Any tips for night photos?

[djiboi]

This was with 100 ISO and 2 second exposure. Very blurry!

 

[Mad Mavic]

After looking at your photo I'm curious if the right finger wheel (i'm flying a Mavic Pro Platinum) would help. I know in the daylight I can adjust in either direction and washout the image or make it seem as though it were night. The right camera button on mine is set to focus by holding the button in longer that normal. You get a shutter flash but just after the image reappears and you see the camera focus.

Given that night flying is illegal then perhaps the camera isn't designed for low light... I'm obviously guessing.

 

[BD0G]

Well night flying is not illegal if you comply with the FAA's regulation to have a strobe mounted to the drone that has a 3SM visibility. That is if you are Part 107 Certified and have applied and been granted a 14 CFR 107.29 Daylight Operation Waiver
The waiver will be valid for 4 years of night flights.

As a Hobbiest flyer I can find no clear cut rule that disallows night flights as well. It would be strongly recommended to follow similar strobe setups for visibility though. Many use the Strobon CREE LED lights or the Firehouse Strobes.

 

[BD0G]

Oh, and for night flying and taking better photos. It is a good idea to fly over something brightly lit and then tap to focus on that area. Then take your long exposure. High wind conditions will cause instability and thus induce blur as the Mavic is moving ever so slightly during the long exposure. Experiment with longer durations like 5 or 6 seconds.

 

[Mike4884]

Drone police everywhere! Anyway it's going to be hard to get night shots your iso was at 100 normally you would have it set at that in daytime so you will probably have to come up to 400 there will be a little more noise but you probably won't notice it at 400 you might even need 800 depending on how much the subject is lit.

 

[Mike4884]

Here is something like a 3 sec exposure.... so if you are not going for that affect maybe lower it....

 

[ykwarks]

as mentioned above, if you’re flying a MP, you’ll need to first set it to auto focus and find a bright spot approx 50m away to focus, then set to manual focus and leave it at that for the remaining of your flight. MA has fixed focus so there’s no need to worry about that.

use iso100 and try to keep it less than 2sec (1~1.6 depending on lighting condition) take 3-5 shots of the same framing and use the best one. you’ll also need to post edit your image to achieve a decent result.

i did managed to take 3sec exp but it’s time consuming so i try to stay below 2sec and find a spot with enough lighting to allow that.

i take night photos quite often on both MP and MA. although the camera is better on the MA, i’m having easier time with the MP when it comes to long exposure shots. i see more motion blur on the MA but still managed to get 1 or 2 decent shots out of 10.

since not everyone here are flying in the US (including myself), i won’t get into the laws and regulations of night flying.

 

[Prmath]

This was with 100 ISO and 2 second exposure. Very blurry! View attachment 33260

Here is something like a 3 sec exposure.... so if you are not going for that affect maybe lower it....

 

[djiboi]

Wait, the MA has a focus? I thought it was set to infinity and the only thing you could set was the metering?

 

[djiboi]

After looking at your photo I'm curious if the right finger wheel (i'm flying a Mavic Pro Platinum) would help. I know in the daylight I can adjust in either direction and washout the image or make it seem as though it were night. The right camera button on mine is set to focus by holding the button in longer that normal. You get a shutter flash but just after the image reappears and you see the camera focus.

Given that night flying is illegal then perhaps the camera isn't designed for low light... I'm obviously guessing.

There is no right wheel in the MA.

 

[ykwarks]

Wait, the MA has a focus? I thought it was set to infinity and the only thing you could set was the metering?

right, MA has fixed focus so forget about the focus part. sorry for the confusion, focus only applies on MP.

 

[djiboi]

At least we have ruled out focus issues. I'm going to guess it's just not holding it's position enough and it's down to ghosting

 

[MQuinn]

On the Mavic pro you would put it to manual infinity focus. Since the air is fixed focus I doubt this is your problem. Low wind 7 mph or less is ideal. I have taken up to 8 second ones at night on windless nights. This one is from tonight with 7mph wind @ 6 seconds Iso 100 with the Mavic Pro

 

[djiboi]

Very nice, i'll have to try again when there is no wind

 

[ykwarks]

this was taken using the MA iso100, 1.3sec in slightly windy condition.
i have more difficulties getting decent results if longer than 2sec with the MA even in very low wind conditions. they usually comes out a bit blurry. with the MP, i can do much longer.

 

[Mad Mavic]

Well night flying is not illegal if you comply with the FAA's regulation to have a strobe mounted to the drone that has a 3SM visibility. That is if you are Part 107 Certified and have applied and been granted a 14 CFR 107.29 Daylight Operation Waiver
The waiver will be valid for 4 years of night flights.

As a Hobbiest flyer I can find no clear cut rule that disallows night flights as well. It would be strongly recommended to follow similar strobe setups for visibility though. Many use the Strobon CREE LED lights or the Firehouse Strobes.

Very nice, i'll have to try again when there is no wind

View attachment 33310 this was taken using the MA iso100, 1.3sec in slightly windy condition.
i have more difficulties getting decent results if longer than 2sec with the MA even in very low wind conditions. they usually comes out a bit blurry. with the MP, i can do much longer.

On the Mavic pro you would put it to manual infinity focus. Since the air is fixed focus I doubt this is your problem. Low wind 7 mph or less is ideal. I have taken up to 8 second ones at night on windless nights. This one is from tonight with 7mph wind @ 6 seconds Iso 100 with the Mavic Pro

View attachment 33310 this was taken using the MA iso100, 1.3sec in slightly windy condition.
i have more difficulties getting decent results if longer than 2sec with the MA even in very low wind conditions. they usually comes out a bit blurry. with the MP, i can do much longer.

Nice, especially the forefront. Perhaps even worthy of a frame. The frozen energy captured in the moving traffic in contrast to those waiting makes me want to borrow from Bob Seager and call it Night Moves... well done ykwarks

 

[Prmath]

Shot at night..... full auto. My son knew nothing but take off and take a photo

This was with 100 ISO and 2 second exposure. Very blurry! View attachment 33260

TRY...... Full Auto

 

[ykwarks]

View attachment 33306 Shot at night..... full auto. My son knew nothing but take off and take a photo

TRY...... Full Auto

using auto looks ok on a smal screen but you’ll notice the noise as you enlarge them. auto setting will prioritize the shutter speed so the iso is set too high, you want to keep it as low as possible. but if you’re just going to share them with family & friends for viewing on their phones, then auto will work just fine.

 

[Prmath]

using auto looks ok on a smal screen but you’ll notice the noise as you enlarge them. auto setting will prioritize the shutter speed so the iso is set too high, you want to keep it as low as possible. but if you’re just going to share them with family & friends for viewing on their phones, then auto will work just fine.

Agree 100%......... this image of construction work on I-10 was shot on Auto also but with an Autel

 

[robmacom]

On the Mavic pro you would put it to manual infinity focus. Since the air is fixed focus I doubt this is your problem. Low wind 7 mph or less is ideal. I have taken up to 8 second ones at night on windless nights. This one is from tonight with 7mph wind @ 6 seconds Iso 100 with the Mavic Pro