Seeing noise in my DJI Mini 4K footage during fast moves

Drone Photography & Videography Forum
1

I bought this drone about a week ago, it’s fully sealed and I’m noticing noise only when the drone or gimbal moves fast. Still shots look great, but for example in this video after 15 seconds the noise gets really obvious. Here’s the original file if anyone wants to check it out - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_mJO38Wpw5SS45Gui4BpKWPJ32qTtGGY/view?usp=sharing

My question is how can I fix this? I don’t think this noise is normal for the DJI Mini 4K only during fast movement. I shoot in pro mode and keep ISO low. I want to get good high speed shots with this drone.

2

What format are you recording in? It might be a bitrate or compression issue since all those pixels have to update quickly.

3

Andi said:
What format are you recording in? It might be a bitrate or compression issue since all those pixels have to update quickly.

I’m shooting 4K 30fps. Is there any other setting I can try to fix this?

4

That looks more like compression than noise. Check if you’re recording at max bitrate and if your microSD card can handle that bitrate. Cheap cards can’t keep up.

Also, always record directly on the drone, not on the phone, since the signal over the controller adds more compression, especially with older models like the Mini 4K (also called Mini 2 SE).

5

@Shannon
Hi, I shoot 4K 30fps directly to a SanDisk Extreme V30 128GB card. I’m not sure how to change bitrate manually, is that possible?

6

Reese said:
@Shannon
Hi, I shoot 4K 30fps directly to a SanDisk Extreme V30 128GB card. I’m not sure how to change bitrate manually, is that possible?

That 128GB model might not handle the 100MB/s bitrate the Mini 4K needs for 4K video. It’s rated up to 90MB/s on paper, but that’s ideal conditions. You should check your card’s real write speed with a USB 3.0 reader and port. Using USB 2.0 gives wrong results.

Always check exact specs on the brand’s site for your card’s model and size, same with SSDs.

7

@Shannon
I just checked USA website and it doesn’t reflect the real info about read and write speeds.

Here you have the info from Spanish website:

image
image320×235 19.4 KB

8

@Shannon

image
image320×233 71.7 KB

I got these speeds with my card, is this fine ?

9

@Reese
Those speeds look okay, but remember it’s a quick test. When the card is in the drone, writing nonstop for minutes near a hot battery, speed can drop.

Can you try a better microSD card to see if the noise goes away? You can order one from Amazon, test it, and return if you’re not happy.

10

@Shannon
Okay, I’ll try to get a better card. Thanks a lot, you’ve been really helpful!

11

Reese said:
@Shannon
Okay, I’ll try to get a better card. Thanks a lot, you’ve been really helpful!

No problem! I hate how companies aren’t clear about read/write speeds. They usually show transfer speeds, but that doesn’t show real recording performance.

12

@Shannon
Yeah, I get it now.

13

@Shannon
That’s disappointing since the seller said this SD card was made for drones and even had a symbol on the package. I didn’t know about the 100MB/s bitrate need. I’ll check the card speed with my USB 3 port and reader.

If the speeds aren’t good enough, do you think upgrading to a V60 card will help?