NEO footage with other sources

[Chrislaf]

If you combine NEO 4K footage with say 4K footage from another device or recent drone at the same frame rate, is there a noticeable difference in quality? The reason I ask is because if I were to get a NEO I would likely be combining it with footage from my Mini 3 Pro or Mavic 3 pro.

Some reviews I have watched say NEO footage is more like upscaled 1080p or 2K footage.

Chris

 

[GFields]

I'll let you know when I get mine

 

[Chrislaf]

I might want to purchase before then. I would like to have it to capture the fall colours along trails, something I haven’t done with my other drones. The colours are beginning to change now and I would like to capture the changes up close and the NEO would be great for that.

Chris

 

[Droning on and on...]

Chris, I know you're struggling (and wishing, hoping) some way shape or form of using this little bugger can work for your needs. I hope something can be figured out.

Setting all that aside for the sake of discussing video quality, some pretty good results can be had using the camera in manual, according to some YT reviewers. I played the following on a 50" 4K TV, and I have to say the clips in his review looked pretty darn good to my eye. Certainly plenty good to mix with M4P footage.

Take a look. It's YT, so the full-resolution original no doubt looks even better.

 

[Chrislaf]

Chris, I know you're struggling (and wishing, hoping) some way shape or form of using this little bugger can work for your needs. I hope something can be figured out.

Setting all that aside for the sake of discussing video quality, some pretty good results can be had using the camera in manual, according to some YT reviewers. I played the following on a 50" 4K TV, and I have to say the clips in his review looked pretty darn good to my eye. Certainly plenty good to mix with M4P footage.

Take a look. It's YT, so the full-resolution original no doubt looks even better.

Thanks for your reply. I wouldn't say I'm struggling but am trying to do my research and make a good decision. I know I could order from Amazon.ca and if it was not suitable for me, return it but would rather not have to go through the hassle.

Also, all the mixed messages on the photo/video quality and being able to adjust it is not helping me determine which package to get if I do decide to purchase. Regardless I will likely decide in the next weeks or so because the fall colours will be starting to peak soon in different areas here in Ontario.

I spent hours last night watching videos and reviews and even then I am getting mixed messages.

Chris

 

[Chrislaf]

@Droning on and on... thank you for that S&A video. It was extremely helpful. I had watched their initial video and didn't get much out of it other than they liked the NEO.

I mostly shoot in Pro mode on my other drones and I do have FCP. That video helped me determine that the FMC, which in Canada includes the controller, would be the best option for my uses. I could set up the camera settings to my liking and then put the controller in my backpack and then do a tracking shot with the drone while I walk through the fall colours - something I could live with.

Chris

 

[Droning on and on...]

I totally get it, Chris. Here's my logic: If the Neo can be set up to produce results like above, the critics are simply uninformed.

For me, like I said with the right setup it can produce video that I would intermix with M4P (and by implication A3) footage.

I think fixing ISO at 100 with this tiny sensor is one of the most important conditions for good footage. Those tiny pixels don't gather much light, and there's much more noise in shadows at higher ISO.

The other thing that makes a HUGE difference is fixing White Balance (color temperature) so color doesn't change while the scene does, and fixing exposure for the same reason.

 

[ryguy80]

I’ll be curious to see how footage mingles with Action 4 and Pocket 3, both that have D-Log M color profiles, for my YouTube videos once I get my hands on a Neo. The Neo will probably test my editing abilities in post if DJI doesn’t allow modification of autonomous video settings.

 

[Hummingbird.uav]

If you combine NEO 4K footage with say 4K footage from another device or recent drone at the same frame rate, is there a noticeable difference in quality? The reason I ask is because if I were to get a NEO I would likely be combining it with footage from my Mini 3 Pro or Mavic 3 pro.

Some reviews I have watched say NEO footage is more like upscaled 1080p or 2K footage.

Chris

One thing you should be aware of is that the Neo uses electronic stabilization. The horizon stays horizontal even if the drone is tilted 30°. Because of this, the recorded video file is severely cropped because much less of the image sensor is used to make it. This in turn means a lower resolution image. My experience is that in bright sunlight the video is OK but with just a little less light the video looks terrible.

 

[Chrislaf]

One thing you should be aware of is that the Neo uses electronic stabilization. The horizon stays horizontal even if the drone is tilted 30°. Because of this, the recorded video file is severely cropped because much less of the image sensor is used to make it. This in turn means a lower resolution image. My experience is that in bright sunlight the video is OK but with just a little less light the video looks terrible.

Thanks, that’s helpful.

You say the video looks terrible in less light. How do you think it would do in broad daylight, but flying low to the ground (using N3 controller), say 0.5m and along a forest floor or just above a stream that is under a leafy canopy?

Chris

 

[Hummingbird.uav]

Thanks, that’s helpful.

You say the video looks terrible in less light. How do you think it would do in broad daylight, but flying low to the ground (using N3 controller), say 0.5m and along a forest floor or just above a stream that is under a leafy canopy?

Chris

Well in my kitchen with plenty of natural light, the video mid-tones and shadow have a lot of noise.

 

[Chrislaf]

Well in my kitchen with plenty of natural light, the video mid-tones and shadow have a lot of noise.

That’s not good! One of the reasons I am interested in the NEO is for the purpose I mentioned above.

Chris

 

[Hummingbird.uav]

That’s not good! One of the reasons I am interested in the NEO is for the purpose I mentioned above.

Chris

I have posted a few videos, in one I hike up a hill with tree cover. You can look for them here or check out my YT channel Hummingbird.UAV. Hummingbird.UAV

 

[Chrislaf]

I have posted a few videos, in one I hike up a hill with tree cover. You can look for them here or check out my YT channel Hummingbird.UAV. Hummingbird.UAV

Thanks. I think I have seen all your NEO ones.

Chris

 

[Droning on and on...]

Well in my kitchen with plenty of natural light, the video mid-tones and shadow have a lot of noise.

That’s not good! One of the reasons I am interested in the NEO is for the purpose I mentioned above.

Chris

@Hummingbird.uav What were the camera settings? That 1/2" sensor is going to be noisy above ISO 400. As advised in the video in post #4, fixing it at 100 helps with the noise a lot.

 

[Hummingbird.uav]

@Hummingbird.uav What were the camera settings? That 1/2" sensor is going to be noisy above ISO 400. As advised in the video in post #4, fixing it at 100 helps with the noise a lot.

It was set on auto so I don't know the ISO.

 

[Droning on and on...]

It was set on auto so I don't know the ISO.

The noise can be massively improved indoors by fixing ISO at 100. To do this, I think you need to be flying with one of the stick controllers or goggles (N3, N2, RC2, FPV3, MC3) to access camera settings and go manual.

Setting ISO to 100 indoors will result in longer shutter speeds. Usually this isn't an issue indoors because your not capturing fast action that would move during 1/30th of a second.

Also, if the Neo supports semi-auto (shoots once for each trigger pull, nyuck nyuck nyuck! ), then you can fix ISO to 100, let shutter float (auto), and use the EV setting to "expose to the right" in the histogram. Then color correct in post, reducing hilights to recover bright, blown out detail.

As soon as I get mine next month, I'll do some experimentation and testing indoors to tune this. But don't wait for me... someone here that has one already can, and there's a ton of stuff on this already on YT, some good, some that will suck IQ points right out throught your eyeballs, it's so wrong.

 

[Chrislaf]

When flying my Mini 3 Pro, the closest drone I have to the NEO, I shoot in Pro mode and usually have the ISO fixed at 100 and just make adjustments to the shutter speed. If I get I NEO this is how I will fly it - in Pro mode.

The cropping of footage from the EIS does concern me especially when I will want to combine it with footage from my other drones (Mini 3 Pro, Mavic 3 Pro). I guess I will have to wait and see to see how much a difference it makes.

Chris

 

[Droning on and on...]

The cropping of footage from the EIS does concern me especially when I will want to combine it with footage from my other drones (Mini 3 Pro, Mavic 3 Pro). I guess I will have to wait and see to see how much a difference it makes.

The Neo does support turning off EIS, and includes Gyro data in the video file, so you can manipulate and customize stabilization using Gyroflow in post.

Doesn't eliminate the resolution lost in stabilisation, but gives you flexibility in how much.

EIS is a rather blunt instrument, if a person is willing to do a bit more work and learn some tools. Just like auto WB... if you're willing to go deeper and learn about color correction, then far better results can be had by fixing WB and exposure, then making it look pretty in post.

 

[Hummingbird.uav]

The Neo does support turning off EIS, and includes Gyro data in the video file, so you can manipulate and customize stabilization using Gyroflow in post.

Doesn't eliminate the resolution lost in stabilisation, but gives you flexibility in how much.

EIS is a rather blunt instrument, if a person is willing to do a bit more work and learn some tools. Just like auto WB... if you're willing to go deeper and learn about color correction, then far better results can be had by fixing WB and exposure, then making it look pretty in post.

Good to know I will have to try it.