Hobbyist video settings?

[Kilboar]

Hey All.
I’ve been watching all these videos about camera and video settings from drone pilots that post edit their footage and all I really do is touch up a little, if at all in iMovie along with photos and post them on YouTube.

I try to adjust the setting for better footage but I’m ending up in the weeds. For my eyes and what I’m doing Auto everything looks much better and so my question is is there videos on just that. Simple auto everything settings for this Mavic 3 pro with maybe minor tweaks in the settings.

Also the videos I spend hours on really just for my wife and I I’ll hear from my friends and family later they watched them on their phones. In vertical mode. WTH

 

[slup]

...For my eyes and what I’m doing Auto everything looks much better

So... if you're satisfied why complicate thing's, go with auto if you like it, it's not mandatory to edit the footage.

Spend less on YT & more on flying...

 

[Cafguy]

I got a photographer friend to write down his settings for me just so I could start learning but I'm not much of a photographer so mostly I just use Auto

 

[Kilboar]

And that’s kind of where I’m at now. Just switching everything back to auto but are there any settings? I could’ve changed that one not reset back to auto every time I turn the drone on?

And will the ND filters adjust appropriately and Auto as well?

I’m not throwing in the towel completely on learning videography I just need to stay focused on flying the drone with confidence and using all their different modes before I start taking it to the next level.

 

[FLDave]

Generally photography and videography is more about the photographer than fine tuning manual setting. Framing shots to be impressive is high on the importance list. Getting into position for the shot is really important. For videos the "story" conveyed is more important than perfect settings.
Unless you have past experience with a still camera which required manual settings, just sticking with auto settings will be fine; the camera is likely to better capable of good settings than you would be.

 

[Cafguy]

Here is a pretty helpful tutorial on ND filters cleared things up for me
ND Filters - WHEN TO USE THEM
Depending on the drone you have there are guides online and youtube that will show you the factory settings for each drone

 

[Kilboar]

Generally photography and videography is more about the photographer than fine tuning manual setting. Framing shots to be impressive is high on the importance list. Getting into position for the shot is really important. For videos the "story" conveyed is more important than perfect settings.
Unless you have past experience with a still camera which required manual settings, just sticking with auto settings will be fine; the camera is likely to better capable of good settings than you would be.

This is what I’m finding. When I try to play with the settings myself, it looks like I’ve played with a Settings. Not nearly as nice as just auto. I do have all the grid lines and histogram turned on and understand the one third composition.
Thanks, that’s what I needed to hear. I was getting a little overwhelmed by messing with all the Hyperlapse settings I’m hearing and not even having a good Hyperlapse composition.

I just really need to focus on, interesting drone shots, and smooth movements still and learning, all that these drones can do now.

 

[Kilboar]

Here is a pretty helpful tutorial on ND filters cleared things up for me
ND Filters - WHEN TO USE THEM
Depending on the drone you have there are guides online and youtube that will show you the factory settings for each drone

Great, I’ll check it out. But with the ND filters do you have to start screwing with the settings again or can you still just leave my Mavic 3 Pro on auto everything?

 

[MavicAir2Marc]

You should be able to leave it on Auto everything. The purpose of ND filters is to control the shutter speed since you don't have an aperture settings on most drones. It allows the 180 degree shutter rule that instils natural motion blur much like we see in real life. In still photography, it is used for motion blur to convey movement with a longer shutter speed such as flowing water or a fast moving subject blurred against a sharp background. Cameras the have a controllable aperture allow you to get a suitable background blur by using a wide open aperture and still controlling shutter speed.

 

[Kilboar]

Here is a pretty helpful tutorial on ND filters cleared things up for me
ND Filters - WHEN TO USE THEM
Depending on the drone you have there are guides online and youtube that will show you the factory settings for each drone

So what I’m hearing is if you’re going to use an ND filter set the F/S the set the shutter speed double of that number?

I think my other issue is when I’m flying the drone, I’ll try to use up most of the battery on just getting different shots and angles to have shots to look at and work with and so the lighting may not all be consistent. I may be shooting down a sun lit beach and then I may be shooting back at dark mountains or forest.

 

[FLDave]

Generally ND filters are no needed with auto settings. If you really want to use one then do a video test with and without to see you see an positive impact or not. It's what works for your videos.

 

[Torque]

And that’s kind of where I’m at now. Just switching everything back to auto but are there any settings? I could’ve changed that one not reset back to auto every time I turn the drone on?

And will the ND filters adjust appropriately and Auto as well?

I’m not throwing in the towel completely on learning videography I just need to stay focused on flying the drone with confidence and using all their different modes before I start taking it to the next level.

Don't feel bad, I've been flying drones since the release of the Phantom 1 and I am just now, 10 years later, starting to learn editing and camera setting beyond "Auto". I started as an RC plane pilot who simply loves to fly. Drones gave me a view I couldn't get with planes, and since I rarely share footage, there was no need to go beyond the auto settings. But now I'm in the learning mode again. Fortunately I have a flying buddy who is a photography instructor/professional photographer who is a great source of information and experience.

 

[MS Coast]

Good on you for prioritizing flying over tinkering with video settings. If more people did that, we'd read fewer tales of woe about drones plopping into the ocean and disappearing in the trees.

There's absolutely no shame in using auto settings. In almost all cases, auto will produce a good result. And you're right to consider how your videos will be viewed. I second what @FLDave said about composition, vantage point, and story being key. And about not needing ND filters for most shots.

One thing you might try adjusting is the exposure bias. Sometimes, especially in bright sun, the overall color and feel of the video is improved by underexposing a fraction of a stop.

 

[Kilboar]

Good on you for prioritizing flying over tinkering with video settings. If more people did that, we'd read fewer tales of woe about drones plopping into the ocean and disappearing in the trees.

There's absolutely no shame in using auto settings. In almost all cases, auto will produce a good result. And you're right to consider how your videos will be viewed. I second what @FLDave said about composition, vantage point, and story being key. And about not needing ND filters for most shots.

One thing you might try adjusting is the exposure bias. Sometimes, especially in bright sun, the overall color and feel of the video is improved by underexposing a fraction of a stop.

Thank you. Good to know.

 

[Meta4]

But with the ND filters do you have to start screwing with the settings again or can you still just leave my Mavic 3 Pro on auto everything?

You don't need ND filters.
Despite the stuff you might have read, most drone flyers don't need ND filters.
There's no need to complicate things even more, particularly when you wouldn't be able to see any positive improvement anyway.

 

[twickers14]

Like all pieces of advanced tech there will be a load of bits and pieces that your drone offers that you may not use and my attitude to this is it’s nice to have them there but along with my trusty iMovie I can make films I and the family like. I marvel at the work others here produce and post and love watching their work but am happy with the stuff I produce from my MA2 (snap) so just keep on enjoying the facilities our craft offers. If you experiment and learn a bit then fine but pleasure and leisure are the keys to a happy drone pilot for me.

 

[SmilingOgre]

Take your time. Enjoy auto. If you get the urge to try other settings down the road do some research on googoo to see what might be gained with other settings. You don’t have to be a seasoned professional to play this game.

 

[Kilboar]

Thank you all. I feel I can relax and just fly now.