I am completely new to drones and photography. I have some ND filters and I have an idea what there purpose is but I was wanting to take a crisp video on my cruise but it blurs the background. It’s really sunny do I obviously need it but can’t get clear video. Any tips or suggestions. I have 4-8-16-32 sandmarc brand so they weren’t cheap.
Nd filters
- Thread starter Steelrfan85
- Start date
I tried to do a video but the shutter speed was 1/2000 so I’m guessing video will be super choppy but it’s sunny outside and if I put a ND filter it will darken it and blur.
Steelrfan85,
I'm no expert but the purpose of the ND filters is to act as sunglasses for the drone so that you can slow the shutter speed down so as to produce "cinematic footage" (i.e. smooth, "buttery", "dreamy" video movement"). The ND filters are more typically used for video and not stills. The higher the ND filter number the less light is let in to the camera sensor, requiring either a slower shutter speed or a more open aperture to get a proper exposure. Typically people use the "180 rule" for setting the video exposure to achieve "cinematic footage". This rule says that the shutter speed should be two times the video frame rate. For example, if you're shooting at 24 fps, then you should try to use a shutter speed of 1/48th of a second. There is no 1/48th of a second shutter speed so you'd use the closest available one or 1/50th of a second. The M2P will allow you to control the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO so it makes it pretty easy to "dial in" the cinematic exposure settings using a combination of the right ND filter and the aforementioned camera settings. Most of the other DJI drones I'm aware of don't give you as much camera control as the M2P. Many folks would select shutter priority if it's available and they don't have full control of the camera. That way you'd be able to "dial-in" the 180 rule because you only need the frame rate and shutter speed. But then you're at the mercy of the camera to select the proper aperture to go with the shutter speed (and ISO). Some of the DJI camera's have an aperture sweet spot (e.g. 3.5-4.5). So you would have to experiment around with which ND filter to use so your settings will all work together.
It sounds like there is something else going on with your camera as the ND filters should only darken the image not blur it. Are you sure you're in focus? Are you able to produce "clear" video without one of your ND filters? Which drone do you have? I've blathered on too much, maybe others will be able to give you more guidance.
I'm not familiar with sandmarc but they look legit on their website. I use PolarPro ND and ND/PL filters and they work just fine with no issues of clarity or focus. The square M2P camera makes putting on the filters a bit more difficult than screw on ones. Are you sure the filter is properly twisted into place and fits snug against the camera as it should? If the answer is yes, then I'd see if I could return them as defective and perhaps buy another brand.
I may have to look into that. I like tat I got a 32 ND/PL filter with sandmarc. I live in Florida so it usually very bright.
macfawlty
Well-Known Member
What you're describing sounds abnormal. Even at f2.8 a lot of the scene should be in focus. It might be a little blurry in the far distance, but the camera sets focus at the center point. It sounds as if your camera is not setting focus. It happens to me occasionally if I start moving before the camera sets focus or if I start in a gimbal down.
On a large sensor camera (i.e. DSLR), f2.8 would yield a very short focal depth, but the sensors on the Mavics are quite small and will naturally yield a pretty long focal range. Before you press the record button, set focus. If it looks out of focus, something is wrong.
You definitely need the ND filters and they don't have very little effect on depth of focus due to the small sensor. When you're filming (24p@1/50 or 30p@1/60), it's best to have the aperture in the f5.6 range so you have leeway wider/smaller. You can take photos at a shutter speed of 1/50 that are still quite sharp. Theoretically, it's always better to shoot at higher shutter speeds, but if your Mavic is set up for video with ND filters and it's already in the air, just go ahead and click off a few pics. They're really quite stable considering all of the counterintuitive factors at play. I often take still frames from moving video clips that still look remarkably sharp.
To summarize, these camera are quite sharp regardless of the factors at play. If yours is not, something is wrong with setting focus. I don't think it's the ND filters.
On a large sensor camera (i.e. DSLR), f2.8 would yield a very short focal depth, but the sensors on the Mavics are quite small and will naturally yield a pretty long focal range. Before you press the record button, set focus. If it looks out of focus, something is wrong.
You definitely need the ND filters and they don't have very little effect on depth of focus due to the small sensor. When you're filming (24p@1/50 or 30p@1/60), it's best to have the aperture in the f5.6 range so you have leeway wider/smaller. You can take photos at a shutter speed of 1/50 that are still quite sharp. Theoretically, it's always better to shoot at higher shutter speeds, but if your Mavic is set up for video with ND filters and it's already in the air, just go ahead and click off a few pics. They're really quite stable considering all of the counterintuitive factors at play. I often take still frames from moving video clips that still look remarkably sharp.
To summarize, these camera are quite sharp regardless of the factors at play. If yours is not, something is wrong with setting focus. I don't think it's the ND filters.
I’ve had it blurry without filter as well. After I did a gimble calibration it was clear. Tried same thing with the ND filter on and still was blurry
When you say set focus you are referring to tapping the screen first to get the green box, correct? How do you get stills from a video?
ZX14-R
Well-Known Member
Plenty of YT Videos on settings and use of ND filters.
Basically:
ISO100
AF 4-5
Get the lowest setting as close to 0 as possible.
Manual focus.
Basically:
ISO100
AF 4-5
Get the lowest setting as close to 0 as possible.
Manual focus.
Open the video in you edited (Rec open a copy) and extract the desired frame as a picture.
macfawlty
Well-Known Member
The process for extracting a still frame depends on your editor. Google it for instructions. Just open the clips in the editor and scrub until you find a good frame. I do it all the time. You still get a pretty high rez image if you're filming in 4k. Since I mostly record video, I do it often. It's not the optimum method, but still quite good.
macfawlty
Well-Known Member
There are many free video editors. Check the forum for rec's. I use DaVinci Resolve, which has a very full-featured free version. The other primary editors are Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro.
I wouldn't use the app editor, which is working with low-resolution proxy files.
Your DJI Go4 app may be deleting your cache periodically, but again, they're proxy files. The actual files are on the SD card.
I will look into that, thank you. Is there a way to remove loud warning sounds from a video? My wife was trying to talk but it was smothered by the sounds of the drone warning sounds. I just use the app built in voice recorder.
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