How to get focussed long exposure photos with M2P

[simonr23]

I had my first try at this a few evenings ago and it didn’t go well.

I used manual settings (dslr hobbyist) and had the exposure set as I wanted.

I’ve seen several sharp examples on here and DJI forums, but all mine had movement.

I flew to a spot(calm evening) held steady for a few seconds and then took the shot.

Each pic came out ruined, due to drone/gimbal movement.

If I limited myself to 1 second, it was ok.

What’s the point of 2-8second exposure times if the drone can’t actually stay still?

To be fair, I’m asking here, to see if there are some key drone settings, to make this work.

Thanks for any help.

 

[lolo780]

I had my first try at this a few evenings ago and it didn’t go well.

I used manual settings (dslr hobbyist) and had the exposure set as I wanted.

I’ve seen several sharp examples on here and DJI forums, but all mine had movement.

I flew to a spot(calm evening) held steady for a few seconds and then took the shot.

Each pic came out ruined, due to drone/gimbal movement.

If I limited myself to 1 second, it was ok.

What’s the point of 2-8second exposure times if the drone can’t actually stay still?

To be fair, I’m asking here, to see if there are some key drone settings, to make this work.

Thanks for any help.

Try a long exposure shot of the sky while holding the AC fairly steady and then another while slowly moving it. Move faster until the image blurs and that'll give you a good idea of what you need in flight for a sharp long exposure.

 

[simonr23]

Sorry, I mean still-shots, with the drone hovering.

 

[CanadaDrone]

I don't think anyone is getting tack sharp 8sec. exposures - they might look OK at web-size, but pretty much everything looks good when its displayed at 2% of original size for web. If they are getting sharp shots at 8 seconds, that is very lucky. The longest exposure I have seen from a Mavic 2 Pro for what I personally consider a sharp shot is around 1-2sec. Everyone has different tolerances for what is acceptable though. If your subject is really far away (i.e. a distance landscape) that is more forgiving as well.

There isn't too much you can do as it sounds like you already have a photography background for the basics. If you haven't already, you can turn on "gimbal lock during capture" which will help keep the camera oriented at the target despite the drone moving, but beyond that you are at the mercy of the wind and the drone. I would suggest taking as many photos as you can to increase the chance of a sharp shot.

 

[lolo780]

In calm conditions 4 seconds is about the maximum.

 

[simonr23]

Thanks both. I’ll gimbal lock(not sure if it’s already selected, but I’ll make sure)

My level of acceptable, is that streetlights look circular, and Not 1cm long lines. (Where 1-2mm circles is the ideal- but still realistic, desired effect)

 

[Harro]

Wanting the drone to remain rock steady for 8 sec. is a real ask, you couldn't even do that with a still camera hand held. Any slight disturbance, for example a slight wind gust, will cause some motion/correction resulting in a blurred picture.

 

[paulatkin73]

In calm conditions 4 seconds is about the maximum.

obviously, it also depends upon how far away is your subject. if drone is 500m+ away from the object - like a bridge or a tower - then, well, a small amount of movement will not be as critical as if your subject was 10m away.

 

[simonr23]

In my examples I was at 90-110m looking 12 degrees down across an area that would’ve spanned 150m to -1km away from me(guessing)

 

[Turn11]

Sorry, I mean still-shots, with the drone hovering.

I have not tried this but @sar104 had recently talked about one of the benefits of converting one of the mode switches to ATTI mode. I know he will correct me but the net was in windy conditions the AC will bounce about maintaining position but in ATTI mode the ac will drift and make a smoother platform for taking pictures.
Please read the entire thread but the discussion starts here.