Tips to Improve your Aerial Cinematography: Sponsored Sticky

[Chas@JPA]

Thanks for the question, currently our Cinema Series filters are backordered. The fastest way to get them is to order on our site and they will ship by March 8th.

I do see Amazon just placed orders, we have many other dealers that placed orders before, and we will be shipping those first. I do not have an estimate on when they will be receiving their orders.

-Jeff

Great info on this thread, Jeff. Received my Cinema 6 pack last week. They fit perfectly.
Also like the Filter Calc App you suggested. Easy to figure what to use. Thanks.

 

[kneeL]

Can anyone speak to the bad reviews regarding difficulty of putting these on or taking them off? Some have indicated that you can damage your gimbal, and that they are way harder and more time-consuming + dangerous to put on than the DJI ones (which have clip-on thingies)

I ordered the PolarPro 3-pack from BestBuy for the Mavic Pro but am now a bit concerned about the reviews regarding how rough it can be on the gimbal to put these on or take them off often

 

[PolarPro]

Can anyone speak to the bad reviews regarding difficulty of putting these on or taking them off? Some have indicated that you can damage your gimbal, and that they are way harder and more time-consuming + dangerous to put on than the DJI ones (which have clip-on thingies)

I ordered the PolarPro 3-pack from BestBuy for the Mavic Pro but am now a bit concerned about the reviews regarding how rough it can be on the gimbal to put these on or take them off often

Here is a great video that will guide you through installation.
Follow these steps and you will be fine:

 

[Chas@JPA]

Here is a great video that will guide you through installation.
Follow these steps and you will be fine:

Good deal on posting the vid here. Believe it is the same one I looked at on the website under FAQs a few days ago when I tried them.

 

[kneeL]

Great video thanks, certainly looks easy! Look forward to using them

 

[web2wire]

Just got my filters six-pack but not been flying weather here lately. One thing I'm slightly confused about is how you align the polarising filters. On my regular camera they can be easily rotated to get the best effect but on the MP this is more tricky since you have to do it on the ground where you might not even be able to see any water surfaces etc.

Is there a mark or shortcut to align the filters given one or more sets of lighting conditions?

 

[UAV Blue]

Hey Guys!
I wanted to share a couple ways you can improve your aerial videos/photos. Most of this info is for pilots just starting out, but hopefully everyone can take something away from it.


1. Keep Your Lens and Filters Clean

This one seems obvious but it is important. I check my lens and filter before each flight


2. Time of Day

The best time to capture epic footage is to film an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset, during these times the light is less harsh and will yield stunning videos.


3. Using Filters

Neutral density filters are used to reduce your cameras shutter speed. A general rule in cinematography is to have your shutter speed at double your frame rate. For example, when shooting at 30fps you want shutter at 1/60th which will yield a smooth cinematic look. This rule of cinematography is also called the “180 degree rule of shutter” for those of you who would like to read up on it. At PolarPro we manufacture a wide range of Mavic Filters that will help you achieve slower shutter speeds.

PolarPro | DJI Mavic Filters


4. How to Select the Right Filter

The goal you are trying to achieve with video is double your frame rate. If you are not familiar with f-stops and exposure, fear not, we have developed a free app that calculates all this for you:

IOS: Filter Calculator on the App Store

Andriod: Filter Calculator - Android Apps on Google Play


5. When Possible Shoot Away from the Sun

Shooting at the sun can be very tricky and often lead to severely under-exposed or over-exposed images and video. If I am shooting a subject, I always try to move the aircraft into a spot where the sun is behind the camera.


6. Smooth Gimbal Movements

Flying the Mavic in sport mode is really fun, it’s hard not to fly it like a fighter jet. However, if you are trying to create a cinematic composition, you need to slow it down. Try to move the gimbal smoothly and pan slowly, the slower the movements the better (you can always speed it up in post).


7. Manual vs Auto Mode

A common question we get is which mode to shoot in with our filters. The answer: whatever mode you are most comfortable with. Manual mode will lock your shutter speed which is perfect when you want it to be EXACTLY double frame rate. The drawback is that if exposure changes in the air you will need to use the EV comp to balance it, or else correct it in post. Have no idea what any of that means? Shoot in Auto, when you shoot in Auto the processor will keep your shutter speed CLOSE to double shutter, and you will not need to make any changes in post.


Hopefully this is helpful for some of you! Happy filming,


Jeff from PolarPro

www.polarprofilters.com

Thanks Jeff, I have been reading up on all the camera settings for good photography. But, I have a question. This may not be for Pro video but for good quality video. It seems the camera settings are missing something. With the GoPro I can set a maximum ASA without giving up auto and limit the noise while talking advantage of auto exposure. No such setting on DJI. Also on my digital cameras, I can set aperture preferred or shutter preferred for Auto. Doesn't it make since to have these options. I have no idea how to get DJI to consider them?

 

[PolarPro]

Thanks Jeff, I have been reading up on all the camera settings for good photography. But, I have a question. This may not be for Pro video but for good quality video. It seems the camera settings are missing something. With the GoPro I can set a maximum ASA without giving up auto and limit the noise while talking advantage of auto exposure. No such setting on DJI. Also on my digital cameras, I can set aperture preferred or shutter preferred for Auto. Doesn't it make since to have these options. I have no idea how to get DJI to consider them?

I shoot 4K, 30FPS, ISO:100, and whatever filter I need to get shutter speed to 1/60th. You really cant go wrong with those settings, you need to kick it into manual mode to lock those settings in.

Hope that helps,
-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[PolarPro]

Just got my filters six-pack but not been flying weather here lately. One thing I'm slightly confused about is how you align the polarising filters. On my regular camera they can be easily rotated to get the best effect but on the MP this is more tricky since you have to do it on the ground where you might not even be able to see any water surfaces etc.
Is there a mark or shortcut to align the filters given one or more sets of lighting conditions?

The Polarizing angle changes as the sun moves through the sky, so you will need to orient the polarizer before each flight.
I hold the filter in front of the camera, and rotate it until I get it dialed in, then I push the filter onto the camera. Marking it wouldnt help much because your alignment will change relative to the sun's position in the sky.

Here is a video on how to align a polarizer:

-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[web2wire]

The Polarizing angle changes as the sun moves through the sky, so you will need to orient the polarizer before each flight.
I hold the filter in front of the camera, and rotate it until I get it dialed in, then I push the filter onto the camera. Marking it wouldnt help much because your alignment will change relative to the sun's position in the sky.
-Jeff from PolarPro

Thanks Jeff. I have watched the videos and experimented on the ground with the filters and one thing I notice is that they are very hard to get off the camera, it's quite a scary experience given how hard you have to grip the camera and gimbal to get any purchase. I was wondering if carefully adding a bit of some sort of lube to the outside of the camera might help with application and removal of the filters. Is this something you have experience of and would, or would not, recommend?

 

[PolarPro]

Thanks Jeff. I have watched the videos and experimented on the ground with the filters and one thing I notice is that they are very hard to get off the camera, it's quite a scary experience given how hard you have to grip the camera and gimbal to get any purchase. I was wondering if carefully adding a bit of some sort of lube to the outside of the camera might help with application and removal of the filters. Is this something you have experience of and would, or would not, recommend?

You could certainly try that,
We have actually seen that there is a very large diameter tolerance on the new Mavic cameras coming off the line right now.
We do have a filter for these larger new cameras, if you would like to send us an email we can get you in the que for these filters.

[email protected]

-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[web2wire]

Thanks Jeff, I'll see how I get on. I don't think I can justify buying another set of filters when I've only just got the first ones.

 

[PolarPro]

Thanks Jeff, I'll see how I get on. I don't think I can justify buying another set of filters when I've only just got the first ones.

You would not need to pay for that, we take care of the cost.
Shoot us an email: [email protected]

-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[web2wire]

Thanks Jeff, sorry for being a bit slow Mail sent.

 

[schweb]

I think the calculator from Polar pro isn't working. I just downloaded it and won't calculate

 

[PolarPro]

I think the calculator from Polar pro isn't working. I just downloaded it and won't calculate

Did you watch the video and read the instructions?
PolarPro Filter Calculator App

It works, it also auto-updates the calculate field. The video on the page above will give you all the information you need on how to use the app

-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[schweb]

Did you watch the video and read the instructions?
PolarPro Filter Calculator App

It works, it also auto-updates the calculate field. The video on the page above will give you all the information you need on how to use the app

-Jeff from PolarPro

ok I'll check it out again thanks

 

[schweb]

Did you watch the video and read the instructions?
PolarPro Filter Calculator App

It works, it also auto-updates the calculate field. The video on the page above will give you all the information you need on how to use the app

-Jeff from PolarPro

ok I'm a bonehead it works fine

 

[mlaczek]

Did you watch the video and read the instructions?
PolarPro Filter Calculator App

It works, it also auto-updates the calculate field. The video on the page above will give you all the information you need on how to use the app

-Jeff from PolarPro

hi Jeff from PolarPro,

can i to order filters from hungary on polarpro.com directly? i don't want to order from amazon or other site, because i readed there is some not original PolarPro filter can buy. in hungary i didn't found seller, who has PP cinema series vivid, or shutter collection.

regards, mlaczek

 

[PolarPro]

hi Jeff from PolarPro,

can i to order filters from hungary on polarpro.com directly? i don't want to order from amazon or other site, because i readed there is some not original PolarPro filter can buy. in hungary i didn't found seller, who has PP cinema series vivid, or shutter collection.

regards, mlaczek

Yes, we ship to Hungary, shipping is $14.99 and usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to get to Hungary, you can also choose DHL shipping for faster speed. Our website is: www.polarprofilters.com

Please let me know if you have any other questions!
-Jeff from PolarPro