I have an Avata 2 and usually shoot 4k 60fps, but I think the fps doesn’t really matter here. I try to color grade in DaVinci on my iPad, but no matter what input/output settings or CST I use, my footage always looks worse—like pixelated and low quality. I usually AirDrop the clips to my phone to preview, and honestly, they look pretty bad. At first I thought I was overdoing it, but even just applying CST and exporting makes it look bad. I’ve tried lots of input/output CST combos. Can anyone help? I’ve been struggling with this for almost 2 months.
Pixelation usually isn’t caused by color grading. I don’t know DaVinci well, but a good LUT should get you close and then just minor tweaks. I use Final Cut Pro for that. Maybe there’s a setting you’re missing in DaVinci, like working with low-res previews or something. Color grading shouldn’t affect pixelation much. It could be your export settings—maybe bitrate is too low or something else is going wrong there.
@Zenith
I always adjust bitrate to match the Avata’s. I tried exporting in both h264 and h265. Also tried downscaling and upscaling.
DJI footage is usually pretty easy to grade, just get some LUTs. But I didn’t know you could use DaVinci on iPad—that might be your problem. Moving big video files onto a tablet can lower quality. Have you tried using a real computer to see if that helps?
@Milan
Not yet, I’m waiting for a screen for my Mac Mini. I was using my TV since I didn’t have a monitor.
Lane said:
@Milan
Not yet, I’m waiting for a screen for my Mac Mini. I was using my TV since I didn’t have a monitor.
Yeah, color grading shouldn’t reduce video quality. Also check your DaVinci project settings for editing quality. When I started, it auto switched my quality down to 1080p sometimes. Just make sure everything is set to the highest quality you want.
@Milan
I already checked that, thanks!
I always found Stewart and Alina’s videos helpful. Here’s a good step-by-step guide on color grading:
