ND4 Polarised Filter as a permanent solution for DJI Air 2S?

[DroneToJoy]

Quick one but I just watched Captain Drone's review of the DJI Air 2S on YouTube. He is pretty good on drones pro and cons. He recommends that a polarised ND4 filter (Freewell) be used permanently on the DJI Air 2S (and possibly other drones). Anyone know of this approach?

My biggest question though is if you place the filter (polarised), and leave it on, while it may work for video how would it affect photo mode in any way? Could it also be a solution for other DJI drones like the mini 2?

Captain Drone notes that the filter assists greatly on the finer side of things as the aperture is locked.

 

[Ice_2k]

Your panoramas will be messed up with polarized filters

 

[Roamer105]

Quick one but I just watched Captain Drone's review of the DJI Air 2S on YouTube. He is pretty good on drones pro and cons. He recommends that a polarised ND4 filter (Freewell) be used permanently on the DJI Air 2S (and possibly other drones). Anyone know of this approach?

My biggest question though is if you place the filter (polarised), and leave it on, while it may work for video how would it affect photo mode in any way? Could it also be a solution for other DJI drones like the mini 2?

Captain Drone notes that the filter assists greatly on the finer side of things as the aperture is locked.

Only if it is an adjustable linear polarizer available from Polar Pro next month.

 

[sarimento1]

great for sunny day.
i would not use for nite shots.

 

[Meta4]

Quick one but I just watched Captain Drone's review of the DJI Air 2S on YouTube. He is pretty good on drones pro and cons. He recommends that a polarised ND4 filter (Freewell) be used permanently on the DJI Air 2S (and possibly other drones). Anyone know of this approach?

Apart from the issue of a polariser and what that does, the ND4 cuts out 75% of the light, leaving only 25% for you to work with.
That might be OK sometimes, but do you really want to lose 75% of the light for every image you take?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Apart from the issue of a polariser and what that does, the ND4 cuts out 75% of the light, leaving only 25% for you to work with.
That might be OK sometimes, but do you really want to lose 75% of the light for every image you take?

I'm kind of educated a bit more now, didn't realise the ND4 actually cut out so much light.
It's quite amazing they work for video so well, especially when you go to say and ND16 or 32 on bright days.
Each ND increase in doubling of level = another 50% reduction in light getting through.

One option for you might be to use a MC-UV filter, which a lot of sets have included.
They still drop light by about 1-1/2 stops (so too C-PL), which is probably around 37% reduction in light, they block UV light to remove blue cast in images on bright sunny days.

I find that fine, or thought it was ok . . . but might do a comparo on how the same shots look with and without the UV filter on now.

​

 

[Meta4]

One option for you might be to use a MC-UV filter, which a lot of sets have included.
They still drop light by about 1-1/2 stops (so too C-PL), which is probably around 37% reduction in light

​

A UV filter shouldn't be reducing the light by any measurable amount.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

A UV filter shouldn't be reducing the light by any measurable amount.

You could be right, I might have recalled the NISI info for the C-PL, which apparently does reduce light by about 2 stops (50% reduction).
Some UV filters might cut out a little visible light, but only due to the extra glass involved.

Good to clarify wit ha quick search, not as guilty now using it, for both lens protection and making colours pop a bit.
I'll check shutter speeds when taking some comparo photos and see if it does make any difference.

 

[Saladshooter]

I recommend the use of a set of regular ND Filters... polarized only for special situations. I would normally use no filter on a very overcast day and vary the the strength of the filter based on how bright it is on most other days.

 

[Ice_2k]

I recommend the use of a set of regular ND Filters... polarized only for special situations. I would normally use no filter on a very overcast day and vary the the strength of the filter based on how bright it is on most other days.

On the 2S, a very overcast day still requires an ND8 or even ND16 to reach the 1/60 SS. It’s a very bright camera I noticed, exactly 2 stops brighter than my previous Air 2.

 

[Meta4]

On the 2S, ... It’s a very bright camera I noticed, exactly 2 stops brighter than my previous Air 2.

How does that work, since both lenses are f2.8?

 

[Ice_2k]

How does that work, since both lenses are f2.8?

I honestly don’t understand it. I only know i put them side by side, no filters on either and the Air 2 was at 1/125 and the 2S at 1/500 to get the same exposure, both at ISO 100

 

[SkyeHigh]

I honestly don’t understand it. I only know i put them side by side, no filters on either and the Air 2 was at 1/125 and the 2S at 1/500 to get the same exposure, both at ISO 100

Greater sensitivity? The ISO 100 value is whatever the sensor manufacture chooses it to be. Unlike film, sensors can and do have amplifiers in them and the amplification is often used to increase ‘apparent’ sensitivity. DSLR’s are no different.

 

[Ice_2k]

Greater sensitivity? The ISO 100 value is whatever the sensor manufacture chooses it to be. Unlike film, sensors can and do have amplifiers in them and the amplification is often used to increase ‘apparent’ sensitivity. DSLR’s are no different.

Makes sense

 

[cgmaxed]

Quick one but I just watched Captain Drone's review of the DJI Air 2S on YouTube. He is pretty good on drones pro and cons. He recommends that a polarised ND4 filter (Freewell) be used permanently on the DJI Air 2S (and possibly other drones). Anyone know of this approach?

My biggest question though is if you place the filter (polarised), and leave it on, while it may work for video how would it affect photo mode in any way? Could it also be a solution for other DJI drones like the mini 2?

Captain Drone notes that the filter assists greatly on the finer side of things as the aperture is locked.

Most professionals recommend against it. Use only when needed to reduce reflections. Polarization lenses for drones tend to cause the center of the image to appear darker than the edges.

 

[Guido Cangelosi]

Apart from the issue of a polariser and what that does, the ND4 cuts out 75% of the light, leaving only 25% for you to work with.
That might be OK sometimes, but do you really want to lose 75% of the light for every image you take?

Not sure whether an ND4 with cut out so much light - but probably an ND32 would cut out that much light.
ND4 is designed to be used on cloudy days - so it would likely only cut out 10% of your light; at the same time it will help draw the contour of clouds.

 

[Meta4]

Not sure whether an ND4 with cut out so much light - but probably an ND32 would cut out that much light.
ND4 is designed to be used on cloudy days - so it would likely only cut out 10% of your light; at the same time it will help draw the contour of clouds.

Even though you aren't sure, that's how it is.
Here's an ND filter chart

The first column shows the light reduction in stops.
In photography, a 1 stop reduction in light halves the light getting through.
If you doubt that, look at shutter speeds and see how each one is double (or half) the one next to it on the scale.
The ND4 filter gives a 2 stop reduction in light.
That's half of one half of the original light getting through .. only 25% gets to the sensor.
An ND32 prevents 97% of the light getting to the sensor.

 

[Suren]

Even though you aren't sure, that's how it is.
Here's an ND filter chart

The first column shows the light reduction in stops.
In photography, a 1 stop reduction in light halves the light getting through.
If you doubt that, look at shutter speeds and see how each one is double (or half) the one next to it on the scale.
The ND4 filter gives a 2 stop reduction in light.
That's half of one half of the original light getting through .. only 25% gets to the sensor.
An ND32 prevents 97% of the light getting to the sensor.

Can you explain the shutter speed table- what does it mean by 1/1000s etc

 

[Meta4]

Can you explain the shutter speed table- what does it mean by 1/1000s etc

First, look at the top row of shutter speeds in black boxes.
If the shutter speed (without an ND filter), suggested by the camera's meter is 1/1000th, look down the 1/1000th column to find your desired shutter speed.
If you wanted to shoot at 1/60th, you can see that would require an ND16 filter.

 

[SkyeHigh]

Can you explain the shutter speed table- what does it mean by 1/1000s etc

It’s simply the duration in seconds that the sensor is exposed to light. So a shutter speed of 1/1000s is one one-thousandths of a second.

In the case of most of our drone cameras there is no mechanical shutter to block the light from the sensor, if that were the case obviously you would have no video feed. Instead the camera has an ‘electronic’ shutter, which switches the sensors imaging cells to active for the equivalent of the required shutter speed and saves the resultant data in memory ready to be processed.

In Photo mode you will see your video feed stop briefly while the photograph is imaged.

In Video mode the image you receive is the sensor data streaming at whatever shutter speed you have selected. It is usually so quick you do not notice any visual change.

The Tiffen and Lee filters column in the chart Meta4 provided often causes confusion. It is just a measure of the optical density of the filter. In simple words, how dark it is compared to a 100% clear filter.