ND 32? Caribbean?

Edjes · Mar 4, 2017

Going to the Caribbean shortly. Lots of sun!! Desperate trying to get hands on some nd filters, they are still not available in the Netherlands. Now I found some PGYTECH filters and i can buy a lone 32 instead of a 3-pack. Don't rally need 4 and 8.

What do you guys think? Do I need a 16 or 32 nd filter in lots of sunlight? Is PGYTECH any good?

Tnx a lot!

4wd · Mar 4, 2017

I think you might be better with a 16 for that situation if you only got one.

AAPhoto · Mar 4, 2017

The ultimate goal is to slow down the shutter speed to twice your FPS. If you're recording at 30fps, for example, your target shutter speed would be 1/60 of a second.

Using this information, you can take the drone out on a sunny day and observe what the shutter speed is without any filters. You can then use an ND filter calculator (Polar Pro has an app available) to figure out which ND filter will block out the correct amount (stops) of light.

In addition, if you're flying over water or reflective surfaces, an ND/PL filter may be more beneficial as the polarizer will reduce the glare significantly.

ACCD · Mar 4, 2017

Get a polarizing filter as well. Just FYI , I just received some FreeWell filters from B&H. They seem to be GREAT.. However they're much darker than the filters I got from Taco RC. I suspect the FreeWell will be my go to filters. When you hold the Taco ND16 next to the Freewell ND16 the Freewell is much darker. Flew earlier and they really do a nice job. NO gimbal issue and they set came with a nice Polarizing filter too.