Hubsan Zino Camera Firmware v0.3.3 Analysis Compared to v0.2.1

[me_d3873xYJjO]

First of all... Thank you so much, Hubsan for the new firmware (0.3.3).
This made huge improvements compared to the last one (0.2.1).


So, I've done some analysis on it in DaVinci Resolve and the firmware improved the video quality in the following areas:

- Sharpness
- Color Depth
- Color Tone
- JPEG Compression (huge difference here)


Camera settings
- Every picture is a frame grab from 4K @ 30FPS video
- Bitrate: 45mbps average on both firmwares with a static image. This means they improved on the algorythm for encoding. But when movements in the picture are introduced, the new firmware runs a much higher bitrate (with 68mbps peaks in another test I did) which will help with JPEG compression artifacts when flying. Just what we needed.
- ISO 100
- Exposure: 20.000

All images are in 400% crop to make it easier to see the differences.



Shadow tinge
These first pictures show the difference in shadow tinge. V0.2.1 has a very noticeable red tinge in the shadows. This is for instance very apparent in dark forest areas when filming. If you look at trees, you will see a muddy pool of red tinge. V0.3.3 is way better at this.
V0.2.1

0.2.1 Shadow tinge.PNG (546.12 KiB) Viewed 9559 times

V0.3.3

0.3.3 Shadow tinge.PNG (510.08 KiB) Viewed 9559 times

Sharpness
These pictures show some sharpness improvements to the V0.3.3. Not very obvious but still noticeable and a very welcome feature.
V0.2.1

0.2.1 Sharpness.PNG (1.25 MiB) Viewed 9559 times

V0.3.3

0.3.3 Sharpness.PNG (1.19 MiB) Viewed 9559 times

EDIT: Added to the bitrate explanation on the top.

[me_d3873xYJjO]

Color Depth
The color depth has also seen some improvements. It's more natural and has alot less color bleeding.
V0.2.1

0.2.1 Sharpness and color depth.PNG (1.07 MiB) Viewed 9557 times

V0.3.3

0.3.3 Sharpness and color depth.PNG (1.05 MiB) Viewed 9557 times

JPEG Compression
The JPEG Compression rate has seen a huge improvement. This will mean a lot better image quality in moving shots with less warping of texture and detail. It will also make it alot easier to color grade the footage by keying it. These images are the results of keying at the exact same spot, and I've verified this by tring to key alot of different colors across the images. A cleaner color with wider coverage means less JPEG compression. And as you can see, the second picture covers alot more of the product sticker and it's also cleaner.

V0.2.1

0.2.1 JPEG Compression.PNG (154.75 KiB) Viewed 9557 times

V0.3.3

0.3.3 JPEG Compression.PNG (129.79 KiB) Viewed 9557 times

[fb_43b9ftbKWM]

Thanks. Could you add some info about picture file sizes and video bitrates comparing v0.2.1 vs v0.3.3 ?

[3108vibhash]

Not significant difference. Why is the focus bad ?

[me_d3873xYJjO]

Not significant difference. Why is the focus bad ?

The JPEG compression difference is huge, man
And this is the most important aspect in order to get detailed images while the camera is moving/flying.

Btw, the focus isn't bad. The images are cropped at 400%

Here is the picture with no crop.

Hele bildet_1.2.1.jpg (185.97 KiB) Viewed 9523 times

[me_d3873xYJjO]

Thanks. Could you add some info about picture file sizes and video bitrates comparing v0.2.1 vs v0.3.3 ?

Updated the first post

[3108vibhash]

Not significant difference. Why is the focus bad ?

You can't possibly mean that? The JPEG compression difference is huge, man
And this is the most important aspect in order to get detailed images while the camera is moving/flying.

Btw, the focus isn't bad. The images are at 400% crop zoomed in

Thats good to hear. Thanks for your work to compare these.

[501Pete]

First of all... Thank you so much, Hubsan for the new firmware (0.3.3).
This made huge improvements compared to the last one (0.2.1).


So, I've done some analysis on it in DaVinci Resolve and the firmware improved the video quality in the following areas:

Bitrate: 45mbps average (same on both firmwares, which means they improved on the algorythm for encoding rather than just increase the file sizes, which is very nice.

That is incorrect.
There is a significant increase in the input bit rate.
In earlier versions the average Bitrate was ~45MB/s.
In v0.3.3 this is increased to an average of 55Mb/s.
That is a 22% increase in bitrate, and hugely noticeable.
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bitrate2.png (9.53 KiB) Viewed 9488 times

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bitrate3.png (8.29 KiB) Viewed 9488 times

__
Even more important is the peak bitrate.
We are now seeing peak rates of well into 60MB/s.
Previously the bitrate was peaking at around 46MB/s

I've only tested in poor light conditions, but it's immediately noticeable the improvement in quality, especially the moire effect around foliage.
I'll put some sample video up shortly.

[me_d3873xYJjO]

You sir, are correct

The initial tests was done with a static position.
When the drone is completely still with no movement in the picture, the bitrate is the same. Confirmed this again just now.

However, I captured some new footage now, but with lots of movement and rotating the drone, and the bitrate went much higher as you say, with peaks of up to 68mbps in my test.

This would mean that the GOP-length of the in-camera encoding is shorter, resulting in less median-interpolation of frames. And this is of course very good. But they must also have also improved the algorythm, since I got less JPEG compression on the static footage with the same bitrate.

So all in all, a very fine firmware update

EDIT: Updated first post.

[Arsen]

thanks for analysis. zino is becoming better and better.