ND filter use?

[R1Mavic]

Do you all typically use a filter on really sunny days? I saw a set at Best Buy yesterday and considered buying them. Just wondering if the Mavic camera in auto has proven to be enough or should I get a set of filters. Curious your usage of them.

 

[Robbyg]

Get filters. I suggest you search YouTube and find a few good videos on Mavic filters and what they can do for you. DJI makes filters for the Mavic and they are super light weight, Light weight is a good thing to have on a fragile gimbal.

Rob

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

ND Filters are used when doing videos. They give you a motion blur by slowing down the shutter speed to make it more cinematic. The idea is to get your shutter speed town to about twice what your video frame rate is. So if you are filming at 30fps the optimal shutter speed would be 1/60th and if you are filming at 60fps the optimal shutter speed would be 1/120. Lots of videos out there that can explain it more in depth than that.

 

[Oingo Boingo]

As camera man that has been filming for 23 years, herewith my 2 pennies worth on ND filters.

ND 4 for cloudy days
ND 8 for Sunny days
ND 16 for very bright conditions

ND 4 gives -1.5 stops
ND 8 givea -2.8 stops
ND 16 gives -5 stops

U want to try an keep the shutter speed down. In super bright conditions the camera on the mavic will bump the shutter speed up if it cannot close down the iris anymore. In the days of the PH1 and 2 shootng with a gopro we used ND filters to bump down the "shutter" on the gopro to reduce jello.

 

[R1Mavic]

What determines which you use.....the brightness of the day?

As camera man that has been filming for 23 years, herewith my 2 pennies worth on ND filters.

ND 4 for cloudy days
ND 8 for Sunny days
ND 16 for very bright conditions

ND 4 gives -1.5 stops
ND 8 givea -2.8 stops
ND 16 gives -5 stops

U want to try an keep the shutter speed down. In super bright conditions the camera on the mavic will bump the shutter speed up if it cannot close down the iris anymore. In the days of the PH1 and 2 shootng with a gopro we used ND filters to bump down the "shutter" on the gopro to reduce jello.

Thanks for that info! So basically you always have a filter on your mavic?

 

[R1Mavic]

Based off this thread, I just bought these. What situations would I use the CP?

 

[Vimlossus]

Based off this thread, I just bought these. What situations would I use the CP?

Same ones I have. Since I live in Florida, I always have the ND16 on my Mavic, as it is bright enough for it. I have seen a nice difference in my footage since using these for sure.

 

[Oingo Boingo]

What determines which you use.....the brightness of the day?


Thanks for that info! So basically you always have a filter on your mavic?

Basically brightness yes. Unless Im shooting Early morning or late afternoon - I always have a ND on. Keep in mind if youre going to take your footage to post, under exposure is always preferred to over exposure. Because u can up the luma and chroma in the footage but u cannot do it the other way around. Also keep in mind here we are only talking about a few fstops. Using the brightness or zebra indicator on the mavic is also a good idea to see whether the pic is running HOT or not. Also from a filming perspective id rather have footage shot at 100 iso , 400 shutter f2.8 than footage shot at 100 iso, 4000 shutter f2.8. The first will just have a more filmic cinematic feel to it. Also you should have a lot smoother image. The faster the shutter runs the more likely you are to pic up gimbal shudder or vibration

 

[SoapyGolem]

So on the drone I set it to 1/60 since I'm shooting at 4K 30fps but I don't understand what is "EV" next to the shutter sometimes it's like -2 or +2 etc... what is EV

 

[SafariMan]

So on the drone I set it to 1/60 since I'm shooting at 4K 30fps but I don't understand what is "EV" next to the shutter sometimes it's like -2 or +2 etc... what is EV

EV = Exposure value, to darken (minus) or brighten (plus) a scene

 

[SafariMan]

What determines which you use.....the brightness of the day?


Thanks for that info! So basically you always have a filter on your mavic?

Do you need an ND filter? Select the right filter for a given scene!

Check out that thread and the video. It's well explained with live footage to see the difference

 

[Mako79]

So on the drone I set it to 1/60 since I'm shooting at 4K 30fps but I don't understand what is "EV" next to the shutter sometimes it's like -2 or +2 etc... what is EV

Set to manual.
Find the nd filter that will give you -0.7 to 0.0 EV when shutter speed is @ twice speed of framerate.

Experiment with the Nd filters first before using on actual footage. You can deteriorate (over blur) your video if you use the wrong filter. Remember... the mavic is takes awesome vids already without the nd filters. All you are doing is adding motion blur to recreate the cinematic effect.

 

[thegroovologist]

Based off this thread, I just bought these. What situations would I use the CP?

Do these filters interfere with gimbal calibration ?

 

[Red_Raven]

Do these filters interfere with gimbal calibration ?

I am being told that it depends. There were early batches of the polar pro filters that had to be installed after the gimbal startup process, but they updated them and fixed that. I've got mine on at the startup, I'm way more comfortable with installing them while the gimbal clip is still on to hold against the pressure needed to put them on. (Actually a tiny amount of pressure. But tiny can do a damage to such tiny and vulnerable system)

I also have that crap that dji are selling people as filter. I'm amazed that no one in the food chain at dji stopped that from go to stores. It's build quality is awful. I would rate them : broken .
The glass has fallen out of one of mine and the frame around the glass broke on other. So I got 1 of three still working, after having possessed them in approximately 2 weeks. Do not buy that ****.

 

[R1Mavic]

Do these filters interfere with gimbal calibration ?

I have not used them yet, so I don't know. Frankly, I don't know if I want to try. I am going to call them.

 

[Threshold]

The Best Buy filters need to be tweaked. They are too tight of a fitting for the gimbal and removing them puts a lot of stress on the gimbal. If you remove the inner metal clip in the filter you can cut in half. Then take one of the cut clip and put it back into the filter. It will fit better on the lens of the gimbal. You just have to be careful as the smaller clip can fall out of the filter.

 

[heo3480]

@R1Mavic this is my take on why and how to select an ND filter for a given scene

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[babmingren]

I am being told that it depends. There were early batches of the polar pro filters that had to be installed after the gimbal startup process, but they updated them and fixed that. I've got mine on at the startup, I'm way more comfortable with installing them while the gimbal clip is still on to hold against the pressure needed to put them on. (Actually a tiny amount of pressure. But tiny can do a damage to such tiny and vulnerable system)

I also have that crap that dji are selling people as filter. I'm amazed that no one in the food chain at dji stopped that from go to stores. It's build quality is awful. I would rate them : broken .
The glass has fallen out of one of mine and the frame around the glass broke on other. So I got 1 of three still working, after having possessed them in approximately 2 weeks. Do not buy that ****.

Agree on the dji ND filter. They Are to fragile to use allmost brake even when you try to clean the lens. I have broken 1of Them after few uses. Lens Edge started to shatter. So bought the taco-rc instead.

 

[R1Mavic]

@R1Mavic this is my take on why and how to select an ND filter for a given scene

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Glad to know you're on here! I've watched your video before and took tips from it. Thanks!!!

 

[Apocalypso]

I bought a set of Taco ND filters for their lightness and quality. I've added a couple of combination ND/Polarizer filters from Polar Pro now that they've made lighter versions that will pass gimbal calibration. I'm set for anything!