Should I encode my videos from 30fps down to 24fps

I do my flights on the Mini 3 Pro at 30fps in 4K, but I have the option in editing to encode at 24 fps. Is this?

a) a good idea
b) a bad idea

Paul.

Why not just record at 24 fps :man_shrugging:

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To covert from 30fps to 24fps - 6 frames have to be dropped every second - so every 5th frame.

This can cause movements to seem ā€œtwitchyā€.

With some of the more sophisticated editing software there are features that can minimise the apparent twitchiness - but they are neither perfect and they are very processor intensive when rendering.

Basically, the best policy is to decide which fps you want to have as your default, and then always record everything at the same (or a multiple of) that frame rate.

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Thanks guys.

Iā€™m reading things upā€¦

24fps appears to be what feature films are made in, but then 30fps (25% more images to be processed) is seemingly used for live events (sports, concerts) some live broadcasts, and surprisingly, soapsā€¦

Is therefore 24 or 30 the ā€œbetter choiceā€ for drones then?

That is subjective ā€¦ unless you are planning on making a feature film. :wink:

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Iā€™m sure @ianinlondon has covered this :thinking:

https://www.youtube.com/@IaninLondon
or
https://www.youtube.com/@DroneFilmGuide

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:point_up: ā€¦ in my opinion.

Put it this way. Gamers want super smooth gameplay for ultra realism. Do they do this by reducing their FPS or increasing it? :man_shrugging:

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This info looks like it has come from a US site since the UK (and Europe) use a 25fps system. (The 30fps they are talking about is actually 29.97fps and can throw up a whole casserole of problems if you intend to edit your drone footage with existing video shot at 25)ā€¦but anyway, If itā€™s purely drone footage going straight to web itā€™s not such a big issue. As OzoneVibe says: itā€™s subjective.
the general TV standards are:
24fps - cinema films + BluRay discs (when films are re-versioned for standard broadcast TV (excluding streaming services like Netflix) they are sped up by 4% achieve 25fps)
25fps - the TV standard in UK + Europe. Can be 25 progressive frames or 50 interlaced half-frames called 50i
30fps for TV in USA + Japan (actually 29.97fps). Can be 29.97 progressive frames or 59.93 interlaced half-frames called 60i
30fps for computers - solid, progressive 30fps. default for webcams, cheap action cams etc.
50P - 50 solid, progressive frames per second. compatible with 25fps standard.
60P - 60 solid, progressive frames per second. compatible with 30fps standard.

in the UK 50i Interlaced video should be dead and buried by now as itā€™s nasty. It shouldā€™ve been replaced by 50P since it has twice the horizontal resolution, but 50i is still here purely because it uses half the bandwidth. The fluid look associated with News, Sports, Daytime TV, Soap Operas is 50i. (even though itā€™s a 25fps base it is showing 50 half-images per second to achieve that smooth motion with minimal blur).

So getting back to drones in particular: drones donā€™t shoot interlaced video so thatā€™s one less thing to worry about.
if you are not adding your shots to existing video you can shoot at whatever you like. Personally I shoot at 25fps or 50fps so I can integrate the shots with other material I have filmed on other cameras. More important is the data rate and bit depth of the video files. 10bit colour is technically superior to 8 bit colour. 10bit has 1024 levels of colour gradation, compared with 8bitā€™s 256 levels of gradation - which, in English means smoother colour transitions in sunrises or sunsets with less visible ā€˜bandingā€™. The Mini3 Pro only has one 10bit shooting mode at present - D-CINELIKE and itā€™s restricted to 25fps in 4K mode (possibly 30fps too?), so better suited to slow, controlled moves. If your flying+shooting style is faster and/or close to subjects then 50fps is better suited to reduce judder.

To be honest the normal 8bit camera setting in the Mini3 Pro is very good and I use that more often for general recreational flying. I only switch to D-CINELIKE if I find a shot I like and want a better quality version that can withstand some grading in Resolve.

wow that was a long post - sorry about that.

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To contradict myself, a little, there is a time that Iā€™d shoot 25fps ā€¦ and hope that I donā€™t need to mix with my default 30/60 fps footage ā€¦ and thatā€™s night/dusk -time to get a longer exposure and keep ISO down as low as possible, and hence noise. Iā€™d render that at 25fps, obviously.

If it is night/dusk 25fps to be mixed with other footage, hopefully itā€™s something planned and Iā€™d take all footage at 25/50fps.

If mixing with 30/60fps footage is unavoidable, Iā€™d do so in a 30fps timeline and let the amazing Optical Flow with Speed Warp, in Davinci Resolve, at best settings, do its thing creating the extra frames and creating the overall smoothness and then :crossed_fingers:.

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I like super smooth slow video, particularly for my wedding work. So whether itā€™s on the drone, on a gimbal or even just panning on a tripod I always shoot in 50p and then drop it on a 25fps timeline and slow it by 50%.

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Is that the pro photographerā€™s method of creating a longer duration product from a shorter duration event? :wink:

:running_man:

It could be :joy: When we are doing run n gun filming during the wedding day, I tell the guys working with me I need 8 to 10 sec video clips, but sometimes something happens that only lasts seconds, but can be stretched out on the timeline by slowing it down. Mainly used to slow down the drone footage and walking shots of the bridal party etc.

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ā€œOh look, darling! The day seemed to be over in a flash ā€¦ but the video proves it was actually 5 hours!ā€

:laughing:

Back in the day they might of done, everyone watches online now so it matters not.

Agreed that the delivery frequency is less important these days on streaming platforms but thereā€™s still a case for acquiring in 25/50fps in the UK if there are any ā€˜practicalā€™* lights being used as we are a 50Hz country and it plays nicer with cameras. (not such a problem with outdoor daylight shooting, I know).

*by practical I mean regular lights running directly from mains supply, not film lights with high speed ballasts.

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:joy: I wish they were only 5 hours long, weā€™re typically at a wedding for 9/10 hours.

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