Reducing Video Blur In Lateral Drone/Camera Movement

[MRomine]

Novice video shooter. Please take a look at the video clip below. What could I have done differently to reduce the apparent motion blur of this clip? Notice the steel studs in the foreground. Does increasing the shutter speed when filming lateraly to your subject improve the quality? Fly slower? Mavic Pro 2, 24 FPS, 1/50 shutter speed. I don't seem to see this much motion blur when fly towards to away from my subject with the same camera settings. https://www.romineweddings.com/0343.mp4

 

[CaptHook]

Does increasing the shutter speed when filming lateraly to your subject improve the quality? Fly slower?

Yes to both.

2.7k @ 60 fps and slower flight.
Subjects filmed from a distance don't show as bad an effect as ones filmed from close.

I will usually switch to Tripod mode - with the settings at extra-slow - for this type of shot.
You could speed it up in editing if needed and will look better than filming at 'normal' speed.

 

[Dave Maine]

Motion blur is directly linked to the angular change in the viewing angle. Higher shutter speeds will help. I usually shoot at the highest shutter speed possible in given light conditions.

Note that motion blur is considered “cinematic” by some, and will be destroyed by using higher shutter speeds.

 

[DanMan32]

I always get blur on yaw in playback, even though the individual frames are clear.

 

[MRomine]

Ok, still trying to learn here. This clip was shot at 4k, 30 fps and 1/120 sec. and I tried flying slower. I don't see any real improvements. When you freeze the clip the individual frames are sharpe where as in the previous clip above the individual clips are not near as sharpe.

https://www.romineweddings.com/Worksite.mov

 

[Mossiback]

Is this downloaded directly from the SD card? Which card are you using? Is it U3 rated? Is the computer you are using capable of displaying/converting without distortions? Does the same effect happen at lower resolutions?

 

[MRomine]

Is this downloaded directly from the SD card? Which card are you using? Is it U3 rated?

This is the card the video was shot on: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G3H5RBT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Is the computer you are using capable of displaying/converting without distortions?

Not sure what you mean by distortions but I'm using a 2014 iMac 27" 5K Retina, 4GHz, Intel core i7

Does the same effect happen at lower resolutions?

Can not answer that one, I've only shot at 4K.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Ok, still trying to learn here. This clip was shot at 4k, 30 fps and 1/120 sec. and I tried flying slower. I don't see any real improvements. When you freeze the clip the individual frames are sharpe where as in the previous clip above the individual clips are not near as sharpe.

https://www.romineweddings.com/Worksite.mov

Theoretically, for a cinematic look, 30fps requires a 1/60 sec shutter speed. Try that next time to see if that helps.

 

[MRomine]

Theoretically, for a cinematic look, 30fps requires a 1/60 sec shutter speed. Try that next time to see if that helps.

The original clip posted at the start of the thread was shot at 24 fps and 1/50 sec.To me that is too much blur for this purpose so I was looking for ideas on how to minimize or better yet completely eliminate the blur. For this application I'm not so much looking for the so called "cinematic" look but want something that is sharpe for a commercial client.

 

[GadgetGuy]

The original clip posted at the start of the thread was shot at 24 fps and 1/50 sec.To me that is too much blur for this purpose so I was looking for ideas on how to minimize or better yet completely eliminate the blur. For this application I'm not so much looking for the so called "cinematic" look but want something that is sharpe for a commercial client.

You need 60fps for that. I second the original recommendation above to shoot the M2P in 2.7K at 60fps. and only shoot in FOV mode (not HQ) to further minimize blur. The alternative is to get a P4P and shoot at 4K 60fps, or even an EVO, which is also capable of 4K 60fps.

 

[CaptHook]

The original clip posted at the start of the thread was shot at 24 fps and 1/50 sec.To me that is too much blur for this purpose so I was looking for ideas on how to minimize or better yet completely eliminate the blur. For this application I'm not so much looking for the so called "cinematic" look but want something that is sharpe for a commercial client.

24 fps and 1/50 works good for cinema movies.
As you noted, flying/filming at high elevations filming straight ahead at distant objects it can work fine.
Not so good for most other drone footage.
I did many, many tests when I got my M2P.
An extended test was for exterior real estate shots - flying low and close and parallel.
I tried 12 different ways.
The best result was:
2.7k 60 fps 1/120 at slow speed in Tripod mode.
Most other times I film 4k 30 fps HQ 1/60 or switch to FOV when needed.

 

[MRomine]

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions. Next time out it will be 2.7k @ 60 fps 1/120.

 

[parkgt]

.
An extended test was for exterior real estate shots - flying low and close and parallel.
I tried 12 different ways.
The best result was:
2.7k 60 fps 1/120 at slow speed in Tripod mode.

Do you put the 60fps on a 30fps timeline with interior clips or keep it on a 60fps timeline?

 

[CaptHook]

Do you put the 60fps on a 30fps timeline with interior clips or keep it on a 60fps timeline?

Not an easy answer.

These type of shots are the weakness of the M2P.
If wanting the absolute best quality, it would be best to keep it in a 60 fps timeline.
Depends on many variables what route to go.
In the OP scenario, 60 fps filmed and 60 fps timeline sounds like the way to go.

But IMO, it will still be better quality dropping the 60 fps clip into a 30 fps timeline than filming in 30 fps.
It's what I usually do when mixing frame rates.

Or you could drop the other 30 fps footage with the 60 fps footage into a 60 fps timeline if wanted.
You could use Optical Flow - Speed Warp in Davinci Resolve Studio, to interpolate the 30 fps footage as an example.
(rather than just duplicating frames)
It does an amazing job. But very slow and resource intensive.
It's also a method I use on occasion.

Hopefully will be easier with next model of Mavic if it will do 4k 60 fps.

Be glad to hear other ideas on workflow etc.

 

[parkgt]

Not an easy answer.

But IMO, it will still be better quality dropping the 60 fps clip into a 30 fps timeline than filming in 30 fps.
It's what I usually do when mixing frame rates.

Be glad to hear other ideas on workflow etc.

How are you benefiting from 60fps on a 30 fps timeline if it drops every other frame?

 

[Deleted member 94047]

Can't you have both? Work on a 60fps timeline but change the frame rate of the clips filmed at 30fps to 30 by going in to clip attributes. I have never tried it though, so I could be wrong. So do correct me if I got this wrong.

 

[parkgt]

Can't you have both? Work on a 60fps timeline but change the frame rate of the clips filmed at 30fps to 30 by going in to clip attributes. I have never tried it though, so I could be wrong. So do correct me if I got this wrong.

As mentioned above, 30fps clips on a 60 fps timeline has to either copy frames to come up with 60 per second or interpolate an in between frame which is hard.

 

[CaptHook]

How are you benefiting from 60fps on a 30 fps timeline if it drops every other frame?

60fps 1/120 shutter - each frame captured is clearer/better image quality than at 30 fps 1/60.

 

[CaptHook]

As mentioned above, 30fps clips on a 60 fps timeline has to either copy frames to come up with 60 per second or interpolate an in between frame which is hard.

Resolve Studio Speed Warp is the best solution I've seen that does an almost perfect job of interpolation if you have the time/resources/computer specs to use it.

 

[GadgetGuy]

60fps 1/120 shutter - each frame captured is clearer/better image quality than at 30 fps 1/60.

Unless the light is so low that the ISO at 60fps is raised, at the minimum shutter speed of 1/60th, or the optimal 1/120th, and certainly when 3200 ISO is reached in Auto, or 6400 in manual.

Shooting videonin low light at 30fps allows shutter speeds as slow as 1/30, which gives you a full stop more to work with than shooting 60fps, which has a slowest video shutter speed of 1/60.