Will ND filters help,with overall noise?

JoshuaCarlton · Jan 22, 2017

I love my Mavic but I notice a slight grain/noise in most of my footage, I have seen several Mavic videos that are crystal clear, I don't mind if this is something that needs some post processing but if it can be cured with ND filters that would be great.(the DJi ones are already on there way). I mostly notice it when there are lots of complex patterns in the shot so I guess it could be moire instead of noise but it looks more grainy than wavey lines if that makes sense. I have never been able to get my shutter speed to be double my frame rate without everything being really overexposed.

JoshuaCarlton · Jan 22, 2017

I guess I should have given more information, this has been shooting in the middle of a cloudy but evenly lit day in Oregon at about 3:00. ISO 100, I usually end up,shooting on auto out of frustration with getting my settings right.

MPPilot · Jan 22, 2017

What resolution and framerate are you shooting at?

JoshuaCarlton · Jan 22, 2017

MPPilot said:
What resolution and framerate are you shooting at?

2.7k 30fps

MPPilot · Jan 22, 2017

I don't see any problem with the settings, I guess it will take somebody with a little bit more in-depth knowledge of the camera systems to help you out here, sorry.

JoshuaCarlton · Jan 22, 2017

MPPilot said:
I don't see any problem with the settings, I guess it will take somebody with a little bit more in-depth knowledge of the camera systems to help you out here, sorry.

No problem, thanks for trying.

do you notice grain/noise on your footage? At first I figured it was just the camera but I keep seeing footage with no grain/noise so I am hoping it's just something I haven't dialed in correctly.

MPPilot · Jan 22, 2017

No, I have not noticed anything in particular. I am also shooting auto, but at 4K 24 FPS.

JoshuaCarlton · Jan 22, 2017

MPPilot said:
No, I have not noticed anything in particular. I am also shooting auto, but at 4K 24 FPS.

Hmmm, I will try that tomorrow

4wd · Jan 23, 2017

JoshuaCarlton said:
I mostly notice it when there are lots of complex patterns in the shot so I guess it could be moire instead of noise .

This sounds more like sharpening artefacts, try the sharpen setting in custom style on -1 or -2.
The contrast might be better down a bit too.

The Moiré effect is strange though, it depends quite a bit on how you view it or rather which screen.
For example it might look bad on your laptop but fine on a TV or tablet
An ND might help in some cases but make things worse in others.
With the light conditions you mention the shutter won't be going outrageously fast.

JoshuaCarlton · Jan 23, 2017

4wd said:
This sounds more like sharpening artefacts, try the sharpen setting in custom style on -1 or -2.
The contrast might be better down a bit too.

The Moiré effect is strange though, it depends quite a bit on how you view it or rather which screen.
For example it might look bad on your laptop but fine on a TV or tablet
An ND might help in some cases but make things worse in others.
With the light conditions you mention the shutter won't be going outrageously fast.

Thank you

truthseekers · Apr 15, 2017

You must always have your ISO on 100. This is lowest grain and lowest noise. any higher setting like 200, 400, 800 are for darker conditions only and using them will give grain and noise the higher you go. Avoid them if you can at all. Shaprness must be -1 zero or 1.... minus if you like a softer look... zero is normal and 1 ifyou prefer a bit of sharpness punch. Some people say its easier to correc -1 in post production but it depends on which firmware you have how this will play out for you.

BorisTheSpider · Apr 15, 2017

JoshuaCarlton said:
Thank you

Don't use negative sharpening, you'll end up with mush. 0 is as low as you should ever set sharpening.

truthseekers · Apr 15, 2017

BorisTheSpider said:
Don't use negative sharpening, you'll end up with mush. 0 is as low as you should ever set sharpening.

Thanks for this. I will add though that there are people out there who have reported REVERSED sharping settings, ie -1 is giving them sharper and 1 is softer. Casey Ferris who is a massive youtuber who reviews drones and editing techniques for example swears that -1 is the sweet spot for him... you can check him out here:

but all of this is very firmware dependent aswell it seems. Some firmwares are behaving differently to others. If you have any views on this update would be interested to hear.