Noob here. Is there anything that ND filters can do that editing software cannot do if drones like the Mini 2 can already take raw photos?

[Runimania]

 

[boblui]

ND filters are needed only if you want the shutter speed to be slower due to such reasons as introducing motion blur. I have used ND1000 for that purpose. It is NOT needed for avoiding over exposure because increasing the shutter speed has the same effect. The Mini 2 has got a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000 sec which should be sufficient even for very bright scenes.

 

[Meta4]

Is there anything that ND filters can do that editing software cannot do if drones like the Mini 2 can already take raw photos?

The guy in the video doesn't understand photography or ND filters and is not someone you should listen to.
He is giving bad information when he says "it makes a very big difference for the sake of your image quality when it comes down to correcting that light" In the sky there is always too much light and there is always glare".

This is nonsense and using ND filters won't do anything to improve image quality.
ND filters are not used for correcting exposure values.

Your question suggests that you are asking about still photography.
There is no reason at all to use ND filters for drone still photography unless you have a particular reason to want to force a slower shutter speed than otherwise possible.

 

[African wildlife]

Two good answers above. I would add that it's always best to correctly exposure whilst flying, then there's not much that should need doing in editing. Also, a ND/PL filter is very different from a ND filter. We use ND/PL filters all the time - and the PL (polarising) part will make a difference.

 

[Crusader14]

I use my ND filters to enable a greater cinematic effect on video. They enable me to slow the shutter speed to twice the frame rate. So for a frame rate of 30fps I use 1/60th second shutter speed (with an appropriate ND filter). Google frame rate v shutter speed.

 

[Crusader14]

The guy in the video doesn't understand photography or ND filters and is not someone you should listen to.
He is giving bad information when he says "it makes a very big difference for the sake of your image quality when it comes down to correcting that light" In the sky there is always too much light and there is always glare".

This is nonsense and using ND filters won't do anything to improve image quality.
ND filters are not used for correcting exposure values.

Your question suggests that you are asking about still photography.
There is no reason at all to use ND filters for drone still photography unless you have a particular reason to want to force a slower shutter speed than otherwise possible.

ND filters can improve images by allowing improved creative effects. All they do is control the amount of light entering the lens thus allowing shutter speeds to be reduced (enabling movement effects) or opening the lens aperture as wide as possible (for depth of field effects).

Both of these are more suited to a DSLR rather than a drone but still apply to drone still photography.

 

[eaglesurfing]

If only I had time to really get into camera side if my drone but this has not been one of my passion. There are two main players of any DJI drones, the pilot and the photographer. When I get bored with flying then I will "get into" the other. So much to learn and so little time.

 

[scoobie77]

I shoot both photos and video and have found that the sweet spot of the M2's Hasselblad lens is roughly in the middle of the aperture range. In photography, I've got two more variables to play with after setting the aperture where I want it. I don't need an ND filter. But in video, I want the middle of the aperture range AND I want a shutter speed of 125 since I shoot 60 fps. That leaves only the ISO to play with. On a sunny day in here in Florida that might not do it, so I'm forced to fool with my favorite aperture or speed settings. Enter the ND filter. I've found that an ND 8 is the ticket, and if shooting on the beach, a 16 ND could even be better. I've used a PL filter only once with little improvement and have never needed the 32 or 64 ND.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

We use ND/PL filters all the time - and the

Could you go through your set up procedure please e.g. do you set an initial angle based on an intial guess,then fly a test flight and correct the angle if needs be?

 

[Dbez1]

I’m a retired wedding videographer and my Sony video cameras had 3 built in ND filters and, for outdoor shooting in bright light, they DO make a difference for the reasons noted by a couple posters above.

 

[Dave Maine]

They make no difference to image quality. This has been falsely disagreed with frequently. All they do is control exposure. The normal way to control exposure is not with an ND filter, but with shutter speed, lens aperture, and ISO. These controls cover all conditions. Folks that think they need ND filters for some kind of look do not know how to use these basics.

Some argue that they are needed to give a “cinematic” look. In most cases, this is pure hype. The “cinematic” look is a slight blurring of the image during rapid movement. Not having this blurring causes the image to “strobe” which is quite annoying. However, drones do not usually move fast enough to create this strobing, so it is a non issue to begin with. The filter makers are not likely to describe this, as it will dramatically reduce their sales.

 

[James Callaghan]

The main need for ND filters is when shooting video.

 

[hiflyer201]

I think in lower light as in the golden hour you will compromise your still photos in sharpness when using ND filters. At least that has been my experience. In perfectly still air it might not be a problem. I can handhold my stabilized mirrorless camera a very slow shutter speeds but it's asking a lot of the gimbal on my drone.

 

[Crusader14]

They make no difference to image quality. This has been falsely disagreed with frequently. All they do is control exposure. The normal way to control exposure is not with an ND filter, but with shutter speed, lens aperture, and ISO. These controls cover all conditions. Folks that think they need ND filters for some kind of look do not know how to use these basics.

Some argue that they are needed to give a “cinematic” look. In most cases, this is pure hype. The “cinematic” look is a slight blurring of the image during rapid movement. Not having this blurring causes the image to “strobe” which is quite annoying. However, drones do not usually move fast enough to create this strobing, so it is a non issue to begin with. The filter makers are not likely to describe this, as it will dramatically reduce their sales.

As I said earlier - ND filters DO make a difference to the final image appearance. In two ways. 1. Enabling a long shutter shutter speed on bright light to create the effects of movement (like water and clouds). 2 Enabling a wide aperture on bright days in particular (weddings?) to enable shallow depths of field.

The 180-degree rule is a standard in the film industry, and it explains the relationship between shutter speed and frame rate when recording motion in video. To mimic motion the same way the human eye experiences it in real life, the 180-degree rule states that shutter speed should be set to double your frame rate. When you hear people talk about “cinematic shutter speeds” they are referring to this standard where shutter speed is set at double frame rate, or as close as is possible.

 

[Dbez1]

I think in lower light as in the golden hour you will compromise your still photos in sharpness when using ND filters. At least that has been my experience. In perfectly still air it might not be a problem. I can handhold my stabilized mirrorless camera a very slow shutter speeds but it's asking a lot of the gimbal on my drone.

You should not using a ND filter in low light conditions except for very specific effects. Crusader14 above is exactly correct. ??

 

[boblui]

Enabling a wide aperture on bright days in particular (weddings?) to enable shallow depths of field.

Combining all relevant factors such as sensor size, focal length and subject distance in typical photos taken with drones, the depth of field is basically infinite even at maximum aperture so I cant see any effect of ND filter in this regard.

 

[Meta4]

As I said earlier - ND filters DO make a difference to the final image appearance. In two ways. 1. Enabling a long shutter shutter speed on bright light to create the effects of movement (like water and clouds). 2 Enabling a wide aperture on bright days in particular (weddings?) to enable shallow depths of field.

1. The ND filter doesn't change the final appearance of the image.
It doesn't have any effect on colours, contrast etc.
It's just cutting the light which forces a slower shutter speed than otherwise achievable.
This effect is only of limited use for drone photography.

2. This is not applicable to DJI consumer drones at all as their lenses are incapable of shallow depth of field at any aperture (and all except the P4 pro and M2 pro are always at full aperture anyway.

 

[karlblessing]

1. The ND filter doesn't change the final appearance of the image.
It doesn't have any effect on colours, contrast etc.
It's just cutting the light which forces a slower shutter speed than otherwise achievable.
This effect is only of limited use for drone photography.

2. This is not applicable to DJI consumer drones at all as their lenses are incapable of shallow depth of field at any aperture (and all except the P4 pro and M2 pro are always at full aperture anyway.

M2 Zoom when 2X zoomed in to 48mm equiv does have some shallowness to the back ground of it depending on focus point. Though it is technically a variable aperture lens (only in the sense that it's f/2.8 at wide and f/3.5 at tele, don't think you can set it to f/3.5 at wide).

ND filter can change the final appearance, but usually only if they're poorly made (hence not doing a good job at being 'neutral').

Crusader's comment makes more sense when considering all photo equipment but as you said, most of the mavic line (hence what this forum is for) has fixed apertures with the exception of one flagship mavic model, and the phantoms. When it comes to videography in general (not specific to drones), ND filters, at least a 3-stop and 6-stop pair, are a necessary component to have in a bag.

My take on ND filters as it pertains to fixed-aperture DJI drones under the Mavic 2 line...

It's primarily useful for video. The 180-degree shutter angle rule to help frame-to-frame transition seem more natural to the human eye. It's not very natural when every frame is tack sharp and there's enough movement that there's nothing to bridge between them (hence why higher frame rate footage, without prolonging shutter exposure appears smoother, there's more frames between the gaps of movement). The effect would be the same in dimmer environmental conditions if we could achieve 1/(2x frame rate) shutter speed if we didn't have to force the light coming in darker.

For photos, it's not quite as useful, a higher shutter speed would be desired anyways given the fixed aperture and movement of the drone. While the gimbal is pretty impressive, it helps to have a faster capture. And the shutter speed on most of the drones can't exceed 2 to 4 seconds long anyways, and that's only ideal if the drone can keep perfect position even with a little breeze (ie: it's enough that you could get traffic light streaks pretty good, if the sensor quality is good enough not to have extreme level of noise at higher sensitivity for say night exposure). Likewise circular polarizers are hit-mostly-miss on a drone since you can't rotate or adjust it once it's up in the air like you can with a camera in your hands.

My goal, more or less specific to drones (mine being a mini 2, but could be applicable to an Air 2 even), is that I'm going to mainly use it for videography. The camera and sensor quality is no where near my non-flying cameras, but the drones have the advantage of getting different vantage points, even if their results are inferior. Being a fixed aperture camera, with the intent of being used for videos, the ND filters are a must, especially if wishing to avoid the appearance of jumps, jitters, jagginess due to the lack of motion blur bridging the frames.