Opinions on using filters

Rchawks · Mar 15, 2020

Considering the purchase of a set of filters for my MM. Is it worth the trouble or expense? Advice or opinions appreciated.

TDZHDTV · Mar 15, 2020

Yes they do, but at the moment you‘d be working blind so would have to have a little knowledge of what filter is right for relative brightness. if you enable Subtitles youI’ll see this information when you use a video player which can display subtitle.

Are Mavic Mini ND filters worth it? Do they even work?

So I understand the 180 degree rule when using ND filters, given the limited video control on the Mini, would a ND filter ever have the desired effect? How would you set the Mini up? Or would you be better with a simple UV filter?

mavicpilots.com

Moixixon · Mar 15, 2020

In my opinion they don’t worth the money at all. MM video recording doesn’t have a shooter speed control, even no manual control at all , so adding a filter is just adding weight to a very fragile device. A tempered crystal sticker is the best option if you want to protect your lens.

Gkinghrn · Mar 15, 2020

There are a few YouTube videos on this subject. Personally , having seen them I don’t think they make that much difference to general shooting but they can give you that nice motion blur on video BUT it’s all trial and error ...

Captain Drone on YouTube did a nice comparison recently ... even he said he couldn’t tell the difference ..

Maybe if you are a high end videographer they’d be worth it but not for the average flier I don’t think..

Rchawks · Mar 15, 2020

Very good, in my case one less thing to deal with. Thanks.

m80116 · Mar 15, 2020

Two advantages under very bright daylight (sunny): better shooting times, more gamma, less lens flare.

Absolutely worth the hassle... especially if you buy PL ones, so your blue skies become ever more intense

Rchawks · Mar 15, 2020

Well the reason I considered it was a few shots had a glare in the top right corner, but I could probably get around that by being on the same side as the sun and flying higher with the camera turned down a bit. Adding a filter may put me over the weight limit for the sub 250g as well. I think I'll put off using filters until I have stronger flight skills as I'm still lacking in that dept.

Dave Maine · Mar 21, 2020

Nd filters change only the light coming into the camera. Gamma is unchanged. Filter may be acting as a short lens hood for flare. Better solution is to not shoot clow closely into the sun, as the colors are bad hood or none.

Terry63 · Mar 21, 2020

Rchawks said:
Considering the purchase of a set of filters for my MM. Is it worth the trouble or expense? Advice or opinions appreciated.

I bought a set of filters and used them on my mavic pro for a while, now they sit in the box. For the polarized filter you would have to be able to rotate the filter while in flight as your heading changed to keep in harmony with the 180 deg. rule. The polarization causes the sky to look deeper blue mid screen fading out to faint blue at the right and left screen extremities when the sun is off to your side. The dark ND filters cause your shutter speed to slow down causing more motion blur. Some Cinematographers like this effect. I liked nice crisp looking videos better. ND filters do nothing for photos as far as I can see. Polarized filters do deepen colors and with the sun at your back it could improve the quality of a photo.

Rchawks · Mar 22, 2020

I like all the varied opinions. I've considered all the options including the use of a camera hood to deal with glare. I'm trying to catch the images with the sun at my back, that's not always possible though.

EyesWideShut · Mar 22, 2020

Rchawks said:
I like all the varied opinions. I've considered all the options including the use of a camera hood to deal with glare. I'm trying to catch the images with the sun at my back, that's not always possible though.

The sun at your back will eliminate your problem with glare but the lighting will be fairly flat with the shadows mainly hidden on the far side of objects. With side lighting and back lighting the images really pop with the contrast between the highlights and shadows showing shape and contours. Possibly including some flare may make the scene even more interesting, but that is a matter of opinion and could be edited out in a video or a still retaken at a slightly different perspective. To each his own. Enjoy!

Rchawks · Mar 22, 2020

So from what I can tell shots like this with the haze in the upper right of the pic tends to disappear when camera in rotated downwards. Shots like this is what cause me to think using a filter or hood would help. To be honest I haven't fiddled much with the camera options in advance settings on the app yet.

Terry63 · Mar 23, 2020

Rchawks said:
So from what I can tell shots like this with the haze in the upper right of the pic tends to disappear when camera in rotated downwards. Shots like this is what cause me to think using a filter or hood would help. To be honest I haven't fiddled much with the camera options in advance settings on the app yet.View attachment 97107

I think a hood might be the right direction to investigate. On my Mavic Pro there is no clearance for a hood on the camera but I don't know about the mavic mini.
The picture looks like it is over-exposed in the upper right corner. Find out if you can adjust your exposure settings. When taking a picture of a wide area the ideal exposure setting is not going to be the same for every part of the view. In this case the exposure setting is going to be a compromise. Also check if your camera has a setting for WDR shots. WDR= wide dynamic range.

Drgnfli · Mar 23, 2020

I bought my MP over two years ago; bought three NDPL filters #16, # 8, & #4 just a few months ago & wish I had bought them way sooner. They definitely make the landscape better looking especially in the dead dry winter time. BTW, I mostly use the AUTO setting with the filters & I have compared the same scenes with the filters on & off - the filters are definitely worth the money as far as I am concerned...

BushWacker · Mar 24, 2020

The higher shutter speeds that you get by shooting without ND filters might be clearer but they also playback choppier. each frame is clearer but they don't playback smoothly. Using ND filters slows down the shutter speeds allowing more motion blur which does make the picture not as clear but most certainly makes it playback smoother (less choppy). Which is better is a matter of preference.

m80116 · Mar 24, 2020

When I said more gamma I actually meant better dynamic range. Tbh I don't particularly mind about partly polarized skies and for me, shooting mostly 30 and 25 fps smoothing out the last jerkiness of the videos is quite important.

MotionCamera · Mar 24, 2020

I shoot for a living, have for a VERY long time. ND and Polarizing filters are a must for certain conditions on any camera. Especially when you have no control over the triangle other than exposure + or -. I recently bought the complete set of 8 from FreeWorld. Due to conditions around the world right now I have not had a chance to try them out but will as soon as it is safe out there. In the meantime, check out this thread;
"Mavic Mini ND Filter Tutorial // Why, When and Where to use Neutral Density Filters"
It is comprehensive and well done and worth a read and watch.
I think all would agree that the MM is not a top end drone with a top end camera, however knowledge of basic photography and some good tools can only make your video better. And maybe in a future firmware upgrade we will get the same control of video imaging as we have with still images.

Meta4 · Mar 24, 2020

Rchawks said:
So from what I can tell shots like this with the haze in the upper right of the pic tends to disappear when camera in rotated downwards. Shots like this is what cause me to think using a filter or hood would help.

If you are shooting stills with a drone, don't bother with ND filters at all.
They will not do a thing for the problems you mentioned, but will cut the light getting through to the lens, forcing the camera to use a slower shutter speed.
Let the sun light your subject, rather than having the sun's glare in the frame.

Polarising filters are fine on the ground, but more trouble than they are worth in the air.
You would have to align the filter rotation for a particular shot, but if you move the drone to point in a different direction, you would have to pot up with weird blotchy skies or bring the drone in and re-align the fliter.
For video, some flyers like them, but for most drone video, they really don't make much difference.

Rchawks · Mar 24, 2020

I experimented tonight with adjusting manually instead of auto setting on camera, I need practice to get the feel for it. Did some video instead of stills, It's always been the other way around for me. I really need some good flying weather to bring it all together. This thread has been a good learning experience, thank you to each comment, gives me a lot to think about.