ND vs. ND-PL Filters for DJI Air 3S

[DroneZone Thailand]

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After the big rain... an other beautiful day on our fantastic island...
We put Freewell's ND and ND-PLfilters to the test. All test clips were filmed in 4K 60p and flown in sunshine with a little wind.

• All shots taken with DJI Air 3S
• Edited with "Adobe Premiere Pro"
• Soundtrack sampled with "Magix Music Maker"

Thanks for watching and have a nice day !

If you like this video, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my channel.

 

[Steelgtr]

Thanks! I'm deciding which PL filters to get, Freewell or Polar Pro? Advise?

bob

 

[wco81]

Can you bottom-line it?

Which is better, ND or ND-PL?

Or no filter?

IS there a difference between photos and videos when it comes to filters?

 

[Suren]

Thanks for taking the time to do this, well done.

 

[Suren]

Thanks! I'm deciding which PL filters to get, Freewell or Polar Pro? Advise?

bob

I got the mixed set from Freewell. Come with ND Filters and PL Filters which includes a ND512, ND1000 and ND2000.

DJI Air 3S Filters – Split ND, ND/PL, UV, LPR, PL, Glow Mist

Master every shot with Freewell DJI Air 3S filters Pro bundle. Includes Split ND, ND/PL, UV, LPR, PL, and Glow Mist for pro-level clarity and control.

www.freewellgear.com

 

[akdrone]

I think you may have not understand how PL filters work. Correct me if I'm wrong but it appears that you are filming while flying towards the sun. It shows that clearly in some parts of the video. PL filters do virtually nothing when flying to or away from the sun (in terms of polarizing). If you fly 90deg to the sun you will have a strong polarizing effect with the effect diminishing as you begin to face to or from the sun. This was a very poor "test". If you'd flown 90 off it would have been useful. Also, the fact that it was an ND 32 meant nothing. It could have been an ND 64 or 128 or no ND filter at all. If a scene is shot with no ND filter and then an ND filter is added the scene will only look dark if the exposure is set manually so it is not changed. A much more revealing test would have been shooting 90deg to the sun, setting the camera to full manual mode for exposure, then shooting again after adding an ND filter...and comparing them...then adding the PL to the ND and showing the difference between them. By filming into the sun the video tells us exactly nothing much. Sorry to say. I'll also mention that PL filters, particularly with video, are rarely useful if the video expects to pan left or right with the sky or clear water in view as the sky will change dramatically from a dark polarized sky to a lighter non- polarized sky particularly with a wide angle lens and that's visually jarring. It is not very visually appealing. PL filters have great effect on foliage and other reflections and can be used to great effect but because they don't affect the sky uniformly they have to be used carefully, again, particularly with wide angle lenses or you end up with a weird dark and light sky. Consider redoing this video when flying 90deg to the sun and if possible. I think you would find it much more informative.

 

[Mrktn]

I think you may have not understand how PL filters work. Correct me if I'm wrong but it appears that you are filming while flying towards the sun. It shows that clearly in some parts of the video. PL filters do virtually nothing when flying to or away from the sun (in terms of polarizing). If you fly 90deg to the sun you will have a strong polarizing effect with the effect diminishing as you begin to face to or from the sun. This was a very poor "test". If you'd flown 90 off it would have been useful. Also, the fact that it was an ND 32 meant nothing. It could have been an ND 64 or 128 or no ND filter at all. If a scene is shot with no ND filter and then an ND filter is added the scene will only look dark if the exposure is set manually so it is not changed. A much more revealing test would have been shooting 90deg to the sun, setting the camera to full manual mode for exposure, then shooting again after adding an ND filter...and comparing them...then adding the PL to the ND and showing the difference between them. By filming into the sun the video tells us exactly nothing much. Sorry to say. I'll also mention that PL filters, particularly with video, are rarely useful if the video expects to pan left or right with the sky or clear water in view as the sky will change dramatically from a dark polarized sky to a lighter non- polarized sky particularly with a wide angle lens and that's visually jarring. It is not very visually appealing. PL filters have great effect on foliage and other reflections and can be used to great effect but because they don't affect the sky uniformly they have to be used carefully, again, particularly with wide angle lenses or you end up with a weird dark and light sky. Consider redoing this video when flying 90deg to the sun and if possible. I think you would find it much more informative.

I agree with this

 

[DroneZone Thailand]

Thank you for the interesting explanation.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it appears that you are filming while flying towards the sun.

Yes, that is something that fascinates me and can also be seen in my videos. Flying against the low sun is particularly effective with the Air 3S and produces really good material. Other brands, especially Hubsan, can only take good pictures with the sun behind them (...)

A much more revealing test would have been shooting 90deg to the sun, setting the camera to full manual mode for exposure, then shooting again after adding an ND filter...and comparing them...then adding the PL to the ND and showing the difference between them.

Yes... that's actually the normal procedure for such tests... (Just like I do it)

Consider redoing this video when flying 90deg to the sun and if possible. I think you would find it much more informative.

This is just the first attempt... and yes, 90 degrees works better and that will be tested in more detail in a follow-up video with stronger polarizing filters in full sunlight.

 

[Cymruflyer]

I think you may have not understand how PL filters work. Correct me if I'm wrong but it appears that you are filming while flying towards the sun. It shows that clearly in some parts of the video. PL filters do virtually nothing when flying to or away from the sun (in terms of polarizing). If you fly 90deg to the sun you will have a strong polarizing effect with the effect diminishing as you begin to face to or from the sun. This was a very poor "test". If you'd flown 90 off it would have been useful. Also, the fact that it was an ND 32 meant nothing. It could have been an ND 64 or 128 or no ND filter at all. If a scene is shot with no ND filter and then an ND filter is added the scene will only look dark if the exposure is set manually so it is not changed. A much more revealing test would have been shooting 90deg to the sun, setting the camera to full manual mode for exposure, then shooting again after adding an ND filter...and comparing them...then adding the PL to the ND and showing the difference between them. By filming into the sun the video tells us exactly nothing much. Sorry to say. I'll also mention that PL filters, particularly with video, are rarely useful if the video expects to pan left or right with the sky or clear water in view as the sky will change dramatically from a dark polarized sky to a lighter non- polarized sky particularly with a wide angle lens and that's visually jarring. It is not very visually appealing. PL filters have great effect on foliage and other reflections and can be used to great effect but because they don't affect the sky uniformly they have to be used carefully, again, particularly with wide angle lenses or you end up with a weird dark and light sky. Consider redoing this video when flying 90deg to the sun and if possible. I think you would find it much more informative.

Quite correct, that is tthe problem with ND and PL filters when people don't know much about them but just listen to others talk about them. You don't need ND filters for still images unless there is a need to slow the shutter in bright sunlight, for a particular effect, like making water flow, instead of a frozen sharp image.

In filming there is a reason because some people want to get the slower shutter for effect of the finished looking film. I personally don't see much difference. A PL filter ONLY works in certain angles to the sun when filming or shooting still images. If you subject is not at the angles you are flying, then the PL will do nothing to improve what you have already.

You need to understand what the filter is doing before you can decide if it will give you the desired effect you are wanting. A PL filter is amazing in, say Hawaii compared to no PL when you are wanting to take a photograph in a particular direction that aligns the sun and you point of view and your subject matter, all perfectly as they were meant to do.

However, if you turn yourself around and take photos, say turning in a circle, you will see that pointing is some different directions to the sun, from where you stand, the PL will not do very much, to in fact, doing nothing at all, to improve your image, if you are not aligned with the sun in the way you need to be to get that best effect from a PL.

 

[dgibbphoto]

The PL and ND and ND PL are each different animals. The PL filter is for polarizing effects that are most accurate when the conditions are right. Sun angle, drone position and whether it is cloudy or sunny. The ND PL would be used for video mainly when you want control fps/shutter speed AND have the polarizer part of the filter do its thing.
Sometimes when conditions are not right, half your sky could come out saturated and the other half un saturated using the polarizer. Of course the ND PL can be used on stills should you want to really slow the shutter speed down and get the effects of the polarizer.

 

[Yt2]

I agree with this

I also agree with this...

 

[wco81]

Just ordered the 3S with the FMC kit.

So I know it comes with the ND Filters.

I never used an ND filter for my Mavic 2 Pro, since it has variable aperture and most of the time I used it wide open or 1/2 to 1 stop down. I recall someone testing said that the sharpest for that drone was at the widest open or 1/2 or 1 stop down.

But I kept a third-party PL filter on there all the time, though I never tried to adjust it by rotating it as I do with the CPL on my Nikon.

Are there even Circular Polarizing Filters for the Air 3S?

Most of the time I'm shooting in daylight so is there a universal ND filter you can have on the Air 3S to cover most daylight situations?

I know that you get different filtering results depending on the angle of your subject to the sun with the CPL. That is, you get a lot of the polarizing effect when the sun is lighting up the subject directly whereas the polarizing effect is minimal if the sun is behind the subject and you're shooting directly into the direction of the sun or a few degrees to either side.

So do you have to use different ND filters depending on the orientation of your subject to the sun? Because it would be a drag to have to land the drone in between shooting in the same area because you want to shoot in different directions relative to the sun.

 

[Cymruflyer]

CPF are only useful when you have them on your camera and on land to be able to turn them. In the air you might as well have fix PLFilter since you can't physically rotate it. You don't need a CPL filter on a drone camera. You are still left to be at the necessary angle to the sun and your subject for any PL filter to be effective.

 

[akdrone]

Let me clear up a few misconceptions. CP filters can be useful on a drone in some very particular circumstances. They are most effective when the light is 90deg to the camera, not at all effective if the light is behind or in front of the camera. With a wide angle lens you will likely see a sky with different levels of polarization so that is something to avoid. With a tele lens that effect may be minimal but if you pan left or right you will see changes in the lighting so avoid that. A circ polarizer lets you choose how much polarization you want so they are not entirely useless. When filming downward toward reflective water they can be very effective. They are typically more useful for photography from a drone and dangerous to use for video. I would never suggest simply leaving one on. use it when you know you have a specific need. Otherwise a simple ND in order to balance FPS and Shutter speed is the most common kind of filter to use.

 

[Cymruflyer]

Let me clear up a few misconceptions. CP filters can be useful on a drone in some very particular circumstances. They are most effective when the light is 90deg to the camera, not at all effective if the light is behind or in front of the camera. With a wide angle lens you will likely see a sky with different levels of polarization so that is something to avoid. With a tele lens that effect may be minimal but if you pan left or right you will see changes in the lighting so avoid that. A circ polarizer lets you choose how much polarization you want so they are not entirely useless. When filming downward toward reflective water they can be very effective. They are typically more useful for photography from a drone and dangerous to use for video. I would never suggest simply leaving one on. use it when you know you have a specific need. Otherwise a simple ND in order to balance FPS and Shutter speed is the most common kind of filter to use.

Well, lets look at that for a moment. You turn a CPL filter to choose what level you want. You cannot do this in the air. You don't really know how things are looking from up a few hundred feet, compared to on the ground, where you can actually turn it, to see the effect.

Therefore, it is really just a guessing game, and you won't really know until you are looking at the footage much later. That is the reason a CPL Filter is rather useless on a drone. Now, you can of course, use a standard PL filter on a drone and that will more or less do the same thing as your CPL but again, you won't really have a good idea of its effect, until you are up in the air, to see how it is reacting with the sun's light and your chosen view point and the subject matter.

Therefore, save your money of a (more expensive) CPL and just buy a standard (cheaper) PL Filter, if you have to have that feature.