel distortion that the RAW still image exhibits cannot be remedied by a slight crop of the sensor size. My videos are straight as an arrow from left to right. I shoot architecture and am very sensitive to barrel distortion.

That was why I was having hard time believing that the lens had so much barrel distortion. The video IS being corrected somehow. I am almost 100% certain of it.

I'll do some more tests and post the results in this thread. Maybe I end up eating another serving of crow, but I need to know for my own curiosity.

 

[Jim Roof]

Well, I use the word fixed loosely. The video doesn't have the same issues as the picture because it uses less of the sensor. Otherwise, the videos would look like the RAW photos. This is why you can frame a picture, then switch to video, and it appears like you zoomed in some.

Just spoke with my gearhead 19 year old son. He tells me that the video IS being corrected by real time warping of the frame and that this technology has been around for years. There are dedicated processors that do this so efficiently that the 4K video can be corrected for barrel distortion, vignetting and chromatic aberration even when shooting 4K at 60fps. I studied the difference between the still frame and the video frame and it is very small, probably due mostly to the relationship between the native sensor size and the video frame size.

So, there is my second plate or roasted crow meat. Why should I ever doubt technology?

 

[Roberto123]

There are built in filters in Adobe Camera raw inside photoshop which will correct any distortion from any DJI camera

 

[Jim Roof]

There are built in filters in Adobe Camera raw inside photoshop which will correct any distortion from any DJI camera

I am aware of that. What caught me by surprise was the fact that the Phantom 4 Pro HARDWARE does these corrections on the fly for 4K 60fps video.

 

[Meta4]

There are built in filters in Adobe Camera raw inside photoshop which will correct any distortion from any DJI camera

The latest Camera Raw still doesn't have anything for the P4 pro

 

[Jim Roof]

The latest Camera Raw still doesn't have anything for the P4 pro

I open my DNG files in ACR all day long. Can you not open yours?

 

[Meta4]

I open my DNG files in ACR all day long. Can you not open yours?

You can open files but the P4 pro still isn't in the list of cameras it has profiles for.
Cameras supported by Camera Raw

 

[Jim Roof]

You can open files but the P4 pro still isn't in the list of cameras it has profiles for.
Cameras supported by Camera Raw

What is that keeping you from accomplishing? Just curious.

 

[Skyler King III]

Here's the image that I get and I would like to find a solution...Comments? P4P no filter AT ALL.

Note the upper right corners.

 

[DigitalJoe]

Skyler, are you using ND filters? I am just wondering if we are seeing the slightly longer barrel of aftermarket neutral density filter's sneaking into the corners of your images?