ICM and long exposure

[Clive Copeman]

I'm working with long exposure and intentional camera movement. Zoom effects are easy but I can't get my M2P to spin during an exposure. So far it locks orientation, which makes sense if you only want sharp images. Does anyone know how to get the M2P to expose during rotational flight?

 

[brett8883]

I'm working with long exposure and intentional camera movement. Zoom effects are easy but I can't get my M2P to spin during an exposure. So far it locks orientation, which makes sense if you only want sharp images. Does anyone know how to get the M2P to expose during rotational flight?View attachment 157801View attachment 157802View attachment 157803

Interesting observation. On DJI Go 4 drones there was a setting that was something to the effect of lock gimbal during exposure that could be turned off. Don’t have my Mini 2 with me at the moment to see if there’s a similar setting.

Are you sure the shutter speed isn’t just too high to have movement blur? With the relatively fast fixed aperture on the Mini 2 you’d have to use ND filters to get long enough exposures to have any kind of movement blur no matter how fast the camera moves useless you do it at night.

 

[Clive Copeman]

Interesting observation. On DJI Go 4 drones there was a setting that was something to the effect of lock gimbal during exposure that could be turned off. Don’t have my Mini 2 with me at the moment to see if there’s a similar setting.

Are you sure the shutter speed isn’t just too high to have movement blur? With the relatively fast fixed aperture on the Mini 2 you’d have to use ND filters to get long enough exposures to have any kind of movement blur no matter how fast the camera moves useless you do it at night.

Thanks. Tried turning that off but the drone still wouldn't spin during an exposure. I'm definitely getting exposures of >1". Closest I've got is a tiny bit of spin either at the very end or beginning of the exposure. Looks like as soon as the exposure starts, the bird locks up in an attempt to make a sharp caption without motion blur. Frustrating, I'd really like to approximate the zoom-twist effect you can get with a DSLR and wide zoom lens.

 

[SethB]

Very interesting exploration! I’m a big fan of ICM, there’s a fantastic thread on a DSLR forum- pm me for the link.

Yes, that a gimbal is designed to stabilize the shot, and *not* operate like a remote head seems frustrating for long exposure with movement. All in software & firmware I suppose.

I think it would be worth trying everything while recording video… at least the yaw shouldn’t be locked during capture. Obviously there would be some framerate-related limitations.

Also, ICM exposures while rolling/flying sideways.

I just got ND1000 and 2000 filters for my Air2s, but it’s been rainy & misty here. I *do* want to try some aerial ICM…

 

[Clive Copeman]

Yaw works fine in video, just a spinning shot, which I use a bit in my commercial work already. Sideways flight gives a good blur in a still image as does descending looking down or forward flight. Nice contrasty scenes and objects at differing depth look best. The difference you see with ICM in a DSLR is that there's less blur on more distant parts of the scene when using the drone since it's true camera movement rather than a lens zoom, so the parallax is less on the distant scene. I've just ordered some stronger NDs, can't wait for them to arrive and get on with it. You're a digital media instructor too! I teach digital photography at SIT2LRN

 

[Clive Copeman]

Interesting observation. On DJI Go 4 drones there was a setting that was something to the effect of lock gimbal during exposure that could be turned off. Don’t have my Mini 2 with me at the moment to see if there’s a similar setting.

Are you sure the shutter speed isn’t just too high to have movement blur? With the relatively fast fixed aperture on the Mini 2 you’d have to use ND filters to get long enough exposures to have any kind of movement blur no matter how fast the camera moves useless you do it at night.

Apologies Brett, the unlock gimbal feature works after all, I mustn't have done it correctly the first time. Many thanks for your suggestion. Having conquered it in my back yard, I look forward to practicing the technique in my favourite beauty spots!