Still image quality?

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Did i miss something in my research before i bought my p4p? The image quality from my old p2v+ appears better than my p4p. Maybe i don't have the settings (defaults) setup properly? Is this normal?
Can you guess which photo is from which craft?
upload_2017-4-19_11-43-46.png



upload_2017-4-19_11-46-9.png
 

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It is not easy to tell on such low resolution, but it seems the p4p image is out of focus. There are several threads here on proper focusing which is worth researching.

To get the best results follow these easy steps (works for 99% of the cases). I have tried to order them according to importance.

* Make sure you have proper focus. Focusing at any object at a distance will yield a effective infinity focus which is what you will want. Using manual focus might give bad results.
* Shoot in A mode and select either f 5.6 or f 6.3 to get the maximum performance from the lens.
* Shoot at ISO 100 unless there is very low light.
* Shoot in raw unless you have no access to a proper editing software (or are doing things requiring the shortest delay between shots such as timelapses/mapping)
* For optimal results, you should shoot in manual and expose-to-the right, but this is optional. However, learning to read the histogram is a good investment


Following this combined with proper post-processing, you should get excellent results.
 
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Excellent, i will be revisiting a couple sites this week under better weather conditions and will try what you suggested. Thank you!
 
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I have, i took a number of photos that can be replicated today that i will use as a baseline to compare. The images above were taken a year apart with two different crafts. When viewed on my computer i can see distinct differences in clarity and sharpness. The p4p i have only flown twice so i figure there must be something i don't have set right.
 
What are your current settings?
My settings were defaults/Auto across the board. I made a few changes shown below.
 

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And are you actually using the RAWs or the .jpegs? You seem to be shooting both.
 
So my question in this thread has been about photography but my main reason for purchasing the p4p is for mapping. I believe i need to shoot jpeg to get the exif data to attach to the image files while mapping. I set it to both Raw and jpeg to see the differences between the two.
 
The "RAW" isn't really raw. It's a .DNG and contains the same metadata as the jpegs.
 
The "RAW" isn't really raw. It's a .DNG and contains the same metadata as the jpegs.
DNG in fact IT IS a RAW image.
JPG is processed and compressed by the camera hardware.
DNG/RAW is a file with all the data recolected by the sensor, uncompressed (or lossless compressed) and without any process, like a "digital negative". You are in charge to do the final processing.
Metadata it's the same because metadata it's a text embedded with shoot information (aperture used, ISO, shutter speed, focal lenght, location, etc)
 
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So my question in this thread has been about photography but my main reason for purchasing the p4p is for mapping. I believe i need to shoot jpeg to get the exif data to attach to the image files while mapping. I set it to both Raw and jpeg to see the differences between the two.
For mapping, jpeg is appropriate. Raw will cause the continuous capture to be too slow and you will not gain much in quality of the end-result as long as the capture is correct. Using eg DroneDeploy at full auto during good daylight, it will capture at f/6.3 ISO 100.

For still photography, raw files will give you much more to work with during postprocessing.

(sample map captured with p4p / dronedeploy full auto at 70 meters with about 244 images 1492353310_TOMASOPENPIPELINE by DroneDeploy - 3D model)
 
DNG in fact IT IS a RAW image.
JPG is processed and compressed by the camera hardware.
DNG/RAW is a file with all the data recolected by the sensor, uncompressed (or lossless compressed) and without any process, like a "digital negative". You are in charge to do the final processing.
Metadata it's the same because metadata it's a text embedded with shoot information (aperture used, ISO, shutter speed, focal lenght, location, etc)

.DNG is a file extension that includes data not included in a true RAW. A true RAW is in fact raw sensor data. It is not a file type and does not include exif data. The .dng includes gps data, lense corrections, etc.
 
.DNG is a file extension that includes data not included in a true RAW. A true RAW is in fact raw sensor data. It is not a file type and does not include exif data. The .dng includes gps data, lense corrections, etc.
DNG is a filecontainer which contains the raw sensor data as well as metadata. All, or at least the more common, raw formats (the file containers) include some metadata including exif.

The main difference between dng and other formats is that dng is a open standard and also support a variety of sensor-data. The metadata can also be updated without the use of a sidecar file (which is required for changing or adding metadata for native formats)
 
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THANK YOU for all the support. After adjusting the settings i am getting MUCH better images and am very satisfied. I knew something had to be off because everyone in my office was noticing the image quality was lacking and the boss is now impressed and happy we bought the new craft.
 

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Nice!
And remember: Photography is all about light.
As bad weather/dull light might be nice for some artistic/nature etc. photos, for your kind of documentary sun will help a lot.
Try to avoid to have the sun right behind the drone. That way pictures turn out flat since there are few shadows only.
You got it right in your shot: It's half side, half back lit. With the shadows the structures come alive.

And now it's time to fly into the structure and show us some close ups! :)
 

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