Information Regarding ND Filters

dsd317 · Jan 25, 2017

Please delete if this has already been posted.

I saw this on another forum and thought I'd share. Short article that talks about ND filters and drones without getting lost in all the technical aspects of it.

ND Filter – Why they are necessary for your drone

JumboDrone · Jan 25, 2017

Very nice, it´s my first day in this forum and I already found something very useful.
The Polarpro Filter for the Mavic look really cool I just bought them and can´t wait to see the difference.

halley · Jan 25, 2017

There is at least one small error in that page. A polarizing filter will definitely cut the light coming in and thus alter the exposure, approximately equivalent to a 1-stop or 2-stop neutral density filter.

CC Rider · Jan 25, 2017

dsd317 said:
Please delete if this has already been posted.

I saw this on another forum and thought I'd share. Short article that talks about ND filters and drones without getting lost in all the technical aspects of it.

ND Filter – Why they are necessary for your drone

This is stuff I already knew and have put into practice, but I appreciate the concise presentation (a nice refresher for me) on something that dramatically affects the video/photographic capabilities of the Mavic. A nice, short, and very to the point explanation of the proper usage - and reasons - of the entire ND filter/ISO/shutter speed drone situation. Thanks.

JumboDrone · Jan 25, 2017

halley said:
There is at least one small error in that page. A polarizing filter will definitely cut the light coming in and thus alter the exposure, approximately equivalent to a 1-stop or 2-stop neutral density filter.

That´s nice to know, thanks for the information!

JumboDrone · Jan 27, 2017

I have my set of filters now and they work great, I just have a question about the PL filter.
In a different forum somebody wrote "Generally the ND16/PL will always have the value of an ND16. The only time it can change slightly (less than 0.5 stops) is when you rotate the Polarizer into the sweet spot, and you have a lot of sky in your image. The polarizer will reduce the exposure of the sky by about 0.5 stops max, and the exposure of the ground would remain the same. "

Can somebody explain how this works?

dsd317 · Jan 27, 2017

JumboDrone said:
I have my set of filters now and they work great, I just have a question about the PL filter.
In a different forum somebody wrote "Generally the ND16/PL will always have the value of an ND16. The only time it can change slightly (less than 0.5 stops) is when you rotate the Polarizer into the sweet spot, and you have a lot of sky in your image. The polarizer will reduce the exposure of the sky by about 0.5 stops max, and the exposure of the ground would remain the same. "

Can somebody explain how this works?

I can't...but Wikipedia can:
Polarizing filter (photography) - Wikipedia

JumboDrone · Jan 28, 2017

dsd317 said:
I can't...but Wikipedia can:
Polarizing filter (photography) - Wikipedia

Ahh I see , it depends on the angle of polarization.

Mike_in_Letcombe · Jan 28, 2017

I had the PolarPro Cinema Series for my P4 and used the ND16 - PL on most flights. Loved the look occasionally but found it could make the sky 'vary' as I changed viewpoint. So have now ordered som PolarPro ND filters for my Mavic, but without the polarisation included. Have a separate polarised filter for appropriate use,but personally I don't like ND with polarisers with my drones - as you change direction, it can give weird results.

Sent from my iPad using MavicPilots

JumboDrone · Jan 29, 2017

Mike_in_Letcombe said:
I had the PolarPro Cinema Series for my P4 and used the ND16 - PL on most flights. Loved the look occasionally but found it could make the sky 'vary' as I changed viewpoint. So have now ordered som PolarPro ND filters for my Mavic, but without the polarisation included. Have a separate polarised filter for appropriate use,but personally I don't like ND with polarisers with my drones - as you change direction, it can give weird results.

Sent from my iPad using MavicPilots

Do you have footage of this occurrence?

Mike_in_Letcombe · Jan 30, 2017

JumboDrone said:
Do you have footage of this occurrence?

Here's a video I made, which shows the PL effect on the sky.

JumboDrone · Jan 30, 2017

Mike_in_Letcombe said:
Here's a video I made, which shows the PL effect on the sky.

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Thank you for sharing the video.

It´s not that bad but I can see what you mean, I will run some tests with different filter with and without the extra PL.

Mike_in_Letcombe · Jan 31, 2017

JumboDrone said:
Thank you for sharing the video.

It´s not that bad but I can see what you mean, I will run some tests with different filter with and without the extra PL.

I'd forgotten how annoying it was to always get your props in the **** picture! Only had that once with the Mavic, otherwise they keep well out of way. My new filters turn up today for the Mavic but it's too cold, wet and windy outside to test them.

JumboDrone · Feb 3, 2017

Mike_in_Letcombe said:
I'd forgotten how annoying it was to always get your props in the **** picture! Only had that once with the Mavic, otherwise they keep well out of way. My new filters turn up today for the Mavic but it's too cold, wet and windy outside to test them.

Very good point and yeah the weather is also a problem to me at the moment. Hopefully it will be better soon