Misc Camera Settings?

[Citizen Flier]

1 When using manual exposure, the right forward dial on Smart Controller adjusts EV by changing f-stop?
2 On most lenses there is a "sweet spot" for sharpness. I have read that M2pro lens starts getting soft at f5.6 and is much softer at f8. But most of my DSLR lenses also get soft when at widest apertures. Have experts tested all apertures? Sounds like f3.5 might be sharpest?
3 when I go into camera settings on Smart Controller, there is an EV adjustment at bottom of screen, but I assume this is not an option in manual as ISO/Aperture/ f stop are set by operator. The EV on my SC shows "-3" when set on manual. Is that just a default setting when on manual? (see attached below)
4 when shooting video, I find very slow gimbal movements to be more "cinematic" (panning, stopping etc) Is there any reason not use slow this way down in gimbal settings? Or is it better to just enter Cinematic Mode?
5 The results of smooth flying & gimbal movement looks spectacular in good videos. Are more experienced operators using Cinematic Mode or just better flying technique?
6 Anyone have an efficient technique for assessing which ND filter to attach prior to flight? Lighting conditions on ground can be very different from those at altitude. A miscalculation of ND filter could result in a really bad exposure if capturing sunrise/sunset when there's no time to land & change filters. I have the polar pro app, and also have a light meter app for iPhone. But the light at aerial view can be radically different from the LZ.

I'm trying to shorten the learning curve by mining the wisdom of experienced aerial ARTISTS. Thanks!

 

[ZX14-R]

Choose an ND or ND/P filter and get EV as close to 0 as possible ISO 100 before taking off.

 

[Cymruflyer]

The light is no different falling on you at ground level, or at 100ft or at 1,000ft. The only difference will be where you point the camera. If you get a thin strip of ground in the frame while on the ground or get 50% ground in the frame, the camera, when in auto, will change accordingly. If at 100ft or at 1,000ft, and you frame the scene the same way, the same exposure would be showing as it was at ground level and the same ND filter would be required to keep the exposure settings the same.

The range of contrast between the dark ground and the bright sky can never be equaled because no camera has the dynamic range to cover both of those extremes, in the same way your eye sees that scene, so don't even dream that you can achieve what your eye sees with a simple video camera without any filtering. If you use an ND filter, it will not only darken the sky but it will also darken the ground in your framing, however, you probably would not want the ground to show up that dark in the video

What you have to do, is to adjust the exposure for the ground portion and separately for the sky portion of your image, then blend those two different photos in post editing. However, that can only be done with a still image. When shooting video you can not do the same thing obviously.

What you can try doing is use a graduated filter that would be dark on the upper part of the filter and clear on the lower section of it. With that said, you would have to be sure your filter is exactly in the middle of the scene between your land and sky sections in your framing (that means half the framed shot is land and the top half the sky, with the horizon right in the middle of the frame.

If you were to tilt the camera up or down during video filming, then the filter would show that graduated line. For example, if you tilted the camera up you would be making a lower part of the sky again over exposed with that type of filter. If you tilted the camera down, the upper section of the land would become too dark.

To answer your question, you would need to decide how much ground you wanted in the frame and how much sky, then use a light meter to determine what type of filter to fit. Or just take off, frame and do a few seconds of video and see what the details of exposure are, then land and fit the required ND filter to achieve the exposure that was suggested in a previous response. And remember, ND filters, in general, are only used for video, not still images.

 

[Meta4]

2 Have experts tested all apertures? Sounds like f3.5 might be sharpest?

There have been a few people do some testing and a million people quote what they found (or what they think they found).
Too many people are just wanting someone to tell them what is "best" and very few are interested in how much better or not other settings really are.
It's easy to do some testing for yourself and find out what aperture settings are acceptable for you.

The EV on my SC shows "-3" when set on manual. Is that just a default setting when on manual?

No, it's not a default anything.
It's indicating that the settings you have would underexpose the scene by 3 stops.
Move the camera to look at brighter and darker scenes (or change the exposure settings) and the number should change.
If it's showing 0.0 the settings are correct for the average of the scene.
Is the screenshot above, the camera is using Aperture Priority Mode (rather than manual) and the -3.0 is indicating someone has adjusted the exposure compensation to underexpose by 3 stops.

3 when I go into camera settings on Smart Controller, there is an EV adjustment at bottom of screen, but I assume this is not an option in manual as ISO/Aperture/ f stop are set by operator.

There is no exposure compensation in manual mode.
If you want 1 stop underexposure in manual, you just set the main camera controls to underexpose by 1 stop.

 

[gnirtS]

1 When using manual exposure, the right forward dial on Smart Controller adjusts EV by changing f-stop?

Its manual exposure, you're not adjusting EV. You're changing exposure. The wheen changes the aperture.

2 On most lenses there is a "sweet spot" for sharpness. I have read that M2pro lens starts getting soft at f5.6 and is much softer at f8. But most of my DSLR lenses also get soft when at widest apertures. Have experts tested all apertures? Sounds like f3.5 might be sharpest?

Typically lenses have a sweet spot thats a bit down from wide open. However, narrow too much and diffraction starts causing issues with sharpness.
Diffraction is more of a problem at a given aperture the smaller the sensor is.

On a real camera such as a DSLR the sensor is quite big so diffraction affects only start to appear as you stop down through f/8 (ish - its subjective) or maybe narrower.

The M2P has a tiny sensor by comparison and effects start to become visible from about f/5.6 or so.

I did tests myself and can see almost no difference between f/2.8 and f/5.6 in images. f/4 is probably the best but the differences are tiny. It goes downhill massively after that.

In manual mode the "EV" is simply showing you how much over or under exposed the image would be with the current settings.

As to the gimbal, most people severely slow down the speed and smoothness for the reasons you stated. Cinematic mode makes braking and other effects less severe so actual drone movement is smoother.


ND filters are helped hugely on the mavic2 due to the variable aperture. This means its nowhere near as critical as the m1 and zoom to get the right one. After a while you'll just know which is best for your area.
For general flying in europe i find an ND16 will allow me to get the desired shutter speeds with an acceptable aperture for example. In the tropics a 32 does the same.