Chart of CGO3+ Files Sizes

[K3CFPV]

Decided to determine some specs on the CGO3+ camera and learned a few things. First, regardless of the format of the SD card (FAT32 or ExFAT), the videos are broken down into segments of 1.89 GB, meaning you don't gain anything by formatting at ExFAT other then the fact that ExFAT SD cards are not recognized by the current version of Android (KitKat 1.4.4) in the ST16. I've attached a pdf version of a spreadsheet showing the file sizes and MB/min for the various resolutions (I recorded approximately 1 min at each and normalized to exactly 1 min). This should give folks an idea of what can fit on various sized SD cards.

For the photo buffs, JPGs are 2.6 MB each and DNGs 24 MB (no surprise there).

Two things of concern (at least for me) [Yuneec, are you listening?]

1. The ST16 was pretting good at starting the video with a single push of the video button. However, in most cases, it took multiple presses (max 4) to stop the video. It's as if the ST16 isn't polling the button fast enough to be responsive or the camera is busy buffering to the SD card and isn't paying attention, but not sure.
2. When I changed camera resolutions, all of the various options appeared (on the ST16) as having the same picture brightness. However (and I tried this several times), when I selected the 1920x1080F120, the picture was significantly darker. Maybe Yuneec can explain why this is.

 

[Allan]

Nice, thanks. However, jpg files can be smaller. My first photo test was set at 1920x1080/30, and the jpg files are around 350K. in size.

 

[eric bee]

@K3CFPV if you put the cam in 120 frames...the shutter speed have no time to do it long (with more exposure)...i think thats the reason your vids get darker

 

[DroneClone]

Decided to determine some specs on the CGO3+ camera and learned a few things. First, regardless of the format of the SD card (FAT32 or ExFAT), the videos are broken down into segments of 1.89 GB, meaning you don't gain anything by formatting at ExFAT other then the fact that ExFAT SD cards are not recognized by the current version of Android (KitKat 1.4.4) in the ST16. I've attached a pdf version of a spreadsheet showing the file sizes and MB/min for the various resolutions (I recorded approximately 1 min at each and normalized to exactly 1 min). This should give folks an idea of what can fit on various sized SD cards.

For the photo buffs, JPGs are 2.6 MB each and DNGs 24 MB (no surprise there).

Two things of concern (at least for me) [Yuneec, are you listening?]

1. The ST16 was pretting good at starting the video with a single push of the video button. However, in most cases, it took multiple presses (max 4) to stop the video. It's as if the ST16 isn't polling the button fast enough to be responsive, but not sure.
2. When I changed camera resolutions, all of the various options appeared (on the ST16) as having the same picture brightness. However (and I tried this several times), when I selected the 1920x1080F120, the picture was significantly darker. Maybe Yuneec can explain why this is.

Thanks!, I now know I am not alone!. Noticed the brightness /resolution issue right off back. Haven't noticed the off record issue yet, but then I wasn't really looking for it? But I sure will now!. Thanks for you input!

 

[Markinter]

Nice, thanks. However, jpg files can be smaller. My first photo test was set at 1920x1080/30, and the jpg files are around 350K. in size.

IF you take photos whlie camera is in video mode the jpegs are tiny. I had my camera settings to take dngs and I never found any on the card until I figured out that the camera has to be in photo mode to get the larger jpegs or raw files. I thought at first I might have an issue with the camera Hope that makes sense. It's not like dji.

 

[DroneClone]

IF you take photos whlie camera is in video mode the jpegs are tiny. I had my camera settings to take dngs and I never found any on the card until I figured out that the camera has to be in photo mode to get the larger jpegs or raw files. I thought at first I might have an issue with the camera Hope that makes sense. It's not like dji.

Explain difference between jpeg and dngs, and which is better if any please. Thanks

 

[Graham]

I'm getting 2.7-3.2Mb on jpgs.

 

[K3CFPV]

I assumed that the JPGs and DNGs would be at a fixed resolution. Never crossed my mind that they would follow the video resolution settings. I'll do some more experimentation today and if that's so, will annotate the data to show how they vary.

For DroneClone, a high level summary. JPG pictures are post-processed in the camera with your settings (white balance, other adjustments, etc.) and then compressed using a complex algorithm to reduce the file size. You can still make some adjustments with various programs, but you can never get back what was lost in compression or undo what was processed in the camera. You can only adjust the adjustments. DNG is a type of raw file. Each camera manufacture (Canon, Nikon, Sony) came up with their own type of raw file which has even changed between camera models. Many camera pros were concerned about being able to read their older raw files with the newer software. To try to solve that problem, Adobe came up with DNG (Digital Negative) back in late 2004 which is now being supported by most camera manufactures. Essentually, one can consider raw files to the unadulterated raw data from the camera sensor plus information about your camera settings (date, time, iso, camera speed, lenses settings, etc.). Since the file is not compressed, it is much bigger in size as data for each sensor pixel is captured. The advantage is that you now have full control over all aspects of the image and can post-process as you feel is warranted. The Canon 5DS (their new 50M pixel camera) has a raw file size of 60MB. For most taking pictures with the H, JPGs are good enough. Professional photographers and those more critical or where the ability to zoom in with better resolution is needed, then DNG is better. It's a matter of preference and what you plan to do with the photos. Hope this helps.

 

[DroneClone]

I assumed that the JPGs and DNGs would be at a fixed resolution. Never crossed my mind that they would follow the video resolution settings. I'll do some more experimentation today and if that's so, will annotate the data to show how they vary.

For DroneClone, a high level summary. JPG pictures are post-processed in the camera with your settings (white balance, other adjustments, etc.) and then compressed using a complex algorithm to reduce the file size. You can still make some adjustments with various programs, but you can never get back what was lost in compression or undo what was processed in the camera. You can only adjust the adjustments. DNG is a type of raw file. Each camera manufacture (Canon, Nikon, Sony) came up with their own type of raw file which has even changed between camera models. Many camera pros were concerned about being able to read their older raw files with the newer software. To try to solve that problem, Adobe came up with DNG (Digital Negative) back in late 2004 which is now being supported by most camera manufactures. Essentually, one can consider raw files to the unadulterated raw data from the camera sensor plus information about your camera settings (date, time, iso, camera speed, lenses settings, etc.). Since the file is not compressed, it is much bigger in size as data for each sensor pixel is captured. The advantage is that you now have full control over all aspects of the image and can post-process as you feel is warranted. The Canon 5DS (their new 50M pixel camera) has a raw file size of 60MB. For most taking pictures with the H, JPGs are good enough. Professional photographers and those more critical or where the ability to zoom in with better resolution is needed, then DNG is better. It's a matter of preference and what you plan to do with the photos. Hope this helps.

Many Thanks!

 

[K3CFPV]

Did some more playing around and found out some interesting tidbits. If you are in video mode, all photos taken are in JPG, regardless of the photo setting (JPG or DNG). In addition, the file sizes vary with the video resolution from about 1.8 MB down to around 170 KB. However, if you are in photo mode, then the JPG or DNG designation prevails and all of the files sizes are about the same, 2.4MB for JPG and 24MB for DNG. Not everyone will get the same results, especially in JPG as the actual composition of the photo dictates how efficient the compression algorithm is. The more varied and contrasty the photo, the less compression. A sceen with alot of sky around the same color will allow for more compression. So don't fret if your mileage varies.

 

[versenumber2]

So I just got the Typhoon H Pro which of course has the CG3O+ camera. I will be using it to provide 4K video for customers. I'm thoroughly confused about the different Micro SD cards and which to use. For example I have the SanDisk Ultra, Extreme, & Extreme pro all are 32GB HC 1 (there's also a 3 within a U shape on the card). So I know I probably sound like an idiot but I've got two questions (I will be shooting video in 4K 30 fps - which I believe is the highest res for this camera):
1. Will there be a noticeable difference in the res or clarity between these 3 cards?
2. How many minutes of video can I expect to get on these cards?
I've read stuff about bit rates and I'm assuming (and could be wrong) that, that has more to do with the download speed to my Mac which I'm not concerned about.
As I will be providing the SD cards to these customers I don't want to pay more than I need but the video quality is paramount.
*Just as a side note, I shot 7 minutes of video on my q500 4K and it used up half the memory! Does that sound right? I forgot which card I was using.

 

[CAPTAINDRONE]

Quick answers... Micro SD cards have zero effect on picture clarity & resolution.

Micro SD cards have two speeds listed. The first is usually how fast data can be read from them and the second is how fast data can be written to them. If you giving away cards to clients go for the least expensive. Oh, and yes, the U3 you noted is something you should have indicated on the card for fast write speeds.

I use inexpensive cards in my 4K drones & 4K vid cameras. These ones have never let me down:

https://www.amazon.com/Silicon-Power-MicroSDHC-Class10-SP032GBSTHBU1V20SP/dp/B015A9YYSO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477167880&sr=8-1&keywords=micro+sd+card+sp&th=1

 

[PatR]

You've been using the wrong cards more than likely. A good 64gig, u3 card will efficiently handle a lot of video. With 4 batteries I've never filled half of one. You want the fastest write speed you can have with 4K. If shooting 1080, 80mbps works fine but that's borderline do 4K. Don't sweat the bit rate unless you are into TV or cinema production. For 98% of multirotor operators it's more talk than walk.

If shooting photos, set the video resolution to 4K and use the camera option. They come out a lot better. Learn the camera settings. They matter!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[versenumber2]

Many thanks captaindrone!

 

[Markinter]

You've been using the wrong cards more than likely. A good 64gig, u3 card will efficiently handle a lot of video. With 4 batteries I've never filled half of one. You want the fastest write speed you can have with 4K. If shooting 1080, 80mbps works fine but that's borderline do 4K. Don't sweat the bit rate unless you are into TV or cinema production. For 98% of multirotor operators it's more talk than walk.

If shooting photos, set the video resolution to 4K and use the camera option. They come out a lot better. Learn the camera settings. They matter!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Pat,

To clarify, it helps the photos come out better while in camera (mode) if the video res is in 4k? or if you're in video (mode) and you take a photo it comes out better which makes perfect sense since it's a frame grab of the 4k video. Just want to make sure I'm not missing a setting to help photos.

 

[versenumber2]

I think what Pat was saying (based on other threads I've read on here), is to stop recording in video mode then take the picture (as opposed to just clicking on the picture mode (taking a snapshot of the video) while in video mode. I've yet to try this out but that kinda makes sense that taking a snapshot of the video (which is essentially what you're doing) will not come out as clear as if you took it out of video mode and take a still.
I just wanted to make sure that I would still be able to capture the same 4K video with a regular SanDisk instead of paying a lot more for the SanDisk Extreme Pro which is like 3X the price (since I will be giving this out to my clients).

 

[Markinter]

I use extreme plus cards and have no issue I wouldn't try standard sd cards. I usually wait for best buy to have them on sale then stock up.

I think what Pat was saying (based on other threads I've read on here), is to stop recording in video mode then take the picture (as opposed to just clicking on the picture mode (taking a snapshot of the video) while in video mode. I've yet to try this out but that kinda makes sense that taking a snapshot of the video (which is essentially what you're doing) will not come out as clear as if you took it out of video mode and take a still.
I just wanted to make sure that I would still be able to capture the same 4K video with a regular SanDisk instead of paying a lot more for the SanDisk Extreme Pro which is like 3X the price (since I will be giving this out to my clients).

 

[Rubik]

In Photo mode, my pictures are more like 4:3 whereas in video mode, pictures are 16:9. Is this just the way it is or is there a setting. When in Photo mode, there doesn't seem to be any resolution adjustment. Haven't tried DNGs yet.

 

[versenumber2]

Ok so here's what I've found out.
First per SanDisk's website:
Class 10 = Full HD Video
UHS Speed Class 1 (U1) = Full HD Video. Supports real time video recording.
UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) = Full HD and 4K Video. Supports real time video recording.
So to record in 4K video the Micro SD card you use does matter. Based on this you would need the SanDisk Extreme (the Extreme Plus and Extreme Pro would be overkill for the CG3O+). Also, since my customer engagements are recording up to 40 minutes of video over the course of 4 hours, it would behoove me to pay a little extra for a SanDisk over cheaper manufacturers as they are the most reliable and I don't want to get back home and find myself with a corrupted SD card...I would have to go back and spend another 4 hours recording the same video again.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[DonArneson]

In Photo mode, my pictures are more like 4:3 whereas in video mode, pictures are 16:9. Is this just the way it is or is there a setting. When in Photo mode, there doesn't seem to be any resolution adjustment. Haven't tried DNGs yet.

I found that also ... and there is no adjustment to change the photo mode to 16:9 .. I like 16:9 pictures so I use the video mode but not while it is recording. I don't think you can take a still while recording video, you must stop the video to take a still. Now you can always convert the 4:3 to a 16:9 in post with Paint Shop Pro or whatever you use. I just don't care to have the black side bars. But then again if you are shooting raw so you can do post changes then changing your camera to photo mode is the way to go.