Pano Function for P4A / Pro

[Deleted member 99081]

I was kindly sent the upgrade for the firmware with with Pano function, for my P4A, by DJI. After more than 1 re-install of the firmware I finally got it to work yesterday. However, the result was a lot of separate images that need to be stitched together, rather than a finished pano image. I just wanted to check thats how it's meant to work?

I'm professional photographer, with major awards for Photoshop and I teach Lightroom. So, I'll be OK with the stitching. I just wanted to check that the software is working how it should?

 

[Paul2660]

If you select pano, even in raw I thought that you still get a completed jpg of the pano. Not sure on the 360 selection which I never use since props are always in view with the P4 series. But the 9 shot and 180 I believe put a jpg on the card. At least this is the case with the MP2 and MPP. Best results are manual stitching at least from what I have found, and even better manual capture. Most times I need a bracketed exposure to get the best image, and can't bracket in the pano mode.

Paul C

 

[Deleted member 99081]

If you select pano, even in raw I thought that you still get a completed jpg of the pano. Not sure on the 360 selection which I never use since props are always in view with the P4 series. But the 9 shot and 180 I believe put a jpg on the card. At least this is the case with the MP2 and MPP. Best results are manual stitching at least from what I have found, and even better manual capture. Most times I need a bracketed exposure to get the best image, and can't bracket in the pano mode.
Paul C

Thanks for the speedy reply Paul. I used the 180 degree option and shot in Raw. I'll try it in JPG to see if that makes a difference. Oddly, though, the camera did shoot up and down and I have some stills with the props showing. I usually do my exposure adjustments in post, so that's not an issue, as I find the DJI camera tends to under expose (at least for me). I'm curious to see a pre-stitched image though.

Stephen

 

[Paul2660]

What I have found is that the DJI camera also underexposes, but even at ISO 100, there is just no push on the images, unless the subject is in good light. There the camera shines. Also even the P4 in jpg mode IMO applies too much noise reduction even with it turn down and shadow areas can turn to mush, thus I always use dng mode, with no noise reduction.

The other problem is that the camera in Pano mode 360 or 180 (depending on setup) will expose to the sun and odds are it's totally blown out, pure white. There are hundreds of 360, little planet, etc type shots where when you enable the 360 view to spin all around the image, once you hit the upper sky its blown.

I try to stay in the F 3.5 to 5 max range (mostly F 4) so highlights are going to suffer in a auto mode, thus the reason I 5 shot bracket. Sure which DJI will allow an exposure bracket of 1.0 instead of the limiting .7 which even in 5 shot mode will not allow for shots with bright sun.

Paul C