Anyone do the 3.97mm f/2.8 lens changeout?

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Specifically this? 3.97mm f/2.8 82d HFOV 16MP (No Distortion) – Peau Productions

I'm not impressed with the lens on my P4 as it seems softer than others I'm looking at, and I'd like a bit more telephoto too and this narrows the angle by 8 degrees from stock, or so they say.

I get a feeling it might not be all that simple as they make out in their video demo of the switch so any input would be appreciated to someone who has done it.
 
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I have read that people have been happy with the performance. The swap should be fairly straight forward if you have a reasonable level of mechanical aptitude and take your time. I remember when I looked at its while ago there was a YouTube vid linked that showed the whole process in detail.
 
Thanks.

I found the change out video online here:
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Looks like he did it in 10 minutes. I'd likely take 2-3 hours.

I know there is also something on the P3 about the need to center the sensor too which is why I think they glossed over the complete install at the end. Focus was on some purple screen and I doubt it's that easy.

I used the DOF simulator I found online here: Bokeh simulator & depth of field calculator to get an idea as to how much angle it would change. Not much other than girl looks a bit taller and less on sides.
 

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Thanks.

I found the change out video online here:
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Looks like he did it in 10 minutes. I'd likely take 2-3 hours.

I know there is also something on the P3 about the need to center the sensor too which is why I think they glossed over the complete install at the end. Focus was on some purple screen and I doubt it's that easy.

I used the DOF simulator I found online here: Bokeh simulator & depth of field calculator to get an idea as to how much angle it would change. Not much other than girl looks a bit taller and less on sides.

I use the 3.97mm and 5.4mm but on a GoPro camera both lenses work perfectly.

If you watched video carefully the sensor is on the face of the circuit board an when the 4 black and the 2 screws holding lens there is no need to center the sensor as it's in a fixed position. Just make sure not to touch the sensor as you'll not like the results from a dirty sensor.

The part I didn't care for was adjusting the the focus with a pair of needle nose pliers which can easily damage the lens. Also the camera has to be turned on in order to focus it and object you're focusing on should about 10 feet from the camera and in this case will take time as your hand is in the way.
 
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I use the 3.97mm and 5.4mm but on a GoPro camera both lenses work perfectly.

....

Thanks Jason for your input.

Do you feel the 3.97mm lens was sharper than the stock one you replaced it with on the Hero?

I don't know if my lens is just out of focus from the factory, or if it is a bad (soft) lens overall. Due to the QC issues DJI seems to have (First two of mine had manufacturing issues and were exchanged.), no doubt these are set up on a jig and not individually tested for focus or rushed if they are.
 
Thanks Jason for your input.

Do you feel the 3.97mm lens was sharper than the stock one you replaced it with on the Hero?

I don't know if my lens is just out of focus from the factory, or if it is a bad (soft) lens overall. Due to the QC issues DJI seems to have (First two of mine had manufacturing issues and were exchanged.), no doubt these are set up on a jig and not individually tested for focus or rushed if they are.
Hello gmack

I'll tell you my experience, got the p4, bought peau lens , thinking quality of image would be better.

1.- focusing the lens right was a pain in the butt, needed to make different photo test in order to achieve the right focus.

2.- after being successful on this I have to say the quality of image was exactly the same but more narrowed.

3.- I found a big big problem on peau lens, they always blur a little of the image on the left and right edges of the screen, more on the left side tho. This is very annoying, and I couldn't find a way to get rid of it but just on still photos, during video recording was impossible to get rid of it.

4.- one would think because they are 16mp they will perform better right? FALSE, reason being is because the quality is also determined by the sensor and guess what, the p4 sensor can't read more than 12mp , so in other words , you are stuck to 12mp resolution.

5.- the way they are attached to the camera is not like original phantom lens, meaning originals go in very very tight, you need to put a lot of pressure and force to be able to move them when you are focusing.
The peau lens only hold their focus position through a black soft plastic ring, which doesn't not hold the position of focus perfectly as with movement and time they end up going out of focus again!!!.

Conclusion:

Stick to the original lens, stay away from peau lens, no image quality improvement, in fact you will en up with blur image results on video in the edges.you will loose focus on time, meaning having the need of focusing the lens again over and over.
Save your money. and your time.



They are trash.

( sorry for my English is not my natal language lol) safe flying to you!
 
Thanks Leonardo.

I figured the focus part would be pain, but the soft edges are not appealing at all and maybe worse!

One of my P4's went back due to a soft left side which stood out in still photos. I figured the lens wasn't perpendicular to the sensor, but the alignment I didn't want to fiddle with so I exchanged it since it was new and Best Buy had a 15 day exchange period which works well. Someone posted a video of a P3 where they slid the sensor maybe a millimeter to the side, after loosening the four screws, to move it into the sweet spot of focus for the stock 3.6mm lens which seemed to help (maybe), but it is trial and error and might not work either.

I wasn't crazy about their O-ring to hold it in position either and likely why DJI glues the thing together.

Guess I'll forget the idea, but it sure sounded nice.

Mack
 
Thanks Leonardo.

I figured the focus part would be pain, but the soft edges are not appealing at all and maybe worse!

One of my P4's went back due to a soft left side which stood out in still photos. I figured the lens wasn't perpendicular to the sensor, but the alignment I didn't want to fiddle with so I exchanged it since it was new and Best Buy had a 15 day exchange period which works well. Someone posted a video of a P3 where they slid the sensor maybe a millimeter to the side, after loosening the four screws, to move it into the sweet spot of focus for the stock 3.6mm lens which seemed to help (maybe), but it is trial and error and might not work either.

I wasn't crazy about their O-ring to hold it in position either and likely why DJI glues the thing together.

Guess I'll forget the idea, but it sure sounded nice.

Mack

As i said I have both the 5.4mm f2.5 60° and the 3.97mm f2.8 82° and found no side distortion with either of the lenses. Of course I am mounting these lenses on GoPro camera but I think DJI/GoPro are using the same sensors.

Mack using the 3.6mm f/2.6 90° will increase the viewing width for video but not the greatest for photos at 3mp

The Hero 3+ black has a 5.4mm lens while the Hero4 black at present has the 3.97mm lens mounted in it and interchangeable with an extra 5.4mm lens without disassembling the camera. Focusing the lens on a GoPro is much easier then the DJI as I can connect it to a video monitor through HDMI cable.

Truefully I do not consider Peau lens to be trash or I wouldn't own or be using three of them.

GoPro also glues their lenses in place. After taking the first one apart I found it much easier to order the lens mounting frame with each new lens. Doing so makes swapping both components quicker.
 
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Thanks Leonardo.

I figured the focus part would be pain, but the soft edges are not appealing at all and maybe worse!

One of my P4's went back due to a soft left side which stood out in still photos. I figured the lens wasn't perpendicular to the sensor, but the alignment I didn't want to fiddle with so I exchanged it since it was new and Best Buy had a 15 day exchange period which works well. Someone posted a video of a P3 where they slid the sensor maybe a millimeter to the side, after loosening the four screws, to move it into the sweet spot of focus for the stock 3.6mm lens which seemed to help (maybe), but it is trial and error and might not work either.

I wasn't crazy about their O-ring to hold it in position either and likely why DJI glues the thing together.

Guess I'll forget the idea, but it sure sounded nice.

Mack
Hello mack,

Yeah that millimeter after moving the 4 screws has logic.

The strange thing is that it was not giving me problems with the original dji lens and only with peau.
And as well the glue thing also has a reason ....
But hey I'm happy you changed it with the warranty.
I didn't had to as once I focus the original ones they stay very tight again in position and image is perfect so I'm happy.

Safe flying bro !
 
As i said I have both the 5.4mm f2.5 60° and the 3.97mm f2.8 82° and found no side distortion with either of the lenses. Of course I am mounting these lenses on GoPro camera but I think DJI/GoPro are using the same sensors.

Mack using the 3.6mm f/2.6 90° will increase the viewing width for video but not the greatest for photos at 3mp

The Hero 3+ black has a 5.4mm lens while the Hero4 black at present has the 3.97mm lens mounted in it and interchangeable with an extra 5.4mm lens without disassembling the camera. Focusing the lens on a GoPro is much easier then the DJI as I can connect it to a video monitor through HDMI cable.

Truefully I do not consider Peau lens to be trash or I wouldn't own or be using three of them.

GoPro also glues their lenses in place. After taking the first one apart I found it much easier to order the lens mounting frame with each new lens. Doing so makes swapping both components quicker.

Well here mack was talking about phantom camera I think? no go pro camera.

Maybe for the go pro they work.

For phantom, at least in my experience they don't.

Lose focus over time.
Blurs image on sides on phantom , I don't know about go pro .

So for me doing this comparison to original lens, peau are not good at all.

Maybe to switch on a go pro is ok, but not on a phantom.
Technically they can have same sensor? I don't know what is then , the results on a phantom gymbal/camera/sensor where negative to me .

Is nice at least they work for you on your go pro.
 
As i said I have both the 5.4mm f2.5 60° and the 3.97mm f2.8 82° and found no side distortion with either of the lenses. Of course I am mounting these lenses on GoPro camera but I think DJI/GoPro are using the same sensors.

Mack using the 3.6mm f/2.6 90° will increase the viewing width for video but not the greatest for photos at 3mp

The Hero 3+ black has a 5.4mm lens while the Hero4 black at present has the 3.97mm lens mounted in it and interchangeable with an extra 5.4mm lens without disassembling the camera. Focusing the lens on a GoPro is much easier then the DJI as I can connect it to a video monitor through HDMI cable.

Truefully I do not consider Peau lens to be trash or I wouldn't own or be using three of them.

GoPro also glues their lenses in place. After taking the first one apart I found it much easier to order the lens mounting frame with each new lens. Doing so makes swapping both components quicker.

Is GoPro using a Sony Exmor sensor? If not, then they are the same. As for distortion, the wider you go, the more distortion you will get. Pretty simple to understand, well that is unless you use a Zeiss Distagon for about $2300. The sensors and lenses on the P4 are consumer lenses and unless they are defective from the start, or wildly mis-calibrated, the average consumer will not know the difference. The average drone flyer knows very little about photography and just wants something that more or less looks great. This is the market that the P4 and even Mavic is aimed at. For the more discerning photographer/videographer, the Inspire is the weapon of choice. Playing around with changing lenses and moving the sensor is not for the faint of heart. You pays your money, you take your chances.
 
Is GoPro using a Sony Exmor sensor? If not, then they are the same. As for distortion, the wider you go, the more distortion you will get. Pretty simple to understand, well that is unless you use a Zeiss Distagon for about $2300. The sensors and lenses on the P4 are consumer lenses and unless they are defective from the start, or wildly mis-calibrated, the average consumer will not know the difference. The average drone flyer knows very little about photography and just wants something that more or less looks great. This is the market that the P4 and even Mavic is aimed at. For the more discerning photographer/videographer, the Inspire is the weapon of choice. Playing around with changing lenses and moving the sensor is not for the faint of heart. You pays your money, you take your chances.

Look I do not own a P3/P4 but from I seen in the video the sensor itself is mounted on the circuit board and cannot be moved as the GoPro cameras. As a videographer I am not a fan of fisheye in fact do not own one for any of my DSLR cameras. I wasn't sure if DJI/GoPro were using the same sensor an mentioned that. Personally if I decide on another UAV it'll be the Karma since the Hero 4 black does a very good job in 4K and there more user options for that camera then just flying around.
 
.... As for distortion, the wider you go, the more distortion you will get.....

The lens in question is 3.97mm which is more telephoto to that of the stock 3.6mm in the P4. Distortion should be less - in theory. It narrows the field by about 8 degrees, so they claim.

But yeah, if I could afford a better camera setup I'd go to a Freefly Alta 8 with a DSLR. Need a spare $25K though. Maybe a better cinematographer too since it seems a two-person flier.

Fwiw, I was watching CreativeLive last week on "Drone Photography" and they talked about some $80K setup that somehow flew into the ocean and was gone. Even the instructor showed off his homemade heavy-lifter he built that flipped over instantly on the first take-off in front of him and destroyed about $8K in gear. That hurt to watch!
 
Look I do not own a P3/P4 but from I seen in the video the sensor itself is mounted on the circuit board and cannot be moved as the GoPro cameras. As a videographer I am not a fan of fisheye in fact do not own one for any of my DSLR cameras. I wasn't sure if DJI/GoPro were using the same sensor an mentioned that. Personally if I decide on another UAV it'll be the Karma since the Hero 4 black does a very good job in 4K and there more user options for that camera then just flying around.

That makes sense. I see here often that people wonder why they can not achieve hi-quality images or videos. It's quite simple. The P4 is not a hi-quality drone in that regard. The Inspire RAW which allows you to change MFT lenses is made for higher quality. The P4 is a consumer level device with consumers who just want to take nice videos or stills in mind. The quality is very good but it is no match for a DSLR or from what I read in your reply a GoPro Hero 4. The key is to know your limitations and not to be disappointed when you exceed them. I like the video and still quality that I get with the P4, but I also know it has limitations. If you want to see for yourself, try shooting a video or still image at night with the P4. The quality is pretty bad and requires quite a bit of processing to make the image, or video useful, but still it is what it is.
 
The lens in question is 3.97mm which is more telephoto to that of the stock 3.6mm in the P4. Distortion should be less - in theory. It narrows the field by about 8 degrees, so they claim.

But yeah, if I could afford a better camera setup I'd go to a Freefly Alta 8 with a DSLR. Need a spare $25K though. Maybe a better cinematographer too since it seems a two-person flier.

Fwiw, I was watching CreativeLive last week on "Drone Photography" and they talked about some $80K setup that somehow flew into the ocean and was gone. Even the instructor showed off his homemade heavy-lifter he built that flipped over instantly on the first take-off in front of him and destroyed about $8K in gear. That hurt to watch!

Agreed. The P4 and camera are what they are. They are not pro level by any stretch of the imagination, while many in this group and in others dont really understand this. The P4 is very good for what it does in the daylight, but at night it is simply not up to the task. If I were to invest more, I might start with an Inspire RAW and get some MFT interchangeable lenses but for my current needs the P4 is fine and I try not to burden it too much by asking it to do more than it can. Also, I am too lazy to try and fix everything in post processing. :)
 
Agreed. The P4 and camera are what they are. They are not pro level by any stretch of the imagination, while many in this group and in others dont really understand this. The P4 is very good for what it does in the daylight, but at night it is simply not up to the task. If I were to invest more, I might start with an Inspire RAW and get some MFT interchangeable lenses but for my current needs the P4 is fine and I try not to burden it too much by asking it to do more than it can. Also, I am too lazy to try and fix everything in post processing. :)

In good light, the P4 camera is very good and I can certainly make pro-level images and prints with it. Once light fades, the quality deteriorates rapidly.
 
The lens in question is 3.97mm which is more telephoto to that of the stock 3.6mm in the P4. Distortion should be less - in theory. It narrows the field by about 8 degrees, so they claim.

But yeah, if I could afford a better camera setup I'd go to a Freefly Alta 8 with a DSLR. Need a spare $25K though. Maybe a better cinematographer too since it seems a two-person flier.

Fwiw, I was watching CreativeLive last week on "Drone Photography" and they talked about some $80K setup that somehow flew into the ocean and was gone. Even the instructor showed off his homemade heavy-lifter he built that flipped over instantly on the first take-off in front of him and destroyed about $8K in gear. That hurt to watch!
GMACK, did you focus your lens with needle nose pliers like you are supposed to do?
 
GMACK, did you focus your lens with needle nose pliers like you are supposed to do?

No. I haven't bought the lens yet and haven't tore into it. Getting mixed input as to if it will be any better than the stock one. Still debating.

Now having issues with 3.0.2 that came out on my iPad Air 2. Seems it isn't quite ready for prime time as it doesn't play back the stored flights, just a black screen saying GPS not found or something. Have to figure out how to get back to 3.0.1.
 

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