The Best DJI Mavic 2 Pro Camera & Gimbal Settings | Walkthrough

In this video, I go over the best camera & gimbal settings for your DJI Mavic 2 Pro.
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[@supergimp2000]

Great video, Billy. My M2P arrives this coming Thursday, so I'm excited. One minor point, at 6:38 you infer that h264 and h265 will give the same quality. I do video processing, grading, and compression for a living and h265 is vastly more efficient than h264. That means that, for the same bitrate h265 offers about twice (very vague and subjective, but in most general terms) the quality over h264. Conversely you can get the same quality as an h264 file with h265 at much less bitrate. Also regarding quality, h265 allows for 10-bit color. This means that, instead of having 256 grades in each color channel, you get 1024 grades (values) for each color channel. That gives you much more precision in color as well as dynamic range in your recording. It's 10-bit (and even 12-bit in some formats) that allows for HDR dynamic range and when you watch 4K HDR programs from the Hollywood video streaming companies (full transparency - I work for one of them), you are getting 4k (UHD) HDR h265. If you are going to grade your footage, and there is nothing else stopping you (i.e. your edit/grading software) definitely use h265. The amount of information captured in h265 encoding is significantly better than h264. Now...if you want to talk about HLG (Hybrid-Log-Gamma) I'm happy to do so. Its a neat feature, and popular in Japan and EU (it's a BBC technology) but not very popular in the US and many TVs don't support it.

[@michaeljagoda2312]

Hi, I'm considering buying the Mavic 2 pro, and as I can see you have great knowledge about filming, could you tell me what the difference is between D-Log and HLG. Because I could never understand what is the difference, so if you could explain to me with is the difference I would be ready grateful. Thanks

[@supergimp2000]

drone maniac Ok. I’ll try to keep this relatively short. It’s easiest to explain if you understand what increased dynamic range is. Fundamentally increased (high) dynamic range uses more data per color (red, green, blue) to define the brightness of each pixel. This means that for a given brightness range, there are more steps used to define the brightness and color of adjacent pixels and thus the image contains more detail in that area. For example, in a high dynamic range you will be able to see more detail in the shadows because there is more data there vs a standard dynamic range image which is forced to merge tones that are close into the nearest similar tone because there is not enough data to differentiate them. Both HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) and D-log M carry more resolution in dynamic range over standard video. However, the eye is not linear, so simply applying more data isn’t enough. We are more sensitive to differentiating detail in some tonal ranges over others and so we need more data to differentiate between dark tones that are close together than mid tones, for example. Both HLG and D-log M use a logarithmic relationship between the numerical value for a pixel brightness and the actual brightness represented. In otherwords, with a given amount of data available, the use of that data allows more data where we need it more and less where we don’t. That is where the two formats deviate. Generally, when you get a high-dynamic-range image (like a UHD HDR movie from iTunes) the brightness is encoded using one of these types of weighting curves. The most popular formats are commercially known as HDR-10 and Dolby Vision and less popular is the format promoted by the BBC called HLG. HDR-10 and Dolby Vision require HDR capable displays (although Dolby Vision has the capability to convert on the fly for non-HDR and HDR-10 only displays). Ignoring the on the fly conversion happening in DV, if you were to view these signals on a non-HDR capable TV, the picture would be flat and low contrast. Thus you must have a capable TV to view these signals properly. HLG was designed with this backward-compatibility built in. The algorithm for HLG uses the existing dynamic range standard for traditional HDTV and simply adds an extension to support the extra bright portions of the picture for the occasion that the display can support high dynamic range. The advantage of this is that if you play this signal on a normal (non-HDR) TV the image will be completely acceptable. The disadvantage is that you do not have quite as much flexibility and punch when creating in high dynamic range. Nearly all TV’s labeled “HDR” can play the open source HDR-10 format and those that license (pay) Dolby support Dolby Vision. It’s been my experience that a lot of HDR TV’s also support HLG although it may not be obvious in the TV’s literature. HLG is not very popular in the US but it is used in other parts of the world. That said, HLG is a legitimate DISPLAY format and if you take an mp4 directly from the M2P and play it on a TV (via USB for example) that supports HLG (I have a Vizio P-series and M2P mp4’s even display the ”HLG” badge on the info panel) you get the full, high dynamic range available in the image. If the TV does not support HLG, you still get an acceptable image but not as dynamic (assuming the TV supports h265 mp4’s of course). D-log M uses a similar philosophy of using a gamma curve to encode the brightness levels in the image in a non-linear way, but it is designed to maximize the dynamic range for the color correction stage of the video post production process rather than direct display. By encoding your original image in D-log M, when you get to color-correcting your image, you can push the image farther (brightening the whites, darkening the blacks, pushing the colors around) without reaching the point where black areas clump up (crush) or white areas clip and so it is easier to make a moody dark image or a blinging bright image (for creative effect) without losing detail in these areas. However, D-log M is not a broadcast standard. Your TV doesn’t directly know how to process these gamma curves (in fact your TV itself has no idea that this is even the encoding used) and each camera company has their own version of the encoding algorithm to achieve a similar result (Sony’s is called S-log and Canon, C-log) and give the colorist better control over the final image. But, D-log M (and the others) MUST be color graded (adjust to creative taste) in order to get an acceptable image otherwise the image will be flat and low contrast. TL;DR: So in other words, HLG is a high-dynamic-range format designed to be played directly on a TV and, if capable, that TV will display brighter whites and more detail in the highlights and shadows than a normal display and if not capable, the TV will display an acceptable image on par with typical HD broadcast highlights and shadows. D-log M requires creative color grading to create an acceptable image, but in skilled hands (and eyes) has much more creative latitude to work with.

[@michaeljagoda2312]

@@supergimp2000 oh ok great, thank you so much for taking your time to explain it to me. I now fully understand it because not many people on KZbin go into so much detail. So once again thank you for your time and help. I hope you are still enjoying your Mavic 2 pro, I'm getting mine soon😁👍👍

[@Felix-rk5eo]

I wait till the mp3 comes out

[@willdreyer775]

Sitting in my hotel room in China setting it up as you suggested with Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam coming up, you have been a great wealth of knowledge, Good day to you Sir!

[@TechnoDad]

Although I hate it when people comment and say to me, "You've earned a new subscriber..." Billy, you actually have earned a new subscriber. I've learned so much about the Mavic 2 Pro from your videos and I can't wait to get mine on Tuesday to check out! Sadly, I'll be using the automatic settings for now. Anyway, thanks for all that you do!

[@phildevore4543]

Finally got my Mavic Pro 2 Billy after flying my Inspire 2 for the last year and a half and I really appreciate you taking the time to answer these camera settings questions. Although a lot of the settings are similar I need to get used to the Mavic and your tutorials help me tremendously. Thanks again for your time.

[@annoyboyPictures]

I use a Gimbal Pitch Speed of 3 or 5 maximum. That slow speed is what gives me those nice cinematic movements.

[@michaeldaquino481]

You see, now this is the way to make a video...step by step camera setting instructions 101. Well done Billy.

[@sutv6754]

Thank you. I love the no nonsence and to the point. You do one of the best jobs with your teaching videos.

[@KingBrew187]

Very informative. You’re extremely good at explaining settings btw. I feel like quite obviously you’ve got MANY hours invested in this part of drones and watching your video is exactly like a free lesson from a serious heavy hitter. Cheers

[@dougrowell7817]

Thanks Billy I'm a camera nut and an RC aircraft fiend but new to drones. I bought a Mavic 2 Pro and this is just what I need. The stuff on the DJI website is useless. Great stuff and well presented. :)

[@chasebrock27]

I've been using gimbal pitch 1 to do 360 videos of buildings for commercial real estate, helps out a ton! Will probably switch it up to see what the difference is. Thanks for the walkthrough!

[@BobKirksey]

Thanks bro! Because of the heat and rain here, I've gotten in only 1 hour of flight with mine, but I already take this bird over any I've flown. With this video, I now understand those settings that I struggle to comprehend via the User Manual.

[@jsolomons]

Hey Billy - Thank you SO MUCH for providing these settings - crazy that DJI don't give any detailed instructions. The great point you make is to try out the different settings.

[@deanbush]

I've been using the DJI Mavic 2 Pro for just a little over a year, and my settings are exactly like yours, except that I do have my gimbal settings set just a little lower. I like the slow and boring! 🤣 I couldn't imagine using anything else but D-Log M, and for anyone who's afraid of color grading, they could just apply a LUTS to their output and get something they like and it's very simple to do.

[@EdwinvandenAkker]

3:55 Also, when +1 applied on the sharpness, the denoiser is not activated. The denoiser tends to introduce some weird artifacts in low-light areas. Everything under +1 will introduce that rumble. So, be smart, be +1

[@mikes1796]

I just moved up from a Mavic Pro to a Mavic 2 Pro. One thing I discovered was that the M2P has separate exposure settings for video and pictures. I don't see info on this in the DJI manual and not on KZbin videos. During my first few flights, I couldn't figure out why my videos were so washed out, when I switched from video to picture.

[@JackTemple]

I was wondering the very same thing...

[@cress4film]

Best video I've seen on the Mavic 2 Pro camera and gimbal settings! Thanks Billy Kyle!

[@MyVantasticLifeVoyage]

For those that might not know..... anti-flicker has to do with counter acting the refresh rate if certain devices you might encounter shooting video indoors, such as under some florescent lightning and older computer screens. Generally 60 cycles is used in North America and 50 cycles in UK and Europe.

[@H20Spy]

True enough but how do you change the settings?

[@Homemcardoso]

@@H20Spy it wonly works in camera auto mode :( iguess

[@richardbeasley9084]

I didn't read all of the comments, but the anti flicker mode likely relates to artificial lighting. I haven't tried it but it you set your white balance to fluorescent you can probably turn it on. It works on the cycles of artificial lighting to minimize color shift.

[@AZGeek520]

Thanks for posting this Billy. You explained a couple of things that I was having problems with, and now I know why (i.e., recording in mP4 and not being able to edit on a Mac, and then not setting the output to the microSD card).

[@christian79s4]

Awesome thumbnail picture, it looks like a futuristic moon walker, complete with the backpack/life support and all.

[@JennyLaBouff]

I know this is an old post, but it was very helpful to me. Thanks!

[@jeffreyquandtjr9720]

Lots of good information without a lot of nonsense. Thank you.

[@ellobo1326]

Good tutorial. It really helps us newbies. The setting choices can be overwhelming at first !

[@bamidele_sazus]

Like Like Like. Pretty straight to the point

[@timworrell5144]

Your settings were the best on my pro and will also use them on my pro2

[@jackbisson9226]

Great video and H265 all the way. I have noticed the softness as well. It looks like the plus 1 for sharpness is the best bet. The contrast may need a tweak depending on the scene lighting. I think with 100Mbs of data divided among the frames that a lower frame rate for the best quality is the way to go. I love this drone more and more each day. If you use Windows make sure you install the HEVC extensions to support the H265 files as Windows Media player and some editors (i.e., Davinci Resolve) will not work with them. Thanks for sharing Billy awesome stuff.

[@billykyle]

I always tend to do my corrections in post, even if I'm sharpening. The video was just so soft I had to do something about it lol

[@syntaera]

Davinci Resolve will work with the h265 footage, but only the paid Studio version supports 10 bit (HLG/Dlog-M). 8 bit h265 will load just fine, but you would have to be shooting Normal profile h265 - you would get the compression benefit (better compression means you get more quality for your 100Mbits maximum bitrate), but it will be harder to grade. Maybe BlackMagicDesign will be nice to us at some point and enable 10 bit h265 for the free version, but honestly if you're spending the money for the M2P, just pay for the full version of Resolve and enjoy the awesome grading power of 10 bit footage.

[@jackbisson9226]

The free version seems to be working fine with the HEVC extensions installed on Windows 10 and I am using Tom's TechTime DLOG-M files. They were not working until I installed the HEVC extensions, then everything starting working with the unpaid version. A number of threads mentioned this so I gave it a try and it worked. I pay for Premiere Pro but some of the color grades I see out here with people using Davinci Resolve look awesome so I am just testing for now. I will pay for the studio version no problem, just checking it out first.

[@syntaera]

Jack Thanks, gotta give that a try! Would be huge.

[@dragonseyefilming4406]

DuckMySquee The free link rather than the 1 dollar version (same software, still direct from Microsoft) www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/hevc-video-extensions-from-device-manufacturer/9n4wgh0z6vhq?irgwc=1&OCID=AID681541_aff_7593_159229&OCID=AID681541_aff_7593_1243925&tduid=(ir_wJC0gNTClQca0BAzqwxkEXPhUkjTGXQhW1412Y0)(7593)(159229)()(UUwpUdUnU56397YYwYd)&tduid=(ir_1LV3EHwW9z5wQlhXVgx4KzwgUkgxwdQlGVk9UM0)(7593)(1243925)(tv2R4u9rImY-SVeYsH1XAAJzvnvHgScFQg)()&irclickid=wJC0gNTClQca0BAzqwxkEXPhUkjTGXQhW1412Y0&irclickid=1LV3EHwW9z5wQlhXVgx4KzwgUkgxwdQlGVk9UM0&ranMID=24542&ranEAID=tv2R4u9rImY&ranSiteID=tv2R4u9rImY-SVeYsH1XAAJzvnvHgScFQg&epi=tv2R4u9rImY-SVeYsH1XAAJzvnvHgScFQg&activetab=pivot%3aoverviewtab

[@SonicParkour6]

Been watching every one of your Mavic 2 videos while I'm waiting for mine to get here in 5 days.. love them dude, keep it up.

[@DiscoveringTheHighLife]

Thanks! I'm going to give the gimbal settings s shot. I also switched my settings to save original files on hyperlapse and panos. When you edit yourself the results are much better! Also, now I can have 4K hyperlapse instead of 1080. Super helpful tips!

[@AdrienLambertvfx]

Great video thanks ! I guess I would use Gimbal speed to 1 for an hyperlapse. As the video will be speed up it will look more like a normal speed in the end.

[@glenntomlinson7103]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! Great video. Very well done.

[@MaryKayUlsamer]

Billy, love your concise and to-the-point tutorials. You don’t waste our time. Appreciated!!!

[@BobbyWashingtonvlog]

Great video bro. Just got my Mavic 2 Pro Yesterday and I love it... I flew and filmed in normal mode just to get a feel of the drone and the footage already looks amazing. Can’t wait to try DLog M...

[@bobfiore8]

Great info. I'll finally get some good quality time to put my Pro 2 in the air tomorrow. Thanks bro

[@BirdsEyePerspective]

Thanks

[@thebadradio5340]

Great video and great flow, Billy, big thanks!

[@maymennen-evraets2317]

Hi Billy, you are just AMAZING!! To the point - no bla-bla - my advice: become a teacher - the kids will love you!!

[@RonaldBrown59]

Great video, I have my Mavic 2 Pro set-up like yours now and I'm ready to go our and capture some footage. Thanks for sharing this video.

[@onthemovewithfiifi5811]

Good job, bro. Mavic 2 pro is amazing. I love it.

[@bobbayne]

great info.... i am really learning photography, drones etc. will be retiring in December so I will have plenty of time to learn.

[@markshinn7837]

Very good info as always. I have about 4 hours on my Mavic 2 Pro. It would be more but I had the flu for a few days (great timing). I have only used H265 so far and am well pleased with it. Your gimbal setting a nice too you saved me some time with that.

[@kelvinsaunders2504]

Love your tutorials. Absolutely too the point. Thank you

[@johndoesable]

Hi. Amazing video! Tell your friends... many of these settings cannot be changed in "enter the camera view". We must be connected to the aircraft. Also, the Gimbal settings are inaccessible if the Gimbal plastic bubble protector is attached. That Gimbal icon does not show within the options with the bubble on. Thank you again - VERY helpful!!!!

[@dilipkawli426]

hey, this video is still helpful. thanks Billy!

[@verdonrocksphotography3510]

Awesome, that just what Iwas looking for as a beginner pilot, thank you very much, keep them coming

[@RonaldBrown59]

Thanks for going over the camera and gimbal settings. I agree with most of settings that you recommended.

[@JUNEORJUNE]

CAN YOU DO A TUT ON HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HYPERLAPSE VIDEO. LIKE HOW FAST SHOULD THE DRONE BE MOVING FROM POINT A TO POINT B AND HOW MANY SECONDS BEFORE TAKING PICTURES.

[@davidalan2469]

DJI has ND filter set posted and you can get an in stock alert. I ordered GoProfessional case at B & H Photo with ship in 7 - 14 days. GPC is the best.

[@cnyphotovideo]

Good stuff Billy. Right now I have my gimbal speed set to eight. Might speed up a little… First flight will be tomorrow.

[@brendanomara339]

Great explanations Billy! I'm hoping to pull the trigger on the 2 Pro by the end of next week, and the more info like this I get, the easier it will be to get in the air once I get it!

[@SleepingVoiceASMR]

Thank you so much, really helpful. The best tutorial, straight to the point with examples that help understand straight away. Excellent video!!

[@zyzzyvacation]

Here's a challenge for you that, so far, has not been done with a drone. Could you shoot some _day-for-night_ video footage to see how well the Hasselblad's adjustable aperture handles it. A circular polarizer filter is highly recommended but the camera may not yet be ready for such a filter. Thanks in advance👍

[@sutv6754]

Great, just watched again.

[@StanCook]

Good stuff Billy. I'm still with the Mavic Pro Platinum and 95% of those setting work there too. Thanks

[@HarvyDangerFilms]

As always, great video Billy. I got my M2P last Monday and have only been able to fly once so far. Work and the weather are killing me! I agree on all of the gimbal settings. Thanks for the +1 sharpness suggestion. Keep em coming !

[@timtownsend5697]

A couple of suggestions: 1) you show the control screen & comment on the topic obtained by selecting something on the control screen. THE problem, in my view, the image of the control screen is up for 1-3 sec and then that image goes away while you reference the items. If you leave the image of the screen up and use your pointer to show what features you should select, your comments will be understood. 2) your opening comment is that you will learn about gimbal features not explained elsewhere (I call this just a teaser comment) when you finally get to that subject you have forced your audience to listen other generic features (sometimes you repeat your self) lasting many minutes into this video.

[@billykyle]

This is an old video dude, but thanks for the tips!

[@EthanMitchell_YouTube]

Hey Guys!! Just received my Mavic 2 Pro today and definitely stoked!! Only thing I noticed is that the Gimbal yall Follow does not work in flight. When I hold the mavic I can see the gimbal yall following if I yall the drone. When in flight the yall follow of the gimbal is locked. Pitch and roll work fine. Anyone else experiencing this issue?

[@philipphung4734]

Thanks a lot Billy. Very useful tut

[@Mezz-tz5bg]

Billy- just what I was looking for. Excellent tutorial. Very grateful!

[@400AGLNET]

Hi Billy, Well done Sir, I think you're spot on and in fact I'm going to make a couple slight changes to my camera / gimbal settings now but I like the result based on your side by side data here... nice job..

[@robertgranata569]

The anti-flicker setting only works in full Auto mode. It doesn't work in A, S, or Manual. It also doesn't work in Auto if you turn off Auto ISO portion. Don't know why.

[@billykyle]

Very strange.

[@pawelw.3502]

When i fly in the night i have to Set Shutterspeed to 50 cause of the 50hz Electrocity net here in Europe to avoid Lightflicker

[@alanplummer]

Very nice job! Just got my M2P and looking for best settings. Thanks!

[@honestlo1388]

thank so much for your detailed explaination and lots of great video in such a short time, take enough rest !

[@maxanisimov]

I usually do -1 or -2 on sharpness cause I just really dislike in-camera sharpening, regardless of the camera. Post-prod sharpening looks way better, at least to me. I also like to go +1 on saturation as I like my footage to pop and it usually saves me a little bit of work during post production.

[@cyberlightningmedia9899]

Great video Billy!

[@kony2000]

I for one put my gimbal pitch at 2...I feel like that slowness is much more cinematic than the 30 you have chosen.. But again I'm far from the 6 hours of flight you have under your belt... So I still need to confirm it works well

[@TECHDRONEMEDIA]

Great video Billy

[@condoningdrones]

Thanks for video very informative! Now can you do a vid on packing the fly more travel bag for mavic 2 pro?😃

[@uacl028]

@ Air Photography has a video on packing the shoulder bag, if you wish

[@condoningdrones]

@@uacl028 thanks

[@tightlinesgl47]

Great info, working to set up my new Mavic Pro 2

[@georgephotopoulos587]

Great video ,very helpfull..thank you

[@Storyraymond]

Very well put information. Very educational! Thank you! Just what I needed. Ill be putting this knowledge to use next month in some Norwegian fjords:)

[@Viggomundo]

Thank you. Useful information.

[@JayCubPerk]

good video, really helpful. Thanks man

[@Austromark]

Thanks for the heads up on the video settings very helpful, I was and maybe other people also how do you colour grade your footage,manually or with Luts,tutorial would be nice;)

[@skodavrs8026]

Billy, great video and very much needed as I've been hunting for this kind of information.... just one suggestion, you speak so fast I found myself having to rewind and re-listen to most of the video to catch the information, it'd be great to slow down slightly. Aside from that a great help and will definitely help me get more from my Mavic 2 👍🏻👍🏻

[@RM-ud9tf]

Billy, do you think you'll do a video on the settings o the aircraft itself such as how it responds on the x,y axis, how fast or slow the aircraft turns left right, etc? I remember you did an amazing video on the original and I love to know those numbers you use. Thanks

[@dgreyable]

At last the first video that I can easily understand

[@cuuppaajoe]

Hi Billy I know this is an old video I just wanted to thank you so much for all your contributions to the community. I just have some stupid question that someone else may be able to answer. why would you need to use the 180° rule when you don’t need motion blur from that distance. In fact wouldn’t motion blur not be good from a far distance? Loss of sharpness maybe? Thanks so much again have a great day

[@vvvjnj]

Very clear description 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@r.derrickthomas2909]

Good video - the weather in Philly today was terrible; hopefully,​ we get some clearer skies this wknd to get the drones in the air.

[@billykyle]

The weather today was terrible, but earlier this week I couldn't complain!

[@tommy7451]

Thanks !!!! Finally some freeking great information!!

[@jargon999]

*freaking

[@ianjones3562]

Fantastic video Billy , really helpful even if your experienced with drones👍

[@dallasamckinney]

Can only use "anti-flicker" in auto mode.

[@TopoPilot]

I learned a lot from your video explanation. Thanks for taking the time to post this, Sub'd.

[@RICKHALBUR]

Very good video Billy thanks for all this valuable information, I used your P4P setting video and it work very well for me on my P4P so this will be great Thanks

[@FlyingCameradotnet]

Gimbal tips were handy. We definitely have different taste as far as the look of the camera. I'm an old film guy. Still own a couple of cameras, although clients rarely pay the price for film. I like rich, deep blacks and lots of color. Your video looks lifeless and flat. While the camera on the M2Pro is definitely a good camera, in reality, it is the optics from a DSLR that cost about $1,000. So getting those results that pop and catch the eye require a bit of "pushing" on those optics. I would advise using the tips to access the settings but set it up to the individual's own style and look.

[@JoeAzzato]

Great video, thanks!

[@ArtCoDroneAndEntertianment]

Great info Billy.

[@TomColontonio]

Love mine! But can’t dig out how to move the camera left and right... or can I?

[@louthecattv2573]

Thanks Billy...thanks for trying to help me......great settings🙂may God bless

[@trevsonic]

I wish all videos on KZbin were this great. I’m so sick of bullshitters stretching out non-info. Thanks much. #subscribed

[@EnvyDesignGroup]

So stoked dude! Very informal. Thanks very much.

[@tmchecki8610]

Perfect video, a lot of good informations, thanks.

[@dimondcrafts1]

Lots of useful information. Thank you!

[@flyinghighproductions]

Billy, we can use your help with the best settings for new mavic 3. Will you release?

[@ChrisJhunVloggs]

thanks billy

[@hussainaljoher5744]

Thank you so much Billy, this is very helpful! I miss Philly, lived there for more than 2 years :)

[@MyDroneChronicles]

Awesome as always Billy!

[@isaacmelendez5]

Thanks for the advice and work, great info I would definitely try it on my mavic pro 2 ....👍👏

[@witchboob]

Dude thank you for your videos. Really helpful.

[@Totustuus2022]

Great video Billy. Thanks!