Does my P3A have a focus problem, or thats just the quality of the sensor?

[keeponrollin]

Hi All,

So I recently bought P3A from a guy, works like a charm-with two batteries, self-made case for $700 (in my country, brand new with one battery is $900+, so with another battery it wouldb e atleast 1000). Goes so high/far in the very center of the city, full of structures and signals, Im so happy with that, because I got a problem with a used P3S which I managed to return.

SO, my main question - please see attached files, do I have a problem with the camera focus? Sadly, so far I didnt have any available sunlight, and have only flew twice (twice ad cloudy/foggy dusk) first time-his demonstration when buying it, and second time for a very short flight, as it was cold.

The first picture-he sent it to me, from a sunny day, several months ago...it was shot in jpeg.

Second picture-jpeg saved from the RAW, I took it again in not so good lighting, but this time I enabled RAW because I totally forgot about it in the first flights, duh.

So please share your opinions-does they look out of focuse (yes I know when reducing the final image in photoshop and sharpening it would be hardly noticeable, but I will need them in fullsize too) or thats just the quality of the seonsor (I realise its no dslr)

 

[robinb]

look fine too me.

 

[Richard R]

Believe you are good, IMO. The first shows some haze, but that would be normal in the scene you were shooting. Did you have theUV filter on?

 

[Kirby Johnson]

Given the light, I think you are fine. You will see a noticeable difference in bright sunlight though.

 

[keeponrollin]

Believe you are good, IMO. The first shows some haze, but that would be normal in the scene you were shooting. Did you have theUV filter on?

Just the default cap, I havent tried removing/cleaning it.

Yes, I cant wait to get good sunlight-not only the objects are lit better, but it allows to shoot in faster shutter speed, like above 1/200-1/300. Below 1/80 I get blurred photos even with my DSLR, and this thing is flying in the wind.

 

[Kirby Johnson]

Keepon: I have the 3A and have had it for almost a year and have lived through all the hype about the P4, P4Pro, P4Pro Plus ad nauseum and by now you would think the 3A was some $20 disposable toy, but I am quite happy with it. My still shot clarity is about as good as you are going to get from a "toy" which cost far less than a good EOS lens. I am happy with the 1920 x 1080 video also. All my computer monitors and Televisions are 1920, so everything matches, and I have other things in my life to brag about rather than a flying camera.

Wait for good weather with low humidity and you will be surprised how capable your little 3A is. I have taken long exposure night shots of Christmas lights as well as bright daylight pictures in windy conditions and discard very few because of blur.

 

[keeponrollin]

So you would say, looking at my pics, theres no fault in the camera photos, its just quality/noise of the picture, due to environment/lighting?

 

[Kirby Johnson]

So you would say, looking at my pics, theres no fault in the camera photos, its just quality/noise of the picture, due to environment/lighting?

Yes. There is a drastic difference in my pictures between good light and bad.

 

[Numone]

They look great to me.

 

[SteveAikens]

They look ok to me but without better - unmolested copies, there's really no way to see what you are.

Keep an eye on lighting and shutter speed. If it's just on the fringe of "too slow" for conditions, your photos will look a little soft.

 

[SimonH78]

They look great - if you invest a small amount in Adobe Lightroom to improve in post even further you will be impressed.

 

[keeponrollin]

They look great - if you invest a small amount in Adobe Lightroom to improve in post even further you will be impressed.

ofcourse, Im using Lightroom and/or Photoshop, I just posted these unedited, no sharpen or anything.

 

[SimonH78]

this is what you could get after post in LR

 

[SteveAikens]

ofcourse, Im using Lightroom and/or Photoshop, I just posted these unedited, no sharpen or anything.

They're not unedited. They're resized. That was my point, seeing them full size makes a difference.

 

[keeponrollin]

So I`ve made one more flight (its pretty cold in here, so I cant fly often for now), took some photos with a lot of people in it, and now Im pretty sure theres a non-focused area...problem is-its in the center, which doesnt make sense the sensor to be tilted. Most people I notice posting blurred areas, have theirs on the left/right side, which can be fixed by moving the sensor slightly in that direction...but is it fixable when its in the center? I hope it fix by itself when it gets warmer, as I saw this video, and this guy had the same problem when flying in cold conditions, some said it could fix by itself

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See attached, I saved jpeg from the raw file(no edit, other than brightening shadows) and circled the blurred area...the area in blue is blurred, while the areas in green are on the same distance from the camera, but appear on focus.

 

[Steve7777]

The first picture-he sent it to me, from a sunny day, several months ago...it was shot in jpeg.

In case you didn't already know and are interested, this picture is of the Rila monastery, which is in south-west Bulgaria. It's just down the road from where I live.

Or are you in BG too? (Just looked at some of your pics/vid... it seems so...)

 

[keeponrollin]

yes I am.

 

[keeponrollin]

can I get any feedback, Im sure a lot have experienced non-focus area problems...

 

[Numone]

can I get any feedback, Im sure a lot have experienced non-focus area problems...

Yes, I think there is a definite softening of focus in the circled areas. No idea how you'd fix it or, indeed, avoid it in cold weather.

 

[keeponrollin]

I know there is, Im looking for a solution, because it doesnt make it unusable or anything (especially in fullHD video-its hardly noticeable), but I know its there and it annoys me.