Evo Pro 2 Focussing query

[Autelpilotsnumpty]

I think its done. Calibrated the remote and gimbal. Just got to do compass outside in the morning. Fingers crossed.

 

[Autelpilotsnumpty]

OK. so another batch of - non scientific - tests with focussing this morning, with the downgraded firmware. Nope, still blurred in the bottom right-hand corner.

I did an autofocus test first. Then a manual focus test, from Zero to Infinity. I marked the four corners with newspaper, kept the iso at 100, and waited 4 secs between each shot as I ramped up the focus from Zero.
Note. All of this is done in my kitchen, NOT FLYING THE DRONE, with the drone on a hard surface and the only thing moving is the gimbal.
I have tried this with the gimbal lock too when taking stills. No difference.

I put this all into Lightroom and then graded them with the star rating 1 for crap to 5 stars as perfect for the bottom right-hand corner.

The autofocus made the majority of the shots in focus except for the right-hand corner.

The manual focus test just reinforced the problem I am having with the sensor alignment in relation to the lens.

Looking at the 5 stars (of which were 4) the right-hand corner was perfectly sharp.
Looking at the other corners they were varying degrees of out of focus.
As I went down from 4 stars to 3 and so on, I noticed that x2-x3 steps down from my x5 stars in the right-hand corner made the right-hand corner slightly (only slightly) off focus but brought back focus to the other corners.

In autofocus, it was more pronounced.

So in manual focus, it is just about acceptable to get all the corners just about in focus at f5.6.

My sharp everything in-focus range is from f4.5-f8. f.3.5 and below is hit and miss with autofocus and anything above f8 is diffracted.

So my conclusion is, the lens and sensor are misaligned.
Not horrendously, but enough to annoy me for the amount of money I spent.
I can work around it but I do not think I should have to. Especially when I want to (as clearly advertised) use the drone in low light. f2.8 is needed for this.

I assume, as no one else has mentioned it, a corner soft focus is a rarity with Autel?

 

[Autelpilotsnumpty]

So. The downgrade to 2.3.3, did not stop the hovering drift. I did a compass calibration outside too.

Tried precision mode, dual stability mode. Ludicrous mode. Hovering while panning then stopping invokes a slow drift which takes a while to stop, if at all.

I assume a small amount if drift is allowed but prolonged sideways drift to the right is not?

That said, straight flight is much better.

I think this drone needs to be returned for a replacement.

 

[Rubik3x]

OK. so another batch of - non scientific - tests with focussing this morning, with the downgraded firmware. Nope, still blurred in the bottom right-hand corner.

I did an autofocus test first. Then a manual focus test, from Zero to Infinity. I marked the four corners with newspaper, kept the iso at 100, and waited 4 secs between each shot as I ramped up the focus from Zero.
Note. All of this is done in my kitchen, NOT FLYING THE DRONE, with the drone on a hard surface and the only thing moving is the gimbal.

I assume, as no one else has mentioned it, a corner soft focus is a rarity with Autel?

I have not noticed this problem but I will look more closely at the video I shoot today. E2P specs say the minimum focus distance is 1m. I assume that your kitchen tests were over a distance of at least 1 meter. I would at double or triple that for bench testing. From Autel Specs:
"Focus Distance: 1m to any distance (with autofocus mode)"
As far as your drifting problem, I'll test that today as well.

 

[Autelpilotsnumpty]

I have not noticed this problem but I will look more closely at the video I shoot today. E2P specs say the minimum focus distance is 1m. I assume that your kitchen tests were over a distance of at least 1 meter. I would at double or triple that for bench testing. From Autel Specs:
"Focus Distance: 1m to any distance (with autofocus mode)"
As far as your drifting problem, I'll test that today as well.

You will not notice it in video mode. Only in stills mode, if you have the same issue I have. Video mode crops the edges of the frame.
I measured my kitchen area and it was 1.8m. the other tests I did were also outside set at infinity with higher shutter speeds. the edge blur was still there.

I have been confirmation of a replacement drone from the reseller so this one is going back.

 

[Rubik3x]

You will not notice it in video mode. Only in stills mode, if you have the same issue I have. Video mode crops the edges of the frame.
I measured my kitchen area and it was 1.8m. the other tests I did were also outside set at infinity with higher shutter speeds. the edge blur was still there.

I have been confirmation of a replacement drone from the reseller so this one is going back.

That sounds like the right solution. I flew this morning and there was no, none, Nada drift. I only shot video. I hope you get a speedy response.

 

[Alex of Oz]

My phone was in airplane mode and yet the drone drifted off to the right. When reversing it drifted to the left and also lost a bit of altitude.

Just wondering if you got to test this with the Viewpoint Flight Mode? Then you could rule out the possibility of minute stick movement playing any part in that drift.

Also regarding the hovering and drifting, was this over a neutral ground area with no metal and electrical interference potentials?

I'm just thinking of the things that have affected my birds in the past to behave similar to your experiences. My Evo 2 Pro is yet to arrive, so I have no experience with it as yet!

Hope it all gets sorted easily for you.

 

[Autelpilotsnumpty]

Just wondering if you got to test this with the Viewpoint Flight Mode? Then you could rule out the possibility of minute stick movement playing any part in that drift.

Also regarding the hovering and drifting, was this over a neutral ground area with no metal and electrical interference potentials?

I'm just thinking of the things that have affected my birds in the past to behave similar to your experiences. My Evo 2 Pro is yet to arrive, so I have no experience with it as yet!

Hope it all gets sorted easily for you.

Hiya,

I live in the Higlands of Scotland. The Evo was 394ft up in the air. The only nearest metal or magnetic or potential interference was the overhead small power lines some 1000ft away.
I tried Precision mode, Dual Stability and Standard mode, I never tried Viewpoint mode. When left to hover, the Evo would just keep moving to the right, like there was minute stick input.
When flying high or low, forward input would make the Evo drift to the right. When reversed it would follow the same course backwards following the off straight line it made.
I tried 2.3.3 firmware and 2.5.0 firmware both were presenting the same thing.

There was zero wind, conditions were amazing and yet the Evo acted like it had an inner ear infection and its balance was off.

The Evo has been shipped back and a new one is already en route to me.

Having seen my screen recording, the reseller and supplier both think it was an IMU issue.

 

[Alex of Oz]

Hiya,

I live in the Higlands of Scotland. The Evo was 394ft up in the air. The only nearest metal or magnetic or potential interference was the overhead small power lines some 1000ft away.
I tried Precision mode, Dual Stability and Standard mode, I never tried Viewpoint mode. When left to hover, the Evo would just keep moving to the right, like there was minute stick input.
When flying high or low, forward input would make the Evo drift to the right. When reversed it would follow the same course backwards following the off straight line it made.
I tried 2.3.3 firmware and 2.5.0 firmware both were presenting the same thing.

There was zero wind, conditions were amazing and yet the Evo acted like it had an inner ear infection and its balance was off.

The Evo has been shipped back and a new one is already en route to me.

Having seen my screen recording, the reseller and supplier both think it was an IMU issue.

I wonder if you have paramagnetic rock like we do in the hills here? That plays havoc with electronics at times!

That's good to hear there was a replacement issued for you. Fingers crossed it was just an irregularity with the IMU. Unfortunately with all electronic devices there can be so many variables at play with components coming from so many different suppliers. So even if the QC is amazing at the final assembly stage, stuff can still happen.

It's good to hear that a fair outcome happened for you though. All the best with that new one!

 

[Alex of Oz]

Having seen my screen recording, the reseller and supplier both think it was an IMU issue.

I just watched them, I flew past the link to them in the original post thinking it was a quote! That is very noticeable indeed.

 

[Autelpilotsnumpty]

I just watched them, I flew past the link to them in the original post thinking it was a quote! That is very noticeable indeed.

Hi.

The new Evo II Pro has arrived.
Tested the camera in my kitchen. All seems well there. Sweet spot is f5.6 but anything from f3.5 to f7.1 is great. After that diffraction kicks in, but still usable. More importantly, f2.8 does not have a lower right blur. Phew.

Did a 30 min test flight but have not checked the stills and video footage yet.
Forward input relays to straight flight. Yey.
Though this is on firmware 2.3.3.

However, I must be doing something wrong as this Evo drifts as well, when hovering doing multiple overlapping stills.
The sequence is. Take a shot, move to right or left, no input on sticks and let the bird settle, then take a shot, the repeat sequence.
At the point of stopping and giving no further input the bird drifts, very slowly then eventually settles.

Could this be an exp setting?

 

[Rubik3x]

Hi.

The new Evo II Pro has arrived.
Tested the camera in my kitchen. All seems well there. Sweet spot is f5.6 but anything from f3.5 to f7.1 is great. After that diffraction kicks in, but still usable. More importantly, f2.8 does not have a lower right blur. Phew.

Did a 30 min test flight but have not checked the stills and video footage yet.
Forward input relays to straight flight. Yey.
Though this is on firmware 2.3.3.

However, I must be doing something wrong as this Evo drifts as well, when hovering doing multiple overlapping stills.
The sequence is. Take a shot, move to right or left, no input on sticks and let the bird settle, then take a shot, the repeat sequence.
At the point of stopping and giving no further input the bird drifts, very slowly then eventually settles.

Could this be an exp setting?

There are a LOT of settings! Go to the settings "gear" in upper right corner. Select Flight Control. Scroll down to Advanced Settings. Under Sensitivity you will see Attitude, Brake and Yaw settings. Fiddle with these, especially the Brake settings. I have my Brake setting at 200% and it still takes a while to stop and freeze. Good luck.

 

[alex_markov]

I've been hearing about focus problem but never had one till yesterday - while filming all of a sudden camera lost focus and did not regain it till I press on a screen

 

[Rubik3x]

I've been hearing about focus problem but never had one till yesterday - while filming all of a sudden camera lost focus and did not regain it till I press on a screen

Are you on Auto Focus (AF) or Manual Focus (MF)?

 

[alex_markov]

Are you on Auto Focus (AF) or Manual Focus (MF)?

AF!

 

[Rubik3x]

AF!

I hate to say it, but it sounds like a problem with the camera. It should stay in focus. Have you tried manual focus?

 

[alex_markov]

I hate to say it, but it sounds like a problem with the camera. It should stay in focus. Have you tried manual focus?

No, it's a single case for now (as mani others ) if it happened again...

 

[Alex of Oz]

Hi.

The new Evo II Pro has arrived.
Tested the camera in my kitchen. All seems well there. Sweet spot is f5.6 but anything from f3.5 to f7.1 is great. After that diffraction kicks in, but still usable. More importantly, f2.8 does not have a lower right blur. Phew.

Did a 30 min test flight but have not checked the stills and video footage yet.
Forward input relays to straight flight. Yey.
Though this is on firmware 2.3.3.

However, I must be doing something wrong as this Evo drifts as well, when hovering doing multiple overlapping stills.
The sequence is. Take a shot, move to right or left, no input on sticks and let the bird settle, then take a shot, the repeat sequence.
At the point of stopping and giving no further input the bird drifts, very slowly then eventually settles.

Could this be an exp setting?

I know it's a flying brick that behaves like an airborne lump of concrete, are you flying on the slowest settings when doing these captures? That would at least minimise movement. Maybe?

 

[Autelpilotsnumpty]

I know it's a flying brick that behaves like an airborne lump of concrete, are you flying on the slowest settings when doing these captures? That would at least minimize movement. Maybe?

Hiya,
I have tried, precision mode, Dual stability, and standard mode. All in firmware 2.3.3.

Sadly the drift would happen after each time I tried to do a shot, then move.
Leaving the Evo to Stabilise it would drift to the right.

I upgraded the firmware to 2.5.0 today. The weird, flying straight drift to the right, happened again.
After trying various different methods to fly straight I gave up as it would not fly straight.
As there were people behind me I landed the drone and picked it up.

The people ended up leaving, so I tried again, and low and behold the Evo, flew straight. No matter what I tried it did what I told it to do.
So weird.

I hope this has now sorted itself, though I want to believe it, I do not have faith, that it will.

In addition to all of this, the focus is randomly off on the right side of the shot.
One minute it is sharp, the next it is soft.

I am stumped. Shutter speed was more than 1/60th, weirdly still the 100th-second shutter speed was worse for blur.

I am beginning to think that drones are not for me.
Am I being too fussy?

 

[Alex of Oz]

Hiya,
I have tried, precision mode, Dual stability, and standard mode. All in firmware 2.3.3.

Sadly the drift would happen after each time I tried to do a shot, then move.
Leaving the Evo to Stabilise it would drift to the right.

I upgraded the firmware to 2.5.0 today. The weird, flying straight drift to the right, happened again.
After trying various different methods to fly straight I gave up as it would not fly straight.
As there were people behind me I landed the drone and picked it up.

The people ended up leaving, so I tried again, and low and behold the Evo, flew straight. No matter what I tried it did what I told it to do.
So weird.

I hope this has now sorted itself, though I want to believe it, I do not have faith, that it will.

In addition to all of this, the focus is randomly off on the right side of the shot.
One minute it is sharp, the next it is soft.

I am stumped. Shutter speed was more than 1/60th, weirdly still the 100th-second shutter speed was worse for blur.

I am beginning to think that drones are not for me.
Am I being too fussy?

I can't say whether you are being too fussy or are cursed never to have enjoyable drone time! I can't actually see your experience for myself, just the video you share of that struggle.

What I was suggesting was that perhaps dialing in more subtle reactions to stick movements could possibly help you. On the Mavic Air 2 I find it too over-reactive as compared to my Parrot Anafi, but, I have dialled in softer settings for the Anafi, where the Mavic Air 2 is still stock, like your Evo.

My Evo arrives tomorrow, so I can't comment any more than this basic suggestion, sorry. I have no actual experience flying it to help with any extra insights I'm afraid.

I do wish you all the best with it though.