ND filters

[TrevorDawes]

Hi all you pilots, I have a question.
How do I decide what ND filter to use, I have a set of 6 for my MP Pro 2.

Thanking you in advance.

Trevor from Durban SA.

 

[msinger]

Here are a few good videos on this topic:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[zocalo]

The ideal seems to be that you want a shutter speed of twice your frame rate to minimise the effects of jerky video and visible effects from the props. You also typically want to be in aperture the sweet spot for your drone's camera to maximise sharpness, e.g. around f/4 in the case of the new M2P - Google should help here if you have a different drone.

How you determine which one to fit will depend on a combination of lighting conditions and whether you are going to be shooting from multiple angles. If the sun is continually going in and out of cloud cover and/or you are going to be shooting a subject with the sun at different angles then that's the worst case scenario. If it's just a casual flight, then an approximation based on 45 deg angle and an average amount of cloud will probably be be good enough - just let the camera deal with the changing light. If only the best quality footage will do, then you may be better off flying multiple missions with different NDs, then using the best footage for each section of the final video.

 

[Bobby Brown]

Hi all you pilots, I have a question.
How do I decide what ND filter to use, I have a set of 6 for my MP Pro 2.

Thanking you in advance.

Trevor from Durban SA.

Polar Pro has a great cell phone app