Issue with Grainy/Noisy Footage X5 DLOG

AJW · Dec 3, 2015

yo yo yo --- need some help here

I just learned about the "dlog" style. So i went out and shot in manual mode (200 ISO 1/50 Shutter and mid range f stop). And the video was trash. When i shoot with the same settings with "none" instead of "dlog" style. The footage is fine. You really see it in the sand (Especially around 3:43 minute time mark)

I've got another video which I shot in the day and I am seeing noise in the green areas (i.e. grass)

Is this typical of dlog or am I doing something wrong here. The footage is great in the "none" mode.

Kilrah · Dec 3, 2015

Log requires a dedicated shooting technique (expose for the highlights, such that the frame will globally look overexposed), and the noise you will see will naturally get reduced once you grade the footage and restore the black level.

Envoyé de mon SM-G920F en utilisant Tapatalk

AJW · Dec 3, 2015

@Kilrah thank you...I was really confused about this..I thought the firmware update messed up my x5...but now I ll go and practice some more.

airdrone · Dec 3, 2015

AJW said:
yo yo yo --- need some help here

I just learned about the "dlog" style. So i went out and shot in manual mode (200 ISO 1/50 Shutter and mid range f stop). And the video was trash. When i shoot with the same settings with "none" instead of "dlog" style. The footage is fine. You really see it in the sand (Especially around 3:43 minute time mark)

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I've got another video which I shot in the day and I am seeing noise in the green areas (i.e. grass)

Is this typical of dlog or am I doing something wrong here. The footage is great in the "none" mode.

Try to shoot the same recording with iso 3200 then you should also see that it flickers and noisy

x5yo · Dec 3, 2015

its bug, go back to last version, or wait till they fix it.
Man I miss santa monica, not been to la in over 10 years!
Love that part of the world!

AJW · Dec 3, 2015

@airdrone I think the firmware is ok. because at the beginning of my footage it was way over exposed and it looks fine. It wasnt til i dialed it down to what I thought was proper exposure that the noise issue occurred. With that said, I also started reading up after @Kilrah 's advice. It basically said to overexpose log footage anywhere from 1-3 stops and then fix it in post. This is all new science to me but Its fun to learn new stuff. i'll give it a go and show results later.

@x5yo yeah I've left Cali a few times but I'm always coming back. How you liking your X5?

airdrone · Dec 3, 2015

AJW said:
@airdrone I think the firmware is ok. because at the beginning of my footage it was way over exposed and it looks fine. It wasnt til i dialed it down to what I thought was proper exposure that the noise issue occurred. With that said, I also started reading up after @Kilrah 's advice. It basically said to overexpose log footage anywhere from 1-3 stops and then fix it in post. This is all new science to me but Its fun to learn new stuff. i'll give it a go and show results later.

@x5yo yeah I've left Cali a few times but I'm always coming back. How you liking your X5?

Your movie was good it. but I've x5 yourself and recordings I did in the darkness marked by a lot of noise and flicker. Noise and flicker comes easy at x5 when a run up iso. although I have downgraded to firmware 0.0.30 is still noise and flicker. I am not satisfied

Burlingtonfilms · Dec 4, 2015

Most peoplw use d-log to get the increase in dynamic range. The very limited 60mbs 4:2:0 footage makes it very hard to get an image with no compression artifacts and noise.

AJW · Dec 4, 2015

@Burlingtonfilms Well I don't understand how this video was shot in DLOG with way less light and artifacts.

johnmont250 · Dec 4, 2015

AJW said:
@Burlingtonfilms Well I don't understand how this video was shot in DLOG with way less light and artifacts.

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old fw maybe?
nevermind that, whats that strange silouette behind the buidlings in the sky at 1:11. ???
mask i guess...

The Editor · Dec 4, 2015

johnmont250 said:
old fw maybe?
nevermind that, whats that strange silouette behind the buidlings in the sky at 1:11. ???

Looks like a poor mask.

Burlingtonfilms · Dec 4, 2015

johnmont250 said:
old fw maybe?
nevermind that, whats that strange silouette behind the buidlings in the sky at 1:11. ???

I saw that too. Most of the buildings shots have some weird glow around them, almost like a bad HDR effect was applied.

Still noise and artifacts in the video but the blacks are super crushed in most of the shots. The canoes look pure black. Which is not a bad thing, it hides the noise in the dark areas.

Log is generally more noisy because it's trying to capture so much dynamic range in a very compressed video format.

If you are unsure how bit rates/color spaces work, there are a ton of sited explaining them.

Casey Preston · Dec 4, 2015

Log profiles are created to protect dynamic range so that colorist can take the time to try to save detail in the highlights and blacks during color correction if need be. I've never understood why people use log profiles on highly compressed footage as it throws away way too much color data to really make it beneficial under most circumstances, but people still use it. I don't know how dji has implemented it on the x5, but it appears to have pulled up the shadows quite a bit on the newest firmware. The implementation of dlog on the X3 is more than useless. Either crush the shadows back down to get rid of the noise or apply a denoiser. Log was never intended to be used without color correction.

Burlingtonfilms · Dec 4, 2015

Casey Preston said:
Log profiles are created to protect dynamic range so that colorist can take the time to try to save detail in the highlights and blacks during color correction if need be. I've never understood why people use log profiles on highly compressed footage as it throws away way too much color data to really make it beneficial under most circumstances, but people still use it. I don't know how dji has implemented it on the x5, but it appears to have pulled up the shadows quite a bit on the newest firmware. The implementation of dlog on the X3 is more than useless. Either crush the shadows back down to get rid of the noise or apply a denoiser. Log was never intended to be used without color correction.

Agreed.

4k at 60mbs 4:2:0 was one of the biggest problems with the X3 and now it's in the X5. I even think it's the lowest 4k format available at this time.

My guess is if the put a higher bit rate or color space they will lose out on X5R buyers in the future.

AJW · Dec 4, 2015

so what style is best to shoot in? I was very satisfied with the "none" style as I got this footage at night with about 400 ISO

x5yo · Dec 4, 2015

The philly video has loads of weird stuff done to it, think I saw it on RCGROUPS.
Its all highly illegal from a shooting pov anyway. I don't mind bending the rules, but flying over a city with people and cars is dodgy at best, with no redundancy its russian roulette.

Burlingtonfilms said:
Agreed.

4k at 60mbs 4:2:0 was one of the biggest problems with the X3 and now it's in the X5. I even think it's the lowest 4k format available at this time.

My guess is if the put a higher bit rate or color space they will lose out on X5R buyers in the future.

X5 uses the A9 chip, same as you get in the go pro 4, as a result, its hardware limited to that level of bit-rate.

x5yo · Dec 4, 2015

Pretty nice nice AJW. I think it will take a few months for people to get the best out of the X5.

AJW · Dec 4, 2015

@x5yo Thanks buddy. I got duped into the 3dr solo but I got to practice flying for a few months free before I returned that garbage drone and did the Inpire 1 Upgrade

AJW · Dec 4, 2015

But another question. Why do the green areas look like mush in full daylight on this video shot in dlog. There's no reason for that. Sign in - Google Accounts

Burlingtonfilms · Dec 4, 2015

AJW said:
But another question. Why do the green areas look like mush in full daylight on this video shot in dlog. There's no reason for that. Sign in - Google Accounts

The detail is lost due to the X5 video compression.

Next year will be different, there are much higher end drone cameras coming to the market. Some of which shoot RAW video.