Does everyone use filters?

[MikeyST1957]

Seems like there are lots of posts I can read to better understand why to use filters for video.....
I’m wading through them

does everyone use filters for most video shooting?

 

[izometric]

I am actually using no filters, I shoot videos at 2.7k - 60fps on auto -> DJI Mini 2.

They came out very well exposed and the video is as fluid as anyone could possibly hope.

I am waiting for my filters to be delivered but I am mostly interested in the CPL filters rather than ND because I am shooting high rise buildings and I am interested to get rid of the glare and reflections as much as possible.

However, my personal opinion is that you can live without filters if you shoot at high frame rate.

 

[Dogpilot]

I am not a big video guy. I do mostly stills for my work. For my purposes I routinely use a polarizer. It offers more color saturation and cuts down on haze and reflections. Now for video there is a desire to get the video to be smooth. Stopping down if you can or slowing the shutter speed makes images have some smear. Why would you want that? In the transition from one frame to the next, if you have moved a distance, then it can almost be perceived as a jump. The faster you go the worse this is. Now your brain usually makes that jump not noticeable, cleverly kind of interpreting the transition. Now if you have some smear, by having the shutter run slow. Then the process in your brain is enhanced, leading to a very smooth look. If you looked at individual frames, you would notice the distortion, but your not doing that, your brain is looking at essentially a stack of images and interpreting the movement.

So your Neutral Density filer are simply like sunglasses for your lens. They darken the image, necessitating in slowing down the shutter speed, longer exposure, allowing some smear. The bigger the number the darker it is, the slower you can run the shutter in bright sunlight. You can also get a polarizer, which usually slows or darkens the incoming light by 1.7-2 stops, that have an ND factor as well. So in a nutshell, you get a more cinematic look to your video in bright light.

 

[Xvtownboy]

I have no need for filters.To me everything this camera records is perfect in my eyes

 

[Jriley]

Just ordered these for my Air2... should be in tomorrow...with summer coming I figured give my drone the option of wearing “sunglasses” when needed. ?

 

[CareyL]

Seems like there are lots of posts I can read to better understand why to use filters for video.....
I’m wading through them

does everyone use filters for most video shooting?

The only one I may use is a CPL, (circular polarizer), since I do most my video over water and it cuts the reflective glare.

 

[Letmein]

At first using filter... but it screwed up my horizen... on the gimbal. I thought gimbal was off... reset it manually... took off filter... no issues.

 

[Squidinc]

Definitely. I use Polar Pro Cinema Series Vivid Collection Filters for Mavic Air 2 (ND/PL 8/16/32). Usually I find the 8 is used the most. I have also just purchased a Freewell Anamorphic Lens which includes an ND8 filter.

 

[Meta4]

does everyone use filters for most video shooting?

The whole idea of ND filters for video is over-hyped and for drone shooting it's generally unnecessary.
But so many forum people talk about it like it's essential and others who don't understand much about photography or video pick up the idea and keep pushing it.

Use them if you like, or don't.
It's a personal choice.

 

[Dave Maine]

Only cpl when in bright sun, or over water. Most of the time no.

 

[Deleted member 133794]

Seems like there are lots of posts I can read to better understand why to use filters for video.....
I’m wading through them

does everyone use filters for most video shooting?

I use the DJI 16 purely as a lens protector......the vids still look great and it can't get scratched.

 

[Meta4]

I use the DJI 16 purely as a lens protector......the vids still look great and it can't get scratched.

Your "lens protector" is preventing 94% of the available light from getting to your sensor.

 

[Deleted member 133794]

Your "lens protector" is preventing 94% of the available light from getting to your sensor.

Oh ok, what should i use to protect the lens from possible damage during
flight. The pics/vids look the same with the 16 filter on. Just thought it
better to protect the glass somehow. The one supplied with the MA2 is just
a frame and has no glass in it.

 

[Fat Pappy]

Being mostly a still shooter and stuck with a wide open aperture (f/2.8), the ND sets open up creative possibilities a bit. Try getting a silky smooth waterfall on a bright day with a 2.8 aperture. I have them for my DSLR and I got both sets from DJI when I got the drone. I will be adding a CPL, but have not pulled that trigger yet.

 

[Meta4]

Oh ok, what should i use to protect the lens from possible damage during
flight. The pics/vids look the same with the 16 filter on. Just thought it
better to protect the glass somehow.

Only 6% of the light gets past that filter.
Light is essential for photography.
Having the filter on at all times forces the camera to adjust something to make up for the low light level.
It has to use a much slower shutter speed that it otherwise would or to increase the ISO sensitivity.
Neither is (usually) a good thing for your images.

 

[Repaid1]

Oh ok, what should i use to protect the lens from possible damage during
flight. The pics/vids look the same with the 16 filter on. Just thought it
better to protect the glass somehow. The one supplied with the MA2 is just
a frame and has no glass in it.

You are much better to use a gimbal camera protector for travel/storage and ditch the filter. Treat your equipment right and you will have no need to protect the lens. I mean what is protecting the lens of the ND you have on now...what if it gets scratched, then all Photo and Video will have that transferred? Trust me in normal flight your lens isn't going to get damaged...and if it does you got more to worry about than just that lens.

Maybe invest in a "Lens Pen" to keep lens free and clear? : https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-7072-L...eywords=Camera+lens+pen&qid=1617624496&sr=8-3

IF the professional Inspire 2 fliers with $10,000+ in the air use a lens pen seems like a good $15 investment for the hobby class I use ND's when needed, but you don't need them for the standard everyday flier out there. If you must have something on there than a simple UV filter is what you want. It is what DJI puts on their former aircraft stock : https://www.amazon.com/PGYTECH-Filt...ocphy=1023191&hvtargid=pla-944234987921&psc=1

 

[Barbara]

I'm still of mixed opinion when it comes to ND and CP filters. I understand the benefits, but I find them awkward to use.

ND filters are really only beneficial for video, but if you get the wrong value on the drone, which you may not discover till you get to where you wish to start recording, you need to bring the drone home, land and change the filter. Granted, with experience this is going to happen less, but I'm not shooting professional videos, so this is beginning to fall under the category of "diminishing returns".

CP filters are used mostly for photography and I like what they do when used appropriately. But again, they work best at certain angles to the sun and when I'm flying, I may decide to shoot at various different angles, thus loosing some of the benefit. Having said this, I find I use the CP filters far more than the ND filters.

After all is said and done, considering I'm a hobbyist, I find that the hassle involved in getting it right is greater than the return and I've ended up using them less and less.

Just my opinion....

 

[Fat Pappy]

ND filters are really only beneficial for video,

Just my opinion....

I disagree. Particularly with a fixed and wide open aperture, ND filters can be quite useful in still photography. There are certain things you simply cannot do on a sunny day with an aperture of f/2.8 without attenuating the light.

 

[Meta4]

I disagree. Particularly with a fixed and wide open aperture, ND filters can be quite useful in still photography. There are certain things you simply cannot do on a sunny day with an aperture of f/2.8 without attenuating the light.

But it's only particular special circumstances where you would do that.
For general photography, the shutter speed goes to 1/8000 which ensures that you can always get proper exposure values.

 

[Alex Baxter]

I reckon that some people notice the 'stuttery' nature of videos shot without an appropriate ND filter fitted, and some people don't, or mentally compensate for it when they see it. I was in the latter category, but once I read about it, I now notice it, and so I now use ND filters, and can see the difference. It's a bit like moire, I can see it but my mind compensates for it, then the missus asks why's that corrugated iron roof stripey, and the nice well composed photo with a barn in the background becomes useless...