Drone On: First, you need to be aware of the fact that generally speaking, most if not all camera lenses have a "sweet spot" for focus and it has been determined that on the
M2P, that is f4. However, you have a LITTLE flexibility as the lens doesn't start to suffer from defraction until f5.6. But above that, defraction ramps up fairly quickly and you get softer images. So to answer your question, if you want the sharpest stills, keep your aperture in that range and adjust shutter speed to 0ev.
For video however, things get slightly more complicated. Obviously, the same aperture range should be used for the best possible clarity BUT, you may or may not like how the video looks to the eye when using the sweet spot aperture and a very high shutter speed on a bright day. Some believe in the "video golden rule" of using twice your frame rate as the denominator for your shutter speed. (24 fps use 1/50th, 30 fps use 1/60th, etc.) Others say they can't tell the difference regardless of shutter speed. Personally, I do see a difference and prefer to shoot at 24fps which some say yields the most "cinematic--ness."
The folks who like to use real slow-mo in their clips were immediately upset when they learned that the
M2P would not shoot 4k at 60 fps because they like to use a 30fps frame rate for their sequences to get half speed footage but it can only be done via video editing software (because the
M2P can't shoot 4k at 60 fps,) and the result is visibly not as smooth and silky as it would be if a 60 fps clip was slowed to 30. Clear as mud? Believe me, I had to take some time to wrap my head around this concept but once you get it, it's a no brainer.
In conclusion, for me, ND filters are an essential part of my "kit."
