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I'm sure some of the X5 problems will be fixed in future firmware. The X3 got an increase in bit rate not too long ago, so I'm confident the X5 will only get better with future firmware.
Super noisy D-Log after v1.4.0.70 update?
- Thread starter skylineaerial
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I'm sure some of the X5 problems will be fixed in future firmware. The X3 got an increase in bit rate not too long ago, so I'm confident the X5 will only get better with future firmware.
Do you know what the bit rate was increased to on the X3? As I recall it was 60Mbps just like the X5.
Brian
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I just did some extensive 'testing' of the new X5 firmware on my Osmo on a very fast paced shoot with a variety of lighting in different areas. Shot everything in 1080p30 in 'd-cinelike' mode (I feel d-log is just too flat). Everything was on 200 iso and using aperture to compensate for exposure. I found the X5 to perform very well with little noise... In my experience the extreme noise is introduced at iso400, which definitely is unacceptable, but I was expecting worse from the camera on this shoot based on this thread.
I also moved the sharpness up 1, which I would not do again. It doesn't look bad per se but you can see the sharpness grain starting to creep in.
Overall the Osmo performed very well and minus a couple small tweaks to the settings I am confident now in the type of image I can expect with decent lighting. In low light I have still not had a chance to do extensive testing.
The auto white balance still is not the greatest, sometimes you can see it searching for a good balance, again if you have the option I would set it and forget it to a K value that looks accurate. In this situation though it performed ok being that I was moving from area to area with different lighting in each.
I also moved the sharpness up 1, which I would not do again. It doesn't look bad per se but you can see the sharpness grain starting to creep in.
Overall the Osmo performed very well and minus a couple small tweaks to the settings I am confident now in the type of image I can expect with decent lighting. In low light I have still not had a chance to do extensive testing.
The auto white balance still is not the greatest, sometimes you can see it searching for a good balance, again if you have the option I would set it and forget it to a K value that looks accurate. In this situation though it performed ok being that I was moving from area to area with different lighting in each.
OK, well if the bit rate HAD been 60Mbps for both and it's been increased, what has it been increased to?
Brian
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It's in the release notes!
Bit rate was increased to 60mbps for 1080 only, no increase in 4k because they can't.
I think I've finally decided to sell off the X5. I primarily wanted to use the X5 on the Osmo, but it just doesn't take decent video at ISO over 400. Something is wrong. Not only does it start showing quite a bit of noise at moderate ISO, it also starts creating macro blocking and losing detail. The noise on the X5 is barely better than on the X3, and the X3 doesn't show the same macro blocking and detail issues. Now the X3 has the option to turn off the fan and digital zoom. 1080p60 on the X5 is noticeably worse than on the X3. Since they are using the same processor, I can't figure out why DJI is having so many problems with the X5.
I sold mine already, did all kinds of tests comparing all kinds of combinations of settings in different lighting conditions/lenses/contrast situations, color profiles, post noise reduction and various sharpening techniques, graded on different platforms and only about 20% of footage was broadcast worthy. I gave up, I'd say wait about a year before DJI figures out how to make X5 somewhat workable. I will just wait for the Raw camera, at least DNG files arent compressed so there is more hope for raw. If quality of Raw camera is anything lake the raw stills off X5 then there's hope.
I have my doubts about the X5R, but maybe DJI will get somebody who actually knows what they are doing working on the project. Right now, I can only conclude that either the X5 firmware team is incompetent or the X5 has some insurmountable design issues. Mostly, I'm just sick of constantly testing the camera and then retesting with each new release in order to try to find settings that might work and workarounds for situations in which the camera starts to fail. I'm done.
My primary cameras are Canon and I now appreciate their reasoning for being so conservative with their camera releases and designs. At least I know what I'm getting and I know the camera won't fail.
My primary cameras are Canon and I now appreciate their reasoning for being so conservative with their camera releases and designs. At least I know what I'm getting and I know the camera won't fail.
I agree totally about having to "re learn" every time there is a firmware update.
However for what it is and what it does I really rate the X5/inspire combo.
Yes there always will be something better on the horizon/tomorrow etc but ease of use,stability in the air,etc theX5 is hard to beat.
Not saying its a bed of roses and it does need handled with kids gloves but I really like it. For what it does.
Just hate the re learning,firmware updates etc.
Improve not just the camera but the customer service/update issue and it would for me anyway it would be pretty much ideal.
However for what it is and what it does I really rate the X5/inspire combo.
Yes there always will be something better on the horizon/tomorrow etc but ease of use,stability in the air,etc theX5 is hard to beat.
Not saying its a bed of roses and it does need handled with kids gloves but I really like it. For what it does.
Just hate the re learning,firmware updates etc.
Improve not just the camera but the customer service/update issue and it would for me anyway it would be pretty much ideal.
Something that may be useful to us all. I heard today from someone that if you set the ISO to 200 on the latest firmware the noise is not present, it only seems to occur at ISO100. From a photography point of view that doesn't make sense because its always best to shoot at the lowest ISO for the cleanest image but it's got to be worth a try. I rolled back so will load the latest firmware again tonight and try at ISO200
ISO 200 looks good. Half of my reason for wanting an X5 was for the expected high ISO performance. The second reason was for alternate focal lengths and selective focus in video. The high ISO performance is broken. It is both noisy and lacks detail. It looks like they cranked the high frequency noise reduction and completely removed the low frequency noise while adding sharpening. Yuck. With the digital zoom, the X3 now has extra focal lengths. That leaves me with selective focus as being the X5's main strength, but I can make do with not having to worry about buzzing focus.
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Eventually I decided to roll back to previous FW version. I did some before and after tests as well which confirmed my decision. back to no d-log or cinelike but I know what I'm getting from the camera. Also I could swear my photos look better on 1.3 as well...
I am sending mine back to B&H as a defective product after recording this. Even DJI admitted there was something wrong!
Regardin the initial topic of this thread, I would like to ask you for aditional info - what Log-to-Rec.709 LUT did you use, and what software did you use?
It seems to me that, if you ETTR with just +0.3 of overexposure, it is possible that you did not realy ETTR - usualy we overxpose by 1.5 or 2.0 stops... Please note that D-Log (and every other Log) footage, when monitored without any Log-to-Rec709 LUT applied, will show you many noise details in your blacks and dark grays which are not to be seen in the final image...
Regardless of FW version, I also had a problems with noise from X5, but many of them ware solved when proper Log workflow was in place (proper ETTR, LUT+grading)...
It seems to me that, if you ETTR with just +0.3 of overexposure, it is possible that you did not realy ETTR - usualy we overxpose by 1.5 or 2.0 stops... Please note that D-Log (and every other Log) footage, when monitored without any Log-to-Rec709 LUT applied, will show you many noise details in your blacks and dark grays which are not to be seen in the final image...
Regardless of FW version, I also had a problems with noise from X5, but many of them ware solved when proper Log workflow was in place (proper ETTR, LUT+grading)...
