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X5 Auto Exposure Flickering

The X5R is the only inspire option if you want to do any Pro work. The current compression/color space on both the X3/X5 is too far below the standards of most productions.

Are you speaking as an X3/X5 user or just a general all-around expert on videography? What do you define as acceptable production standards?
 
Just bought the Inspire Pro from Drones Plus Silicon Valley after owning and loving 2-P3P's and a P2V+. Great bird to fly, but I was disappointed with the Auto Exposure mode on the X5. It doesn't have a smooth transition when the exposure changes. It jumps, almost flickers. We did some tests in manual exposure mode, and it did fine. We were hoping DJI had a firmware fix in the works, but when I talked to them yesterday, they told me to send it in so they can test it on the bench. He suggested it could be the ISO chip, or possibly an aperture problem. I understand they need to test it in a controlled environment, but after dropping $6k on the package less than 2-weeks ago (3 batts; gimbal operator remote; 180watt charger and charging hub), I hate to ship off the camera and be without its use for up to a month. Anybody else experience this flickering exposure?
Yes. I am having the same problem. Wasted a full day of shooting in the Everglades in south florida. Exchanged the camera only to find the same problem. Spoke to a Brain at support and he
said he will bring up the problem with his manager. He said he would also let you and I know of any resolve. I am very unhappy. I will wait for their response before I take further action.
Best regards,
Gary
 
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Just bought the Inspire Pro from Drones Plus Silicon Valley after owning and loving 2-P3P's and a P2V+. Great bird to fly, but I was disappointed with the Auto Exposure mode on the X5. It doesn't have a smooth transition when the exposure changes. It jumps, almost flickers. We did some tests in manual exposure mode, and it did fine. We were hoping DJI had a firmware fix in the works, but when I talked to them yesterday, they told me to send it in so they can test it on the bench. He suggested it could be the ISO chip, or possibly an aperture problem. I understand they need to test it in a controlled environment, but after dropping $6k on the package less than 2-weeks ago (3 batts; gimbal operator remote; 180watt charger and charging hub), I hate to ship off the camera and be without its use for up to a month. Anybody else experience this flickering exposure?
Thanks for sharing!! Always open to others findings and hoping that DJI hires a professional cinematographer that can dive deep into the camera, the settings and how to shoot great video with it. As folks have stated, this is not the point and shoot. You have to think about what you are shooting and be able to setup appropriately. I've been shooting manual with D-Log format, AWB, Manual focus and no styles. I was told by a friend of mine that shooting with the soft setting will help with aliasing on things like trees. Allows the sensor to not overload when it's put into those situations. Need to try this and see what the effect is.

He also referred me to this site that has a nice overview of things like aliasing, sensors, shutters, etc... for Red movie cameras. Helped me better understand the X5 versus my Nikon DLSR and what settings I should try. Temporal Aliasing with Cinema

He's found that shooting in F8 provides nice infinite focus and to definitely do a lens calibration when putting on a new lens or using a different tablet. I found this out myself. I usually use my iPad Air, but I forgot to fully charge it and had to use my iPhone instead on a fun shoot the other day. Since it was my first time using it with the Inspire, I had to set it up and then noticed that the lens wasn't calibrated. I had to calibrate using the App, even though I had calibrated with my iPad. So it's definitely App related. I will be looking at that in the future when they do upgrades to make sure that is correctly set. Especially if after the upgrade it asks me to resetup the connection.

Here's a video I shot for the floods here in Austin this past weekend. Kept everything on manual and shot using 4.5 - 6.0 depending on the conditions and used a ND-16 or ND-8 filter from Polar Pro. During the initial shot it's soft due to the lens not being calibrated, then I went in and calibrated for the remaining shots. Fortunately I was able to see that it was off on my small iPhone screen. In post I had to tweak the saturation a bit to help de-haze the film. Lots of mist in the air since I was shooting between rain and wanted to filter that out as much as I can. I'll post a link to a Raw unedited snipet that folks can look at if they want as well.

Dropbox - Unedited Video Snipets - Shot in D-Log format, no styles with ND-8 or ND-16 filter at 4K 24Fps and 1/60 shutter speed.

très belles images..avez vous fait des corrections de la netteté.
N'avez vous jamais de scintillements dans vos videos?
En général, j'ai de très bons résultats avec la X5. Mais quelques fois avec du scintillement? ( flicker)
Exactement dans les mêmes réglages que vous..

beautiful images..
have you made corrections sharpness.
Have you ever flicker in your videos?
I generally have very good results with the X5. But a few times with glitter? (Flicker)
In exactly the same settings you ..
 
Just bought the Inspire Pro from Drones Plus Silicon Valley after owning and loving 2-P3P's and a P2V+. Great bird to fly, but I was disappointed with the Auto Exposure mode on the X5. It doesn't have a smooth transition when the exposure changes. It jumps, almost flickers. We did some tests in manual exposure mode, and it did fine. We were hoping DJI had a firmware fix in the works, but when I talked to them yesterday, they told me to send it in so they can test it on the bench. He suggested it could be the ISO chip, or possibly an aperture problem. I understand they need to test it in a controlled environment, but after dropping $6k on the package less than 2-weeks ago (3 batts; gimbal operator remote; 180watt charger and charging hub), I hate to ship off the camera and be without its use for up to a month. Anybody else experience this flickering exposure?

I have the same problem.. i'm disappointed..
Did you find a solution?
 
Are you speaking as an X3/X5 user or just a general all-around expert on videography? What do you define as acceptable production standards?

Not what I define but what higher end productions (feature film, tv) define for me. I was just on a production that used the Red Dragon and trying to match the quality from the X3/X5 codec is very hard.

If a productions main camera is shooting RAW, then a drone that also shoots RAW will match much more easily in post. Hence why the X5R is the only inspire option for Pro productions.

I've shot music videos, commercials where the X3 was just fine but any larger productions with an experienced DP or DIT will notice the highly compressed X3/X5 footage right away.
 
I'm pretty sure the Inspire Pro has the same motors...this was rumored, but they have a different prop/lock system.
Correct same motors as the current Inspire 1 Version D. The only difference was the props/prop locks, camera, mounting plate for the X5 and landing gear extensions, which you get these X5 things if you upgrade to the X5 and get the mounting plate.
 
maybe this is a really stupid question and please don´t kill me for it. would the X5R be a better investment when looking into shooting movies on sets? my only reason for thinking into it is the ability to record RAW footage. ist there any other difference between the "standard" and the "R" version?

If you are shooting full-length motion pictures for a living and you want the highest quality with the most flexibility, then yes get the R. It will shoot in Raw format to a 512GB SSD that will write at 1.7GB/s whereas the current X5 writes to a MicroSD at 60MB/s. Huge difference in video quality. These are very large files but the good news is that the R also shoots in the MicroSD format at the same time so you can do your workflow/preview using the smaller files on the SD card and use the RAW footage for final cut.

Shooting in RAW will provide the same flexibility that you have with RAW photos. You can change the image exposure, white balance, etc... without hurting the quality of the images. One example they use in their demo reel is that they shoot a car chase during the day but use the RAW footage's ability to change the exposure and white balance/color settings to make it look like it was shot at night. All without hurting the image quality. That's where you get the 12.8 stops of dynamic range

Compare the two on DJI's website and look at this video from them showing the RAW capabilities. The X5R is set to launch in December. Not sure if that will be with the Inspire 1 first and then the camera alone like the did with this launch of the X5 or if they will ship the camera alone at the same time they ship the combo. If they wait, it might be late December or January before you can purchase just the X5R.

X5R Info - DJI - The World Leader in Camera Drones/Quadcopters for Aerial Photography

 
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not sure how this became about the motors and advice on buying...

OP did you find a solution to the flickering? I am having the same issue shown here


Please advise. I am in all manual exposure settings...
 
not sure how this became about the motors and advice on buying...

OP did you find a solution to the flickering? I am having the same issue shown here


Please advise. I am in all manual exposure settings...



hi,
i am in Belgium and i have the same problem..
I will send a file to DJI tecnical service.
This is very unpleasant...I have a Inspire1 + X5.
Did you loaded the firmware Inspire pro? I'm always on the X3 firmware.
I have another problem. X5 is not perfectly stable stationary. The image is not fixed ... engine off.
Do you know this?
 
hi,
i am in Belgium and i have the same problem..
I will send a file to DJI tecnical service.
This is very unpleasant...I have a Inspire1 + X5.
Did you loaded the firmware Inspire pro? I'm always on the X3 firmware.
I have another problem. X5 is not perfectly stable stationary. The image is not fixed ... engine off.
Do you know this?
Either using AE lock or full manual is the only way that I'm aware of to stop the flickering. Otherwise it will try to adjust all the time as you fly.

With regards to the image not staying still even while you aren't flying and sitting on a table with the Inspire on, I have that problem too. I was playing around with the focus setting the other day and noticed that with the Inspire just sitting on my table, no blades, no motors running, just powered up. The gimbal would move around slightly. I will post a video of this later today. You will be able to see how it oscillates around. Which if you were flying and trying to take a long exposure photo, one would imagine it would have some slight blur to it.

I found it by pointing the camera at a wall and a railing that was about 20 feet away and I had the grid lines on and could see the background moving slightly using the grid as a reference.

Here's the video :
 
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Also in the video. This is not acceptable.
i will post a video too. That and the flickering .. that's many..
I tried to balance the lens with the weight ... it's the same thing.
I found that the Gimball make a specific noises when the image is moving
do you have the same noise?
 
hi,
i am in Belgium and i have the same problem..
I will send a file to DJI tecnical service.
This is very unpleasant...I have a Inspire1 + X5.
Did you loaded the firmware Inspire pro? I'm always on the X3 firmware.
I have another problem. X5 is not perfectly stable stationary. The image is not fixed ... engine off.
Do you know this?

I think you may be experiencing a different problem. Sounds like maybe reload firmware or may need to RMA
 
Either using AE lock or full manual is the only way that I'm aware of to stop the flickering. Otherwise it will try to adjust all the time as you fly.

With regards to the image not staying still even while you aren't flying and sitting on a table with the Inspire on, I have that problem too. I was playing around with the focus setting the other day and noticed that with the Inspire just sitting on my table, no blades, no motors running, just powered up. The gimbal would move around slightly. I will post a video of this later today. You will be able to see how it oscillates around. Which if you were flying and trying to take a long exposure photo, one would imagine it would have some slight blur to it.

I found it by pointing the camera at a wall and a railing that was about 20 feet away and I had the grid lines on and could see the background moving slightly using the grid as a reference.

Here's the video :

lok at my problem...

Either using AE lock or full manual is the only way that I'm aware of to stop the flickering. Otherwise it will try to adjust all the time as you fly.

With regards to the image not staying still even while you aren't flying and sitting on a table with the Inspire on, I have that problem too. I was playing around with the focus setting the other day and noticed that with the Inspire just sitting on my table, no blades, no motors running, just powered up. The gimbal would move around slightly. I will post a video of this later today. You will be able to see how it oscillates around. Which if you were flying and trying to take a long exposure photo, one would imagine it would have some slight blur to it.

I found it by pointing the camera at a wall and a railing that was about 20 feet away and I had the grid lines on and could see the background moving slightly using the grid as a reference.

Here's the video :


look at my problem
 
Just bought the Inspire Pro from Drones Plus Silicon Valley after owning and loving 2-P3P's and a P2V+. Great bird to fly, but I was disappointed with the Auto Exposure mode on the X5. It doesn't have a smooth transition when the exposure changes. It jumps, almost flickers. We did some tests in manual exposure mode, and it did fine. We were hoping DJI had a firmware fix in the works, but when I talked to them yesterday, they told me to send it in so they can test it on the bench. He suggested it could be the ISO chip, or possibly an aperture problem. I understand they need to test it in a controlled environment, but after dropping $6k on the package less than 2-weeks ago (3 batts; gimbal operator remote; 180watt charger and charging hub), I hate to ship off the camera and be without its use for up to a month. Anybody else experience this flickering exposure?

Hi there.

Yes, I jut got the x5 and am experiencing the exact same issue. Can shoot in manual and have to use the AE lock. Which I'm not sure what to do because many shots move from something dark to something light. How are we to get this footage if we have to lock the ISO settings? I've got some footage of it flickering back and forth just as bad.
 
hi,
i am in Belgium and i have the same problem..
I will send a file to DJI tecnical service.
This is very unpleasant...I have a Inspire1 + X5.
Did you loaded the firmware Inspire pro? I'm always on the X3 firmware.
I have another problem. X5 is not perfectly stable stationary. The image is not fixed ... engine off.
Do you know this?
Yup. Very sad. Same problem here. Just spent £2k on the x5 upgrade and it's not holding steady and it also flickers. Footage is virtually useless. Don't know what to do.
 
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lok at my problem...




look at my problem
Really great test with the crosshairs. Sadly, I'm thinking of going back to my x3 now as well because I've got the same issues. Thing is though, only on the yaw (x) axis. My y is all good. But mine is exact same as yours which is basically useless for long exposures. I wasted two evenings fighting with it thinking I was doing something wrong. Mine wanders way out and is very unpredictable when flying around.
 
Nice work. You might try using D-Log instead of Classic. That will allow you to grab all the colors and you will be able to bring out the blacks better. I took a class last week and he demonstrated this for us. It was pretty interesting to see how much more detail we could get with D-Log. You have to color correct your footage, but it was worth the extra step. Not hard to do at all with Premiere Pro CC or Final Cut Pro X. Once you find a setting, you can save that setting as a preset and use over and over again.

Thanks...I will try D-Log next time...I edit with Avid and Premier CC so I can play around with this. This shooting was my first day out of the box...probably being a bit lazy...
 
Thanks for sharing!! Always open to others findings and hoping that DJI hires a professional cinematographer that can dive deep into the camera, the settings and how to shoot great video with it. As folks have stated, this is not the point and shoot. You have to think about what you are shooting and be able to setup appropriately. I've been shooting manual with D-Log format, AWB, Manual focus and no styles. I was told by a friend of mine that shooting with the soft setting will help with aliasing on things like trees. Allows the sensor to not overload when it's put into those situations. Need to try this and see what the effect is.

He also referred me to this site that has a nice overview of things like aliasing, sensors, shutters, etc... for Red movie cameras. Helped me better understand the X5 versus my Nikon DLSR and what settings I should try. Temporal Aliasing with Cinema

He's found that shooting in F8 provides nice infinite focus and to definitely do a lens calibration when putting on a new lens or using a different tablet. I found this out myself. I usually use my iPad Air, but I forgot to fully charge it and had to use my iPhone instead on a fun shoot the other day. Since it was my first time using it with the Inspire, I had to set it up and then noticed that the lens wasn't calibrated. I had to calibrate using the App, even though I had calibrated with my iPad. So it's definitely App related. I will be looking at that in the future when they do upgrades to make sure that is correctly set. Especially if after the upgrade it asks me to resetup the connection.

Here's a video I shot for the floods here in Austin this past weekend. Kept everything on manual and shot using 4.5 - 6.0 depending on the conditions and used a ND-16 or ND-8 filter from Polar Pro. During the initial shot it's soft due to the lens not being calibrated, then I went in and calibrated for the remaining shots. Fortunately I was able to see that it was off on my small iPhone screen. In post I had to tweak the saturation a bit to help de-haze the film. Lots of mist in the air since I was shooting between rain and wanted to filter that out as much as I can. I'll post a link to a Raw unedited snipet that folks can look at if they want as well.

Dropbox - Unedited Video Snipets - Shot in D-Log format, no styles with ND-8 or ND-16 filter at 4K 24Fps and 1/60 shutter speed.


What rendering settings did you use to send it to YouTube ?
 
Just bought the Inspire Pro from Drones Plus Silicon Valley after owning and loving 2-P3P's and a P2V+. Great bird to fly, but I was disappointed with the Auto Exposure mode on the X5. It doesn't have a smooth transition when the exposure changes. It jumps, almost flickers. We did some tests in manual exposure mode, and it did fine. We were hoping DJI had a firmware fix in the works, but when I talked to them yesterday, they told me to send it in so they can test it on the bench. He suggested it could be the ISO chip, or possibly an aperture problem. I understand they need to test it in a controlled environment, but after dropping $6k on the package less than 2-weeks ago (3 batts; gimbal operator remote; 180watt charger and charging hub), I hate to ship off the camera and be without its use for up to a month. Anybody else experience this flickering exposure?

I just got word from DJI Support (I shipped it back to them on 10/30, they received it on 11/2, this message is from today 11/11):

We have received your unit in our repair department and have inspected the issue. We will be replacing your unit with a new X5 due to the malfunction on the camera. You will not be charged for this replacement. Unfortunately we do not have the x5 in stock due to the product being brand new. We are awaiting a large shipment to arrive but have not yet gotten an exact date. As soon as they arrive I will have your unit sent to logistics and shipped out immediately. I do apologize if this has caused any inconvenience to you. Let me know if you have any further questions.
I have two hopes; 1) The issue has been identified and fixed on new production; 2) The ship(ment) arrives tonight! :) Meanwhile, I will use the "ole standby"... P3P. Shot this with it last week. I wonder what it would have looked like with X5!?!
 
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