Jittery Video from chopper shoot

[ziaforz]

This is definitely drifting off topic, but I'm hoping a few drone pilots might also shoot video from aircraft with Canon gear. I just shot 10 min of Fine 4K on my Canon R7 and it has severe jitters and wobbles. I'm keen to find out what went wrong, but also if it is possible to repair the footage. Some settings are listed below. A 10sec clip from tests later in the flight is linked below. Appreciate any thoughts and comments from the Mavic Pilots group!

• Canon R7 w kit 18-150 lens mounted on DJI Ronin S3 gimbal
• Shot at open door of chopper flying ~ 70km/hr
• 4k Fine / 29.97P / IPB
• Manual with auto ISO. Aperture set at 11 and shutter speed 1/500 (Other clips at speeds down to 1/60 exhibit same jitters.)
• IS mode ON. Digital IS ON.
• NTSC

R7-10sec-Jitter.mp4

 

[SmilingOgre]

Sometimes IS and the Ronin will fight. 1/500 is also up there for shutter speed.

 

[rexster1505]

I can tell you that if you're filming from a helo, there's to many moving parts wanting to destroy themselves for any kind of smooth filming. I did a down and dirty stabilizing editing just now. I think with a little more work, it could get better

Produce40.mp4

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[ziaforz]

I can tell you that if you're filming from a helo, there's to many moving parts wanting to destroy themselves for any kind of smooth filming. I did a down and dirty stabilizing editing just now. I think with a little more work, it could get better

Produce40.mp4

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

Thank you sir! You've calmed things down a HUGE amount, but the cropping and softness is unfortunately not going to be good enough for my client. I'm resigned to going back up again and am now scratching my head to figure out what to do differently. I think that turning off the IS will help. Also, holding the gimbal differently to reduce vibration from the chopper might actually be the biggest issue. I was pretty distracted with running the rig so I think the legs of the gimbal started touching my seat. All my still shots at 1/2000 sec came out razor sharp, but looking through the viewfinder was hectic. Thanks again for having a go at fixing the video!

 

[Felix le Chat]

Just out of interest, what altitude were you shooting at? Was the shoot in restricted airspace? Choppers are rattlebuckets at the best of times regardless of handheld gimbals, so I'm not surprised at wobbly footage. If the location and altitude aren't past the constraints of regulation: use a drone. The Autel EVO 6&8K will give you great footage, as would a Mavic 3. Shoot handheld for cockpit establishing shots and intercut with drone 4/6/8K for the choppers POV.

 

[ziaforz]

The shoot required a continuous video along 20km of poorly accessible terrain at around 2-300m height. So unfortunately a drone wouldn't work. Impressive specs on the drones you mentioned. I have the Mavic 2 Pro and would have loved to dust it off for this job!

I've heard of shooters holding a drone in the cockpit to take advantage of the high res camera and gimbal designed for vibration. But I figure it would act up unless kept well inside the door.