Polar pro filters

[PolarPro]

Thanks !

Édit: just ordered the cinema shutter collection !

Awesome thanks for supporting our brand!
-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[CamoGreg]

Thanks for your advice ! Can’t wait to test them !

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

@PolarPro . . . Jeff, good to have you here on the forum to answer people questions.
I have one, been bugging me a while.

Do PL's, be they C-PL or NDPL, need to be adjusted, turned to get the best reflection free filming or stills ?
If I hold mine up and turn, you can see the difference like a handheld regular camera PL.

I have PL for my handheld camera and I can obviously turn it as I point at the subject, get best result, and shoot.

This is totally different to a drone where you really have to have the drone powered down to fit / remove, even adjust, and of course when flying you are regularly changing direction, and thus light / effects of a PL filter.
Most say they hold it up looking at their subject, get right, then try and fit in that alignment, a bit hit an miss perhaps, and obviously doesn't work in dynamic flying with multiple directions.

If you can shed any light on the best way to use the PL filters, I'm sure it will help everyone using them for reflection reduction.

 

[PolarPro]

@PolarPro . . . Jeff, good to have you here on the forum to answer people questions.
I have one, been bugging me a while.

Do PL's, be they C-PL or NDPL, need to be adjusted, turned to get the best reflection free filming or stills ?
If I hold mine up and turn, you can see the difference like a handheld regular camera PL.

I have PL for my handheld camera and I can obviously turn it as I point at the subject, get best result, and shoot.

This is totally different to a drone where you really have to have the drone powered down to fit / remove, even adjust, and of course when flying you are regularly changing direction, and thus light / effects of a PL filter.
Most say they hold it up looking at their subject, get right, then try and fit in that alignment, a bit hit an miss perhaps, and obviously doesn't work in dynamic flying with multiple directions.

If you can shed any light on the best way to use the PL filters, I'm sure it will help everyone using them for reflection reduction.

This is a very common question and a good one!

Polarizers can be a little more setup work than straight ND's to get them perfect for each shot. Here is how I personally use the Vivid Collection DJI Mavic Filters - Cinema Series - Vivid Collection:

1. If I am on a production shoot or high value shoot:
I will orient the filter for each specific shot. Orient filter > get shot > Land > Orient for next shot > Repeat.
This method can be tedious but when you need your content to be perfect, the extra steps (in my opinion) are well worth the added polarization and saturated colors.

2. If I am flying for fun
I will orient the filter facing 90 degrees from the sun. This will give you a generic linear polarization for that specific time of day and cover the broadest range. In this scenario some of your shots will be perfect, some will be a little polarized, and some not polarized, but you will still be getting the effects of the ND.

As always, if you have any further questions please feel free to ask! I am here to help!
-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[ronk]

First to answer your question:
The Orientation will stay the same at any height, the big variable is the direction the camera is facing.
-Jeff from PolarPro

Jeff, can you clarify the above. I have purchased the polarpro vivid. Are you saying that once the nd/pl is on, you can only fly in one direction to get the best image?

 

[PolarPro]

Jeff, can you clarify the above. I have purchased the polarpro vivid. Are you saying that once the nd/pl is on, you can only fly in one direction to get the best image?

The polarizer's maximum polarization angle changes relative to the sun. In theory, to get the maximum polarization angle for each scene/direction you would need reset the polarization for each scene/direction.

The good news is that a polarizer will reduce glare even if it is not at the max polarization angle. That is why I like to give the example > If I am getting paid to shoot, I will take the time to get max polarization on each scene. If I am not getting paid (80% of my shooting), I will generally just set it once 90 degrees from the sun and fly.

Summary:
1. Adjusting for each scene = Perfect Polarization and Maximum Glare reduction

2. Adjusting once = good polarization with glare reduction (better than without a PL)

Happy to clarify further if needed!
-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[ronk]

The polarizer's maximum polarization angle changes relative to the sun. In theory, to get the maximum polarization angle for each scene/direction you would need reset the polarization for each scene/direction.
-Jeff from PolarPro

Thanks for the detailed response Jeff. Is it fair to say that the vivid collection filter will act like a "shutter collection" at the wrong angle and like a "vivid collection (glare reduction)" at the right angle?

 

[PolarPro]

Thanks for the detailed response Jeff. Is it fair to say that the vivid collection filter will act like a "shutter collection" at the wrong angle and like a "vivid collection (glare reduction)" at the right angle?

You are welcome!
Even at the minimum polarization angle the filter will still remove some glare and increase saturation slightly more than the shutter collection would.

-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

This is a very common question and a good one!

Polarizers can be a little more setup work than straight ND's to get them perfect for each shot. Here is how I personally use the Vivid Collection DJI Mavic Filters - Cinema Series - Vivid Collection:

1. If I am on a production shoot or high value shoot:
I will orient the filter for each specific shot. Orient filter > get shot > Land > Orient for next shot > Repeat.
This method can be tedious but when you need your content to be perfect, the extra steps (in my opinion) are well worth the added polarization and saturated colors.

2. If I am flying for fun
I will orient the filter facing 90 degrees from the sun. This will give you a generic linear polarization for that specific time of day and cover the broadest range. In this scenario some of your shots will be perfect, some will be a little polarized, and some not polarized, but you will still be getting the effects of the ND.

As always, if you have any further questions please feel free to ask! I am here to help!
-Jeff from PolarPro

Thanks Jeff, well done, I will try the 90 degrees fitting in general then.
My next planned water shoot (wind ideal) is an early morning first light one, so might be ok to orientate it the suit and fly main direction and just reduce glare off the rivers water.

 

[ronk]

good article IMO: Understanding & Using Polarizing Filters

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

good article IMO: Understanding & Using Polarizing Filters

Also the link near bottom Understanding and Choosing a Camera Lens Filter: Polarizers, UV, ND & GND.

 

[CamoGreg]

Just received my PolarPro filters Cinema serie Shutter collection !

Can’t wait to test !

Just a question.... I understand now the rule to have the shutter at 50 if I record in 25fps. Is this rule the same for the three filters (ND 8-16-32) ? It’s write that ND 8 you can reduce speed on the shutter and for ND 32 lower the shutter speed. What the point here ??

A bit loss
Thanks !

 

[PolarPro]

Just received my PolarPro filters Cinema serie Shutter collection !

Can’t wait to test !

Just a question.... I understand now the rule to have the shutter at 50 if I record in 25fps. Is this rule the same for the three filters (ND 8-16-32) ? It’s write that ND 8 you can reduce speed on the shutter and for ND 32 lower the shutter speed. What the point here ??

A bit loss
Thanks !

Each filter reduces a different amount of light. The ND8 reduces 3 stops of light, whereas the ND32 reduces 5-stops of light.Which filter you need to use to get shutter to 1/50th is determined by the lighting conditions you are shooting in. You will either need to become comfortable with calculating exposure or you can download the PolarPro App which has a build in filter calculator

PolarPro APP: PolarPro | App

-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[ronk]

 

[CamoGreg]

Each filter reduces a different amount of light. The ND8 reduces 3 stops of light, whereas the ND32 reduces 5-stops of light.Which filter you need to use to get shutter to 1/50th is determined by the lighting conditions you are shooting in. You will either need to become comfortable with calculating exposure or you can download the PolarPro App which has a build in filter calculator

PolarPro APP: PolarPro | App

-Jeff from PolarPro

Thanks again Jeff ! PolarPro app installed now !

 

[CamoGreg]

Is it normal that the shutter speed changes automatically during flight even in Manual mode ?

 

[CamoGreg]

Is it normal that the shutter speed changes automatically during flight even in Manual mode ?

Any answer ? Thks