Testing focus of my 2022/11 DJI Osmo action 3

[@WORTHITORNOT]

So many people told me that my conclusion about the lens being out focus was wrong months ago and glad to see you proved my point

[@wynfordemanuel4792]

I was convinced mine was not in focus (bought Nov ‘22). I sent DJI some comparable pics from the Action 3 and the Osmo Pocket 2. There was an amazing difference in quality. The reply I received was that I should not expect as good a still image from a camera designed for, well, action. I have a nagging suspicion that I may have been fobbed off as I still don’t think it is in focus. Anyway, I am continuing to use the Pocket 2 for my videos. The Action 3 has seen little use and my confidence in DJI has taken a knock.

[@JoshConnectMedia]

You could have taken it back. You could still take it back only if you bought it from authorized dealer. They will always help to make it work. Try again though.

[@piotr1707]

It would be great if someone could started making premium grade lens for this camera. Something like we see in photography. Better lens with better glass and coating.

[@ArcticExploring]

Good test you have done here. I haven't tested my camera from 11/2022 but it is sharp enough for my videos so I'm happy with it. And like I have mentioned to people on DJI forum, me personally doesn't care about 30 cm to be sharp as long as what I record is in focus that is longer away from 30-40 cm.

[@stuff5143]

30cm is an edge case, I'll give them a pass on that. However 40cm is way beyond that and as a fixed focus lens that is supposed to be focused 30cm-infinity - if things 40cm away are not in perfect focus nothing really is (the issue is just more noticeable at closer distances, so if your camera isn't too terrible you might give it a pass at longer distances). I talk about this at 01:10 , my first camera was not in focus at ANY distance.

[@ArcticExploring]

@@stuff5143 Yes your camera did look terrible and it was the same with my first one I got back in September where nothing were in focus.

[@jeppemoelbak]

Great video, thanks. Do you still have the dng files? If so can you share them? I just got an OA3, unfortunately a 2022/09. I immediately installed the latest firmware, so have nothing to compare with. When doing video the picture seems OK, but copying your test with a still on ISO 200 40cm to the box and the focus is completely out of focus. To my understanding shooting in RAW gives you what the sensor receives, so if video seems sharper it must be due to processing of the image - and the processed image should be better if the "source" is better. With your dng files it would be easier to campare and see the difference without KZbin's compression, etc. Thanks!

[@stuff5143]

Hi, I do not have the .raw files from this video, but I have the before/after raw files from the video where I have corrected the focus of the 2022/11 (camera 2 in this video) - kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5vZZ4qMr72rftU . I have linked the raw files in the description of that video.

[@stuff5143]

So I corrected the focus on this 2022/11 unit and I documented the whole process - kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5vZZ4qMr72rftU . In this video, between 9:25 - 10:55, where I look at the circles on the tablet screen - just disregard that, these errors/artifacts were likely caused by the process of taking a photo of a 60hz screen. I took multiple pictures off camera to confirm my results were consistent, and they were - except for the tablet screen.

[@Berkayto]

Do you know about the newly produced models? I decided to buy today. but i am undecided.

[@patrickrenschler]

thanks for sharing this, yeah my newly received 12/2022 batch camera is also out of focus. Probably going to return but maybe I'll try and repair myself.

[@stuff5143]

If there would be another camera that would serve my use case just as well I would just give up on the OA3 and buy a different camera. However, WHEN CORRECTLY FOCUSED, this is absolutely the best action cam for me. Best battery life, best reliability and battery life in freezing conditions. Best reliability period - no GoPro resets. The mount is awesome, the camera is built like a tank. Great stabilization and picture quality - it can only be compared to GoPro's, but i hate that oversaturated GoPro color profile and I'm not gonna grade every video. Fuck DJI for how they are (not) handling this issue (and fuck them for making you register the camera through their app, which you have to sideload on an Android device, and through which you have to update the firmware). I feel bad giving DJI money, but in the end it's the product that matters and this is the best product for me. I need two cameras and I'd rather have two of the same... Since I already fixed one, I am confident I can fix another one and go better about it.

[@patrickrenschler]

@@stuff5143 yeah, makes sense. I'm probably going to return since I don't *need* the camera, my hero 6 is still chugging along. The 2022/12 batch is better than the 2022/09 batch osmo action 3 that I had, but it's still out of focus: i.imgur.com/UG70AyS.jpg

[@stuff5143]

@@patrickrenschler wow that looks bad, way worse than my 2022/11... Something between my 2022/08 which was just abysmal out of the box and the 2022/11 i got now which is decent, but not perfect. Its a lottery with these. This video is from the fixed 2022/08 and it seems perfect to me kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooeXf6d9l7Z9fpY .

[@JoshConnectMedia]

This is the Beer focus experiment. Nice one .

[@stuff5143]

:D I actually don't drink all that much beer, but I am always lazy to return the bottles so they stay at my place for months... Just objects i had close by, no intention behind this one. I just wanted to look at the focus at the edges as well as in the middle (tho I only focus on the middle at the video).

[@SewingProjects]

I didn't realize how out of focus my September one was until I got a November one.

[@stuff5143]

Yep, 2022/08-10 all seem to be terrible (at least the ones that ended up in the EU and USA). Ironically It ended up being a good thing for me, that I got the brutally out of focus 2022/08 first - only because of that i thoroughly tested the 2022/11 and found out it was slightly out of focus as well... If I would have gotten the 2022/11 first I might have never realized this, and I would have been stuck with a sub-par product. Playlist of all the videos I made on these - kzbin.info/aero/PLpV3slWr71S4KGsrshi5s7vZhkXkcmP-Z (Most likely I will not make another video about this. I am happy with my cameras after I have fixed them and I would not change them for any other action cam to be honest)

[@promediag]

Worth the subscription

[@botbot36]

This is the real testing nice one!

[@stuff5143]

Thanks, I just tried to make a video I would wanna watch when researching this... So I corrected the focus on this 2022/11 OA3 and I documented the whole process and results. This is the last video I make on this topic, moving on now - kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5vZZ4qMr72rftU .

[@AndreasDueck]

10:45 This difference probably comes from the screen itself. Strange things happen if you point your cam to a screen with, for example, 60 Fps.

[@stuff5143]

Good point, I later took more pictures off camera to make sure the results are consistent (in terms of focus on the boxes they were). I think that the two circles on the tablet screen I talked about were also consistently connected on the old (fixed) one and consistently unconnected on the 2022/11 - I will check it again when I get home.

[@stuff5143]

I have rechecked all the data on the SD cards before formating them, and I looked at the circles again. You were right, it was probably the screen - on some pictures the small circles were connected and on others they were not.

[@AndreasDueck]

@@stuff5143 Thank you for the update 👍

[@goactivemedia]

Great video. I just ordered one and I hope I do not have the adjust it but I will if needed.

[@Jose.Ferreira]

Great work, well done!👍

[@savllya6049]

Videos at the end seems to show a change in color tone between the old and new camera, the old seems warmer. Anyone seeing it?

[@stuff5143]

White balance was set to auto in the videos. Probably the light conditions outside slightly changed between recording video on cam #1 and #2 and so the camera chose different white balance. This was a test just for sharpness, comparing color has no informational value here.

[@KurisuDE]

How long do you have to exchange a faulty osmo action 3? Mine is sharp at around 40-50 centimeters.

[@stuff5143]

If it is actually perfectly sharp at 40+ cm its not faulty.

[@goactivemedia]

To do this adjustment in inches how far would I need to be? Thanks

[@stuff5143]

Advertised minimum focus distance is 30cm (about 12 inches). Do not calibrate it using things this close, the 30 cm is an edge case, use something a good deal further. I calibrated with objects at a bit over 40cm (about 16 inches). At that point I am sure things will be in focus 40cm-infinity and I don't really care if something 30cm away is in perfect focus.

[@goactivemedia]

@@stuff5143 Ok thanks

[@kristianfucik3529]

Keď nahram dlhšie video ako 5 minut tak my ho rozdelí na viac časti. Prečo? (4K 60fps)

[@stuff5143]

To je normální, jakmile má soubor 4GB tak se vytvoří další - je to prevence proti ztrátě/korupci dat. Dělají to skoro všechny akční kamery, GoPro ne (a taky z vlastní zkušenosti můžu říct, že u GoPro jsem na špatně zapsaný soubory občas narážel). Video si spojím v postprodukci, nebo ty soubory lze i bez komprese (renderování) jen slepit do jednoho (například software MKVToolNix)

[@spirittravels.]

Maybe a GoPro hero 11 is better to have?

[@stuff5143]

For a lot of people - yeah. For me - well I'll just paste an answer i gave to some1 else here: If there would be another camera that would serve my use case just as well I would just give up on the OA3 and buy a different camera. However, WHEN CORRECTLY FOCUSED, this is absolutely the best action cam for me. Best battery life, best reliability and battery life in freezing conditions. Best reliability period - no GoPro resets. The mount is awesome, the camera is built like a tank. Great stabilization and picture quality - it can only be compared to GoPro's, but i hate that oversaturated GoPro color profile and I'm not gonna grade every video. Fuck DJI for how they are (not) handling this issue (and fuck them for making you register the camera through their app, which you have to sideload on an Android device, and through which you have to update the firmware). I feel bad giving DJI money, but in the end it's the product that matters and this is the best product for me. I need two cameras and I'd rather have two of the same... Since I already fixed one, I am confident I can fix another one and go better about it.

[@spirittravels.]

@@stuff5143 Good response. Cheers 👍