Filter for water

[OhioS1000RR]

Lately I've been getting some lackluster photo's out of my Mavic. I was hoping a filter would help. What filter would be suggested for mainly chasing my boats in lakes, rivers, and the ocean. How much of a pain is it to setup? Is one brand better then another?

 

[Robert Mitchell]

For video, ND filters are helpful and not difficult at all. Plenty of threads here for that including brand comparisons.

For stills, filters are generally to be avoided with the exception of polarizers, which can be very helpful around water, to reduce reflections and glare.

Post processing can do a world of wonders also, with the right material to work with.

 

[Lykus]

You can use CPL or ND-CPL filters which can filter out the glare from water and increase the saturation of footage and image. In general there isn't such a big difference among different brands in terms of performance of the filter/glass. But you can go to Amazon and read the reviews about which filters are easy to use and have better build quality.

 

[KiterTodd]

I have the Polar Pro ND16/PL filter and love it. It's the only filter I have and I end up keeping it on at all times except when shooting in low light. Using the white exposure adjustment on the back of the remote I can dial in the right settings for the given day.

I know I could tech out better with 4 different filters that I would swap out for varying conditions, but in the interest of keeping my setup simple, this has worked well. And the water photography and video is excellent. YMMV

 

[Robert Mitchell]

Keep in mind, for still photography, ANY filter you use, reduces the light hitting the sensor. This causes either A. increased ISO (noise) or B. reduced shutter speed and resulting motion blur. Only you can decide whether the trade off is worth it for a given situation.

 

[Paul2660]

Filters on the Mavic are an issue if you plan to combine stills and video, as previously mentioned, a ND16/with PL, will stop down about 4 to 5 stops, and then 1 stop for the PL. Thus since your aperture is fixed, the only way to get a cleaner shot, will be shutter speeds. In very bright light I have used the Polar pro CLPL, has to be a CLPL for AF. This will cut the glare on water, as any polarizer, however if you move the sensor to the portrait orientation, then the PL effect stays the same which is good, since the sensor is moving not the lens/gimbal. Kudos to DJI for that. In low light, I leave off the PL, as I can't get a shutter speed that won't have blur. The polarizer also works wonders on tree leaves, again cutting glare and bringing out more blue in the sky and cloud definition.

You can also push the ISO, but in my experience, much past 400, noise is just to much for a quality image. Printed.

For Video, the previous advice is what I do also, but I tend to work more for aerial panos, manually taken in portrait mode.

The CLPL from polar pro works great on water, cutting a lot of the glare.

Paul Caldwell

 

[KiterTodd]

...For Video, the previous advice is what I do also, but I tend to work more for aerial panos, manually taken in portrait mode.

Slightly off topic, but how do you convert these into a still or 360 image?
(I assume you are panning in portrait while recording video)

Thanks!

 

[Paul2660]

Hi

Actually I stop the video. Then hit the function button the flips the sensor. Recheck focus and then manually pan. 4 to 5 vertical series. All with AEB 5 exposures. The P4 allows you to shot video and stills but the stills are jpg not raw. I shoot all stills in raw.

Then to stitch I use Lightroom or ptgui or Kolor depends on the files.

Planning on vertical reduces the amount of distortion from the lens and will often pull in more sky.

Paul Caldwell