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Shimmering Video - What is Causing This?

thomegnome

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May 9, 2019
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Hi folks,

I'm pretty new to video, and I got the Spark about 2 weeks ago. I've got a issue that's puzzling me right now. The best way I can describe it is that it sometimes "shimmers" in the videos I took yesterday. It was my first time filming with the PolarPro ND16 filter.

I believe my shutter setting was 1/60 of a second, which is what I've read is recommended for video at 30fps. I haven't seen this error before while filming with my Spark, though I did have one video about a week ago that I had to trash because a flickering issue. This is something different entirely, though I have no idea what's causing it. It didn't happen in all of the videos I recorded, but it happenend in about half. I'm hoping the collective wisdom of this group can help me.

Here's a sample of the issue. Look at the tracks around 8 - 13 seconds. If you just watch it in Dropbox, it might be hard to see because the resolution is reduced. If you download it, you should see what I'm talking about.

I would really appreciate some help with this. I want to know that it's not a flaw in my Spark...if it needs returned, I need to get doing that.


Thanks,
Damien
 
Hi folks,

I'm pretty new to video, and I got the Spark about 2 weeks ago. I've got a issue that's puzzling me right now. The best way I can describe it is that it sometimes "shimmers" in the videos I took yesterday. It was my first time filming with the PolarPro ND16 filter.

I believe my shutter setting was 1/60 of a second, which is what I've read is recommended for video at 30fps. I haven't seen this error before while filming with my Spark, though I did have one video about a week ago that I had to trash because a flickering issue. This is something different entirely, though I have no idea what's causing it. It didn't happen in all of the videos I recorded, but it happenend in about half. I'm hoping the collective wisdom of this group can help me.

Here's a sample of the issue. Look at the tracks around 8 - 13 seconds. If you just watch it in Dropbox, it might be hard to see because the resolution is reduced. If you download it, you should see what I'm talking about.

I would really appreciate some help with this. I want to know that it's not a flaw in my Spark...if it needs returned, I need to get doing that.


Thanks,
Damien

More people can view it you post to YouTube. That Dropbox link not working on my mobile.

I've seen "shimmering" on the leaves of trees but not sure if it's same effect you are referencing.

Interested to see your video
 
The shimmer is in the train tracks. That’s an upload from the sd card. When I viewed it, I had to manually select 1080p on YouTube. It looked terrible at first?

The shimmer I’m talking about is like a side to side vibration in the tracks around 10 seconds into the clip.
 
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The shimmer is in the train tracks. That’s an upload from the sd card. When I viewed it, I had to manually select 1080p on YouTube. It looked terrible at first?

The shimmer I’m talking about is like a side to side vibration in the tracks around 10 seconds into the clip.

I'm watching on an iPhone X and can barely see what you you referring to. Maybe it's more noticeable on a bigger computer monitor? The video looks fine. I don't think there is anything wrong with your Spark's camera.

The tracks are a reflective surface. I think you are getting a little glare that the sensor can't handle and it's causing some digital artifact. It's made worse by the YouTube compression.I

A polarizing filter would probably eliminate that effect. They are a good accessory to have - especially if you are particular about your video quality.

I see the same thing with leaves of a tree on an intensely sunny day. Thousands of tiny reflective surfaces at different angles moving with the breeze. The "shimmering" is very distracting so I just edit that out.

Again, I think your camera is working properly and you are just seeing it's limitations.
 
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I watched and re-watched and re-watched your original dropbox file.
Could not spot any artifacts.
Possible to run the video in your device, pause where your issues are, screenshot and mark the artifacts?
If its a moirè pattern problem, its in the sensor, and its a common problem with all digital sensors...
 
I'm watching on an iPhone X and can barely see what you you referring to. Maybe it's more noticeable on a bigger computer monitor? The video looks fine. I don't think there is anything wrong with your Spark's camera.

The tracks are a reflective surface. I think you are getting a little glare that the sensor can't handle and it's causing some digital artifact. It's made worse by the YouTube compression.I

A polarizing filter would probably eliminate that effect. They are a good accessory to have - especially if you are particular about your video quality.

I see the same thing with leaves of a tree on an intensely sunny day. Thousands of tiny reflective surfaces at different angles moving with the breeze. The "shimmering" is very distracting so I just edit that out.

Again, I think your camera is working properly and you are just seeing it's limitations.


It is much easier to see on a monitor. I can see it on my iPhone, but I’m looking at the original file with no loss of resolution.

I actually took back the 3-pack of PolarPro filters and got the 6-pack that also includes polarized versions of the ND8 and ND16 filters. I’ll see if that helps.

Thanks!
 
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I watched and re-watched and re-watched your original dropbox file.
Could not spot any artifacts.
Possible to run the video in your device, pause where your issues are, screenshot and mark the artifacts?
If its a moirè pattern problem, its in the sensor, and its a common problem with all digital sensors...

Thanks for making the effort to spot it! It’s so much easier to see on my laptop than my phone, and I’m watching the original, uncompressed version. Screen shots are a great idea to help with this!

In the first image, you can see the effect I’m talking about. Look how fuzzy things are, you can really see it in the left train rail and the pole at right that holds the train signal. It’s extra wide compared to the next frame where everything is much sharper.

This happens at several, distinct moments in the clip. I was just moving the Spark forward and down, so I would think the gimbal would be capable of handling it. I don’t think there was any rotational movement (which I know the Spark struggles with since it doesn’t have that third gimbal).


Thanks,
Damien

73E4C52D-B477-45A2-A98F-8DEDAD8E733D.png

6AB82EAD-905D-4683-8F4C-4CD446C5F464.png
 
...

In the first image, you can see the effect I’m talking about. Look how fuzzy things are, you can really see it in the left train rail and the pole at right that holds the train signal. It’s extra wide compared to the next frame where everything is much.....
Which editing workflow do you use?
The footage straight from your Spark isn't very editing friendly.
Spark produce variable frame rate (vfr) footage.
Some editors will convert it to constant frame rate (cfr) when exporting and do a descent job. Some editors handle vfr footage really bad.
I would try transcoding footage into a editor friendly cfr format, then check out frame by frame..
 
Which editing workflow do you use?
The footage straight from your Spark isn't very editing friendly.
Spark produce variable frame rate (vfr) footage.
Some editors will convert it to constant frame rate (cfr) when exporting and do a descent job. Some editors handle vfr footage really bad.
I would try transcoding footage into a editor friendly cfr format, then check out frame by frame..

Hi Haggi,

The video is straight off the SD card with no processing at all.


Thanks,
Damien
 
I can clearly see the "shimmer". It does look bad. I have seen a bit of it in my videos too, especially when shooting in low light (shutter speed less than 1/100). Also it is more prominent when the drone is moving sideways or yawing. But none of it seems to be true in your case.
 
I shot some videos yesterday and didn't have the glitch in most videos, except at the very end right when I stopped capture....but there was one video, when I was pointed straight down while descending into a parking lot. You'll see it quite plainly in this video:
. You may have to manually select 1080P. You'll see the transition from everything looking fine to glitchy around 2:20. This was when I was already descending toward my landing...as soon as the camera is panned down, everything goes nutty. Look at the power lines and especially the parking space lines.

Does this seem like a potential problem with the SD card? Seems unlikely to me. Or should I call DJI for a possible warranty repair/replacement?


Thanks,
Damien
 
I shot some videos yesterday and didn't have the glitch in most videos, except at the very end right when I stopped capture....but there was one video, when I was pointed straight down while descending into a parking lot. You'll see it quite plainly in this video:
. You may have to manually select 1080P. You'll see the transition from everything looking fine to glitchy around 2:20. This was when I was already descending toward my landing...as soon as the camera is panned down, everything goes nutty. Look at the power lines and especially the parking space lines.

Does this seem like a potential problem with the SD card? Seems unlikely to me. Or should I call DJI for a possible warranty repair/replacement?


Thanks,
Damien
Yes, it is more prominent in this video. You should definitely call DJI support.
 
I have the same issue, in low light conditions (not dark), e.g. right after sunset, or when camera is entering a shadowy area.

In normal light, it's not noticeable.
 
It looked like vibrations to me.
You can see it in the tree top to the left of the tracks as he descends.
Also examining the trees, there is a bit of gusty winds.
I believe the combination of the two created the distortion.
Here are 5 frames of the distortion in sequence by file name:
2019-05-18 (1).png2019-05-18 (2).png2019-05-18 (3).png2019-05-18 (4).png2019-05-18 (5).png
 
Last edited:
I shot some videos yesterday and didn't have the glitch in most videos, except at the very end right when I stopped capture....but there was one video, when I was pointed straight down while descending into a parking lot. You'll see it quite plainly in this video:
. You may have to manually select 1080P. You'll see the transition from everything looking fine to glitchy around 2:20. This was when I was already descending toward my landing...as soon as the camera is panned down, everything goes nutty. Look at the power lines and especially the parking space lines.

Does this seem like a potential problem with the SD card? Seems unlikely to me. Or should I call DJI for a possible warranty repair/replacement?


Thanks,
Damien

Did you had a polarizing filter on? This happens to me too all the time, I think it's related to the camera not being able to focus because of the low light (because you are using a ND filter).
 

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