Question about ND Filters

[Res89]

I recently bought the PolarPro Cinema series 3-pack Vivid ND filters. Knowing that they come with an ND4, ND8, and ND16 made me wonder whether or not the ND16 will be sufficient for very bright days. In the scenario that it isn't, obviously using the ND16 would still allow me to have a shutter speed closer to 1/60 (I'm shooting at 30fps in most scenarios) but is this any more beneficial than no filter at all and a much higher shutter speed? Will it positively impact my footage being closer to 1/60 even if I'm not right on that number?

 

[CC Rider]

Yes, it is a lot better. It affords you another level of control over the camera, which is good.

As a rule of thumb, you want your shutter speed to be about 2 times what your fps frame rate is for the best results.That part comes down to pure math. And a 1/60th shutter speed allows adequate time for enough light in to strike the sensor and record accurate details of the image you are shooting. The ND 16 filter will open the camera up allowing you to shoot at 1/60th a second in the first place. Those filters do not make your pictures darker. They are designed to progressively open up your camera a few stops at a time as you go from a ND4 to a ND 32 filter, which produces very smooth cinematic effects as it opens up the camera a great deal.

Properly setting your ISO (lower is better), locking in your exposure, and remembering to lock in your white balance, too, are three things you can easily do to reliably capture good photos and video footage every time without running into under or overexposed scenes as you are filming/photographing or having noticeable changes popping up in your white balance messing up what you've shot. And it's best to lock in your white balance using either a neutral gray card (which they sell) or something that is a true white placed in front of the camera to lock the white balance on, every time you switch batteries. You can also use the setting you are shooting at, choosing what you want to emphasize on and locking your white balance on that aspect of the image (i.e., picking the sky over the ground or trees and locking onto that, etc.).

 

[Res89]

Yes, it is a lot better. It affords you another level of control over the camera, which is good.

As a rule of thumb, you want your shutter speed to be about 2 times what your fps frame rate is for the best results.That part comes down to pure math. And a 1/60th shutter speed allows adequate time for enough light in to strike the sensor and record accurate details of the image you are shooting. The ND 16 filter will open the camera up allowing you to shoot at 1/60th a second in the first place. Those filters do not make your pictures darker. They are designed to progressively open up your camera a few stops at a time as you go from a ND4 to a ND 32 filter, which produces very smooth cinematic effects as it opens up the camera a great deal.

Properly setting your ISO (lower is better), locking in your exposure, and remembering to lock in your white balance, too, are three things you can easily do to reliably capture good photos and video footage every time without running into under or overexposed scenes as you are filming/photographing or having noticeable changes popping up in your white balance messing up what you've shot. And it's best to lock in your white balance using either a neutral gray card (which they sell) or something that is a true white placed in front of the camera to lock the white balance on, every time you switch batteries. You can also use the setting you are shooting at, choosing what you want to emphasize on and locking your white balance on that aspect of the image (i.e., picking the sky over the ground or trees and locking onto that, etc.).

Thanks for the detailed explanation! Being quite inexperienced I have a few more questions for you. I was under the impression the WB settings within the DJI Go 4 app were sufficient as long as you weren't using auto but rather setting "sunny" or "cloudy" or potentially finding your own based on what you are filming/photographing and playing with the custom setting, never knew anything about a gray card or placing something white in front of the camera. Are those settings within the app going to give me poor footage if I select based on the weather and let the app do the rest? Keep in mind I'm no professional and this footage will likely only be for myself, family and friends. One more question I have is, in order to Lock in exposure within the app, is that just pressing the lock picture next to the "AE" and making sure it is locked? I only ask this because when i was filming today on Auto I didn't remember to do that and the EV would change, albeit not by much because what I was shooting was not consistently lit due to the position of the sun and where I was filming at the time. Other than that I'll be completely honest, I'm not sure how to lock exposure with the Mavic aside from making sure you set it while on manual and then pay close attention exactly where you face your camera while you are filming.

 

[EspenT]

Hello

For most use setting white balance to settings like sunny or cloudy will be good enough. What´s most important is that it´s consistent trough all the shots. I´t might not be 100% correct, but most won't notice. If colours/white balance changes during a shot, then most people will notice.
As the Mavic does not have a adjustable aperture, the ISO and shutter speed is the only parameters affecting the exposure. I suggest to set the ISO as low as possible, and also the shutter speed as low as possible while maintaining the correct exposure(until you reach a shutter speed that is twice your frame rate). Or you could simply press the AE lock when you have the correct exposure.

 

[DonB]

I'm no expert but I use the 32 or 64 in southern Fl when filming on a sunny day


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[DodgeP]

I can't see how the ND16 would be enough. It was cloudy today here in NY and shooting 4K 24 without filters my ISO shutter speed was at 500. Can anyone say, hello jello!!!

 

[Res89]

The point is even the nd16 will lower shutter speed much more than no filter so it will help assuming lowering the shutter speed makes for better quality.

I would think keeping the ISO as low as possible is more important than having the shutter speed at exactly double the framerate but I could be wrong?


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