Is something wrong with my phantom 4 advanced lens?

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Hello everyone! This is my first official post here besides the introduction forum area. So here is my "issue". My first drone was a MP. Love the little guy but I wanted more image quality. I recently found a phantom 4 advanced for a decent deal so I bought it. Well I went out for my first test flight and i'm not so impressed with the IQ over the MP. When I first had my mavic it major lens imperfections so i sent it back and the next one they sent me looked good. Do you think my phantom has major lens imperfections? or am I expecting too much from the phantom? Boring test flight shots attached. Please let me know if this is "normal" phantom IQ. These shots were 1/30th f2.8 and 1/50 f2.8. Any help is greatly appreciated!
 

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Noooooooo boring test shots attached ! they are what you need to get a good answer...id love to answer..But i need to allow a member that's very knowledgeable answer the question for you...Stay Tuned some one will be with you soon !
 
Well I went out for my first test flight and i'm not so impressed with the IQ over the MP. ...These shots were 1/30th f2.8 and 1/50 f2.8. Any help is greatly appreciated!
Your P4 Advanced should eat the Mavic for breakfast for image quality.
The subject matter in your test shots is too "fuzzy" for a good test though.
You have very soft light and subject matter that's got too much fine detail with about a million fine twigs and leaves.
There's only so much you can do with 5472 x 3648 pixels.
Go out again and shoot something that's not so soft.
Go for something with flat surfaces and hard edges and make sure it's well-lit.
Get down close to one of those buildings and look at some wall or roof detail.
 
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As previously mentioned, this test is a worst case.

1. There is a lot of fine detail, which looks pretty sharp
2. It is an overcast day, so the light is very soft and there are no shadows to help define the edges.
3. The overall contrast of the scene is very low - no deep blacks and bright whites.
4. The color range is very limited. No strong hues.

From my perspective, the issues lie in the subject, not the lens. Some post processing could improve the result.

The only helpful lens testing is an A/B comparison. Same subject and lighting with both lenses. Otherwise it is almost completely subjective. The gold standard for lens acuity is the modulation transfer function performance analyzing a test image of closely ruled line pairs.
 
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As previously mentioned, this test is a worst case.

1. There is a lot of fine detail, which looks pretty sharp
2. It is an overcast day, so the light is very soft and there are no shadows to help define the edges.
3. The overall contrast of the scene is very low - no deep blacks and bright whites.
4. The color range is very limited. No strong hues.

From my perspective, the issues lie in the subject, not the lens. Some post processing could improve the result.

The only helpful lens testing is an A/B comparison. Same subject and lighting with both lenses. Otherwise it is almost completely subjective. The gold standard for lens acuity is the modulation transfer function performance analyzing a test image of closely ruled line pairs.
Didi you shoot this RAW or JPEG? Any post? Did you apply lens correction? I have found the lens correction logo in Lr leaves a little to be desired. My P2V2+ gets better JPEGs right out of the camera than my P4A, but I can do more with the RAW files.
 
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You guys have been super helpful! As a DSLR photographer first I realize I totally need to do further tests to see whats going on. These test shots were at the end of a cloudy day. With work and the current day light hours getting back out there wont happen till this weekend. Anymore input would be greatly appreciated. Just wasn't sure if anyone had any insight even with these images with these soft lighting conditions. Im sure many of you have shot in conditions like these. Wasnt sure if these photographs look typical to what other P4P/P4A produce.

These are straight out of camera JPEGs with default settings. I did not adjust contrast or sharpness etc. The raw files looked VERY close to the jpegs I attached to this post. I tried some post processing to the raws but they didnt look much better. As you guys have said I need to get out there and shoot more test shots. This weekend I will probably shoot recreationally / test. I will say that the lens seems to go soft in a circular area around the edge of the frame.
 
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You guys have been super helpful! As a DSLR photographer first I realize I totally need to do further tests to see whats going on. These test shots were at the end of a cloudy day. With work and the current day light hours getting back out there wont happen till this weekend. Anymore input would be greatly appreciated. Just wasn't sure if anyone had any insight even with these images with soft lighting conditions. These are straight out of camera JPEGs with default settings. I did not adjust contract or sharpness etc
A few additional thoughts:
1/30 is pretty slow - as a DSLR shooter you know that -- so your bird would have to be really stable to avoid any motion blur. Flying in tripod mode would help here. But I never try to shoot below 1/60. You might be ok at f/2.8, but I'd stop down a little. Northrup suggests not going wider than f/4 on a P4A. Finally, did you use focus assist? That might help get your subject a little sharper. Good luck!
 
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As previously mentioned, this test is a worst case.

1. There is a lot of fine detail, which looks pretty sharp
2. It is an overcast day, so the light is very soft and there are no shadows to help define the edges.
3. The overall contrast of the scene is very low - no deep blacks and bright whites.
4. The color range is very limited. No strong hues.

From my perspective, the issues lie in the subject, not the lens. Some post processing could improve the result.

The only helpful lens testing is an A/B comparison. Same subject and lighting with both lenses. Otherwise it is almost completely subjective. The gold standard for lens acuity is the modulation transfer function performance analyzing a test image of closely ruled line pairs.

David, thank you for your comment. I really appreciate it
 
1/30 is pretty slow - as a DSLR shooter you know that -- so your bird would have to be really stable to avoid any motion blur. Flying in tripod mode would help here. But I never try to shoot below 1/60. You might be ok at f/2.8, but I'd stop down a little.
As long as it's not windy, the camera should handle 1/30th much better than you can do it yourself.
In still conditions it can manage 2 secs.
And despite its name, Tripod Mode doesn't do anything to make the camera any steadier.
The gimbal is already doing that as well as it is able in whatever mode you use.
Tripod Mode simply slows down the speed and joystick sensitivity for fine movement control in tight spaces.
 
As long as it's not windy, the camera should handle 1/30th much better than you can do it yourself.
In still conditions it can manage 2 secs.
And despite its name, Tripod Mode doesn't do anything to make the camera any steadier.
The gimbal is already doing that as well as it is able in whatever mode you use.
Tripod Mode simply slows down the speed and joystick sensitivity for fine movement control in tight spaces.
I've had pretty solid results shooting my mavicpro at 1/30th. Ill let you guys know what happens when I shoot this weekend.
 
As previously mentioned, this test is a worst case.

1. There is a lot of fine detail, which looks pretty sharp
2. It is an overcast day, so the light is very soft and there are no shadows to help define the edges.
3. The overall contrast of the scene is very low - no deep blacks and bright whites.
4. The color range is very limited. No strong hues.

From my perspective, the issues lie in the subject, not the lens. Some post processing could improve the result.

The only helpful lens testing is an A/B comparison. Same subject and lighting with both lenses. Otherwise it is almost completely subjective. The gold standard for lens acuity is the modulation transfer function performance analyzing a test image of closely ruled line pairs.

You Sir were 110% correct! Thank you! I got my P4A in the sky this morning with some good light. These images are outstanding. They definitely blow away my mavic pro. Thanks for the help everyone. I'm really glad I wont have to be sending this one back to DJI. Now its time to edit these raw files. =D
 

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