DJI X5 flickering on high iso

airdrone · Nov 30, 2015

Visual my x5 is bad in the dark, it flickers at high ISO. always running in manually. has the latest firmware. love my sony A7 R2 image and video in the dark. can not be compared.

It has nothing to do with light and hertz to do. I'm talking about is the noise flickering ring going at high ISO. this you can see if you also set the lens cup too. This is certainly something weakness in the whole system to X5 camera to do. The camera is very poor at light. Looks part videos that some antenna company puts out great movies in the dark as to be filmed with X5 !!!! I have no faith that all the films shown are used X5. I think it's fake camera, user surely something more proft to display. I will deliver my camera in and rather wait. Then X3 camera better in the dark! For those who book X5R. same sensor guaranteed equally bad light.

Phil-RCGeeks · Nov 30, 2015

airdrone said:
Visual my x5 is bad in the dark, it flickers at high ISO. always running in manually. has the latest firmware. love my sony A7 R2 image and video in the dark. can not be compared

I'm no camera guy so I may be wrong but if it's artificial lighting that you're filming/filming around, it could be down to the Hurtz. Try switching between 50Hz and 60Hz in your camera settings to see if that helps.

airdrone · Nov 30, 2015

yes it flicker in fluorescent lamps. Thanks for the tip'll try. filmed there no was just pretty good nevertheless

The Editor · Nov 30, 2015

airdrone said:
Visual my x5 is bad in the dark, it flickers at high ISO. always running in manually. has the latest firmware. love my sony A7 R2 image and video in the dark. can not be compared

Known problem - should be fixed in the next FW release.

damoncooper · Dec 2, 2015

The Editor said:
Known problem - should be fixed in the next FW release.

That would be interesting. It's plagued the X3 and X5 from both cameras' introduction.

airdrone · Dec 2, 2015

The Editor said:
Known problem - should be fixed in the next FW release.

How do you know that this will be fixed in the next firmware?

Could it be wrong on your camera? Have DJI some information?

The Editor · Dec 2, 2015

airdrone said:
How do you know that this will be fixed in the next firmware?

Could it be wrong on your camera? Have DJI some information?

Because it is a known problem.
It is repeatable.
DJI R&D are working on it!

airdrone · Dec 2, 2015

The Editor said:
Because it is a known problem.
It is repeatable.
DJI R&D are working on it!

see the new video I've posted, so you see what it is.

The Editor · Dec 2, 2015

The flicker wasn't evident in the initial firmware but was introduced with the 'upgrade'
It's not the anti-flicker which is there to alleviate the flicker caused by differing frame rates out of sync with local mains line frequency (artificial lighting) but a more fundamental issue with how the camera reacts at higher ISO settings.

airdrone · Dec 2, 2015

The Editor said:
The flicker wasn't evident in the initial firmware but was introduced with the 'upgrade'
It's not the anti-flicker which is there to alleviate the flicker caused by differing frame rates out of sync with local mains line frequency (artificial lighting) but a more fundamental issue with how the camera reacts at higher ISO settings.

responds the other x5 cameras in this state that I refer to? on higher ISO

The Editor · Dec 2, 2015

airdrone said:
responds the other x5 cameras in this state that I refer to? on higher ISO

Not quite sure I understand your comment above.
The X5 on current firmware exhibits a flickering on higher iso's.
I am not sure of the cause but I do know R&D have acknowledged the problem and it is being addressed.

Kris · Dec 3, 2015

I'm a camera person. Been absorbing a great deal of needed info from the members here on how to safely fly and best practices. I was on chat with the company for several hours last night concerning what seems to be the same issue. I shoot stills and hadn't been able to fly until last evening. I updated over the holiday weekend. My X5 was dialing through the shutter speeds on aperture priority (A) and the apertures on shutter priority (S). The on screen result looked like a slower version of the flicker that air drone posted. All seemed normal when set on manual. I'm glad the issue is being addressed as there are times when both A priority and S priority allows more time for framing the photo especially with battery limitations.

Sent from where the wild things were using Tapatalk

damoncooper · Dec 3, 2015

The Editor said:
The flicker wasn't evident in the initial firmware but was introduced with the 'upgrade'
It's not the anti-flicker which is there to alleviate the flicker caused by differing frame rates out of sync with local mains line frequency (artificial lighting) but a more fundamental issue with how the camera reacts at higher ISO settings.

It was evident on original FW yes. And on X3 footage.

Beverly Hills Aerials · Dec 3, 2015

yea i had thought that was due to the light on the camera with my olympus 12mm which has no lense hood. but now I'm thinking it may have been a flicker from the iso auto settings... can't believe x5 has this issue and no HDR... once these are fixed i will be one happy droner.

Zarick · Dec 6, 2015

This is a problem with all cameras. You Have to make sure that your Shutter speed is set at 50 (Europe) or 60 (USA) frames a second. What you see is the flickering of the streetlights that are powered by alternative current!

The Editor · Dec 6, 2015

Zarick said:
This is a problem with all cameras. You Have to make sure that your Shutter speed is set at 50 (Europe) or 60 (USA) frames a second. What you see is the flickering of the streetlights that are powered by alternative current!

No it isn't that (see my post number 9 above). This is an issue that has been acknowledged by DJI that they are looking at currently

The_Learning_Curve · Dec 23, 2015

Ok guys, updated everything the day before yesterday. The problem with flicker is still there. It does seem a little better in normal lighting with low iso. I shot an enormous pool hall today with poor results. The client was still excited about the pov and resolution and didnt really think twice about the flicker as it was nominal. Its a dark lit interior and iso was set at 800, which is not relatively high on tge camera settings. Everything was on manual mode including white balance, focus, iso, aperture, shutter etc... luckily it was a favor or else i wouldnt of felt comfortable charging for something that is obviously not a high quality recording.

My main disappointment is the marketing, if id of known this equipment was a work in progress i wouldnt have put money into it. heck, im shooting in 1080p due to my old computer not being compatible with 4k..

Im still open to the thought of user error, but ive spent alot of time studying the art of photography and how to use a camera properly but i cannot make this flicker work in low lit areas. Its not artificial lights, its even more noticeable if the lens cover is on.

My amateur analysis is telling me there may be electrical pulses reflecting in the video, it just seems too inconsistent and random to be a setting issue. ISO just amplifies it, so if iso is low, its undetectable, iso over 400 to 800 in low light makes it noticeable. my only other conclusion is its a bad sensor. But again, im an amateur with photography, so im prepared to be enlightened!

InterMurph · Dec 23, 2015

What were your complete camera settings for this? You mention ISO 800; what about the shutter speed and aperture?

airdrone · Dec 23, 2015

Not near my sony a7R2

airdrone · Dec 23, 2015

The_Learning_Curve said:
Ok guys, updated everything the day before yesterday. The problem with flicker is still there. It does seem a little better in normal lighting with low iso. I shot an enormous pool hall today with poor results. The client was still excited about the pov and resolution and didnt really think twice about the flicker as it was nominal. Its a dark lit interior and iso was set at 800, which is not relatively high on tge camera settings. Everything was on manual mode including white balance, focus, iso, aperture, shutter etc... luckily it was a favor or else i wouldnt of felt comfortable charging for something that is obviously not a high quality recording.

My main disappointment is the marketing, if id of known this equipment was a work in progress i wouldnt have put money into it. heck, im shooting in 1080p due to my old computer not being compatible with 4k..

Im still open to the thought of user error, but ive spent alot of time studying the art of photography and how to use a camera properly but i cannot make this flicker work in low lit areas. Its not artificial lights, its even more noticeable if the lens cover is on.

My amateur analysis is telling me there may be electrical pulses reflecting in the video, it just seems too inconsistent and random to be a setting issue. ISO just amplifies it, so if iso is low, its undetectable, iso over 400 to 800 in low light makes it noticeable. my only other conclusion is its a bad sensor. But again, im an amateur with photography, so im prepared to be enlightened!

Yes the new firmware flickers, but somewhat smaller. think it is much better when I use the 25mm lens as compared to the 15mm