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DroneField

Import errors

“The selected folder is empty”

Section titled ““The selected folder is empty””

The folder doesn’t directly contain JPEG files.

Fix: navigate to the specific DCIM/100_0001/ (or similarly named) sub-folder where the images and .mrk file actually are. Don’t pick the memory card’s root.

”No valid drone photos found in this folder”

Section titled “”No valid drone photos found in this folder””

There are JPEGs in the folder, but none are from a DJI drone.

Likely causes:

  • The images are from an unsupported drone (Mavic 2, Phantom 4 Pro, etc.) — not supported
  • The JPEGs were post-processed in Adobe Lightroom or similar — XMP metadata may be lost
  • These are diagnostic thumbnails: DJI Pilot 2 creates low-res previews; the import filters them out

Fix: use the original DJI files directly from the memory card, or lossless copies of them.

”No permission to read the folder”

Section titled “”No permission to read the folder””

The macOS sandbox blocks access.

Fix:

  1. Bring back the folder picker (click Import images again).
  2. macOS Privacy & Security will ask whether to grant DroneField read access — choose OK.

Or:

  • Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Files and Folders and grant DroneField Documents, Downloads, Volumes permissions.
  • A permanent fix: copy the images to a folder inside your Home (e.g. ~/DroneField-uploads/) and import from there.

”MRK file not found”

Section titled “”MRK file not found””

The MRK carries RTK-corrected image timestamps — it’s required.

Fix:

  1. Verify that the MRK lives in the same folder as the JPEGs on the memory card (DJI Pilot 2 writes them there).
  2. If you copied the JPEGs but forgot the MRK, fetch it again from the card.
  3. If the survey was multiple flights, bring the MRK from every sub-folder. DroneField uses timestamps to match the right MRK to the right images.

If you’re sure the MRK is there but the error persists:

  • Renamed the file? The original name is 100_0001.MRK — don’t rename.
  • The file is 0 bytes? Corrupt — re-download from the card.

”MRK file is empty or malformed”

Section titled “”MRK file is empty or malformed””

The MRK exists but is unreadable.

Possible causes:

  • The drone landed mid-flight (e.g. low battery) — the file is partial
  • The memory card is damaged — file-system error

Fix:

  • Open the file in a text editor and delete the last line — if the rest parses, save it
  • Copy the card to another machine and check — sometimes macOS Finder helps recover bad blocks

Without a usable MRK, the flight must be redone — unfortunate but unavoidable.

”Unsupported drone: …”

Section titled “”Unsupported drone: …””

The detected drone type is not on the supported list.

Supported:

  • DJI Phantom 4 RTK (P4R)
  • DJI Phantom 4 Multispectral (P4M)
  • DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise (M3E)
  • DJI Mavic 3 Multispectral (M3M)

If you have another DJI model, it’s not supported today. Send the request via the portal support form — we track demand.

Corrupt images

Section titled “Corrupt images”

During import, images are skipped if:

  • The JPEG is 0 bytes
  • The XMP metadata is missing (post-processed files)
  • The GPS coordinate is zero or invalid
  • The image is a calibration panel photo (automatic — intentional)

The list of skipped images is shown under the import dialog. The import proceeds with the surviving images.

Multispectral drone special cases

Section titled “Multispectral drone special cases”

”NIR band missing”

Section titled “”NIR band missing””

The M3M captures 4 MS TIFFs per exposure. If one is missing (e.g. a damaged file), the whole exposure is dropped for all bands.

Fix: check the memory card for *_MS_*.TIF files corresponding to each image.

”No calibration panel”

Section titled “”No calibration panel””

DroneField warns if calibration panel shots are missing — but processing can still be started.

In that case the NDVI absolute values are not credible — only the relative differences are. For visualisation, use preset ranges — those work on a relative scale.

”The estimated image count doesn’t match”

Section titled “”The estimated image count doesn’t match””

The number shown in the import dialog differs from what DJI Pilot 2 reported.

  • DroneField counts JPEG files, not missions.
  • Calibration panel images are excluded from DJI’s count too.
  • For multispectral drones, the MS bands (G, R, RE, NIR) are separate files, but DroneField shows the exposure count (G+R+RE+NIR = 1 exposure).

The difference is normal — don’t worry.

”Import takes forever”

Section titled “”Import takes forever””

A 200-image folder imports in ~30–60 seconds on M3. If it takes significantly longer:

  • The images are on NFS or a network folder — slow I/O
  • The memory card is slow (older than Class 10)
  • The Mac is low on memory (8 GB) — swapping slows it down

Fix: copy the imagery to the Mac’s NVMe SSD and import from there.

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