Freewell ND Filter Test with Hyperlapse

[smbishop]

Used my extra hour today to play around with my new Freewell ND Filter All Day Pack shooting multiple hyper lapse shots at a round-about near my home. What I learned:

1. Auto exposure used the same shutter speed for all filters.
2. Reshot in Manual mode with a fixed 100 ISO, auto shutter and manual white balance.
3. Set up a waypoint mission to send the drone to the same point, easy peasy!
4. Never used return to home much, but perfect for this repetitive project.
5. With wind gusts of 25 mph, the gimble was so steady!
6. Received obstacle avoidance sound warnings at 200 ft, due to the wind?
7. I like the added motion blur with the darker filters.

 

[MS Coast]

6. Received obstacle avoidance sound warnings at 200 ft, due to the wind?

The OA sensors have no way to react to wind. OA warnings are likely due to sunlight striking the sensors directly.

I've seen that frequently on the Mavic 3 on days with a clear sky. I've not yet noticed it during a couple of hours of flight time with the Mini 4 Pro.

 

[smbishop]

The OA sensors have no way to react to wind. OA warnings are likely due to sunlight striking the sensors directly.

I've seen that frequently on the Mavic 3 on days with a clear sky. I've not yet noticed it during a couple of hours of flight time with the Mini 4 Pro.

Thank you, that makes sense!

 

[GFields]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[jonnyweb]

Thanks for the vid!

 

[smbishop]

Thanks for the vid!

It was fun to make, now I want to do the same thing at night.

 

[MS Coast]

It was fun to make, now I want to do the same thing at night.

Sans filters, I'm guessing.

 

[smbishop]

Sans filters, I'm guessing.

With filters. For me, I want to experiment and learn through my own experience, rather than he said, she said...

 

[dmcgrew]

With filters. For me, I want to experiment and learn through my own experience, rather than he said, she said...

ND filters are pointless at night unless you want a ridiculous shutter speed of like 5 seconds or more which will just look like a mess.

 

[MS Coast]

With filters. For me, I want to experiment and learn through my own experience, rather than he said, she said...

It's more about light, exposure values, shutter speeds than opinion.

I can't imagine you'll find that you need to reduce the amount of light reaching the sensor at night by using ND filters.

 

[TwoSticks]

You guys should try it. If you shoot moving vehicles at night with an ND filter, you can get a slow enough shutter to control the light trails for the passing cars. ND filters are usable at night and should be experimented with.

Here is just one example from dronexfactor. I know this is a different drone but the concept is the same.

 

[MS Coast]

You guys should try it. If you shoot moving vehicles at night with an ND filter, you can get a slow enough shutter to control the light trails for the passing cars. ND filters are usable at night and should be experimented with.

Here is just one example from dronexfactor. I know this is a different drone but the concept is the same.

Good point. They can be handy for special effects.

 

[PAW]

Saw in dronexfactor's comments a lot of discussion countering his use of the filters and the requisite increase in ISO. Here is a one commentor's demo of the alternate position (no ND). Be nice to try it both ways using the same drone/location/time.

Seattle Hyperlapse [4K]

 

[smbishop]

Great discussion! Thanks for all the tips!

 

[Pete Martson]

Used my extra hour today to play around with my new Freewell ND Filter All Day Pack shooting multiple hyper lapse shots at a round-about near my home. What I learned:

1. Auto exposure used the same shutter speed for all filters.
2. Reshot in Manual mode with a fixed 100 ISO, auto shutter and manual white balance.
3. Set up a waypoint mission to send the drone to the same point, easy peasy!
4. Never used return to home much, but perfect for this repetitive project.
5. With wind gusts of 25 mph, the gimble was so steady!
6. Received obstacle avoidance sound warnings at 200 ft, due to the wind?
7. I like the added motion blur with the darker filters.

Below is an example of using a Freewell ND1000 with the following settings: ISO:100, SHUTTER:1/3 using Mini 4 Pro.

 

[smbishop]

Well, my first try at night with a fixed ISO of 100 did not work with ND filters. I did not experiment with increasing the ISO.

Here it is with no filters, fixed ISO of 100.

 

[MS Coast]

Well, my first try at night with a fixed ISO of 100 did not work with ND filters. I did not experiment with increasing the ISO.

Here it is with no filters, fixed ISO of 100.

No need for an ND filter there. It's a bit underexposed, yes? You could bump the ISO up a stop or two or reduce the shutter speed a bit and still get good blurring of the cars. What shutter speed was that shot with?