Mini 2 First flight with an ND filter

[Feek]

Today is the first day for about a fortnight that it's been calm enough to fly but it was terribly overcast. Since my last flight, I've bought some Freewell filters and used the ND16 for this. I use iMovie for editing so I can't do anything with adjusting the colours but I'm reasonably happy with how this came out.

Spoiler: This is the original which is quite dark

This has been lightened and should be better.

 

[GFields]

Nice video, but a bit dark. I wonder how it would look without the ND filter.

 

[Prop Wash]

Did you use auto settings or did you manually adjust the settings. Seemed a bit dark, probably from the ND16. Over all, though, the video is good!

 

[Feek]

Did you use auto settings or did you manually adjust the settings. Seemed a bit dark, probably from the ND16. Over all, though, the video is good!

ISO 100, 4k@30fps and 1/60

I think the ND8 would have been a better bet for this, or perhaps increasing the ISO to 200.

Nice video, but a bit dark. I wonder how it would look without the ND filter.

With the camera settings as above, it would have been completely overexposed. I did put an ND8 on first but when I pointed the drone around before the flight, I could see it was too bright, hence why I went with the ND16. With hindsight, the ND8 would have been better.

 

[Feek]

@Prop Wash and @GFields, I've figured out how to adjust the contrast in iMovie, have uploaded and edited the first post, how does that look to you now?

 

[GFields]

@Prop Wash and @GFields, I've figured out how to adjust the contrast in iMovie, have uploaded and edited the first post, how does that look to you now?

Much better!!!

 

[Prop Wash]

@Prop Wash and @GFields, I've figured out how to adjust the contrast in iMovie, have uploaded and edited the first post, how does that look to you now?

That looks more like it should! Nice!

 

[MS Coast]

What benefit from the ND filter were you hoping to see? With the camera that far from the subject, I'm not sure that you'd need to be concerned with the 180-degree shutter/frame rate ratio.

 

[Feek]

What benefit from the ND filter were you hoping to see? With the camera that far from the subject, I'm not sure that you'd need to be concerned with the 180-degree shutter/frame rate ratio.

Pretty much everything I read says that ND filters make things look a bit better, with a little motion blur and less absolute pinprick sharpness.

 

[Meta4]

Pretty much everything I read says that ND filters make things look a bit better, with a little motion blur and less absolute pinprick sharpness.

The ND filter doesn't do anything for the appearance of the video except to add motion blur - if there is close enough motion.
With distant subject matter as in your video, there won't be motion blur to notice and the videos would look almost identical with or without the ND filter (if exposed properly).

The idea that motion blur is important is over-hyped.
Try shooting a short sequence with and without and see if it makes any difference in your eyes.

 

[GregS]

Glad someone else is concerned about which ND filter to use. I have gone from ND8 to ND32 on same day and really didn't see that much difference. Maybe I'm just glad I got the video.

 

[MS Coast]

Glad someone else is concerned about which ND filter to use. I have gone from ND8 to ND32 on same day and really didn't see that much difference. Maybe I'm just glad I got the video.

No ND filter is usually the best option for video unless you're concerned with motion blur, which is seldom a concern in landscape-oriented drone videos like the OP's.

If you're using auto exposure mode and add an ND filter, the drone just increases the ISO, reduces the shutter speed, or opens the aperture (on drones with variable aperture) to compensate for the reduced amount of light reaching the sensor. Higher ISO always results in poorer image quality. Lower shutter speed and larger aperture may also be undesirable for the particular situation.

An ND8 filter blocks 7/8 of the light reaching the camera sensor, three stops of exposure. That's cutting the light in half, three times. An ND32 blocks 31/32 of the light, five stops. That's forcing the camera to do its job with just 3% of the available light.

If "less absolute pinprick sharpness" is the objective, then a cheaper drone with lower camera resolution is a good option.

 

[Feek]

No ND filter is usually the best option for video unless you're concerned with motion blur, which is seldom a concern in landscape-oriented drone videos like the OP's.

Nicely explained, this is the important bit for me. Thank you.