Camera settings

Paullo · Jan 30, 2019

Hi, Can anyone suggest in camera settings for mapping (sharpening, contrast and saturation) bearing in mind that I need to use jpegs rather than RAW for processing using Maps Made Easy? I'm using a P4P v2.0

UAV_Mapper · Jan 31, 2019

I assume you're talking about post-processing the imagery? Generally, we don't touch anything after the flight and have never had a problem. For in-flight settings, I would recommend these settings:

Set Focus to Manual
Set Focus to center weight average
Set Focus to Infinity
Set to Shutter Priority
Set ISO to Auto
Set Shutter Speed to 800 (1/800th)
Set White Balance to Sunny or Cloudy, based on your site conditions
Style: None
Color: Normal
Turn the Mechanical Shutter to On and all of the other options under the gear icon to off

Those are what we use and it will help to keep consistent images and focal lengths throughout your mapping mission.

Paullo · Feb 1, 2019

Thanks very much, that's extremely helpful. I hadn't considered setting to shutter priority and the ISO to auto. Does this work OK in dull conditions? i.e. does the resulting high ISO not cause too much noise? I was minded to set it to auto and let the app slow the A/C automatically in response to low light conditions. I've moved from a Mavic Pro (original) where high ISO noise is noticeable!

Also do you keep the aperture wide open?

Thanks again,

Paul

Meta4 · Feb 2, 2019

Paullo said:
Hi, Can anyone suggest in camera settings for mapping (sharpening, contrast and saturation) bearing in mind that I need to use jpegs rather than RAW for processing using Maps Made Easy? I'm using a P4P v2.0

The auto settings in DroneDeploy do a pretty good job.

Florida Drone Supply · Feb 2, 2019

UAV_Mapper said:
I assume you're talking about post-processing the imagery? Generally, we don't touch anything after the flight and have never had a problem. For in-flight settings, I would recommend these settings:

Set Focus to Manual
Set Focus to center weight average
Set Focus to Infinity
Set to Shutter Priority
Set ISO to Auto
Set Shutter Speed to 800 (1/800th)
Set White Balance to Sunny or Cloudy, based on your site conditions
Style: None
Color: Normal
Turn the Mechanical Shutter to On and all of the other options under the gear icon to off

Those are what we use and it will help to keep consistent images and focal lengths throughout your mapping mission.

Good tips! The fast shutter speed will eliminate any possible motion blur. Manual focus will make sure the camera is not "focus hunting" and producing accidental blurred images. By shooting in JPG you automatically get sharpening, contract and saturation adjustments made in camera. Setting the white balance (and not using auto) will set a color that is right for the conditions you are shooting in and will not vary image to image. By using the normal color you should have fairly good looking images right on the memory card.

Having been long time photographers before a drone company, we appreciate the efforts to take all the right steps to get the best looking image.

Florida Drone Supply · Feb 2, 2019

Paullo said:
Thanks very much, that's extremely helpful. I hadn't considered setting to shutter priority and the ISO to auto. Does this work OK in dull conditions? i.e. does the resulting high ISO not cause too much noise? I was minded to set it to auto and let the app slow the A/C automatically in response to low light conditions. I've moved from a Mavic Pro (original) where high ISO noise is noticeable!

Also do you keep the aperture wide open?

Thanks again,

Paul

Shooting wide open will help lower the ISO. And because you are probably at a decent distance from the ground (and focused at that distance to the ground) shooting wide open or stopped all the way down will not produce much difference in the image. And being wide open can benefit the ISO and lower the noise.